The Amdavad Wanderlust - Bird Sanctuary, Nal Sarovar

Among the largest natural wetlands of India measuring 120 sq KM, a bird paradise of Gujarat, situated 64 KM from Ahmedabad is  the Nal Sarovar sanctuary.  It is believed that 75000 years ago the Gulf of Kutch and Cambay ( also known as Gulf of Khambhat)  were connected by a channel.  Saurashtra and Kutch were two large islands  and Nal Sarovar was a part of the creek connecting the two. About 7000 years ago Nal Sarovar once a part of the old sea got eradicated assuming its current state. Presently, Nal Sarovar has around 300 islets and the water body connects the districts of Ahmedabad and Surendranagar.

The water body is an important stopover site within the Central Asia Flyway and during winter months, November to February, large congregations of migratory birds like flamingo, pelicans, ducks and shore birds fill Nal Sarovar with their vibrant colors and calls. Its water comes alive with thousands of coots, cormorants and cranes. Due to the rich presence of aquatic flora, estimated at nearly fifty species of algae and about seventy types of flowering plants, birds from distant lands all over the world flock here in hordes.  This unparalleled diversity has earned its distinction of being a wetland of National importance and important bird area (IBA).

Nal Sarovar is an unique and its uniqueness lies in the diversity of habitats it harbors. These includes the marshes, reed beds, shallow and deep open water habitats, muddy shores and islets. Owing to its large size and sustainable utilization of wetland and to negate the encroachment and loss of wetland, the Nal Sarovar sanctuary has been declared as a site under Ramsar convention, formally known as the convention on wetlands of international importance. It is named after the city of Ramsar, Iran where the convention was signed in the year 1971. The treaty recognizes the fundamental ecological, cultural, scientific and recreational value of such waterfowl habitats.  The recognition will assist Nal Sarovar to get financial, technical and scientific support from WWF International Freshwater Programme and WWF- India.

It was a early morning drive to Nal Sarovar  and as we left the city of Ahmedabad, the picturesque scene of green paddy fields and in between the tinge of beautiful mustard fields added to our high spirits. Soaking ourselves to the splendor around, we reached the main gates of The Nal Sarovar Bird sanctuary. Here we had to park our cars and were provided with eco cars to shuttle the two kilometers to the sanctuary. The shuttle service in eco cars is one of the many initiatives taken to deplete the pollution levels around the sanctuary.

The huge water body welcomed us with boatmen ready with their boats to take the visitors on a boat ride deep into the Nal Sarovar. After a lot of bargaining with the boatman, we took our seats on the boat to explore the sanctuary  The water was four to five deep, water crystal clear and the bottom of the Nal Sarovar looked like a wet and wild forest, inviting the world lying below to be explored and drew familiarity to entering a large aquarium. The beds were full of reed beds swampy areas throbbing with speckled marine life. 

There was no requirement of paddling the boat instead the bamboo was dug deep into the reeds and the boat moved. It was one of most pleasant boat rides we had taken in recent times and the morning sunlight bathing us was an added bonus to the comfort of the surrounds.

As we made our way into the Nal Sarovar, expectations ran high on getting to sight birds. The anticipations was the same as one has when visiting a sanctuary of any kind, may be it is a tiger sanctuary or lion sanctuary or a one horn rhino sanctuary. One hopes against hope that they are the fortunate ones who will be able to sight the particular animal which the sanctuary is famed for. With the same feeling and thoughts we had stepped into the boat for a trip to the Nal Sarovar sanctuary, expecting  a huge flock of flamingo, pelicans, coots, cormorants and cranes in exciting colors to greets us in the waters. It was not to be as we could not sight the migratory birds except for a horde of sea gulls.

Soon we reached an islet, a natural halting point for the visitors and also to give the boatman a well deserved rest. The island was full of eatery shops of all kinds and the visitors who made it earlier than us crowded around them. The island except for a dilapidated viewing tower, had no significant facilities. Hopefully in times the authorities will decide to  come up with the basic amenities.

The return journey was a quite one. We coaxed the boatman to row the boat in areas where we could sight some migratory birds, but in addition to the sea gulls we could sight  a flock of common coots and a few stray birds around. Disappointment was written over our faces as we reached the banks of Nal Sarovar. We had to content ourselves on visiting the museum which housed the history of Nalsovar sanctuary. Lunch consisted of a delicious local cuisine but it could not lift the spirits of the group. Seeing our dejection, a local acquaintance suggested to us to visit a place Vadla in the district of Surendarnagar, where we could sight migratory birds.  It was a last bet and thought it was worth a try.

We covered a distance of around 25 KMs from Nal Sarovar following the motor cycle of our local contact through the winding interior village roads to reach  Vadla. Our associate stopped the motor cycle near a paddy field. As we got down from our cars and looked over the paddy field. it was a sight to behold. There were thousands of flamingoes on a water body, much smaller than Nal Sarovar. We stood near the paddy fields and feasted our eyes to the wonderful sight. The birds were not disturbed as we were quite far off and there were no boats with people around to disturb their existence. We spent a good hour watching the birds fly in and out in flocks and making all sought of formations and noises. 

On enquiry from the locals it was gathered that birds like the sweet water of the water body at Valda than the salty water of Nal Sarovar. Further the human disturbance was minimal  at Vadla. Was it a making of a new sanctuary at the Vadla - Malika gaam water bodies or is it a temporary habitat   for the migratory birds. Only time will tell.