Feb 042012
 
Today early morning I joined a GHAC group to go for bird watching at ICRISAT, which is a United Nations research centre that stands for International Crop Research Institute for Semi Arid Tropics. It is an oasis that is maintaining its greenery in the concrete jungle that Hyderabad is becoming.
It is located on the Mumbai Highway from Hyderabad just before the toll plaza after BHEL. I miscalculated the time and reached late, by that time everybody has already started the expedition. Now ICRISAT is a huge campus with hundreds of acres of research farms, it also has many natural lakes and marshes. 
Painted Storks on tree nesting ICRISAT

Painted Storks on a tree in ICRISAT

ICRISAT Brahminy Shell Ducks, Grey heron, Spot Bill Ducks

ICRISAT safe heaven for Brahminy Shell Ducks, Grey heron, Spot Bill Ducks

Most of the roads inside are dirt roads but since it is dry season I could easily drive on them.  Little did I realize that driving was least of my challenges, the real challenge was to find the rest of the group which had vanished in the vast confines of the campus. So before I could find any birds I actually had to look for the groups. Fortunately after about 45 minute I could locate them next to one of the lakes, they were all on bicycles that ICRISAT rents. I was the odd man in my car. But I decided to take things in stride and started looking for birds. We were fortunate enough to find a lot of water both local as well as migratory birds in the campus. As I am not very good at recognizing them I have left the names in most of the cases, you are more than welcome to put comments or tag them. The link to the photos can be found here

I am putting one of the picture here the rest can be seen at the link given above.
White Throated Kingfisher

White Throated Kingfisher ICRISAT Hyderabad

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  2 Responses to “Bird Watching At ICRISAT”

Comments (2)
  1. Hi Sharad: Thanks for your comments. ICRISAT being a UN body entry is restricted, you can go as a guest of some body who works there with prior permission. One of the scientist who works at ICRISAT, Purushottam Rudraraju is an organizer at GHAC and I have been to ICRISAT with him leading the group. Please contact GHAC to get in touch with him.

  2. Hi
    I am Sharad. Awesome pics…I am also a member of GHAC. I have one question. Do we need any kind of permission to get in there as i went there last week and the security personal did not allow me to get inside. He was asking if i know somebody inside,, which i did not.:(
    Can you please give me any reference, if needed to get in there. Thanks…

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