Mayureshwar Wildlife Sanctuary

One fine cloudy morning we decided to drive to somewhere that is not too far, neither very near. We were busy Googling when we both stopped at this small forested area known as the Mayureshwar Wildlife Sanctuary. This may be a well-known destination for many, a much-visited spot by some but was a heard off yet a new place for us to see. This was the best opportunity and we started for Mayureshwar Wildlife Sanctuary.

No, we did not fly to Mayureshwar but this flying machine caught my attention while walking in the fields

Mayureshwar Wildlife Sanctuary is the smallest in the category of such forests in India and is comprised of dry deciduous vegetation.

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There is not much to say about the journey as it was comparatively quiet short and plain. We reached our destination soon without much twist and turns.

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Google map guided us to the entrance of the Sanctuary and we were looking for a check post or any person in charge to seek for the entry formalities. With no one, neither any office around we entered the area.

This was the sole board declaring the name of the forest and the address

We previously read that on the entry gate we were supposed to purchase tickets for ourselves, our camera and our vehicle and then enter the sanctuary along with our vehicle.

The beautiful landscape around

It was an extended area of vast grassland with occasional occurrence of thorny shrubs and few areas dominated by the scrub forests dominated by a few species of Acacia (Khair, Hivar), Dalbergia latifolia (Sisoo), Ziziphus mauritiana (Ber), Carissa opaca (Karwand) and others.

Mayureshwar Wildlife Sanctuary is known for its resident avian species while there are seasonal migratory visits by others too.

Ashy-crowned sparrow Lark male

The area is surrounded by human habitation and fertile lands covered with cultivated crops. Villagers were seen working on the fields and the golden crop waving in the breeze.

Pearl millet grown in the surrounding farms

With no physical boundary, there were only raised earthen embankment to demarcate the sanctuary area from the farmlands.

A lady working in the fields

There were raised watchtowers at frequent intervals within the sanctuary area. It was only after we climbed on one we got the first glance of Chinkara.

Chinkaras as seen from the watchtower, then we climbed down and followed their direction

Indian Gazelle (Chinkara) are among the other mammals that are found in this forest area. While we managed to see a few Chinkara but other mammals like Striped Hyena, Indian Gray Wolf and Indian Fox remained elusive.

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The forest is known for the presence of birds like Black-winged kite, Grey partridge, Eurasian collared dove, White-throated kingfisher, larks, shrike, Blue-cheeked bee-eater, Indian silverbill, Gray Francolin, Lapwings, Short-toed Snake Eagle, Bonelli’s Eagle, Rufous-fronted Prinia, Indian Bush-Lark, Shrike, Grey Hornbill, Indian Roller and a few others.

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We could not see much but did see a few Ashy-crowned sparrow Lark, Collared dove, White-belied Minivet and Crested Larks.

Crested Lark

It was a windy day and the sky was dramatic with low clouds floating by. Although we were not much successful in sighting many wildlife species but had a wonderful time with the view of the amazing vistas and an awesome experience walking through the dirt trail within the forest.

The impressive vistas

Mayureshwar Wildlife Sanctuary at a glance, with travel information.