Desert National Park, Part 3 – Saying goodbye to the raptors of the desert

This is the concluding post of a long drawn out short series documenting my time birding in the Desert National Park near Jaisalmer, Rajasthan in the early part of 2023. We had been lucky enough to spot the elusive and almost extinct Great Indian Bustard ( Desert National Park, Part 1- In search of the Great Indian Bustard ) and had a great vulture show which had exceeded all expectations ( Desert National Park, Part 2 – In search of the Vultures ). So in our last 2 safaris in this desert landscape we just decided to go with the flow and see what luck had in store for us since we had ticked off most of the species we had come here to see. 

We had a piping hot lunch back at the Godawan Garh resort and rested our legs and our gear for some time in the comfortable stone cottages that had been our residence for the last 3 nights.

The Godawan Garh in the Desert National Park – perfect for birding 

The interiors of our stone cottage  – comfortable and with all amenities 

After a quick shut eye we set off again towards the parts where the trumpeter finch flock was located. On the way we got to see a couple of the ubiquitous variable wheatears with their striking black and white plumage.

The Variable wheatear – one of the resident species of the region 

A variable wheatear and a red vented bulbul amidst the thorny bushes 

The black and white plumage appears striking in the tan landscape all around 

We also came across a desert fox who was hunting for some burrowing animal in the distance. Although it was too far to get good photographs, we stopped just to observe the fox jump around and try to catch its lunch. After watching it try unsuccessfully for a few minutes both the fox and our vehicle went their own way.

A desert fox hunts for burrowing rodents in the bunds 

There are also the stonechats that most birders tend to ignore because they are common birds. When I come across one that is perched on top of a slender twig and doesn’t fly away in a millisecond, it gets my attention and always makes for pleasing photos.

A female stonechat poses on the top of a slender branch 

We then almost reached the place where we had to disembark our vehicles and proceed on foot towards the spot where the finches are usually seen. We stopped just before that because we saw a raptor sitting on the top of a cliff looking down nonchalantly at us. It was against the sunlight and there was no way to get on the other side so we just took record photos of this raptor – mostly a steppe eagle, before saying goodbye and going to see if the trumpeter finches were still in that general location.

A backlit raptor of the cliffs 

The finch flock was there but skittish as ever and my perfectionist birder friend was not satisfied with the photos and continued to stalk the flock around the region. I am not so demanding of my bird sightings and got a few photos of these small birds with brightly coloured beaks. At one point the whole flock sat on the tips of a huge cactus and made for a great photo.

The trumpeter finch at a distance 

A cactus full of finches – a very pretty sight 

Few more photos of the pretty trumpeter finch – an icon of the DNP

While my friend was walking around the region and trying to get the finches to sit still enough so that he could get his perfect shot I waited around the vehicle taking photos of the sculpted pillars in the region.

Ancient sculpted pillars dot the region 

The light fades leaving colourful skies

I was trying to see if I could get any good landscape composition with the 300mm lens when I saw something flying towards us. Instinctively the camera moved to it and shot off a full series as the bird flew across in front of us into the distance. It had been a pallid harrier with a kill in its talons. It isn’t a bird frequently seen in the desert , so I had luckily come across a vagrant individual , that too with a kill as bonus!

A pallid harrier gives us a fly by with a kill in it’s talons 

My friend returned from his exertions without any significant luck and since the light was fading we turned back towards the resort. In the fading light before we reached the resort we came across 2 more species of raptors – The common buzzard and the Laggar falcon. It was the first time I had seen a Laggar falcon and inspite of the extremely poor light I took a lot of photos hoping that the miracle of modern digital photography would give me at least one decent photo. I wasn’t disappointed to say the least!

A common buzzard in very poor light 

The position of the sun when we saw the Laggar Falcon

The miracle of modern digital photography – A Laggar Falcon in near darkness

We returned to the resort for our final night there. We were joined that night in the resort by a relatively famous wildlife YouTuber and I knew that Aliyar would pander to him more just for the free publicity it might bring. We had a delicious dinner on our last freezing night in the desert  and retired for the night knowing that the YouTuber would go after the Great Indian Bustard the next morning and we would have to go with him. Personally I would have preferred not going on that wild goose chase again but since we had seen almost everything we had hoped to, we joined in just to see if the GIB is partial to famous people!

Our last sunrise in the Desert National Park – colourful as ever 

We packed our luggage and kept it ready before we left for the morning safari and as expected the YouTuber wanted to see the GIB and I chuckled silently at the accuracy of my prediction. The next 2 hours were spent wandering around the perimeter fence and although we did spot a couple of Great Indian Bustards – they were just more than a speck in the distance. As usual we tried to see if we could get closer but with out success. To add to the frustration of the YouTuber there were people known to the forest department who were inside the enclosure illegally in a forest department vehicle taking selfies of themselves! It’s a wonder that the GIB has survived till now with such lax management from the authorities.

A pair of Great Indian Bustard in the distance – in the safety of their enclosure

We finally decided to give up the Bustard chase and head towards a spot where a mixed group of vultures had been spotted. The YouTuber continued to rave and rant on the way about how he would publicise this entire episode (I don’t watch his channel so I don’t know if he followed through with his threats!). 

A variable wheatear watches as we search for the GIB 

On the way to the spot where the vultures had been spotted we got an added bonus with an imperial eagle sitting close by on the ground. Inspite of the harsh afternoon light I got a great series of this magnificent raptor take off from the ground.

An imperial eagle takes off from ground level

We reached the spot where the vultures were sitting and it was a much smaller group than we had the pleasure of taking photos of the previous day. Still I got a photo which I wanted which showed the difference in sizes among the 3 species of vultures there.

A photo with Egyptian, Griffon and Cinereous vulture showing size difference 

A few more photos of the vultures of the DNP

Soon it was time for us to leave as we had to take the drive back to Jaisalmer in time for our flight back home. It was fitting that the last bird I photographed was the Egyptian Vulture in full flight as it was the first of the numerous raptors we had spotted in our time here.

Saying goodbye to the DNP with a flying photo of the Egyptian Vulture 

We then returned to the Godawan Garh and took our luggage and got into the vehicle waiting to take us to Jaisalmer airport. We requested our driver who was Aliyar’s father to stop near Jaisalmer fort so that I could take a photo or two of the golden fort itself. He gladly obliged.

Some photos of the golden fort of Jaisalmer from different perspectives 

We reached the airport well in time and took our flight back home to Mumbai. It had been a great 4 days in a very rarely visited national park of India. I had seen and taken photos of wildlife that is unique to that region and enjoyed the good food and hospitality of Aliyar Rojani at his Godawan Garh. It had been made possible by the planning and efforts taken by my birder friend and I told him that I would readily tag along if he had any more such short trips planned in the future. 

Till next time, with a new series from a new destination.

Bye.