After short stay at Namal Lake we started our journey
towards D.I.Khan. On my way towards D.I.Khan we crossed chashma barrage and I
was very eager to do birding there but they did not allow us to do Photography,
But at chashma barrage I was very happy
to see a large number of migratory birds and hoped to find some new birds at my
destination.
 |
| Chashma Barrage - D.I.Khan |
On my way towards D.I.Khan I also saw the Kafer kot (7th century CE) heritage site. Kafir Kot consists of the ruins of 5 temples, and the ruins of a large fort protecting the site. According to the district Gazetteer of Mianwali of 1915 the remains of Kafirkot (and the nearby ruin of Mari) "are indication of the existence of a Hindu civilization of considerable importance and antiquity".
 |
| Kafer Kot - D.I.Khan |
Around 6 p.m we reached there. After meeting with our friends
we started our journey again and crossed D.I.Khan. After some off-road drive we
reached Indus River. From there we started sailing on boat and after an hour of
boat journey in Indus River we reached our base camp. It was a full moon night and
everything looked beautiful.
 |
| Base Camp - Indus River |
Our hosts prepared dinner for us and it was Murghabi (Duck).
My friend's guns and my camera were ready to hunt these beauties. As I was very
tired after a long drive so I tried to get some sleep. But I was very excited
so did not sleep well and woke up early around 3 a.m. Hunters woke early and
some of them went to hunting place on boat. For photography it was not perfect
light to shoot so I decided to join them later. During this time I enjoyed the
cool breeze and excellent weather on Indus River. It was a life time experience
that I was on an island in Indus river full moon night. I started searching the
place and found some birding spots and also marked the sunrise place.
Before sunrise maigratory birds started to arrive. I was
very excited to stand on migration root spot. When I got a little bit light I
grabbed my camera with high ISO and started capturing the birds and I was very
deligted when I started my day with spoonbill, never expected that lifer for
me.
 |
| Eurasian Spoonbill - Indus River (D.I.Khan) Lifer for Me |
 |
| Feruginous Pochard - Indus River (D.I.Khan) New Entry |
After sunrise I searched around and saw a lot of birds. As I
never did birding in wetland so every bird was new for me but still I found
some old friends like Wagtail, Kite, Crow, Pied Kingfisher, Swallow, Stilt, Lapwing, Egret, crested lark etc.
 |
Black kite - Indus River
 |
Pied bush chat - Indus River
 |
Crested Lark - Indus River (D.I.Khan)
 |
Yellow Wagtail --- Indus River (D.I.Khan)
 |
| Citrine Wagtail --- Indus River (D.I.Khan) |
 |
Barn Swallow - Indus River (D.I.Khan)
 |
Pied Kingfisher - Indus River (D,I,Khan)
 |
Black-Winged Stilt - Indus River (D.I.Khan)
 |
Red-Wattled Lapwing - Indus River (D.I.Khan)
 |
Egret - Indus River (D.I.Khan)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
During this birding I captured a lot of new birds and many
of them were lifer for me. When I was heading towards D.I.Khan I had done some
home work but still had no high hopes. I thought that in this trip I might find
some new species of ducks only. But I was very delighted to see some new species
of sandpipers and plover for me.
 |
| Little Ringed Plover - Indus River (D.I.Khan) Lifer for Me |
 |
| Kentish Plover - Indus River (D.I.Khan) New Entry |
that is not a osprey, it is a marsh harrier
ReplyDeleteThanks Sir --- Corrected.
Delete