Chintamoni Kar Bird Sanctuary, Calcutta

There is a little place left to breath in the concrete jungle in Calcutta. We have destroyed most of the part of the green in Calcutta in the name of "civilisation" & "urbanisation". But there is a patch of life still left & fighting hard to exist even in that concrete jungle till date.

It's named as "Chintamoni Kar Bird Sanctuary" by the West Bengal Govt. back in October 2005. Though it was originally notified as a sanctuary in 1982, but converted to as wildlife sanctuary only when Govt. of West Bengal took over after paying a significant cost. Initially known as "Kayaler Bagan" by the local people, it was named as it's now after the renowned sculptor & artist Chintamoni Kar, who fought along with local people & few NGO"s to obtain the wildlife sanctuary status for the "Kayaler Bagan". The area, now belong to West Bengal Forest Department, covers a 17acre or a bit more, is an excellent place for bird watching & bird photography. Those who have just started taking interests in bird-watching or bird-photography or those who are considered as the specialists in this arena, this place serves as heaven to both of them.

Enormous mango tree dominates the area along with jack fruit, coconut palm, tamarind, guava, ficus & other trees. A few water bodies & wastelands along with bamboo brakes surrounds the orchard area.
Many forest species along with some resident birds are amongst the main attractions here, which may include Black-naped Monarch, Asian Paradise Flycatcher, Common Hawk Cuckoo, Brown Shrike(picture left, who is a winter visitor here), Orange-breasted Green Pigeon, Emarald Dove, Streek-throated Woodpecker, Fulvous-breasted Woodpecker(in picture above), Orange-headed thrush, Crested Serpent Eagle, Large-tailed Nightjar, White-throated Fantail, Lineated Barbet, Ashy Woodswallow, Greater Flameback, Common Tailorbird, Asian Koel,

Amongst the rarest species ona may find Tickell's Thrush, Greater Racket-tailed Drongo, Eurasian Woodcock, Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker, Grey-headed Fish Eagle, Eyebrowed Thrush, Little Spiderhunter, Blue-throated Flycatcher, etc. Although most of them do not stay there as they are not resident breeders, so it may sometimes require a lot of patience to locate these birds.

In addition to this the sanctuary hosts Jungle Cat, Civet Cat, Monitor Lizard, as well as few species of snakes as Buff Striped Keelback, Painted Bronzeback, Mock Viper etc.

To reach this amazing place, one may drive from Garia or from Baruipur via N.S.C. Road through Narendrapur, which takes 5mins from Garia & around 15-20mins from Baruipur. Buses & Autos ply through the place from Garia. The bus-stop is named as Narendrapur-Rathtala.

Latitude: 22'25'45"N ; Longitude: 88'24'04"E .

Timing: 07:00 to 17:00 (Summer) ; 07:00 to 16:30 (Winter).

Climate: Hot & humid with heavy rainfall in monsoon,

Summer: Max 38deg C, Min 28deg C.

Winter: Max 30deg C, Min15deg C.

Best season for birding: Winter & Spring.