I am excited to announce my 2027 Photo Wildlife Expedition after having developed a deep passion for India’s extraordinary wildlife during my last expedition to India during February 2025.
This journey is designed around the prime birding season in India - Winter. This biring season peaks in January and this is when the most number of migratory birds from Europe and Siberia come to India. We will start at Bharatpur's Keoladeo National Park (UNESCO World Heritage Site) near New Delhi which is the most popular birding hotspot in all of India and is visited by birders from all over the globe.
We will then move to the southern tip of the Indian peninsula - Kerela. Here we will indulge in 6 days of birding looking for forest birds and several endemics from the region - both during the day and night. We will spend 2 of these days biridng at a height of about 1500m at a hill station.
Following the south indian segment we will travel to Odisha (east India) for the highlight of the trip where we will spend 8 days mostly over boat safaris and some on foot safaris. Odisha is a hidden gem for birding and gives experiences that you cannot find anywhere else on the planet. The shallow wetlands at Mangalajodi and hand paddled boat based viewing allow for close, quiet and eye-level detailed observation of thousands upon thousands of water birds, making it ideal for bird photography. We will finish our tour at Bhitarkanika (also called the mini Amazon of India) with both boat and on foot safaris. Here we will target to see the 7 Kingfisher species of the region, Salt Water Crocodiles, Woodpeckers, Owls, Nightjars, Chameleon, Fishing Cat, Jungle Cat, Leopard Cat etc.
This expedition combines birding in multiple environments - grasslands, wetlands, lakes, dense forests, rivers, mountains, backwaters, mangroves etc - crafted for photographers and naturalists seeking exceptional birding opportunities in a single, thoughtfully curated journey.
Here is the planned itinerary from January 17 to 31 which starts and ends at New Delhi (DEL) -
Day 1 (January 17)
We will start from New Delhi airport at around 9 AM with a 3.5 hour taxi drive to Bharatpur. We will checkin at the hotel, have lunch and proceed towards Chambal river by taxi (2 hours). We will go for boating in the river to try to see the endangered Indian Skimmer. Other species of note are Black Bellied Tern, Mugger crocodile and the critically endangered Gharial. Overnight stay at hotel in Bharatpur.
Day 2 (January 18)
Full day birding from sunrise till sunset at Keoladeo National Park. We will move around in the park in electric carts but it will also involve a good amount of foot birding. We will have our breakfast and lunch inside the park. Before sunset we will go to the elusive Striped Hyena viewpoint to try and see them cross from one side of the park to another. Overnight stay at hotel in Bharatpur.
Day 3 (January 19)
Full day birding from sunrise till sunset at Keoladeo National Park, same as the previous day. After sunset we will head towards Delhi by taking a 4 hour taxi ride. Overnight stay at Airbnb in Delhi.
Day 4 (January 20)
We will wake up early this morning and head towards Delhi airport where we shall take a 3.5 hour flight to Kochi in Kerela. We will then take a 1 hour taxi drive to Thattekad (dense tropical evergreen and deciduous forests and grassland patches) where will checkin to our homestay inside Thattekkad Bird Sanctuary and have lunch. After lunch we will go for our first evening birding session. Overnight stay at birding lodge in Thattekad.
Day 5 (January 21)
We will spend full day in Thattekkad Bird Sanctuary walking on well defined trails looking for South Indian forest birds including endemic and nocturnal birds (night birding). Also butterflies, forest mammals and other wildlife. Mammals sighting include Slender Loris, Malabar Giant Squirrel and many others. Overnight stay at birding lodge in Thattekad.
Day 6 (January 22)
We will set off to the mountain town of Munnar early morning. The drive will take approximately 2 hours. Full day birding in Munnar both in hides and in trails. Overnight stay at a hotel in Munnar.
Day 7 (January 23)
Full day birding in Munnar both in hides and in trails. Overnight stay at a hotel in Munnar.
Day 8 (January 24)
We will checkout from the hotel in Munnar and return to Thattekad. Full day in Thattekkad Bird Sanctuary. We will visit another side of lowland forest in the afternoon. Overnight stay at birding lodge in Thattekad.
Day 9 (January 25)
Morning birding around Thattekkad and depart back to Kochi after breakfast. We will then take a flight to Bhubaneswar followed by a 1.5 hour taxi to Mangalajodi. Overnight at birding lodge in Mangalajodi.
Day 10 (January 26)
Morning and evening boating safaris in hand paddled wooden boats (2 guests per boat) in Mangalajodi wetland. Some safaris will be dedicated to maximise species sightings while some safaris will be dedicated to maximise hunting and action photography. Mangalajodi is famous for spectacular species based experiences but is world famous for its hunting and action shots as it is the only place in the world where big birds like Ibis, Herons and Kites hunt and eat big water snakes multiple times a day in the peak winter season. This is the major reason why photographers rush to Mangalajodi. Overnight at birding lodge in Mangalajodi.
Day 11 (January 27)
Morning and evening boating safaris in hand paddled wooden boats in Mangalajodi wetland. Overnight at birding lodge in Mangalajodi.
Day 12 (January 28)
Morning boating safari in Mangalajodi followed by lunch and taxi trip to Bhitarkanika. We will checkin to our birding lodge at Bhitarkanika, have some snacks and head out to look for owls and Jungle Cat in the night. Overnight at birding lodge in Bhitarkanika.
Day 13 (January 29)
We will start the day at around 6 AM and head for boating in the river to look for 7 different species of Kingfishers. We will also hope to see the Green Billed Malkoha and White Bellied Sea Eagle. We will return to the lodge for lunch and around 3 PM head for the boating trip again to find the elusive Fishing Cat. Dinner might be on the boat itself depending on the cat's sightings. Overnight at birding lodge in Bhitarkanika.
