When do the demoiselle cranes leave Keechen?

Normski3

We will be returning from Jaisalmer to Jodhpur by car on 21 March this year. We would love to see the demoiselle cranes at Keechen but I am not sure whether they will have left by then. It isn't a long diversion to make via Phalodi but we will be on a long journey and I would prefer not to make the diversion if the cranes have left.

Is there someone we can telephone from Jaisalmer nearer the time to see if the cranes are still there?

Aishah

Hello Normski - Noticing no one seems to know an answer for you - and neither do I! It's a good question and maybe somebody is out there who does but hasn't seen this thread yet. Just to know if those birds are there in March would be helpful, wouldn't it? One place I haven't been to but would like to one day...

__________________
"Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards."

Normski3

Many thanks, Aishah. I am now travelling in Rajasthan and will continue to ask around. I will probably call in at Keechen to see for myself and will answer my own question when I get there in a oouple of weeks.

Aishah

Had time to check my LP this morning and it says they are there till the end of March -so I think you may be lucky. Asking as you approach Phalodi should give you an answer I think.

Normski3

We visited Keechen on 21 March and found that 300 - 400 cranes were still in residence. The majority had left over the previous two weeks and these last ones were expected to leave shortly.

Even with the smaller number it was an amazing sight and well worth the detour. The cranes are fed with grain morning and evening and for the rest of the day they perch around one of the two small lakes. They are a beautiful blue / grey colour and when a crowd of them suddenly take to the air it is a terrific display as these very large birds wheel and swoop around.

You can get within about 20 metres without disturbing them so you can get really good photos. When I get back home at the end of the month I will post a couple.

Aishah

Great news, Normski3! I'm so pleased it worked out for you - I must go and see them one day... I guess you'll be feeling the heat now though - I'm inside, all windows shut,curtains drawn and the fan on escaping it for the afternoon. Nights are good though.

Normski3

Thanks for responses Aishah. Promised pictures are attached. I hope it encourages others to visit Keechen. We are now back home in a rainy, windy 11C temperature so I envy you the heat.

Attached Thumbnails

   

Aishah

Great pics, Normski! Inspiring me to go there next winter. Don't envy my heat now - it's too much. I'm leaving in a few days to set off for Delhi then Sydney, escaping the furnace!