Birding Tour India: The Northwest – Lions and Desert Birding in Gujarat

Birding Tour India: The Northwest – Lions and Desert Birding in Gujarat
February 2026/2027

This small group tour focuses on the amazing birds and wildlife in the deserts of Gujarat in northwestern India. We will have the opportunity to see some very exciting and Critically Endangered (IUCN), rare, localized, and/or endemic birds as well as a range of interesting overwintering species. The tour is also great for any family listers or world birders, with monotypic Crab-plover and Grey Hypocolius both possible.

Other highlight birds possible during the tour include Macqueen’s Bustard, Indian Courser, Sociable Lapwing, Indian Skimmer, Demoiselle Crane, Common Crane, Lesser Flamingo, Greater Flamingo, Sykes’s Nightjar, Sirkeer Malkoha, Painted Sandgrouse, Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse, Spotted Sandgrouse, Painted Francolin, Laggar Falcon, Red-necked Falcon, Pallid Harrier, Montagu’s Harrier, Eastern Imperial Eagle, Indian Eagle-Owl, Dalmatian Pelican, Greater Hoopoe-Lark, Sykes’s Lark, Indian Bush Lark, Sand Lark, Marshall’s Iora, White-naped Tit, White-bellied Minivet, and White-browed (Stolitczka’s) Bush Chat.

The tour will also focus on finding some of the country’s major mammals, such as Asiatic Lion (the only place in the world where you can see this subspecies), Asiatic Wild Ass, Indian Leopard, Blackbuck, Four-horned Antelope (Chousingha), and Chinkara (Indian Gazelle).

You could combine this tour with our very popular Birding Tour India: The North – Tigers, Amazing Birds, and the Himalayas  that runs directly before this tour, and you could follow it up with our short Birding Tour India: The West – Forest Owlet Extension, a bird with a fascinating history (click the link to find out about it. Other extensions at each location are also possible if you would like to prolong your stay in this wonderful and vibrant country, details here.

The highly sought-after and rather dapper-looking Indian Courser.

Itinerary (14 days/13 nights)

Day 1. Arrival in Ahmedabad and travel to Little Rann of Kutch via Nalsarovar

You will arrive in Ahmedabad early in the morning (either from our northern India tour or on an international flight). We will then make our way southwest of Ahmedabad to the Nalsarovar area, where some big shorebird targets could fall, namely the Critically Endangered (IUCN) Sociable Lapwing and Indian Courser (Cream-colored Courser can also occasionally be found overwintering here), stunningly beautiful birds and quite rightly popular for visiting birders.

Finding Sociable Lapwing overwintering in India is a real treat.

If the water levels are suitable in the Nalsarovar area we may also find Painted Stork, Red-naped Ibis, Ruddy-breasted Crake (scarce in this part of Asia), Spotted Crake, Baillon’s Crake, Pheasant-tailed Jacana, Knob-billed Duck, Asian Openbill, Asian Woolly-necked Stork, Sarus Crane, and Yellow Bittern. Red-necked Falcons often nest in this area, and we will be sure to keep our eyes peeled for them.

Other large shallow-edged waterbodies in the area may support the simply gorgeous and elegant Demoiselle Crane, along with Common Crane, Black Stork, White Stork, Black-necked Stork, Greater Flamingo, Lesser Flamingo, Eurasian Spoonbill, Spot-billed Pelican, Great White Pelican, Dalmatian Pelican, Eurasian Wigeon, and White-tailed Lapwing, and deeper waterbodies may support Cotton Pygmy Goose, Greylag Goose, Common Pochard, and Ferruginous Duck.

Here too we may find Pallid Harrier and Montagu’s Harriers hunting the lake shores and adjacent agricultural land, where we may also spot Isabelline (Daurian) Shrike, Common Quail, and Bluethroat. We will also come back to the lake shore one night to look for the rather compact-looking Sykes’s Nightjar as well as Indian Nightjar and interesting mammals.

Flocks of Demoiselle Cranes should be seen on this tour.

After what promises to be a productive birding session around Nalsarovar, we will continue to the Little Rann of Kutch desert outpost, where we will arrive in the evening. The Little Rann of Kutch is an ancient seabed transferred over the years by geological forces into a saline desert plain with grassy patches that offers great birding and mammal watching.

Overnight: Little Rann of Kutch

Days 2 – 3. Little Rann of Kutch

We will have two full days to explore this exciting area that is not only great for birds but also excellent for mammals (our main mammalian target here is Asiatic Wild Ass).

