Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, India (28 Feb - 4th Mar 2025)
In Feb/March 2025 my birding story was just 6-months old. When an opportunity to visit Jaisalmer, a city nestled in the golden sands of the Thar Desert, arose I expected to photograph forts, temples, camels and sand dunes. Little did I know I will find my little winged friends in all habitats - from the dry sandy desert to the wet humid seaside of Mumbai where I reside.
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During this 4-day visit I learned that the desert in fact offers very rewarding birding experiences as birds tend to live in concentrated areas – like lakes, parks, water bodies like ponds and hotels etc – rather than scattered among the trees in a forest. They are therefore easier to spot and photograph. The 3 Birding Locations were a Hotel, a Lake a Tent resort in Scrubby dry Desert.
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- Serai
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Taj Gorbhunder
A green Oasis with watered lawns and a few trees,
There were 2 locations in and around the Hotel - The Hotel Gardens, and the road outside the hotel where birds sitting on Wires along the road presented very good targets for the camera.
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Eurasian Collared Dove
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Indian Robin
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Jungle Babbler
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White eared Bul Bul
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Red Vented Bul Bul
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Red Wattled Lapwing
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Indian Robin
Sitting on a Wire beside a Highway
Common Myna
Against a beuatiful background
Eurasian Collared Dove
Hidden in a tree
​Eurasian Collared Dove
In a dry patch outside Hotel
Jungle Babbler
The ANGRY Bird Surveying the Garden
Jungle Babbler
No time to be ANGRY - picking insects in the garden
White Eared Bul Bul
On a Perch beside a road seeing a car approaching
White Eared Bul Bul
Following the car as it passes by
Ghadisar Lake
Gadisar Lake is a serene man-made lake at the foot of the Jaisalmer fort. Being fed by a canal it “never dries”; this makes it a paradise for birds braving the desert environment.
Driving up on the “built up side” to the lake early morning in end March one did not see many birds. But it was fun walking on the “unkept” dirt track between the grassy lake shore and the bushes and trees - chasing the birds as they flew between the bushes and the shore.
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Indian Pond Heron
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Common Sand Piper
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Eurasian Collared Dove
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Mallard
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White Goose
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Red Wattled Lapwing
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White Throated Kingfisher
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Red Wattled Lapwing​
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Indian Pond Heron
Perched on a stone step beside lake's edge
Indian Pond Heron
Perched on a tree against the blue sky
Common Sand Piper
Looking for prey on the grassy lake bank
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Eurasian Collared Dove
At peace with the World
Mallard
Paddling leisurely
White Goose
Majestically surveying the Peaceful Lake
Serai - A Tent Resort
The Serai is a luxurious desert “Tent” camp located in Bherwa 46 Kms west of Jaisalmer. Walking to our tent through its scrubby but dense bushes, grass and trees one could hear, see and almost “feel” the density of the bird population.
We admired the beauty of only one sunset and one sunrise and loved spotting the birds in this desert paradise. I also saw a boar race across the site.
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White Eared Bul Bul
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Purple Sunbird
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Eurasian Collared Dove
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Laughing Dove
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Black Drongo ​​​
White Eared Bul Bul
Perched on an Acacia bush
White Eared Bul Bul
In an arid stretch with dry grass
Purple Sunbird
A still moment between a lot of flitting
Eurasian Collared Dove
Majestic Perch
Laughing Dove
Bathed in the flush of Dawn
Laughing Dove
Moved into the Shade
Laughing Dove
Rare Position with Neck swiveled 180°
Black Drongo
Pair perched on an Acacia Bush