Day 14 (January 30)
We will again start the day at around 6 AM and head for boating to look for 7 different species of Kingfishers and other birds. We will return to the lodge for lunch and then proceed for foot birding to look for woodpeckers and other forest birds. In the night we will head out for Owls, Jungle Cat and Leopard Cat. We will return for dinner and overnight stay at birding lodge in Bhitarkanika.
Day 15 (January 31)
We will start the day with foot birding to look for some special birds like Chestnut Capped Babbler, Striated Babbler, Yellow Bellied Prinia, Coppersmith Barbet etc. We will return to our lodge for breakfast and see if we get lucky to find an Indian Chameleon for photography from close quarters. We will checkout and take a taxi to Bhubaneswar airport followed by a 2.5 hour flight to New Delhi that arrives at around 10 PM. Trip ends here and you can now proceed home to Denmark.
Wildlife
Prime targets at Chambal include Indian Skimmer, Great Thick-knee, River Lapwing, Black-bellied Tern, Knob-billed Duck, Mugger Crocodile and Gharial.
Prime targets at Bharatpur include Indian Spotted Eagle, Greater Spotted Eagle, Imperial Eagle, Indian Scops-Owl, Spotted Owlet, Dusky Eagle-Owl, Sarus Crane, Asian Woolly-necked Stork, Black-necked Stork, Painted Stork, Songbirds, Sunbirds, Parakeets, Kingfishers (3 types), Ducks, Geese, Great White Pelican, Dalmatian Pelican, Cormorants, Oriental Darter, Indian flying fox, Striped Hyenas, Golden Jackals, Indian Pythons etc. We will spend some time at the darter lakes to photograph their exceptional fish hunting skills from a few meters away.
Prime targets at Thattekad and Munnar include Malabar Parakeet, Malabar Trogon, Malabar Grey Hornbill, White Bellied Blue Flycatcher, Black Throated Munia, White bellied Woodpecker, Red Spurfowl, Grey Junglefowl, Indian Pitta, Malabar Barbet, Nilgiri Pipit, Palani Laughing Thrush, Yellow Throated Bulbul, Nilgiri Thrush, Painted Bush Quail, Black and Orange Flycatcher, Mottled Wood Owl, Sri Lanka Bay Owl, Oriental Scops Owl, Brown Fish Owl, Brown Hawk Owl and Spot bellied Eagle Owl. Mammals sighting include Slender Loris, Indian Giant Squirrel and many others.
Mangalajodi is possibly the only place in the world where one can see birds like Black Headed Ibis, Purple Heron, Grey Heron, Brahminy Kite etc hunt and eat snakes, huge frogs and fish from the wetland multiple times a day during peak season giving photographers images and videos that last a lifetime. We could also get a chance to see Peregrine Falcons hunting from a very close distance. Apart from the above we will see Ruddy Shelduck, Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail, Ruddy-breasted Crake, Baillon's Crake, Greater Painted-Snipe, Pheasant-tailed Jacana, Bronze-winged Jacana, Whiskered Tern, Black Bittern, Yellow Bittern, Blue-tailed Bee-eater, Indian Pied Starling, Grey-headed Swamphen, Little Egret, Great Egret, Common Hoopoe, Citrine Wagtail, Bar-headed Goose, Glossy Ibis, Asian Openbill Stork, Bluethroat and many more.
Bhitarkanika gives us the golden opportunity to see 7 (out of 12 found in India) different kinds of Kingfishers from 1 boat ride along with some of the biggest Salt Water Crocodiles on the planet. It is also a great place to see the elusive Fishing Cat, Indian Chameleon and if extremely lucky, the Leopard Cat! The 7 types of Kingfishers found in Bhitarkanika are Common Kingfisher, White-throated Kingfisher, Brown-winged Kingfisher, Black-capped Kingfisher, Stork-billed Kingfisher, Collared Kingfisher and Pied Kingfisher. Other notable species include White-bellied Sea-Eagle, Striated Heron, Pacific Golden-Plover, Green-billed Malkoha, Fulvous-breasted Woodpecker, Rufous Woodpecker, Greater Flameback, Black-rumped Flameback, Chestnut-capped Babbler, Verditer Flycatcher, Taiga Flycatcher, Large-tailed Nightjar, Oriental Scops Owl, Barn Owl and many more.
Cost - 26200 DKK
The full trip starting from Day 1 at New Delhi airport and ending with the arrival at New Delhi airport on Day 15 will cost 26200 DKK per person when we are at least 6 people on the trip. 2 people are already confirmed - myself and my friend, so we are only missing 4 more adventurers to make this price feasible. Please bear in mind that the trip will happen no matter what because me and my friend are confirmed to go.
Inclusions
• Everything from beginning at first taxi ride from New Delhi airport to Bharatpur on Day 1 to ending after the completion of the Bhubaneswar - New Delhi flight on Day 15.
• Breakfast, lunch and dinner every day.
• Single occupancy rooms with attached bathrooms at all locations except for the 3 nights at Thattekad where it will be double occupancy rooms. If you are a single female guest then you will be given the choice of paying for a single occupancy room for these 3 nights.
• Local expert guides at every location.
Exclusions
• International flights to and from Delhi (approximately 5000 DKK)
• Personal expenses
• Insurance
• Tips
• Visa
• Vaccinations
Interested in joining me on this photo expedition? Please click the button below to send me a message.
Want to get some inspiration from our 2025 expedition? Click the buttons below to see.