Top 10 Spectacular Migratory Birds to Spot in India and Their Stunning Locations!

Embark on a thrilling journey to discover the incredible migratory birds to spot in India. It is a paradise for birdwatching enthusiasts. Explore the top destinations for migratory birds to spot in India and witness nature’s wonders in this ViewTraveling Blog post

Isn’t the bird beautiful? This is a Bar-headed Goose. They come in large numbers to India, to raise their family. Like this, hundreds of species of birds from various places in the world, migrate to India.

India is the migratory bird’s favorite winter escape.

The bird-watching season has started in India. It will last until March end.

Do you know there are numerous tour operators in the United States who bring wildlife enthusiasts and bird-watching lovers to India from November to March? I will come to that at the end of this post.

I am sure, the regular birders are fully aware of which migratory birds to spot and where to watch them in India.

This post is targeted at newcomers to the bird-watching hobby. Not only do Indians go to numerous bird sanctuaries in India but, also people from various Asian countries visit India to watch the alien birds…

Bird reserves are spread across the country in almost all the states. I am happy to share my knowledge of several migratory birds that come to India. I will also briefly mention where to spot the migratory birds in India.

Top 10 Spectacular Migratory Birds to Spot in India and Their Stunning Locations!

Furthermore, I will begin with the Bar-headed Goose.

1. Bar-headed Geese.

They are attractively multicolored. The body and wings are greyish-white. You can observe two stripes on their head. They are in black. Their bills and webbed feet are invariably pink. Some subspecies sport, yellow feet and beaks,

They come from colder regions in China, and Tibet. Flying over the high Himalayas, they settle around freshwater lakes that are located in the high Himalayan Mountains.

In addition, they can be seen in marshlands and wetlands where abundant prey for them is available.

In the state of Orissa, the Chilika Lake attracts the bar-headed Geese. The lake receives water from as many as 52 water bodies such as rivers, and streams.

The best place to watch the bar-headed Geese in Orissa is Puri. Puri is one of the most sacred towns in India. Khorda town is another place.

Chilika Lake comprises over 1,100 sq. km area. It is a coastal lagoon. The lake is ranked number 2 in the list of top 10 large coastal lagoons in the world.

Chilika Lake is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

For those living in South India, Koothankulam bird sanctuary is where they can see the bar-headed geese. It is located near the city of Tirunelveli. This is a Ramsar Site that indicates it is a birding area.

Here are some more places in India to capture these exquisite birds on camera.

• Two more towns in Tamilnadu include the Pulicat Lake near Chennai City, and Pallikaranai marshes in Chennai city itself.
• Tai Chapar Wldlife Sanctuary near Bikaner, Rajasthan State.

Here is an amazing fact about the bar-headed Geese. The duck can fly as high as 25,000+ feet height! In addition, they can fly very long distances.

For example, Koothankulam Bird Sanctuary in Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu is located at a mind-boggling, 9000 km from their native home ground.

2. Greater Flamingo 

You should keenly watch them when they amble across a water body. Greater Flamingos are such elegant walkers.

With their bony legs stretched fully horizontally, they look striking in flight.

Man, look at their wing span. You cannot take your eyes off this migratory bird.

They take off from Africa and Europe.

After flying thousands of kilometers, they settle down near saline marshes, and lakes that abut the Bay of Bengal, and the Arabian Sea.

Rann of Kutch in Gujarat is one of the top places in India to watch the Greater Flamingos.

In addition to the pink flamingos, you can spot Grey Hypocolius, Greater Coucal, and River Tern. The salt marshes provide ample prey to these home and migratory birds.

I have seen their flocks in the water bodies in Nellore, Andhra Pradesh. Moreover, the Pulicat Lake near Chennai is also their favorite place to hunt and rest.

This is a scene in Pulicat Lake. The lake drains into the Bay of Bengal. Chilika Lake in Orissa is another favorite ground for them.

3. Common Teal

What a sight! The Common Teal looks almost like a Mandarin Duck.

Common Teal is also known as Eurasian Teal. They migrate from North America, Siberia, Africa, and Eastern Europe.

Where to spot Common Teal in India?

The Chilika Lake is again the front-runner. It seems it is one of the top places in India to spot migratory water birds.

Nal Sarovar Bird Sanctuary near Ahmedabad, Gujarat is an ideal place to take photos of the stunning ducks.

Apart from a large lake, a marshland also exists, which is a great habitat for both land and aquatic birds.

4. Demoiselle Crane

These beauties belong to North China, Mongolia, and the region near the Black Sea. They fly nearly, 3700 km from the area near Black Sea to come to Rajasthan.

Inexplicably, the Demoiselle Cranes come only to the Khichan Bird Sanctuary, despite the presence of other bird reserves in Rajasthan.

Where to watch Demoiselle Crane in India?

