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Ultimate Birdwatching and Photography !!
Bhigwan is a small dusty town on the border of Pune and Solapur district in Central Maharashtra, in India. Bhigwan is located on the Pune-Solapur Highway. South of Bhigwan town, exists a widespread backwater formed due to a man made dam built on the Bhima river. The dam is called as Ujni dam. The backwaters is spread over a wide region and is mainly a shallow waste water reserve. There are two areas where one can see the migratory water birds. 1) Diksal-Parewadi area and 2) Dalaj – Kumbharwadi area. The semi-waste water in this Ujni dam backwater area has built very good wetland based ecosystem and helped agriculture also. The rainfall in Pune region decides the water level in Ujani dam. March is the best season to visit Bhigwan as by that time most of the migratory birds arrive and settle down.
One can expect various types of Ducks, Herons, Egrets, Raptors and Waders along with flocks of hundreds of flamingos. The huge quantity of birds at Bhigwan increases the chance of sighting almost all the prime bird species there and also creates great photographic opportunities for wildlife photographers. The best part of these outings is that we are also including the famous Mayureshwar Wildlife Sanctuary in our itinerary. Its a small patch of forest at Supa village, also known as Supa Grasslands and is a great place to observe and photograph the Indian Gazelles.
ITINERARY
Day 1 :
Early morning start driving towards Bhigwan in private or hired vehicle. Meet our tour leader at Bhigwan at 12.30 pm. Check in rooms and freshen up. Enjoy your yummy lunch prepared in local style. Post lunch orientation and interactive session on basics of bird watching.
Around 3.30 pm enjoy the Hi tea and explore the training session on Tips and Hacks of Shooting birds in action.
Early evening start exploring the location by boat. We will be exploring major part of Diksal and Kumbhargaon by private boat in order to cover maximum species and also to reach as close to birds as possible. Observe a variety of bird species, compose some unique shots and also try your hands on birds in action during the first boating session. Late evening is a great time to compose some creative and silhouette shots against the setting winter sun. Post this boat safari engage in group discussion about today’s sightings and learnings.
Post dinner, we have a special treat for the nature lover in you! – a night trail to watch and photograph chameleons, nightjars, leopard geckos, owls etc. It is optional and complimentary for all.
Day 2 :
Early morning set off for the second boat safari. Try to take out and record maximum observations which will help you understand the basics of bird identification better. Morning being the active feeding time for most of the birds including raptors you can expect some good action shots during this ride.
Post safari return back to our base for breakfast. Post breakfast we will do hands on training for bird identification in surrounding area. This will be a pure bird watching field technique learning session and no photography would be allowed during this session.
Around 12.30 pm enjoy the homely lunch and start our return journey to respective destinations.
Arrival at Mumbai by evening with some great memories, learnings and photographs from Bhigwan
ID Card Compulsory (Aadhar/ Pancard/DL)
1. Dull Colored Clothes (Please don’t wear Bright colored Clothes, TRY TO GET AS CAMOUFLAGED AS POSSIBLE)
2. Sanitary Kit
3. Dry Food (snacks)
4. Torch (Must)
5. Personal First Aid kit
6. Cap, goggle, sunscreen, moisturizer etc.
7. Sport shoes or Kitos/ sandal
8. Electral powder / Glucon D
9. Binocular/Camera with lenses (Optional)
10. Water Bottle (3 liter must)
11. Odomos (Mosquito Repellent)
12. Tripod will be helpful to avoid shake as there will be low light
13. Umbrella or Poncho/Cap
