Rajasthan and Kashmir Birding Tour

India's national capital Delhi is the centre of our Monsoon Birding Trip. You arrive in Delhi via flight. Our tour guide picks you up at the airport and drives you to a pre-booked hotel. Overnight at the hotel.

After an early breakfast, we head toward the city of Ajmer in Rajasthan, located about 400 km southwest of Delhi. It is a long drive in a cab and takes up to 6 to 7 hours on the highway. The good part is that the road cuts through small towns and villages and reveals to you the rural parts of India. We lunch midway at a quality restaurant or a dhaba (in case you want to try out the local delicacies). We arrive in Ajmer by evening and check into a hotel. You may relax and lounge around in the hotel or go for a stroll in Ajmer, which is home to a famous dargah that attracts devotees of all religions. Overnight at the hotel.

Early in the morning, we drive from Ajmer to Sonkhaliya grasslands about 40 km away. The drive takes about an hour and we arrive in time for a busy session of morning birding.

Until a few years ago, Sonkhaliya was a little-known small village, but it has over time emerged as a birding hotspot because of its main avian attraction: the Lesser Florican. Seasoned birders tread these grounds for a view of this endangered beauty and also of the Great Indian Bustard, the state bird of Rajasthan. The period from mid-July to early August is the best time to see these birds because the crops in the field aren't high enough to conceal them and the weather is just fine for them to wander about.

Other birds to target at Sonkhaliya grasslands include Grey Francolin, Rain Quail, Rock Bush Quail, Indian Peafowl, Comb Duck, Lesser Whistling-duck, Spot-billed Duck, Common Hoopoe, Green Bee-eater, European Roller, Indian Roller, White-throated Kingfisher, Pied Cuckoo, Asian Koel, Greater Coucal, Alexandrine Parakeet, Rose-ringed Parakeet, Indian Eagle Owl, White-eyed Buzzard, Yellow-wattled Lapwing, Greater Painted-snipe, Eurasian Thick-knee, Common Redshank, Green Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, Little Grebe, Little Cormorant, Large Grey Babbler, White-eared Bulbul, Wire-tailed Swallow, Indian Silverbill, Indian Bushlark, Ashy-crowned Sparrow Lark, Rufous-tailed Lark, Ashy Prinia, Baya Weaver, Chestnut-shouldered Petronia, Southern Grey Shrike, Brahminy Starling, Asian Pied Starling, and Red Necked Falcon.

After daylong birding at Sonkhaliya grasslands, we return to Ajmer in the evening for overnight at the hotel.

Sonkhaliya grasslands so abound with birds that they deserve one more day of exploring. Like the previous day, we leave Ajmer for Sonkhaliya in the morning and do birding the whole day with lunch and rest breaks in between. However, we explore newer sights for the Lesser Florican and Great Indian Bustard and tick off in our checklist a lot of aforementioned avian species as well. In the evening, we drive back to Ajmer for rest and overnight at the hotel.

We have an early breakfast and hit the highway from Ajmer to Delhi. It is a long drive and we lunch mid-way. As we approach Delhi, we do a brief stopover at Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary. Located in the state of Haryana, this bird sanctuary hosts a wonderful variety of North Indian birds, and is worth a short and quick birding tour, after which we drive on to our hotel in Delhi for dinner and overnight.

Surajpur Bird Sanctuary is located around the Yamuna river basin close to Delhi-Noida border, not more than an hour's drive from our hotel. We do daylong birding in this sanctuary to see the other big highlight of our Monsoon birding expedition: Bristled Grassbird.

And while we are at it, we go after interesting avian targets, such as Rose Ringed parakeet, Yellow Bellied Prinia, Blue Tailed Bee Eater, Green Bee Eater, Black Winged Stilt, Lesser Whistling Duck, Spot Billed Duck, Asian Koel, Black Drongo, Wire Tailed Swallow, Purple Heron, Streaked Weaver, Spotted Redshank, Common Egret, Black Necked Ibis, Grey heron, Asian Pied Starling, Purple Swamphen, and many others.

We drive back to our hotel in the evening for dinner and overnight.

On this day, we move to the third leg of our Monsoon birding tour. In the morning, we fly from Delhi to Kashmir's capital Srinagar in the foothills of the Himalayas. The beautiful mountainous terrain is rejuvenating and we make the most of our time by going out on a half-day birding trip around Srinagar. We explore the forest area near the Shankaracharya Temple. You will be surprised to find the number of bird species that frequent these woods so close to Srinagar. The evening is reserved for rest and relaxation, but you may go out for a stroll in the local market. The people, despite the news we hear about Kashmir, are actually very friendly. Overnight at the hotel.

Dachigam National Park is located just 22 km from Srinagar. We drive there after breakfast for a full day of birding. What makes Dachigam a good biodiversity hotspot is the altitude variation throughout the park. The altitude here ranges from 1700 meters to 4300 meters, splitting the park into the Upper and Lower sectors. The terrain composes of forests, sloping grasslands, meadows, rocky outcrops and deep gorges. We stick mostly to the areas known to yield best bird sightings in Dachigam.

Our targets for the day are: Cheer Pheasant, Koklass Pheasant, Bearded Vulture (Lammergeier), Himalayan Griffon, Golden Eagle, Red-billed Chough, Yellow-billed Chough, Yellow-billed Blue Magpie, Red-billed Blue Magpie, Streaked Laughingthrush, Tickell's Thrush, Spectacled Finch, Orange Bullfinch, Black and Yellow Grosbeak, Kashmir Flycatcher, Dark-sided Flycatcher, Ultramarine Flycatcher, Paradise Flycatcher, Tytler's Leaf-Warbler, White-throated Tit, Green-backed Tit, Peregrine Falcon, Himalayan Bulbul, Black Bulbul, Brownish-flanked Bush Warbler, Himalayan Woodpecker, Scaly-bellied Woodpecker, Kashmir Nuthatch, and many more.

In the evening, we drive back to Srinagar for overnight.

Gulmarg is a holiday destination famous for its ski resorts and snowy peaks. Not many know it as a birding destination. After breakfast, we drive about 56 km to Gulmarg to see birds such as Spot-winged tit, Coal tit, Rufous-naped tit, Fire-capped tit, Himalayan Woodpecker, Brown fronted Woodpecker, Tytler's leaf warbler, and Kashmir Nutcracker.

After a rewarding day of birding at Gulmarg, we return to Srinagar for dinner and overnight.

In the morning, we drop you at Srinagar airport for a flight to Delhi. The India monsoon birding trip ends.