 |
| Painted Stork - Bhigwan, Pune |
The picture above sums up the birding trip to Bhigwan, Pune!
A huge water body formed by the Ujjani Dam off Bhigwan on the NH 65 Pune-Solapur highway is home to numerous wetland birds.
 |
| Bhigwan |
Bhigwan is about 230 km from Navi Mumbai, or about 100km from Pune, between Kurkumbh and Indapur, thus a night stay somewhere close is required.
There are small agri villages around that offer options for boating and stay. The stay though is rough and it’s better to put up at Pune (about 100 km) or Baramati (about 20 Km).
Hotel Khrishnasagar in Baramati on the Baramati-Bhigwan road turned out to be a good stay option – decent rooms and food. The road between Baramati and Bhigwan is decent and takes about half an hour to cover.
The planned itinerary of getting to Baramati by lunch, spending the evening at Bhigwan, coming back to Baramati for the night and then heading back to Bhigwan early next day worked well.
Explored the following villages:
Dhiksal – Dhiksal is on the north-west corner of the reservoir (GPS 18.314236, 74.787648). Turn left at the end of Bhigwan for Dhiksal. You can get on to the service road towards the end of the town before the flyover to take the left to Dhiksal. From Dhiksal take a right to get on to the road that cuts through the reservoir. This is a kucha road so it’s bumpy and dusty and is pretty busy with two wheelers and tractors ferrying sugarcane. (This was the first time I saw tractors with blaring sound systems!) A small village few kms down this kucha road offers boat rides (row boats) in the reservoir which cost Rs. 100/person or Rs. 700 if you want the boat to yourself.
 |
| Openbill Stork |
Kumbhargaon – This village is on the south bank of the reservoir. The approach is from the Pune-Solapur Highway ahead of Bhigwan (GPS 18.272359, 74.796240). Boats are available here.
 |
| Grey Heron |
Dalaj – This village is again on the south bank of the reservoir next to Kumbhargaon and can be approached via Kumbhargaon – turn right near the temple at Kumbhargaon or via a more adventurous kucha road from the Pune-Solapur highway – the left is marked with a sign board for “Dalaj No. 2” (GPS 18.265063, 74.804406). Boats are available here. The set up here looked a little more organized and has some tie up with MTDC – there is a stay option with a kitchen providing meals.
 |
| Painted Stork |
All of the above locations offer numerous birding options – just drive / walk across the fields to the bank of the reservoir for a look see. The boat rides are a good experience and it lets you get closer to the birds. On this particular day the flamingos were stationed closer to Dhiksal were the water is shallow. They really positioned themselves well as even the boats couldn't get close enough because of the shallow depth!
 |
| Flamingos |
The locals here have caught onto to city slickers coming here for an outing, some birding and photography. As soon as you get close to any of these locations you’re sure to be approached by ‘guides’ offering their services. Honestly, I was happy on my own!
 |
| Bhramini Duck |
 |
| Brown Headed Gull |
 |
| Glossy Ibis |
 |
| Black Headed Ibis |
 |
| Stilts |
Hotel Laxmi Dhabha at Bhigwan turned out to be great for bhakri, fried fish and fish curry – the local catch from the reservoir “Chilapi”.
 |
| Laxmi Dhaba, Bhigwan, on the left about 7-8 shops down the road to Dhiksal. |
 |
| Local catch - Chilapi |
