Saturday, 11 June 2011

Assan Wetlands-Uttarakhand

Today, on a whim, I decided to take my family for an outing to the Assan Wetlands.We hit the foot hills about thirty-five Kilometres from Jagadhri. On the way, we passed through the Kaleshwar reserve forest which lies in Haryana. We passed through Himachal Pradesh,passed by the town of Paonta Saheb, where the famous Paonta Saheb Gurudwara is located, and ended up at the Wetlands of Uttarakhand. The journey by car was of about fifty-five kilometres, and the road was quite good. In fact the lush greenery and the sight of taller mountains was refreshing. There was a slight climb from the Kaleshwar forest. We had tea at the restaurant at Duck View point,from where Dehradun is barely forty kilometres away!

I had been told by my driver that the Assan Wetlands are known to be the favourite resting place for migratory birds. Unfortunately, the owner of the restaurant at Duck View point told me that migratory birds arrive only during the winter season starting October.

Not daunted, we enjoyed the flora and fauna all around, and couldn’t resist taking some snaps! We even went for a boat ride at the water sports complex at Assan. I have pasted below, some of the photographs of the wonderful scenery, flowers and birds that we came across.

DSCN3828 Dad and Mom at the Duck View Restaurant

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My Daughters, wife and myself

 

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My daughters with their Grandparents Left, and Right my whole family enjoying a boat ride at the Assan water sports complex

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The flowers were most fascinating! Couldn’t resist the urge of snapping them!

 

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The ducks seemed to be a couple!

                                                                    

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                                                            Flapping Wings, or walking on Water?

 

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                Lessons in flight can be had by looking at these two experts!

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My camera has a powerful zoom ranging from 28mm to 420mm, but still I found it most difficult to get these far away birds well in focus!

 

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                                      The Mountains of Uttarakhand

The trees in the Assan Wetlands seem to sprout birds from every branch! Look below to see birds hanging on from every branch:

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And finally look at these birds in flight!

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       A Short Trip to the Assan Wetlands in Uttarakhand

 

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