As we drive around the Little Rann of Kutch we will look for the scarce Macqueen’s Bustard (an overwintering species present in very low numbers) which often requires some luck to find. This area is often busy with larks like Crested Lark, Bimaculated Lark, Black-crowned Sparrow-Lark, and Greater Short-toed Lark. We also hope to locate the very tough Greater Hoopoe-Lark (it is right on the periphery of its global range here). Both Spotted Sandgrouse and Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse can be found in the area, along with Yellow-legged Buttonquail and Barred Buttonquail, both miniscule birds.

A few of the other birds we may pick up in the area include Long-legged Buzzard, White-eyed Buzzard, Desert Wheatear, Variable Wheatear, Great Grey Shrike, Long-tailed Shrike, Red-tailed Shrike, Bay-backed Shrike, Common Woodshrike, Asian Desert Warbler, Citrine Wagtail, and Western Yellow Wagtail (grey-headed and black-headed subspecies usually).

The Little Rann of Kutch is also home to a wide range of mammals; the main target here will be the aforementioned Asiatic Wild Ass, but we could also encounter Striped Hyaena, Nilgai, Chinkara (Indian Gazelle), White-footed Fox (a pale Asiatic subspecies of Red Fox and also known as Desert Fox), Bengal (Indian) Fox, Grey Wolf, Jungle Cat, Golden Jackal, Indian Long-eared Hedgehog, and Indian Hare.

Overnight: Little Rann of Kutch

Asiatic Wild Ass is one of the many mammal species we should encounter on this trip.

Day 4. Little Rann of Kutch to Bhuj (Great Rann of Kutch)

After a final morning birding in the Little Rann of Kutch, maybe bettering our views of some of the above birds, we will transfer to Bhuj and the Great Rann of Kutch. The majority of the rest of the day will be spent traveling to Bhuj, our base for the next three nights. In the afternoon, we plan on making a short trip to the Nakhatrana area, where we will look for the scarce White-naped Tit. This area also holds some of our other targets of the area that we will also look for over the next couple of days, such as Rock Bush Quail, Marshall’s Iora, Pallid Scops Owl, and White-bellied Minivet.

Overnight: Bhuj

Day 5-6. Bhuj

We have two full days to explore the Bhuj area, where we will visit a number of sites targeting a range of really exciting species. Some of these targets only occur at specific spots, so we will target these locations for the key birds and in doing so, will mop up a large list of other great birds along the way.

One of the biggest targets over our two days is the monotypic Grey Hypocolius. The area where we usually see this bird also supports a wide range of other species, with raptors such as Steppe Eagle, Long-legged Buzzard, Short-toed Snake Eagle, and Pallid Harrier. Both Painted Sandgrouse and Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse occur here, along with Indian Stone-curlew, Western Barn Owl, and an interesting range of passerines including Marshall’s Iora, Eastern Orphean Warbler, Common Babbler, Yellow-eyed Babbler, Rosy Starling, Ashy-crowned Sparrow-Lark, Rufous-tailed Lark, Sykes’s Lark, Tawny Pipit, Long-billed Pipit, Desert Whitethroat, Desert Wheatear, Brown Rock Chat, Yellow-throated Sparrow, and Grey-necked Bunting.

We usually aim to finish one afternoon in the bush with the aim of looking for Indian Nightjar or potentially some other animals of interest.

The monotypic Grey Hypocolius in the Great Rann of Kutch will be a big tour highlight.

Some of the birding in the Great Rann of Kutch will see us checking out some agricultural and scrub land, where the main target will be White-browed (Stoliczka’s) Bush Chat (if we haven’t found it earlier on the tour). Other species in this zone may include White-bellied Minivet, Marshall’s Iora, Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse, Common Crane, Black-winged Kite, Egyptian Vulture, Eastern Imperial Eagle, Common Quail, Indian Bush Lark, Hume’s Short-toed Lark, Blyth’s Pipit, Paddyfield Pipit, Rufous-fronted Prinia, Sykes’s Warbler, and Grey-necked Bunting.

Overnight Bhuj

Day 7. Great Rann of Kutch (Bhuj) to Jamnagar

We should have time for some pre-breakfast birding for one final time in the Great Rann of Kutch but today is essentially a travel day as we move on towards the coastal city of Jamnagar. If time permits, we will visit the port area to look for the highly sought Indian Skimmer. Other birds possible in this area include Lesser Flamingo, Western Reed Heron, Slender-billed Gull, Great Knot, Tibetan Sand Plover, and several other shorebirds.

Overnight: Jamnagar.

We will look for Indian Skimmer in the Jamnagar area.

