Summer Road Trip – National Chambal Sanctuary, Morena

In May 2013, we undertook a driving holiday to Uttarakhand from Bhopal. It was rather a long journey therefore the report is going to be long… but hopefully not tiresome.

National Chambal Sanctuary is headquartered at Morena (near Gwalior) and spans three states – Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. We were driving from Bhopal to Uttarakhand, we decided it was very much on to visit this sanctuary especially since we are very keen bird watchers and this place is most famous for the threatened Indian Skimmer. May I add that this was one bird I had wanted to see for a long time!

A little background on the National Chambal Sanctuary …
Ancient Indian texts refer to the Chambal as the Charmanyavati – originating from the blood of thousands of cows sacrificed by the Aryan King Rantideva. Its ‘unholy’ origins have certainly helped the Chambal survive and thrive untouched and unpolluted, and it remains one of India’s most pristine rivers.

National Chambal Sanctuary, also called the National Chambal Gharial Wildlife Sanctuary, is a 5,400 km2 (2,100 sq mi) tri-state protected area in Northern India along roughly 400+ Kms of the Chambal River for the critically endangered Gharials (small crocodiles), the red-crowned roof turtle and the endangered Gangetic River Dolphin. Chambal supports the largest population of Gharials in the wild. The National Chambal Sanctuary is one of the few places to spot the Gangetic Dolphins. In fact, it is one of the last surviving habitats for it!
Chambal supports 8 of the 26 rare turtle species found in India.

The National Chambal Sanctuary is listed as an important bird area (IBA) and is a proposed Ramsar Wetland site. Vulnerable bird species here include the Indian skimmer, Sarus Crane, Pallas’s Fish Eagle and Indian Courser. It is the only known place where nesting of Indian Skimmers is recorded in large numbers.

Skimmers are social birds, which nest in colonies and roost communally on sand islands in rivers. Food is caught by skimming the water surface in flight with the lower mandible submerged to catch the fish, which are then swallowed either in flight or after landing. Breeding occurs between February and May, producing clutches of three to five eggs. The major factors which affect Indian skimmer hatchlings is reduction in water levels in river, which allow cattle, dogs and other predators to reach nesting colonies and destroy eggs and chicks.

The trip begins…
We leave Bhopal early since we mean to make it to Devri, near Morena by early evening where we will check into the Forest Rest House. This place is roughly 40Kms ahead of Gwalior and just 12Kms short of the Chambal River and the boat safari facility. It has been chosen so we have the least distance to travel in the morning for the safari.

We travel on the state highway from Bhopal towards Guna which is a fairly good road but narrow. We see the terrain changing from the very green around Bhopal (due to the huge water bodies there) to the brown and arid looking spaces further out towards Guna. Excitement bubbles up when we have the first sighting of the trip of two rather large looking birds near a little pond on the roadside.

Doubling back, we see what turn out to be a juvenile and a sub-adult Egyptian Vulture! Click, click go our cameras… On sensing our presence they lazily amble off towards the fields. We take the bypass for Guna saving time and drive on. Here we join the National highway and the road gets broader.

A packed breakfast and lunch means we are free to stop where we please to have our picnic lunch. We halt under a tree in a vast expanse of nothingness for lunch. In fact, very big trees are also hard to come by in this scrubby area. Skirting Shivpuri we also bypass Gwalior where the truck traffic is mad and all we want at that time is to leave this behind!! Gwalior to Morena is a fabulous stretch of road, wide and well surfaced, a real pleasure to drive on.

Ahead of Morena, the Forest Rest House and Tourist Information Centre, Devri comes on the right hand side but it is so nondescript that we overshoot it! We turn around and finally reach our destination… the Rest House looks pretty neat for an obscure destination such as this.

Entering the rooms we find no power… the first alarm bells ring since it is absolutely sweltering hot here. The beds are spewing fire and the air is still. We are told that this is a one off and the power will come on soon. Otherwise, we are assured the genset will be switched on.

Walking around to the back of the Rest House is the Gharial Breeding Centre where we see separate enclosures for the Gharial hatchlings year wise. At the age of four, they are released into the wild. Snaps duly taken, we head back.

We take a turn around the gardens which are alive with bird calls. The abundant peafowl with their splendid trailing tails compete with the woodpecker, kingfisher, parakeets and the babblers for our attention. Everything else takes a back seat as the children are uncomfortable in the heat of the day. When the situation does not improve till late evening and after nightfall (the ACs are not working in spite of the gensets!), we have dinner at the FRH (which is very good) and fall back to Morena for the night.

Picking up our guide at Devri, we are at the boat pool on the river by 0530hrs. The much anticipated safari is underway with all of us on the edge of our seats, craning for the first glimpse of wildlife. At that point, the sun has just risen and is casting a golden glow on the ragged ravines on the banks and the tranquil waters of the Chambal. Suddenly, the calm breaks and a gentle giant breaks the surface with an elegant roll… the Gangetic Dolphin! It is a blind creature which does all its hunting and navigation by sonar located in the bump on its head. Cameras are ready but shots are very elusive since the dolphins are very erratic sightings.

Magar crocodiles are pretty common and we see a couple of Gharials also along the banks and in the river.

We see numerous turtles bobbing up out of the water only to submerge before we can get a good enough look for identification. We are happy that we see so many at all! Early morning is not their time of the day apparently! And then suddenly….

we see this pair of Indian Skimmers! In formation flight no less! We spend the next half hour just absorbing their flight, their squabbling for space with River Lapwings and the enigmatic way they hunt. Their lower mandible is longer than the upper one and is used to ‘skim’ the surface of the water for food. Hence the name. Cameras have their fill… creating magical images and lasting memories.
[Pic: Skimmers]

The safari is more wonderful than we have imagined it. We are a very satisfied lot as we come back.The next leg of our journey continues in the following post…