Although one avian mammal is suspect for causing this mass hysteria and global pandemic, birding in the wild open spaces when done the right way could be the much-needed relief and suspension of panic.
How some issues just hijack the entire conversation and focus!
The world has not been through anything like COVID-19, the coronavirus outbreak, labelled as a global pandemic by WHO, in a long while. With each passing moment, the confirmed cases and mortality keeps rising. There is not a single human endeavour that has not been affected. Years of progress has been undone, wealth erased overnight, travel and tourism are at an inflexion point. Inboxes are filled with cancellations and withdrawals. The paranoia of yesterday has become the norm of today with even Prince Charles folding hands in greeting.
We at The Bagh, Kanha and Bharatpur are affected with visas being cancelled and borders being closed. Our vendors from the local markets and guides are facing dire straits if this situation keeps up. More than anything else, we are worried about the safety of family and loved ones.
India, with an aim of preserving its fauna and flora, has built several national parks and animal reserves across its latitudes and longitudes. Out of them, Kanha National Reserve, in Madhya Pradesh, is one of the largest. Spread over an area of 940 sq km...
Bharatpur is home to the wonderful Unesco-listed Keoladeo National Park, a wetland and one of the best bird sanctuaries in the country. Although Bharatpur is known for it park, it also has a few historic remnants and a good museum that are worth visiting.
A passerine is any bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or songbirds, passerines are distinguished from other orders of birds by the arrangement of their toes (three pointing forward and one back)..