Day 8. Jamnagar

The coastline of the Gulf of Kutch offers some of the best coastal birding in India. We will spend some time birding in the saltworks and saltpans as well as at the intertidal area, where we will hope to find our main target bird, the majestic, monotypic Crab-plover. There will be numerous other shorebirds, gulls, and terns possible during the day, and we will also visit the Narara Marine National Park. The supporting cast to Crab-plover may include Terek Sandpiper, Red-necked Phalarope, Pied Avocet, Ruff, Curlew Sandpiper, Marsh Sandpiper, Common Greenshank, Kentish Plover, Eurasian Oystercatcher, Broad-billed Sandpiper, Eurasian Curlew, Eurasian Whimbrel, Bar-tailed Godwit, Pallas’s Gull, Lesser Crested Tern, Little Tern, Black-bellied Tern, and Western Reef Heron, as well as a whole lot more.

Other birds possible in the area include Greater Flamingo, Lesser Flamingo, Painted Stork, Indian Spot-billed Duck, Black-necked Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Sykes’s Lark, Sand Lark, Osprey, Graceful Prinia, Desert Wheatear, and Long-billed Pipit.

Overnight: Jamnagar

The monotypic Crab-plover at Jamnagar will be a major tour highlight.

Day 9. Jamnagar to Gir National Park

We will leave Jamnagar this morning and make our way to Gir National Park. Most of the day will be spent on the road and we plan to arrive in the afternoon for some birding within our hotel grounds. Some of the bird possibilities for the afternoon include Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher, Asian Green Bee-eater, Plum-headed Parakeet, Indian Paradise Flycatcher, Yellow-footed Green Pigeon, River Tern, Pied Kingfisher, Common Kingfisher, Yellow Bittern, Black-headed Cuckooshrike, Tawny-bellied Babbler, Indian White-eye, and Clamorous Reed Warbler.

Overnight: Sasan Gir

Day 10. Gir National Park

Gir National Park is a rich mix of dry deciduous forests, acacia scrub, and grassland, fed by rivers and reservoirs. Mammals will be a big focus of our time here; Gir is the last stronghold of the Asiatic Lion and we will be looking for it. Other mammals possible here include Indian Leopard, Sambar, Chital (Spotted Deer), Nilgai, Wild Boar, Four-horned Antelope (Chousingha) ̶ the world’s only four-horned antelope, and Chinkara (Indian Gazelle). As we are driving around looking for mammals we likely will also spot some interesting birds, such as Indian Stone-curlew, Yellow-wattled Lapwing, Bonelli’s Eagle, White-eyed Buzzard, Laggar Falcon, Painted Sandgrouse, Marshall’s Iora, Brown-capped Pygmy Woodpecker, Yellow-crowned Woodpecker, Crested Treeswift, Indian Scops Owl, Spotted Owlet, Jungle Nightjar, Plum-headed Parakeet, Rufous Treepie, and Tawny-bellied, Yellow-eyed, Jungle, and Large Grey Babblers.

Overnight: Sasan Gir

Hopefully we will find Indian Leopard in Gir National Park.

Day 11. Gir National Park to Blackbuck National Park

We will spend the morning birding Gir National Park in search of any targets that we may have missed over the previous days and transfer to Blackbuck National Park in the afternoon in anticipation of a full day of birding this wonderful park tomorrow.

Overnight: Blackbuck National Park

Day 12. Blackbuck National Park

We will spend the day birding Blackbuck National Park (Velavadar) and the local area. Here we could see Grey Wolf, Blackbuck, Jungle Cat, Indian Fox, and Golden Jackal during the day, but the birds are likely to take center stage here with the likes of Sirkeer Malkoha, Painted Francolin, Chestnut-bellied and Spotted Sandgrouse, Rufous-tailed, Crested, and Sykes’s Larks, and Desert and Variable Wheatears. This area is excellent for raptors, and during the day we will be on the lookout for Short-toed Snake Eagle, Tawny Eagle, Steppe Eagle, Eastern Imperial Eagle, Greater Spotted Eagle, Indian Spotted Eagle, Laggar Falcon, Eurasian Hobby, Red-necked Falcon, White-eyed Buzzard, Long-legged Buzzard, Black-winged Kite, and more.

Overnight: Blackbuck National Park

Greater Spotted Eagle is one of the many raptor species we might encounter in Blackbuck National Park.

Day 13. Blackbuck National Park to Ahmedabad

After a final morning birding in Blackbuck National Park, maybe bettering our views of some of the above birds, we will transfer to Ahmedabad, where we will arrive in the evening. We will take our final group evening meal of the trip together and try and decide on a bird and mammal of the trip; it won’t be an easy task!

Overnight: Ahmedabad

Day 14. Departure from Ahmedabad

There may be time for an optional city tour to see historical sites such as the Adalaj Stepwell and the Hutheesing Jain Temple (cost not included), depending on your international departure, as the tour concludes.

