Many followers of NaturesLens will probably know that David & I have been friends for many years, well before he & Pui Hang set up NaturesLens, & have enjoyed many nature photography holidays together.
Just before Christmas 2017, David asked me if I had been to the Little Rann of Kutch. I said I had never even heard of it. Kutch is a little-known wildlife destination in the state of Gujarat near the Pakistan border. So off we went in March this year to carry out a recce for a new wildlife photography adventure for NaturesLens.
We stayed at a lodge near the park of Little Rann of Kutch. The area is mainly a vast saline desert interspersed with thorny scrub & grasslands, appx 5,000 sq kilometres. It is a very strategic location for bird migration including many types of raptors, waders, cranes, flamingos & other bird species. It is also home to the very rare Asiatic Wild Ass, Indian Wolf, Indian Fox & Desert Fox. Some of these species can be seen nowhere else.
This is a fantastic opportunity to photograph rare & endangered species which will make great additions to your portfolio. The Raptors do not have trees to perch in, so unusually they sit on the ground. This provides unusual opportunities to photograph raptors at eye level as they take off from the ground.
It can be scorching hot in this desert region often up to 38c. But it is a dry heat so much more bearable than some other states of India, which can be very humid.
David & I spent a week exploring the habitats & there are many more great locations we did not have time to visit. Our timing was probably a little bit late as the migrating birds were starting to leave & return to their breeding countries. But we still had great opportunities for photography & realise it could have been even better.
It is indeed a location I would not hesitate in returning to in the future. Hopefully, the images here will give you a taste of what to expect on any future Wildlife of the Little Rann of Kutch Photography Tour to Gujarat.
