India; Northwest - Day 18: Greater Rann of Kutch

   Having completed our target list for the Greater Rann of Kutch area, but with still a full day birding to be done, we were at a little bit of a loose end as to where to go. In the end we decided to visit the Banni Grasslands where we had spent a little bit of time the previous day, but this time we would go straight there early morning to try and find some mammals. Sadly we were not successful with the species we wanted, but still had a bit of luck with a few sightings of Indian Grey Mongoose, a few Wild Boar and an Indian Hare. As we were leaving the site at 11:00 when it was very hot, we also added an Indian Fox to the mammal list.

  For birding we enjoyed nice encounters with Common Crane, with large groups feeding on the grassland early morning. But the best birding was done between 08:30 and 10:30 when we explored an area of bushes not far from the wetland we had visited the previous day. Here I had a new species with Black-headed Bunting, but there were several migrant species that we found here, including several Bluethroats, Black Redstart, Red-breasted Flycatcher, two Eastern Orphean Warblers, Lesser Whitethroats and a Chiffchaff. Despite the heat and the flies it was very enjoyable birding.

  For the afternoon we set off at 15:30, which was far too early as the heat meant activity was extremely subdued for the next two hours. Still we drove around the grasslands hoping for something to appear but the best we could manage was another (or the same) Indian Fox. Consequently, we had 45 minutes at the side of the water drinking tea and watching the birds on the water whilst the sun slowly set. Here there were a few good birds such as Clamorous Reed Warbler and Kentish Plover, as well as the usual wetland species.

  Our main reason for returning to the grasslands was to search the late afternoon and early night for Jungle Cat. Our mammal-watching search started well, with a group of five Indian Jackal passing by as we were drinking tea. As the dark came in we set off driving across grasslands again. Not much was happening and as the light faded we began to get nervous, but then we spotted a Jungle Cat walking through the grass at close quarters. It was quite confiding, and not particularly scared by our presence as it walked through the grass. At one point it looked like it might be trying to hunt two Crested Larks at the side of the road near to us, but it in the end it did not try, but wandered off into the grass! An excellent way to round off our stay in the Greater Rann of Kutch! 

Species List:
Banni Grassland: Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail, Eurasian Teal, Grey Francolin, Common Quail, Eurasian Collared Dove, Laughing Dove, Greater Coucal, Indian Nightjar, Common Crane, Black-winged Stilt, Red-wattled Lapwing, Kentish Plover, Common Snipe, Wood Sandpiper, Temminck's Stint, River Tern, Greater Flamingo, Painted Stork, Glossy Ibis, Little Egret, Indian Pond Heron, Eastern Cattle Egret, Great Egret, Grey Heron, Great White Pelican, Crested Honey Buzzard, Greater Spotted Eagle, Booted Eagle, Eastern Imperial Eagle, Shikra, Western Marsh Harrier, Montagu's Harrier, Eurasian Hoopoe, Asian Green Bee-eater, White-throated Kingfisher, Black Drongo, Isabelline Shrike, House Crow, Crested Lark, Common Tailorbird, Plain Prinia, Sykes's Warbler, Clamorous Reed Warbler, White-eared Bulbul, Common Chiffchaff, Lesser Whitethroat, Eastern Orphean Warbler, Common Babbler, Rosy Starling, Bluethroat, Red-breasted Flycatcher, Black Redstart, Siberian Stonechat, Purple Sunbird, House Sparrow, Yellow-throated Sparrow, Western Yellow Wagtail, Tawny Pipit, Black-headed Bunting,