Another set of options would be to join us on our short (four days) Birding Tour India: The West – Forest Owlet Extension after a short flight to Mumbai. Incredibly, this small, diurnal owl was considered extinct for over 100 years! To further extend your stay in India a bit longer why not consider our Birding Tour India: The Northeast – Spectacular Birds and Mammals – there are so many birding and wildlife-watching options available.

Please note that the itinerary cannot be guaranteed as it is only a rough guide and can be changed (usually slightly) due to factors such as availability of accommodation, updated information on the state of accommodation, roads, or birding sites, the discretion of the guides, and other factors. In addition, we sometimes have to use a different guide from the one advertised due to tour scheduling or other factors.

Northwest India: Trip Report

12-26 February 2025

By  Chris Lotz

(Indian) Grey Wolf near the end of our tour.

Overview

This was a private version of our standard set departure Gujarat birding tour. It was a wonderfully successful trip, with many bird and mammal highlights. Some of the star birds we encountered were Sociable Lapwing, Indian Courser, Grey Hypocolius, huge numbers of Demoiselle and Common Cranes, large flocks of Rosy Starlings, Indian Skimmer, Crab-plover and a lot of other shorebirds and waterbirds, sandgrouse including close-up Painted Sandgrouse, Painted Francolin,many raptors and owls, White-naped Tit and a lot more.

Mammals were, as always, outstanding. Two of the famous animals of Gujarat showed really well: Lion (Gir National Park is the only place in Asia where these animals still lurk) and Blackbuck. We also got superb views of (Indian) Grey Wolf, a number of Jungle Cats including some kittens, three Striped Hyenas, Asiatic Wild Ass,and a number of antelope species such as the strange-looking Nilgai.

Grey Hypocolius was a major target on this tour.

Detailed Report

Day 1, 12^th February 2025. Arrival in Ahmedabad

After arriving in Gujarat earlier, the tour officially started when Tim and I met for a delicious buffet of fine Indian food for dinner this evening. We excitedly discussed the coming days of bird and mammal watching.

Day 2, 13^th February 2025. Ahmedabad to the Little Rann of Kutch via Nal Sarovar

We left the hotel early so we could get to the amazing Nal Sarovar Bird Sanctuary area at daybreak. When we arrived at dawn, we were rewarded with thousands of flying, calling, and landing Demoiselle and Common Cranes, and a few Sarus Cranes. What an atmospheric experience, with beautiful sights and sounds! It did not take us very long to find our main target, Sociable Lapwing, which showed extremely well. Many other superb birds were in attendance. These included Grey Francolin, a few vocal but unseen Common Quails, three ibis species, many herons and egrets, luminously colorful Asian Green Bee-eaters, many Rosy Starlings,along with a few Brahminy Starlings, and many Tree Pipits.

We saw the Critically Endangered Sociable Lapwing close-up!

Larks were on the agenda and we managed to find Sykes’s Lark, Hume’s (Short-toed) Lark, Greater Short-toed Lark (thousands of them), a Rufous-tailed Lark, and Ashy-headed Sparrow-lark. A few Isabelline Wheatears were around. A beautifully plumaged Bay-backed Shrike and a few Long-tailed Shrikes were good to see. A couple of Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse flew over.

On one of our stops, we found a lot of Red-headed Buntings and one Black-headed Bunting coming to drink, Black-breasted Weavers, Paddyfield Pipit, Western Yellow Wagtail, Bank Myna and many other species.

Birds of prey abounded this morning and we saw Shikra, Common Kestrel, Montagu’s Harrier, Western Marsh Harrier, Greater Spotted Eagle (later we’d also see a Short-toed Snake Eagle after checking in to our lodge) and Black-winged Kite.

In the afternoon, we took our first of four open safari vehicle sessions to the Little Rann of Kutch and were not disappointed! We saw our first Asiatic Wild Asses and Nilgai, and we recorded 72 bird species this afternoon, so we were kept busy! There were tons of Lesser and Greater Flamingoes, many Great White Pelicans and a few Dalmatian Pelicans, and large numbers of Eurasian Spoonbills, Painted and White Storks. Shorebirds were numerous, and included Temminck’s Stints, Ruffs, Common Greenshanks, Marsh Sandpipers, Black-tailed Godwits, a Wood Sandpiper, Black-winged Stilts and Pied Avocets. We also found four gull species and four tern species (see the bird list at the end of this report for full details of all the species we saw). A few Grey-headed Swamphens lurked around. Wildfowl came in the form of Indian Spot-billed Ducks, Eurasian Teals, Eurasian Wigeons Northern Shovelers, and Greylag Geese.