There is a bird sanctuary in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. It is known as Khichan Bird Sanctuary.  In fact, Jaisalmer is not near the sanctuary. You have to travel 170 km east.

Phalodi, a small town that lies just 4 km near the sanctuary, is the closest railway link.

If you want to fly near the place, you have to book a ticket to Jodhpur which is still, 150 km away from the Khichan Bird Reserve, in the northeast direction.

5. Ruddy Shelduck

Ruddy Shelduck migrates from Eastern Europe, and also from North Africa. I guess the North African nativity forces the bird to come to India during Indian winter because North Africa is generally hot in the daytime.

Places in India to watch

They generally like to live near the alpine lakes in the Himalayan states in North India.

Rajasthan also gets very cold in December and January, and that climate suits the Ruddy Shelduck.

Chilika Lake is also visited by these ducks.

Chandra Tall is an alpine lake in Spiti Valley. The altitude of the lake is approximately 14,000 feet!

6. Mallard Duck

Obviously, the green-headed duck is the male of the pair. They migrate from Eurasia and South America.

I have seen, in video clips, the diving of the young chicks into a water body from a height of more than 30 feet. The bird’s nest was in a tall tree, on the banks of a lake.

Where to spot the Mallard Ducks in India?

• Chilika Lake, Orissa
• Keoladeo Ghana Nationa Park which is more popularly called the Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary, Bharatpur, Rajasthan. It is closeer to the famous sacred town of Mathura in Uttar Pradesh than Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan,
• Sultanpur National Park, near Gurgaon, Haryana. It is located just 30 km southwest of the Indian capital New Delhi.
• Pong Dam Lake alias Maharana Pratap Sagar.  It is actually a reservoir in Fatehpur, Himachal Pradesh. By train, you need to go to Pathankot Cantonment. From here, the Mallard Ducks can be seen 70 km away from where the Pong Dam Reservoir is built.
• Nal Saravar Bid Sanctuary, 65 km from Ahmedabad, Gujarat

With so many choices of destination, we should not miss a chance to these strikingly beautiful Mallard Ducks that migrate to India from 1000s km away.

7. Pied Avocet

What an elegant bird! Its strait gait is noticeable. Look at its curvaceous beak! They migrate from Central Europe and Central Asia. They spend their winter either in East Africa or North India.

Where to spot the Pied Avocet in India?

Apart from most of the previously mentioned destinations in India including Chilika Lake, and Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary, you can spot them in Okhla Bird Sanctuary. Noida Township, near New Delhi.

8. Common Redshank

It’s another wader type of bird, with lovely orange legs. This migratory bird too has a distinct straight gait.

The bird is a native of much of the European countries, including the United Kingdom.

Where to spot Common Redshank in India?

It is a ‘repeat’ folks.

• Nal Sariovar Bird Sanctuary
• Okhla Bird Preserve
• Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary
• Chilika Lake
• Pong Dam Lake

9. Black-tailed Godwit

Here is a change, finally. This wader migrates to India from Iceland. Some flocks also come from Siberia.

Where to spot Black-Tailed Godwit in India?

Here also, a new location surfaces. It’s the Veeranam Lake in Kattumannar kovil, Tamilnadu.

My God! What a long flight it had to take! It is roughly 9500 km!

There are two more new destinations you have to go to if you want to see Black-tailed Godwit.

• Bhitarkanika Wilflife Preserve, Chandbali, Orissa
• Wild Ass Sanctuary, Rann of Kutch, Gujarat.

Have you ever seen the Wild Ass?

Here it is.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/33/Asiatic_Wild_Ass.jpeg/426px-Asiatic_Wild_Ass.jpeg

It is so different from the lazy donkey that we are used to seeing, standing desolately in the middle of a street.

10. Northern Shoveler

So, here is one more, beautiful duck, that loves the Indian climate towards the end and the beginning of a year.

They migrate from Siberia, and North America.

Where to spot them in India?

All the top 3 bird sanctuaries in northern India are your destinations. I repeat them below.

• Chilika Lake
• Nal Sarovar Bird Sanctuary
• Bharatpur forests

These 10 birds are among the top migratory birds that visit India during Indian winter.

Here is a list of U.S.-based tour operators that bring bird-watching enthusiasts to India.

• India Footprint

Here is an exclusive tour operator in the United States that takes bird watchers to India.  Their destinations include forests, and national parks apart from bird sanctuaries in India.

• Comfort Bird Tours

The western ghat in India is one of the terrific sites to spot hundreds of birds. They take you to such hill stations along with the above-mentioned destinations for migratory birds.

You can see the Great Indian Bustard in their logo on their website.

• Pugdundee Safari

Here is an Indian safari specialist. I saw their website. You can expect to stay in a treehouse during your birding expedition.

I am sure you can unearth more U.S.-based birding tours to India.

With meticulous planning, your bird-watching tour to India can be an unforgettable experience.