Birding with Ram Gopalakrishnan: Jamnagar: Effortless Birding

Right around the railway station, the flamingos greet you as you alight: all around the roads out of the city, the water bodies abound with them. Not to mention the black winged stilts, the gulls and the other dozens of the support cast of the wader family. You don't need to strain yourself, crane your neck, trudge on foot or even own a pair of binoculars. No wonder Jamnagar's USP is "effortless birding".

This former princely state, now prominent for its oil refineries, is located on the Gulf of Kutch. The brackish waters and salt pans provide an ideal habitat for flamingoes that breed here; other waders use it as a pit stop on their migratory path to warmer climes. The Marine National Park close by offers a great opportunity to explore sea life from up close during the low tide.

Down curved bill: if bigger it's a curlew, if smaller it's a whimbrel. Up curved fine bill: gotta be an avocet. As wader class got under way, we realised just why Jamnagar is the ideal "starter kit" if you've just started your bird watching career. A short drive to Bedi Bunder on the coast was rewarded by sightings of plovers, sandpipers, terns, gulls, redshanks and other water dwellers: we learnt, not very confidently, how to distinguish between the various sandpiper species. A rare solitary red-necked phalarope, usually a pelagic (found out at sea) bird was sighted bobbing amongst the gulls. What thrilled us most however were some Indian skimmers in flight, with their characteristic longer lower mandible uniquely adapting them to skim the surface of the water to scoop up food. Skimmers are now endangered because their usual habitat, unpolluted rivers with sandbanks such as the Chambal river, is fast vanishing. We later spotted a group of at least 30 birds roosting on a sandbank as sunset approached. A huge black-necked stork, unfortunately another addition to the threatened list, left smiles on our faces as we wound up for the day.

A two hour drive took us to the salt pans of Charakla on the way to the coastal town of Dwarka early the next morning. Our primary aim was to see the rare black-necked grebes, that contrasted with the commoner great crested grebe. As we watched the slender-billed gulls swoop and turn, it turned out that there were gull-billed terns that banked and turned as well among them. Tongue-twister? Generally terns are smaller than gulls, with slender long wings and slender beak but when species among the two swop beak shapes, it does get a bit confusing. The S shaped necks of the greater flamingos, found in groups of dozens provided fantastic photo opportunities. Swarms of cranes dotted the ploughed fields and ponds on the way back: distinguishing demoiselle from common crane was the next lesson for the day. Ducks abounded in the ponds: the butterscotch colored rump of the common teal, as it up-ended, was anything but common and the Eurasian wigeon and spot-billed ducks showed off their colors.

After a deliciously spicy lunch of local Kathiawadi food at Khambalia, we timed our visit to Narara beach, so as to arrive there during the low tide. Protected within the Marine National Park, the ensuing walk through the corals was a delightfully different experience. Sea cucumbers, starfish, ghost and hermit crabs, puffer fish and even a couple of octopuses were encountered with glee! There was of course our primary target species, the regal crab plovers: these striking black and white waders have thick bills adapted to eating crabs and are reliably found in India only in this area. A sighting of the ruddy turnstone, so named after its habit of turning over stones in search of food, rounded off the coral walk.

It's always nice to have a sundowner to get to dinner in a good mood: today it was the lovely Indian courser, found by scouring a vacant ploughed field, its typical habitat.

Next morning, a twenty minute drive took us to the tiny Khijadiya Bird Sanctuary, a unique wetland resulting from man made bunds that prevent saltwater ingress inland. The resultant unique freshwater-saltwater juxtaposition is home to almost 250 species. The interpretation centre at the entrance is of international standards and is easily one of the best in India. Wish they would make passage through such a center essential before you enter or exit any protected area. We saw only common waders and ducks though as lack of rains for the last 3 years had resulted in fewer visitors.

Next up was a visit to Balachadi, a secluded beach to catch up on some exclusively coastal species. We first saw a flock of at least a few hundred crab plovers: perhaps nowhere in the world do they aggregate in such large numbers! A Eurasian oystercatcher, black and white with a red beak, and the great knot were lifers. Jamnagar certainly could do with a Ramsar site and IBA designation, as most of the rarer species such as skimmers and crab plovers abound in the water bodies and beaches outside the sanctuary areas and are therefore vulnerable to habitat loss and environmental degradation.

After lunch, we settled down to a close up relaxed wader tutorial. Right next to the station, flocks of ibises, stilts and flamingos continued to feed just a few metres from us, resulting in some fantastic close up shots. The same group if at least 50 Indian skimmers were still there. Snipe, stint, sandpiper, green shank and ruff were photographed and buttonholed, and the individual species characteristics pinpointed.

The last morning was spent strolling around Lakhota lake, the central landmark of Jamnagar. While kids fed the raucous gulls and pigeons that swooped all over, we left them to gaze at the peacefully scenes on the lake: pelicans, myriad ducks and other waders that peacefully went about their Sunday morning. A large cormorant expertly caught, slowly manoeuvred and then swallowed a huge catfish: we cheered when the fish finally disappeared down its throat.

We felt quite like experts, rather than the timid novices that we were just 48 hours ago. The final bird species count was 132: talk about effortless birding!