A Delicate Prinia displayed around us as we watched the waterbirds. Larks were also much in evidence, and we added Sand Lark and Crested Lark to our growing list of them.  We also found Long-billed and Tawny Pipits. A Eurasian Hoopoe foraged around on the ground; it is always a delight to lay eyes on this spectacular bird.

A beautiful and close-up Desert Wheatear posed for Tim’s camera, and duller Isabelline Wheatears were also around. An Isabelline Shrike also showed itself. Many Purple and a couple of Purple-rumped Sunbirds were ever-active, as sunbirds always are. Asian Green Bee-eaters provided dazzling splashes of color.

Raptors were wonderful (as they were in the morning). We scoped a beautiful Indian Spotted Eagle, a couple of Greater Spotted Eagles,and an immature and adult Eastern Imperial Eagle, the majestic adult showing absolutely beautifully. A Eurasian Sparrowhawk gave a brief flight view. We ended the day with quite close views of a day roosting Short-eared Owl.

All in all this was a super-amazing first day! Wow!

Day 3, 14^th February 2025. A full day birding the Little Rann of Kutch

This morning, we bravely tried for two rare birds, Asian Houbara and Greater Hoopoe-lark, in an area further from our hotel. We were unsuccessful, but nevertheless thoroughly enjoyed our visit to this moon landscape like area, much of which is vegetation-less. We did enjoy seeing a number of species we’d already seen the previous day.

The afternoon session (back to the same area we visited the previous afternoon), was again highly productive. We saw a lot of the same waterbirds as the day before, along with a really close-up Bluethroat that Tim photographed. We scoped a flock of beautiful Small Pratincoles. A shining Common Kingfisher posed well. At one point, a really close-up Eastern Imperial Eagle took off and flushed three Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse, which we then drove towards and got good views of as they hunkered on the ground. A couple of superb male Montagu’s Harriers and good numbers of Western Marsh Harriers quartered low over the desert. A Eurasian Hoopoe again put in an appearance, and Crested Larks showed ridiculously close-up. A couple of Bay-backed Shrikes also showed very well. Rufous-fronted, Jungle and (again) Delicate Prinias all put on shows. A Sykes’s Warbler was new for the trip. We saw a huge but distant murmuration of Rosy Starlings.

This was, again, another really enjoyable day.

Day 4, 15^th February 2025. A second full day of birding the Little Rann of Kutch

This morning we headed back to our “usual” area (the Bajana Creek area of the Little Rann of Kutch), but still managed to add some solid new birds to our list. These included a large number of Kentish Plovers (a few of them in breeding plumage), a couple of Little Stints, a massive Pallas’s Gull, an Osprey, an overflying Red-necked Falcon, and a co-operative Eastern Orphean Warbler. We also got superb views of some species we’d seen previously, such as Rosy Starling, a couple of Indian Spotted Eagles, an immature Eastern Imperial Eagle, and a lot of others.

Sunrise over the Little Rann of Kutch this morning.

This afternoon we headed to Nava Talav, a great wetland birding site and also part of the Little Rann of Kutch. On the way, we stopped to look at a duller male and a much more strikingly marked female Greater Painted-snipe. We also saw our first Common Moorhen of the trip. After a while, we reached Nava Talav, where we recorded 86 bird species during our 2.5 hour session. There were masses of wildfowl, with especially large numbers of Gadwalls, Northern Shovelers, and Eurasian Teals. We also saw smaller numbers of Indian Spot-billed Ducks, Garganeys, Ferruginous Ducks, Tufted Ducks, a Common Pochard, a Eurasian Wigeon and a Ruddy Shelduck. There were a few Dalmatian Pelicans in breeding plumage with spectacular orange-red pouches. We saw some new shorebirds for the trip in the form of Pacific Golden Plovers, a Little Ringed Plover, and two very long-legged White-tailed Lapwings.We thoroughly enjoyed seeing close-up, jewel-like Common Kingfishers, along with frequently hovering Pied Kingfishers, and ubiquitous but colorful White-throated Kingfishers. Warblers were good, and included a vocal but elusive Clamorous Reed Warbler, a Blyth’s Reed Warbler, a few Booted Warblers, and a Common Chiffchaff.An Ashy Prinia also gave quite good views. One of the top birds of this afternoon birding session was a Eurasian Wryneck in the scrub along the embankment we were walking on. We enjoyed seeing two more Bluethroats, a couple of Indian Robins,and a number of Greater Coucals. We found our first Citrine Wagtail among various other wagtail species we’d already seen before.

