Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary in November – a Pelican fest

Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary, known as ‘Pakshi Kashi of Karnataka’ is one of the more popular bird sanctuaries in India. It is located close to the historic town of Srirangapatna and is a three hour drive from Bangalore. If using public transport, best option is to catch a Bangalore-Mysore bus and get off at Srirangapatna. There are trains from Bangalore as well.

I visited Ranganathittu in mid-November. During this visit, spot-billed pelicans and black-headed ibis had already arrived in hundreds if not thousands, for nesting.

Though winter migration has already begun, it is still a bit early. For spotting maximum species of birds, December and January are probably the best months to visit.

One of the first things I noticed on entering the park, was a beehive with thousands of honey-bees. 

There’s a boating facility here and one can buy a single ticket for INR 70 (more for foreigners) for a twenty minute boat ride with around fifteen other people. Tip: for those interested in wildlife photography, private boat rides are available for INR 1,500 (INR 3,000 for foreigners) which can accomodate 4-5 people and take you a bit further than the regular boat ride and last for thirty minutes. I spent a lot of time in Ranganathittu doing these boat-rides, as it got me closer to the birds and crocodiles. Yes, the river is infested with a large number of freshwater mugger crocodiles. You are guaranteed to see them sunbathing on the rocks, and if lucky, swim on the water surface very close to your boat.

Next come the birds. The boat rides took me closer to Asian openbills, black-headed ibis, spot-billed pelicans and Indian cormorants. 

Next was a tree full of the Indian flying foxes also known as fruit bats, roosting through the day with their wings folded and hanging upside down.

While the fruit bats were fascinating, the highlight from my boat rides (courtesy our rower cum guide) was a sighting of a lesser fish eagle which is extremely rare in South India. These raptors are near threatened with a declining population and is mostly sighted in North India and Nepal. Only recently they have been sighted only on the Kaveri in South India.

After the boat rides, I spent a lot of time at the boating point itself. It was perfectly located to practice BIF shots as the ibis, cormorants and pelicans continuously flew in and out of their nests providing ample BIF shooting opportunities. Black-headed ibis fly fast and were extremely difficult to capture with my old and slow camera body. I managed to lock in on an Indian cormorant, but got much more success in shooting the slow paced spot-billed pelicans as they collected twigs for their nests.

Finally, I went for a walk around the sanctuary’s walking trail to explore the rest of the park. I almost instantly came across a Tickell’s blue flycatcher.

Next were two purple-rumped sunbird chicks ‘cheep’ing away from inside their nest, waiting for mama bird to come and feed them. Hiding behind and a tree and keeping a safe distance from the nest in order to not scare the mother sunbird away in case she was around, I quickly took a few shots of these nestlings from afar and waited discreetly. After some time, ‘mama’ sunbird did show up with some food, fed the chicks and quickly exited the nest to go back for more. Here, it is of utmost importance to mention to my readers and create awareness about ethical photography when clicking nesting birds. It is extremely critical to make sure that both the nestlings and their mother do not feel a person’s presence near their nest as they might feel threatened. It can cause a lot of stress to both of them, and affect them and their behaviour profoundly. So, my humble request….no unethical photography. Here is a guide on ethical wildlife photography if you have any doubts.

I too decided to head for the exit gate after this, bringing an end to this birding trip. Just that the trip didn’t end there. Once outside the gates of the bird sanctuary, I spotted a peafowl, a white-throated kingfisher, a white-browed wagtail, and a little cormorant. I managed to get a shot of the last two.

 

The sighting of the lesser fish eagle, purple-rumped sunbird nest with chicks and shooting pelicans in flight were the highlights of this trip to Ranganathittu bird sanctuary. This was my first trip here and I already know I will be back for more in December or January. So watch out for this space. If you have had any great birding or wildlife experiences in Karnataka or neighbouring states, please do let me know by commenting below. I will be happy to hear and explore.