The word grasslands conjure up images of waist high grass like in the Savannah and deer and other animals playing hide and seek..... But the Bhigwan “grasslands” is actually a plateau, with rocks strewn around and barely an inch of grass and an occasional tree!
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| Kadbandwadi plateau |
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| Indian coursers all over |
And yet this area promises a unique birding experience
Those who have heard of Bhigwan would know it better for the vast lake created by the Ujani dam on the floodplains of the Bhima River in 1980, and consequent backward inundation.
Since Nature never likes to let any vacuum remain, the once lush farmland soon began teeming with fish. Where fish exist, birds can't be far behind.
The credit for bringing this area on the birding map certainly goes to some of the enterprising members of the Kumbhargaon village mainly Sandeep Nagare.
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| Lush farmland along the Bhigwan Lake |
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| Bhigwan lake |
As the visits of birders and photographers increased, it was realised that the large swathes of fallow land on the nearby plateaus, which was seemingly unproductive, was actually harbouring a number of scrubland species of birds and the occasional wolf and hyena.
Spurred by the prosperity that the wetland birding was bringing to the villagers, the Kadbandwadi grassland safari concept came into being. It is located south east of the Bhigwan lake in the area of the Kadbanwadi, Kalas & Vithalwadi villages.
Initially having been left out of the action, the forest department jumped in later and gave legitimacy and some order to the birding safaris which were happening on forest land.
The Kadbandwadi safari makes you realize what off roading actually means since walking is not allowed in this grassland and the entire birding happens from closed SUVs. We were informed by our expert guide cum driver that the birds are completely at ease with the presence of the SUVs and tend to come very close to the vehicle. We were literally surrounded by Indian coursers, bush larks, and several Gazelles (Chital). The moment someone tries to get out of the vehicle, they just scoot!
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| Indian gazelle (Chital) |
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| Indian courser |
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| Bay backed shrike |
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| Indian bushlark |
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| Yellow wattled lapwing |
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| Chestnut bellied sandgrouse female |
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| Chestnut bellied sandgrouse male |
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| Eurasian collared dove |
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| Rock bush quail |
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| Painted sandgrouse |
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| Bay backed shrike |
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| Common hoppoe |
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| Yellow eyed babbler |
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| Grey francolin |
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| Sykes's lark |
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| Baya weaver |
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| Spotted owlet |
The driving therefore takes us over the roughest possible terrain and one develops a healthy respect for the Mahindra Scorpio, especially the tyres!
The land along the Bhima River and Bhigwan lake is extremely fertile and well irrigated. A variety of cash crops like sugarcane, dragon fruit, pomegranate and guava seem to flourish. The aware farmers have experimented with plantations like moringa on the drier parts of the plateau.
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| Aware and happy farmers |
We even saw a head of Agave. Maybe an experimental plantation with a view to produce Bhigwan Tequila in future! Bajra and other millets and sunflower are also grown on a large scale.
No wonder that the local farmers 'hut' is a two/ three storey fancy bungalow with a car, motorcycle and a tractor parked in the porch!
There were lot of corn fields but curiously they were being harvested when the cobs were very small. Turns out that the entire corn plant is itself used as cattle feed.
The Shirsuphal grassland safari is another similar plateau scrubland location located west of the Bhigwan lake including Gadikhel, Shirsuphal, Sablewadi & Parwadi villages. Named after the local deity, Shirsai Devi, this safari insists on a forest guide to accompany every vehicle. Just as one starts moving forward, the forest land ends and we enter a village with fields, temple and then more fields. It seems that the “forest area” is in multiple patches interspersed with habitation and even a giant solar farm.
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| Shirsuphal forest gate |
That notwithstanding, we got wonderful views of the rock bush quail, painted sandgrouse and the syces lark. The Black shouldered kites were seen hovering in good numbers. The majestic eagle owl, which initially was proving to be elusive, was located by one of the drivers who immediately informed everyone. This was apparently a new location but the view was excellent.
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| Brown crake |
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| Tricoloured munia |
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| Pheasant winged jacana breeding |
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| Wire tailed swallow pair |
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| Eurasian spoonbill with black winged stilts |
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| Red necked falcon |
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| Ashy crowned sparrow lark |
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| Indian Eagle Owl |
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Indian cormorant |
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| Daredevil drivers of Bhigwan |
The entire safari ecosystem is supported by only five SUV drivers who are excellent bird guides and spotters apart from their off-roading driving skills, which defy any manner of description and has to be experienced to be believed.
The search for the hyena however proved elusive and that led us next day to a location about 70 km southwards, close to the industrial town of Walchandnagar.
This location was “developed” by the Bhigwan guides after they heard of a hyena den in a cave on a hillock near this town. The animals were breeding and living here for quite some time and hence it became an “assured sighting” spot.
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| Striped hyena |
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| Kanifnath Temple hill base |
The next day we went to explore the area around the Kanifnath Temple. At the base of the hillock where the cultivable land gave way to hilly scrubland was where the white bellied minivet was found. The top of the hill, just short of the temple was also teeming with birdlife. An unpaved road on the other side actually led northwards into Pune from Undri side. A small temple down this track was where crested buntings came regularly and they were found today as well!
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| White bellied minivet |
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| Crested bunting |
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| Red avadavat |
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| Ashy prinia |
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| Indian crested lark |
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| Brown rock chat |
Local farmers had also set up shop to sell freshly harvested pea. The joy of buying produce directly from its grower cannot be described. Maybe that’s why the peas tasted especially sweet!
The last stop was the Shelar farm in the Parinche village famous for its sightings of the Vernal parrot (Lorikeet) hanging and having bajra. The fact is that bajra fields are everywhere and so are the parrots. But this particular patch of filed is overlooked by a hillock with dense forestation and a stream. This makes it easy for several species like red finch, muniyas and parrots to feast on the bajra to dash back into the safety of the forest area. When the owner was made aware of the value of this fortuitous accident of geography, he agreed to cultivate this patch and not harvest it. He now makes much more money by charging a small entry fee for the hordes of birders and photographers who flock here from all over the country!
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| Shelar farms at Parinchay village: The parrot studio |
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| Vernal hanging parrot (Indian Lorikeet) |
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| Common house sparrow |
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| Indian Robin |
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| Red vented bulbul |
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| Scaly breasted munia |
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| Rose finch |
The countryside in this part of Pune district consists of rich and varied farmlands cultivating sugarcane, millets, fruit and flowers, which are overlooked by grass covered plateaus. There are a good number of industrial pockets as well.
It is heartening to see that the average farmer is generally prosperous, happy, thankful to the almighty and so religiously undertakes the Pandharpur Yatra every year!
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Tour Operators: NatureIndia. https://natureindiatoursblog.wordpress.com
Camera: Nikon P900 and Oneplus Nord5
Travel tips:
1. Though many people from Pune make day trips to one of the plateaus, it’s convenient to stay for a night at Agnipankh homestay at Bhigwan lake. They take care of other things like entry permit etc. There is no option but to take one of the SUVs arranged by this or the other homestay. Risking your own vehicle on the grassland is not worth it.
2. There are a number of spiritually notable places in this area like Theur, Jejuri, Moregaon and Kanifnath, which may be of interest to those so inclined.
3. The highly recommended Mankar Dosa outlet at Saswad was really worth it.
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| The sponge butter Dosa |