Day 5, 16^th February 2025. Little Rann of Kutch to Great Rann of Kutch and initial birding

After a nice breakfast, we started our six hour drive to the Great Rann of Kutch. We were very pleased to find a few Indian Coursers along the way. These, however, got flushed by a Eurasian Sparrowhawk after a little while. A bit later, we spotted a pale phase Booted Eagle and stopped for it, getting good views of this small eagle.

After checking in at our hotel and having a late lunch, we birded the property and adjacent areas a bit. We got very good views of a pair of Marshall’s Ioras, four Grey-breasted Prinias, a Greenish Warbler, a Red-breasted Flycatcher,a couple of Indian Peafowls, some Greater Coucals, a Crested Honey Buzzard, a Long-legged Buzzard, and a beautiful Black-naped Monarch.

We then drove to a nearby area where we enjoyed seeing and spending some time photographing four more Indian Coursers, two Common Woodshrikes, an Eastern Red-rumped Swallow, a pair of Indian Robins, and a flock of seven Yellow-throated Sparrows.

As we arrived back at the hotel, we saw an Indian Roller and an Indian Bush Lark. After dinner, we did a short session of owling and found two Spotted Owlets.

We were pleased to see quite a few Indian Coursers very well during this tour.

Day 6, 17^th February 2025. A full day birding the Great Rann of Kutch

We left at 6.30 am with a packed breakfast and it was still dark, so we looked for nightjars in the road and were very pleased to see a Sykes’s Nightjar. We then proceeded to the Banni Grassland area where we birded several sites. We saw a couple of beautiful Golden Jackals which are in the same genus as dogs, wolves and coyotes, rather than other jackals. One of them was having a bath in a pond, awesome! We also saw an Indian Desert Jird.Bird-wise, we saw our main target, Grey Hypocolius, very well and without too much effort. This is the only member of its family and, being localized and sometimes thin on the ground, it is one of the main targets on any winter Gujarat birding tour. There was a great supporting cast of other birds, including the nice-looking Sirkeer Malkoha, a couple of personality-filled Yellow-eyed Babblers, beautiful Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse, many Common Cranes (quite a delight to see here in the desert, looking just as at home here as they do in England – Norfolk – where I live), some Montagu’s Harriers, two close-up and showy Marshall’s Ioras, a Plain Prinia, the desert subspecies of Lesser Whitethroat, and some more Yellow-throated Sparrows.

In the general area, we also found a good number of Variable Wheatears and an Asian Desert Warbler. On the way back to our hotel for lunch, we found our first Yellow-wattled Lapwing, Indian Cormorant, and Oriental Darter for the trip. We also saw a couple more Long-legged Buzzards.

This afternoon, we headed to the Fort Mahadev Scrub Forest, stopping for a Crested Serpent Eagle and Eurasian Sparrowhawk en route. The scrub forest was awesome as we saw our major target, White-naped Tit, along with other excellent birds, such as Grey-necked Bunting, very well. There were a number of Small Minivets, Baya Weavers, and other new trip birds around here as well.

Day 7, 18^th February 2025. A second full day birding the Great Rann of Kutch

This was another amazing day even though we didn’t add many new trip birds or mammals. We did start the day with an Indian Nightjar in the road, which then put on a display for us, flying over the road and vocalizing. We continued to a wetland area where we spent most of the morning. Birding was immensely enjoyable, but we did not manage to find the crakes we were hoping for. We did obtain much better views of a few species we’d previously seen.

After lunch and a heat of the day rest, we headed to an area for Painted Sandgrouse and, at record speed, found a pair of them right next to the road, posing beautifully for amazing looks and photos. This gave us bonus time and we used this to bird around a temple area where there were masses of Indian Peafowls and a family group of ten Wild Boars! Birding in this general area was very productive but again did not generate anything new. It proved a very rewarding and enjoyable afternoon, though.

The male Painted Sandgrouse we saw.

Day 8, 19^th February 2025. The Great Rann of Kutch to Jamnagar

While this was largely a travel day, we did manage to fit in a couple of nice birding sessions. And, near the start of our journey, we managed to see a beautiful male Pallid Harrier flying along the road for quite some time so that we could follow it. We also stopped along the roadside to look at some nice mammals – an Indian Grey Mongoose and a few Nilgais. Much further into our drive, we stopped at a wetland site and found around 70 species in 1.5 hours. These included a couple of new trip birds such as Whiskered Tern, Pheasant-tailed Jacana, and (briefly) Bronze-winged Jacana. There were a lot of birds here that we’d seen before, including a bunch of Demoiselle Cranes alongside larger numbers of Common Cranes, three kingfisher species, and many other species. An Asian Palm Swift was a surprise in this area, and we also saw various hirundines, such as Grey-throated Martins.

