Exciting Bird Watching Tours in India

With thirteen percent of avifauna the recreation here is exciting and full of discoveries. Well organized tourism is the first requirement especially for the enthusiasts from overseas. And all the popular birding hotspots in the country are endowed with good infrastructure. The roads are good with stops, the wildlife resorts are in plentiful and so is the availability of food. But what counts most for the enthusiasts are the availability of birding guides and naturalists. Local experts are available everywhere or you can hire a guide or naturalist of your choice for the whole trip.

Though places could be one stop destinations like Bharatpur and Chambal most of the expeditions are conducted at many places nearby. A tiger tour extension is also available to reserves in Central India but here too the focus is on the avian species while a big cat sighting is on the side table.

The tours are conducted at North East, North, Western and Southern India. These are sold as packages by destination management companies or tour operators with specialization in bird watching. Most of these companies are engaged in this business for years and have the right network of guides and travel service providers and knowhow for conducting specialized tours.

In fact these companies provide a number of packages all over the country while some are limited to their niche. The latter seem to have a greater hold on the tours in specific region but this is often not true. Although the avian species are much varied in the destinations the modus operandi is to engage an expert guide pertaining to that area.

Guides with familiarity to specific regions are available in plenty hence that is not a problem but since most of the enthusiasts are from overseas command of English is a must besides the lingo of country. The latter is not a must since many parent tour operators send a leader along with the group.

The tours are organized for individual and small groups as well but they often prefer to make their own travel arrangements. But this is possible for birders who have been to India many times else they should hire services of a local organizer preferably a well reputed one.

Those planning itinerary themselves should include nearest hotspots so that travel is not difficult. This way one can save cost as well. India is a vast country and improper tour design can lead to a failure in terms of time and money.

For independent travel chalk out the targeted species and engage a guide beforehand. It would be good to hire local guides as the expedition advances until unless you are sure one man can do the job.

Carry all the equipment for spotting and photography this depends upon you while spotting scope and binoculars are must long lenses should be carried by all photographers. In forests the need for spotting scope and long lenses may not be essential as the species are often sighted at short distance.

Since most of the bird watching tours are conducted in the winters keep warm clothes. Winters can be harsh especially in North, West and Central India. Also keep all the essentials of personal use with you since the ornithological quest will take you to remote sparsely populated areas with no urban amenities.

Also buy a hand guide of birds of the region you are travelling. Be prepared do your home work and read all about the targeted avian species before arriving in India.

Uday writes often on Indian wildlife especially about the tigers. He works as a naturalist and is fond of travel. Uday also provides search engine optimization service and website contents in English.