Bird Photography at Little Rann of Kutch Gujarat

TRIP 2: DECEMBER 2021

This trip was primarily targeting only one species - The Red-breasted Goose which by chance came to LRK this year. Last year it was a vagrant visitor to Nalsarovar and this year it came to LRK alongwith the Bar-headed Geese. Last time in 2015 when we visited LRK, we stayed at Bhavna Farms as that time we found Rann Riders to be very expensive, although people used to vouch for their experience in LRK birding. This time we decided to stay at Rann Riders only because we couldn't manage to do that in our earlier visit. 

Drive from GRK to LRK was only 4.5 hours for 266 km. Every entry into the Rann will require paid permission and paid cameras, which the resorts usually help you with. This time we kept 3 night with us so that by any chance we should not miss sighting the Red-breasted Geese. 

We were pretty lucky in finding the Red-breasted Goose but the experience of staying at Rann Riders was absolutely pathetic. I will list down the points which clearly suggest that it is better to avoid Rann Riders for any future trips. 

• The guests at Rann are now primarily picnic guests and because of that they are losing their focus into birding which they were once popular about. 
• They themselves don't bother much about birding guests now because their business is thriving without them. 
• The breakfast that they send alongwih the safari is one of the most pathetic breakfasts I've seen on a safari. I'm not even comparing it with the luxurious breakfast of Taj safaris but I'm straight away comparing it with what Bharat is offering here in GRK and it stands nowhere. 
• Over and above that if you are stuck with a guide named Ayub then god can only save you. He is one of the most non empathetic person I have seen in my entire life. He has no concerns about the guests, no manners what-so-ever and best avoided if you expect some minimal hospitality. 
• Their safari vehicles and guides don't even have their binoculars. Our guide Ayub told us that Rann Riders doesn't give functional binoculars to their guides any more and it is upto them to buy and use one. 
• The condition of the rooms are also not upto the standards of a good hotel. The bathroom had no water supply in the morning of our checkout. Imagine! 

I have only one word of advise for serious birders who want to visit LRK. Get a guide yourself, get a hotel yourself and avoid Rann Riders at any cost. 

Enjoy the pics from this trip below. 

Red-breasted Goose (lifer)

Red-breasted Goose (lifer)

Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse male 

Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse female 

Common Kestrel female

Short-eared Owl

Red-naped Ibis

Bar-headed Geese 

Little Cormorant

Greylag Goose

River Tern

Ruff

Little Egret

Black-winged Stilt

Kentish Plover

Wild Ass

Wild Boar

Common Crane

Greylag Geese

Common Crane

Northern Shoveler female

Common Teal

Pied Avocet

Little Ringed Plover

Wild Ass

River Tern

White Wagtail

Black-winged Stilt juv

Red-breasted Goose

Bar-headed Geese

Grey Francolin

Eurasian Spoonbill

Intermediate Egret

TRIP 1: OCTOBER 2015 

This visit to the Land of Raptors was only to see the birds of prey. It wasn’t the best season to visit, which is otherwise Dec and Jan. So the effort per-se was astronomically high and the results were not so encouraging. Even then, I managed to add 14 new species to my Life-List which is now at 327 however the milestone of 400 is still a long way to go! 

Bird watching in Little Rann of Kutch is an experience of a life-time. If ever you feel disappointed not to find any raptors, just look at those most innocent faces of the beautiful Wild Ass and you will not regret your not-so-successful ordeal to find the birds. If ever you feel tired of driving for hours in that terrain, just look at the endless horizons of that great salt desert or just cherish the lakhs and lakhs of Flamingoes at one end of the horizon, and there is a chance that you might feel you are not on the planet earth. 

Here are the pics, 

Peregrine Falcon

The all famous Falcon sky-dive at 320 km/hr is done by this bird above - catching and killing its prey in mid air, this is one of the most dangerous predators in the avian world.

Amur Falcon juv

Amur is a place in Mongolia and Amur Falcon is known to travel from Mongolia to South Africa. In this journey it takes rest in various places in India - right from Nagaland till Little Rann of Kutch. It is very rare to find this bird and click it.

Common Kestrel Male

Montagu's Harrier Male

Pallid Harrier Female

Eurasian Marsh Harrier Female

Eurasian Marsh Harrier Male

Indian Spotted Eagle

Greater Spotted Eagle

Egyptian Vulture juv

Egyptian Vulture

Peregrine Falcon

Common Kestrel Male

Indian Spotted Eagle

Short-eared Owl

Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse Male

Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse Female

Desert Wheatear Female

Desert Wheatear Male

Common Crane

Dalmatian Pelican

Eurasian Roller

Barn Swallow

Crested Lark

Isabelline Shrike

Lesser Flamingo

Lesser Flamingo

Flamingo

Pied Avocet

Pied Avocet

Black-tailed Godwit

Indian Wild Ass

Indian Wild Ass

Indian Wild Ass

Nilgai Female

Monitor Lizard

Jungle Cat

@ Little Rann of Kutch