After arriving at and checking into our Jamnagar hotel, we went to Lakhota Lake where we experienced a wonderful sunset with murmurations of Rosy Starlings, as well as a lot of other birds like Rose-ringed Parakeets coming in to roost. The only new trip bird here, though, was an Asian Koel. We did enjoy seeing four tern species, three kingfisher species, lots of Knob-billed Ducks and other waterfowl, and various other birds we had seen earlier in the tour. We were also very pleased to see some Indian Flying Foxes.

Day 9, 20^th February 2025. A full day of birding around Jamnagar

This morning we birded Dhinchada Lake, accumulating 102 bird species in less than three hours of birding. We found about a dozen individuals of our main target, Indian Skimmer, which showed well as they rested on islands, and at times flew a bit, occasionally skimming. We managed to see a couple of other new trip birds as well, like Asian Openbill, and we also “upgraded” our views of some birds we’d seen before, including spectacular views of Garganeys, as just one example. Huge black-headed Pallas’s Gulls, two pelican species and two flamingo species in perfect light, were further of the many highlights of this morning’s session.

In the afternoon, we headed to Sachana Beach. Our main aim here was to find Crab-plovers and we did very well, with a large flock of these beautiful, unmistakable, pied waders. We spent 2.5 hours with these awesome birds until the sun set (a beautiful experience here). The Crab-plovers gradually came closer and closer to us as the tide came in. There were tons of other shorebirds, terns, etc., including a few that were new for the trip, like Terek Sandpiper, Tibetan Sand Plover, Greater Sand Plover, Eurasian Whimbrel, Grey Plover, and Lesser Crested Tern. A couple of Common Tailorbirds, some Indian White-eyes, and a Bluethroat were in the bushes near the car.

We enjoyed waiting for the sunset with Crab-plovers.

A few majestic male Nilgais came out of the forest onto the beach for a while, also joined by a camel! Just before sunset, a Wild Boar ran across the beach, much to the amusement of a dog that was barking at it.

Day 10, 21^st February 2025. Jamnagar to Gir National Park

Today was very exciting as we headed to the only remaining home of Lions outside of Africa, Gir National Park! On the way to the park, we went past the impressive Girnar, an ancient hill and the site of Asia’s longest ropeway (see here for more details). We arrived at our comfortable lodge adjacent to the park for a scrumptious lunch and then headed into the park. It did not take us long to see some Asiatic Lions as we traversed the teak forests. There were good numbers of other mammals around, like Chital (Spotted Deer), Sambar, Wild Boars, and Bengal Sacred Langurs (Northern Plains Grey Langurs).

Bird-wise, we also had a lot of fun. A Shikra, a Common Iora, a couple of Cinereous Tits, and several other bird species were around the park entrance gate as we waited for our paperwork to get processed.Once we entered the park, the avian highlight was seeing several stunningly beautiful Plum-headed Parakeets (along with many more Rose-ringed Parakeets). There were many Indian Peafowls around, as well as our first Spotted Doves for the trip. A White-browed Fantail sat on top of a Chital’s (Spotted Deer’s)back. Indian Jungle Crows were numerous. A couple of Grey Wagtails were along a river.

Day 11, 22^nd February 2025. A full day in Gir National Park

Our morning birding/game drive was spectacular! A Forest Wagtail provided great views as it walked around in the dappled shade and, at one point, flew up onto a stick. While it was still quite dark, a Jungle Nightjar flew up onto a branch and we got great views (and heard it calling once) as it got lighter. We spent quite a lot of time stationary here, as birds were all around us, including a mixed flock mobbing what must have been a snake in the fallen leaves on the ground (we only saw the movement of this). The mobbing birds included a truly magnificent white morph male Indian Paradise Flycatcher at extremely close quarters, two Black-rumped Flamebacks (these spectacular woodpeckers were right next to the ground near us) and a bunch of Jungle Babblers. There were a lot of other good birds around the general area as well, including a few Tawny-bellied Babblers,a Common Iora,a Common Woodshrike, a White-browed Fantail,some Small Minivets,and a Western Crowned Warbler.

We then continued our drive through the park, getting brief views of an Indian Cuckooshrike and a Yellow-footed Green Pigeon, and more prolonged views of a couple of Indian Stone-curlews. Eagles and owls were amazing as we continued our journey. We got extremely close-up views of a Crested Serpent Eagle,which we could compare with a beautifully long-crested Changeable Hawk-Eagle that we also saw. An incredibly cute Spotted Owlet and a wonderfully-marked Mottled Wood Owl, lying seemingly uncomfortably in a hole in a stump, were true highlights.  

