Another 7.00 breakfast before setting out on a drive mirth to a different part of the wild ass sanctuary. We entered the sanctuary over a bridge that was being remarried and came out on a track just before the bridge, an insight into road works in India. We drove down the narrow road and tracks onto the lake bed, which is an amazing huge landscape which goes for miles with acacia thorn bushes and scrub dotted about. At this time of year there is still water in a shallow lake with thousands of water birds on it. Later on the water dries up and the birds move to (lake from yesterday) but the asses manage to survive through the year.
On the lake were thousands of flamingo, both lesser and greater, avocet, great white pelican, spoonbill plus ducks and Imperial, Spotted and Indian spotted eagles standing around on the waters edge. When these took off and floated across the water there was a mass panic flight with an amazing noise.
We spent the rest of the morning visiting different areas of the lake, soaking up the atmosphere and the thousands of birds before returning for a late lunch, no swim today.
The afternoon drive was a return to the first area of the betts where we drove around the scrubby areas looking for desert fox. A rapid stop and reverse and the guide had spotted a Syke's nightjar roosting under an acacia bush, a phenomenal spot. As we jolted around among the thorn bushes we flushed lots of greater shirt-toed larks, a few quail and some chestnut sandgrouse, but the highlight was a quick turn by the driver a call if cat, cat and crouched on the ground was a Jungle Cat which crouched in a hollow of the ground before skulking off into the bushes.
We bumped around more bushes, past a fox den, before the driver spotted a Desert fox trotting across a patch of open ground, we watched it running between bushes and then followed it, spotting it through the gaps before it ran into the distance.
As we were watching the fox the guide told us that there was a desert fox calling so we drove in that direction, with a short diversion to look at 4 McQueen's bustards before the driver and guide spotted a head sticking out from behind a small bush, Indian Fox, much smaller that Desert fox with big ears and a very grey colour with black tip,to the tail. Again we followed it as it trotted away through the bushes, finding it behind us, calling before it or disappeared back into the bushes.
The driver connected up the spot lamp to the battery and as we returned another Indian fox was picked up on eye shine, followed by a Jungle cat with a young one and a flying nightjar species. We were a very happy group as we returned for dinner which was enlivened by a local nature watching group deciding on an impromptu dance session to the rhythmic drumming of a local drummer.
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