Burrapahar range, Kaziranga National Park
After 2 days of Central, Western and Eastern range, we decided to explore the other parts of Kaziranga. It was the. It is farther from other ranges of Kaziranga, so we had to leave quite early to make it there. But unfortunately out jeep broke down while we had driven a few kms. So our driver had to drop us somewhere on the road, go back and get another jeep. It took some time, but was still okay. While driving on the highway, we saw a Malayan Giant Squirrel (Ratufa bicolor). It was on top of a tree skulking there.
Malayan Giant Squirrel (Ratufa bicolor)
Malayan Giant Squirrel (Ratufa bicolor)
When we reached the Burrapahar forest office, there were hardly any visitors there. Probably not many people visit this place. The forest is dense and wild comprising of both thick forests and grassland. On one side, there is the Bramhaputra river too. We got 2 more sightings of the Malayan Giant Squirrel inside the Burrapahar forest. We stopped the jeep when we reached the Bramhaputra river bank. This river is so vast. We walked along the bank looking for birds. The view was really beautiful. There were birds calling out from all sides, some of them I couldn’t even identify. There were River Dolphins which we could occasionally see creating ripples. On the rocks by the bank, we saw a few turtles too. Our guide said that it was the Indian Tent Turtle. There were pied kingfishers , River Lapwings, Grey-headed Canary Flycatcher, Black-hooded Oriole, call of the White-rumped Shama and many others . I spent quite some time watching the River Lapwing. We could see the Otters den all along the bank. When we walked along, we also saw a recent pugmark of a tiger. More than anything, we enjoyed the habitat. The butterflies were in plenty mostly unknown to me.
Bramhaputra
Turtles
Pied Kingfishers and the River Lapwing
Tiger pugmark
River Lapwing
Otter’s footprints
Grey-headed Canary Flycatcher - Common in South India too
The vast Bramhaputra
After a while, we decided to explore the other parts of the park. It was much drier than other parts of the park. Infact the forest dept was carrying out controlled burning too. There were Rhinos and saw a lot of Spot-billed Ducks by a water body. There wasn’t much to see otherwise, but to be in the Burrapahar forest is a beautiful experience.
Controlled burning
Spot-billed Ducks
We headed back to the resort for lunch and decided to go back to the western range in the afternoon where we briefly got to see the rare Swamp Francolins.
Water Buffalo
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