We returned to the hotel for a delicious breakfast and then did some “campus birding” around the lodge grounds. The two new trip birds we added to our tour bird list during this session, were Pale-billed and Thick-billed Flowerpeckers.

After lunch and a bit of a rest during the heat of the day, we embarked on an afternoon game drive. New trip birds came in the form of White-eyed Buzzard and a gorgeous male Ultramarine Flycatcher.

After this game drive, we decided to ask to be let out of the vehicle so we could walk the last 800 yards to our hotel, and we were richly rewarded. A couple of attractively patterned female Asian Koels showed themselves nicely, as did a new trip bird in the form of a White-browed Wagtail. We also enjoyed seeing some Mugger Crocodiles.

Mammals were great again today, and included Golden Fox and several Lion sightings, among a lot more.

A majestic pair of Asiatic Lions.

Day 12, 23^rd February 2025. Morning at Gir, then drive to Blackbuck National Park

We had another fabulous game/birding drive this morning, enjoying some more close-up experiences with Lions and various other good mammals. We also added a pair of Brown-crowned Pygmy Woodpeckers to our constantly growing bird list. After this, we did some relaxing birding around our hotel, had lunch, and then drove to the Blackbuck National Park with much excitement.

Day 13, 24^th February 2025. A full day in Blackbuck National Park, Velavadar

This was one of the most exciting mornings of the entire trip, mainly because of the exceptional mammals. After finding a Striped Hyena, we were soon distracted by a large herd of gorgeous Blackbucks running across the road, followed by an (Indian) Grey Wolf! We had great views of all three of these mammals. Soon afterwards, we got views of a Jungle Cat kitten, and then prolonged views of an adult Jungle Cat (although not in the jungle!).

Birding was also very exciting. One of the highlights was a family of close-up Barred Buttonquails walking around. A Eurasian Wryneck also showed at close quarters – awesome! A Short-toed Snake Eagle and a Steppe Eagle, along with various other raptors we’d previously seen, were further highlights. A Short-eared Owl hunted over the grassland. Bay-backed and Long-tailed Shrikes were all over the place. We saw four lark species, including Sykes’s Lark.

We then enjoyed a late breakfast back at our comfortable lodge. A couple of Rufous Treepies were hanging out in the lodge grounds, as were a few nice birds we’d seen earlier during the trip, such as Bluethroat, Common Kingfisher,and White-throated Kingfisher.

After a bit of a break during the heat of the day and lunch, we did another super-amazing afternoon game drive. We had the privilege of spending more time seeing two Striped Hyenas very well, and we also saw four Jungle Cats in two sightings, one sighting of a single cat, and the other of an adult with two kittens lurking around mischievously. We also enjoyed seeing majestic Nilgais and more Blackbucks. Bird-wise, we saw another close-up Eurasian Wryneck, a Eurasian Hoopoe dust-bathing, Red-headed Buntings (including nicely colorful males)coming in to drink at a pool, along with several lark species, about 30 Great White Pelicans and a Dalmation Pelican, and many other bird species. Birds of prey were (again) amazing and included a very close-by pair of Steppe Eagles, a Short-toed Snake Eagle that put on an amazing show (initially perched and then in flight, coming right over us at one point), and tens of harriers (Pallid, Montagu’s,and Western Marsh Harriers). We also enjoyed seeing a Spotted Owlet and the Short-eared Owl again.

A Grey Wolf chased these beautiful Blackbuck across the road!

Day 14, 25^th February 2025. A final morning in Blackbuck National Park before heading back to Ahmedabad

Our final morning in the Blackbuck National Park was amazing, to say the least! We got wonderful views of three Striped Hyenas,including a young one, a Grey Wolf scaring a large herd of Blackbucks close to the road again, another Jungle Cat, some Indian Hares and several other goodies. Bird-wise, the only new species we added was the elusive Painted Francolin, a superb bird which we saw well. All in all, it was a very enjoyable last morning of the trip, allowing us to admire and photograph things very nicely.

In the afternoon, we drove back to Ahmedabad, where the tour ended. We were very excited about the next leg of our journey, the Forest Owlet extension.

Bird List – Following IOC (version 14.2, August 2024)

Birds ‘heard only’ are marked with (H) after the common name, all other species were seen. The following notation after species names is used to show conservation status following BirdLife International: CR = Critically Endangered, EN = Endangered, VU = Vulnerable.

Mammal List – Following Mammal Watching (April 2024)

Reptile List – Following Reptiles of the World (October 2023)

This is a sample trip report. Please email us ([email protected]) for more trip reports from this destination.

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