November/December trip report to Rajaji National Park

My winter visit to Rajaji NP in terms of seeing much wildlife was very dry. It was not much of an exciting trip. I had done few safaris in Jhilmil Jheel conservation zone in the month of November and had then covered Chilla and Ranipur zones in the month of December. Even though, this particular trip to the national park was not all that great but we were still able to capture some wildlife. We did come across fresh paw prints of various animals such as tiger and sloth bear but to no luck, we were unable to spot them. Anyhow here a selection of images taken from the various safaris I done on those two visits.

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Visit to Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park

I had recently visited Patna after 11 years and was there mainly to visit family. We had flown in from Dehradun to Patna with a stop in Delhi. Anyway I was there for three weeks. There were alot of other places that I could have visited near Patna but maybe in next trip but during this trip, I had made two visits to Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park. It is also know as Patna zoo and is located off Bailey Road in Patna. The zoo houses over 800 animals and birds but it was not possible to photography every single animal there.

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Nature Photography at Lodhi Gardens

Lodhi Gardens is also a great place for nature and bird photography. One can spot a number of birds such as woodpeckers, hoopoes, owls, baya weavers and much more however I was only able to photograph a small number of birds and common wildlife such as squirrels. The equipment I used was the Canon 7D and Canon 70-300mm L f/4-5.6 telephoto lens. Here is a small showcase of images I shot that day.

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Mammals of Rajaji National Park

Here is a selection of images captured during my trips to Ranipur, Chilla range and also Ghori range of Rajaji national park. I had reasoanbly good sighting of animals when I visited the park in the months of May and June. Due to the heat even the animals are not easily seen and are in areas of shade. If planning a trip here in May or June then this is the time when there will be alot of traffic on the roads due to Char Dham Yatra and Rajaji is close to both Haridwar and Rishikesh which attracts alot of pilgrims every year.

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Raptors at Rajaji National Park

Crested Serpent Eagle

Chilla is the most popular zone of Rajaji national park and it is in this zone that I have been able to capture a number of raptors. However the Crested Serpent Eagle is quite occassionally seen compared to the other raptors. The Chilla range has diverse habitat which include Sal forests, grasslands, dry forests, riverine forests, teak plantatations, semi-arid Bhabhar, mixed-moist and semi-moist jungles and due to this it supports a large range of wildlife.

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Wildlife in Ladakh in Winter

Here is a number of wildlife images taken by me during my trip to Ladakh earlier this year in February. Locations I had visited were Ulley village and Korzok. Ulley village is a 3 hour drive from Leh and Korzok is a much longer drive of around 7 to 8 hours from Leh. If heading to Korzok from Leh, then one can stop overnight at Chumathang. Here there are hot springs. Korzok feels like an abondaned ghost town during the winters.

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Animals of Birsa Zoological Park

Birsa Zoological Park is a great place to see and photograph animals and they are playing a big role in the conservation of these animals. This is one of the largest zoos in India and it is just 14km from Ranchi. I had visited this park over two days as I felt one day was not enough. However the entry fees are not expensive but since I had a tripod and a large telephoto lens, it cost me an extra Rs.1000 but in the end it was well worth it and also it goes for good cause.

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Siberian Gulls at Patratu Dam

Since I was in Ranchi to meet with some family members, I wanted to visit a few places in and around Ranchi. One of these places was Patratu Dam which is a short drive from the main city. This is a good place to watch migratory birds however during my visit to this place, I only saw Siberian Gulls. Photographing these birds was a challenge due to shooting handheld from a moving boat.

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