It's fowl!

Gaggles of geese, solitary cranes and various waterfowl dot the fields and wetlands of Kheda and Anand districts in Gujarat

Little Cormorant

"Pariej?" The chaiwala at Tarapur chowk sleepily shakes his head. It's 6am. Our Gujarati driver tries again. "Pariyaj?" "That way," the chaiwala points to his right. In spite of excellent roads and helpful locals, getting around rural Gujarat can be difficult because everything rests on pronunciation. You get the name of a place right, you'll find your way. You pronounce it differently and you’ll be in another part of the state. And as if that's not enough, adjacent districts have places bearing the same names! But then if you have to go birdwatching around Gujarat's numerous wetlands, you have to be patient and keep searching.

Pariyaj Reservoir

No water in the reservoir

We pass through a huge gate that welcomes you to the 'Pariej Wetland Bird Watchers Paradise', Matar taluka in Kheda district of Gujarat. Pariej (80 km from Vadodara) boasts of around 60 species of birds. We head to the "Observation Post" marked with pictures of different types of cranes, flamingoes and ducks that you are likely to find in the Rann-like marsh fringed with lotuses and weeds. The 445 ha water storage reservoir that fulfills the drinking water requirement for 52 surrounding villages is almost dry.

A skein of noisy black geese flies overhead. You notice white and grey spots at the far edge of the "reservoir" - gulls, terns, waders, coots, grebes, cormorants, ibises, storks and egrets, we confirm with our binoculars. Under the cloudy sky, they do little to brighten the landscape. In the absence of human guides, a couple of dogs will lead you to the watchtower, which is not higher than a building’s first floor, from where you may spot some sand plovers, sandpipers, ruffs and if you are lucky, the Steppe Eagle.

"Kam paani mein hi zyaada birds aate hain. These birds can’t feed when the reservoir is full. You will find many more birds here in December-January," says Satish Chaudhary, a police inspector from Ahmedabad, who is here for election duty and has spent the night four-room resthouse-cum-office at Pariej.

To serious birders, Pariej is a place to find new feathered friends. However, the lack of facilities will force you to look for accommodation at Tarapur.

Kanavad

Though this tiny village in Anand district is erroneously marked next to a huge reservoir on the Gujarat map, it has many water-channels and pools teeming with fish that make it a great feeding site for birds, some of which come all the way down from Central Europe during the winter months. Lined along the water-bodies, you will find statue-like egrets and pelicans, camera-shy Sarus cranes, black cormorants drying their wings, gaggles of geese and solitary grebes, cranes and storks.

Sarus Crane (Grus antigone)

Kanewal

The road from Tarapur to Bagodara in the south is picturesque with lush green paddy fields. We find Sarus cranes (in the breeding season, it’s easy to spot 50 of them in a day), black ibises, egrets, kingfishers, etc sharing their space with mynas, sparrows, swallows, pigeons and woodpeckers. We follow the birds to the 625 ha-Villa Kanewal Lake, the largest reservoir in the district. The land surrounding the reservoir is salt-affected and remains dry in the summer. During monsoon, the whole area is inundated and migratory waterfowl such as Dalmatian Pelicans (one of the world’s heaviest flying species from south-east Europe), Red-crested Pochards (Netta Rufina), Sarus cranes, Demoiselle Cranes (Grus virgo).

"Conservation is necessary"

"Gujarat’s wetlands see a large number of migratory birds. Eco-tourism can turn into a major industry here," says Dr Anika Tere of Department of Zoology of Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda who has worked extensively in documenting the avifauna in the Kheda-Anand belt. "While tourism will help create awareness about such ecosystems, the government should chart out a proper wetland management plan to maintain and sustain them," she adds.

Getting there: Tarapur is located 80 km from Vadodara on the Vadodara-Rajkot highway. You get buses from Vadodara but will have to rent auto or car from Tarapur to Periej, Kanavad and Kanewal, all 15-20 km away. Closest airport: Ahmedabad (60 km).

Birdwatching tips:

• The best time for birdwatching is early morning and evening. Migratory birds areseen mainly from October to March
• Wear clothes in earthen shades to blend with the surroundings
• Do not disturb the birds or get too close to them
• Carry binoculars and cameras with powerful zoom lenses
• Do not carry or throw plastic bags

Contact information:

For Periej

Range Forest Officer, 7-Gopal Shopping Centre, Above Meda, Opp Gayatri Hospital, Matar, Distt- Kheda

Gujarat. Tel: +91 2584285406 Mob: +91 9998983088 Email: rfo_matar@yahoo.com