Bird Heaven

Now I'm here at Keolado National Park, about a 4hr car ride south of Delhi. I'm working my way back, as my plane leaves in about 3 days. This is place is know as birder's heaven, and now I know why. It makes Greylodge look like a city park. There are 370 species of birds making

this National Park, winter's home. I spent the better part of two days in the park. I rented a bicycle for 50 rupees and had the hotel pack me a lunch. I just wandered around watching the birds, the only slight bummer was that the binoculars that I had sucked, but just sitting and watching a Painted Stork preen or step lightly through the marshy waters searching for food is a thrill. On the second day, after eating lunch, I laid down and went to sleep, waking in the full sun of early afternoon I remembered that the Pythons of the park like to lie in the sun also. Bee line to bike.................... During the rule of the Maharajahs and later the British, this was a duck hunting lodge. They have a painted monument outside the old Lodge with the names of the distinguished guests and the number of guns in the party, also listed is the number of birds killed. In Nov. 1938 the Viceroy came with 39 guns and shot 4,289 birds in one morning. Kinda blows your mind, eh?