Birding at Bhigwan... Flamingo special....




Flamingos at Bhigwan..

Bhigwan is a small town located on Pune Solapur Highway. Bhigwan is about 100 kms from Pune. Bhigwan can be reached by car or Public transport. Bhigwan is about 2 ½ hours drive from Pune.


Flamingo , Beauty by the river..

Travellers from Mumbai can take Siddeshwar Express and get down at Bhigwan Railway Station which reaches Bhigwan at 5.00 a.m. Those who wish to stay overnight can stay in Bhigwan. Bachelor accomodation of two rooms is also available at Kumbhargaon at Local fisherman and Birding guide Sandeep Nagare House.



Once in Bhigwan, Diksal and Kumbhargaon are two main spots for spotting birds. Kumbhargaon is small countryside village 3 kms ahead of Bhigwan, Kumbhargaon is located on backwaters of Ujani dam. The nice tar road drives through the village to the river.  
Tap dance on the water

You have to go in a boat to spot the Flamingos. Once in Kumbhargaon you may meet very friendly local birding guide Mr. Sandeep Nagare. Sandeep is a local fisherman and boat owner who has developed interest in birding. He is very well versed with all the bird names and their spots. Kudos to this local boy who is really helping bird lovers to enjoy this birding spot. He also takes utmost care not to disturb the birds.

We reached Bhigwan in the morning and contacted Sandeep, he promised us to show atleast 200 flamingos and also to take us as close as possible to the Flamingos in his boat, He did what he promised without disturbing the birds. The experience of watching these beautiful migratory birds is not capable of being expressed in words. Indeed a heaven for bird lovers.

Seagull in flight at Bhigwan
Boatman charges Rs. 100/- per head for long round. You can also order for food at Sandeep’s House cooked by his mother at Rs. 75/- per plate. (Non-Veg lovers don’t miss the fresh fish fry). Smiles and Happiness complimentary. 
 


Beautiful sight at Bhigwan


 


Flamingos on the go at Bhigwan

Painted Stork at Bhigwan

Seagull Landing on the water


Flamingo in Flight




 

Comments

Thanks for Visiting the Blog Jeevan..
Rajaram S said…
Balkrishna, When did you visit Bhigwan? I went there last year. We reached around 9 am and we were told that it is too late for the flamingos. Will definitely use the contact you have given. Btw, beautiful photos of the flamingos. thanks
Hi. I visited two weeks back. There were lot of flamingos in Bhigwan.. Please carry a zoom lens..Sandeep helped us a lot.. Thanks.
Unknown said…
Thaks Sandip.for detail info and Photos.Very nice photos.
Noname said…
what is number for local boat wala ??
Anonymous said…
Balkrishna, please could you share the contact number of Sandip, local fisherman
Anuj Verma said…
I also need the number of the Fisherman to check when is the right time to visit and book the same. Thanks!
Anuj
Hi Anuj.. The Sandeep Mobile number is 9960610615. The water level was little high last month please check with sandeep before going.. Thanks.
vasuki said…
Hi Balakrishna,

I have planned a visit for the day after tomorow, the 26th Dec. I am going from Bangalore, just to visit this place.
Will I get to see Flamingos there?
Any specific point to be taken care of?
Hi Vasuki,

I visited Bhigwan on 17th December 2013, but flamingos have not visited yet. Best time to visit Bhigwan for flamingos is from mid January to end of February.
Plan for trip in end of January that will be too good and visit my blog for contact person and map direction. Thanks
My blog:http://beautyaroundpune.blogspot.com/2013/12/migrated-bird-watching-at-bhigwan.html
Great pictures. Sadly, I did not have a good lens when I went there...but we still enjoyed birding through our binoculars.
http://tickingthebucketlist.blogspot.in/2014/08/bhigwan-shooting-birds.html
True.. Birding at Bhigwan is treat for eyes.