Keoladeo Ghana National Park  in Rajasthan, formerly known as Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary is now open for boating nearly after a span of 4 years. So if you  happen to visit the place you can enjoy watching migratory birds very closely.
There is one more reason to rejoice; Thanks to water diverted from the Yamuna river that ended the drought in the marshes, a huge turnout of migratory birds is expected at the sanctuary this winter.
Also known as Keoladeo Ghana Sanctuary, the Bharatpur bird park is located about 170 km from Jaipur. This sanctuary is unique because it is one of the two wintering grounds for the endangered species of Siberian cranes.
“Boating has been allowed in the sanctuary after four years. We tried to start the service last year but it didn’t work out due to lack of water,” a senior forest department official said.
The sanctuary received water in the first week of October from the Goverdhan drain, fed by surplus water from the Yamuna, through a 17.4-km pipeline built at a cost of around Rs.5.5 billion.
Birds started arriving in the sanctuary within a week of the release of water.
The park, formerly known as Bharatpur bird sanctuary, is home to about 300 species of birds including openbills, spoonbills, egrets, cormorants, white ibis, harriers, fishing eagles, kingfishers and local and Siberian cranes.
The major attractions of tourists visiting the park are the numerous migratory birds, who come from as far away as Siberia and Central Asia and spend their winters in Bharatpur, before returning to their breeding grounds.
Migratory birds at Bharatpur bird sanctuary include, several species of Cranes, Pelicans, Geese, Ducks, Eagles, Hawks, Shanks, Stints, Wagtails, Warblers, Wheatears, Flycatchers, Buntings, Larks and Pipits, etc
However, their numbers started dwindling due to acute shortage of water. The sanctuary attracted only 50-60 species in recent years.
“Spoonbills, cormorants, storks, Indian darters, egrets and cranes have already arrived,” a forest official said.
He added that three boats were pressed into service Wednesday to ferry tourists in the L block of the sanctuary.
“It is the biggest block in the sanctuary,” he said. “The initial response was encouraging.”
The forest department has eight boats. The number would be increased if there is demand.
The sanctuary is spread over 28.72 sq km with lakes and wetland. It was created by the Maharaja of Bharatpur in the 19th century.
While many of India’s parks have been developed from the hunting preserves of princely India, Keoladeo is perhaps the only case where the habitat has been created by a King. In earlier times, Bharatpur town used to be flooded regularly every monsoon.
In 1760, an earthen dam (Ajan Dam) was constructed, to save the town, from this annual vagary of nature. The depression created by extraction of soil for the dam was cleared and this became the Bharatpur Lake.