Tal Chhapar Sanctuary

Flora and Fauna at Tal Chhapar sanctuary

Flora of Tal Chhapar mainly consists of desert plants like Khejri, Acacia, Prosopis, and grasses of various kinds. The most famous of which is “mothiya”, an excessively sweet grass which can even be consumed by humans. This is the favorite forage of blackbucks and is named so because the seed of this grass resembles a pearl. It was because of the efforts of forest officer Mr.Soorat Singh Punia that mothiya is found abundantly in Tal Chhapar and so are the waterholes that provide water all year round.
The fauna of Tal Chhapar sanctuary is very varied. You’ll find blackbucks here, obviously! And so will Spiny-tailed Lizards which are favourite of the birds of prey, Jungle Cats, Chinkaras, Desert Gerbils, Desert Fox, and Desert Cats.

Birds of Tal Chhapar bird sanctuary

Let’s first cover the migratory birds. Here you can hope to find Montagu’s Harrier, Pale Harrier, Imperial Eagle, Short-toed Eagle, Tawny Eagle, Sparrow Hawk, Skylark, Crested Lark, Ring Dove, Brown Dove, Blue Jay, Southern grey Shrike, Indian Spotted Creeper, Green bee-eater, Black Ibis and Demoiselle Cranes.

Other birds found in the area include Saker Falcon, Long-legged Buzzard, Rufous-printed Prinia, Variable Wheaters, Brown Rockchat, Grey Francolins, Lesser Flameback, Long-tailed Shrikes, Rock-bush Quails, Black Redstarts, Steppe Eagle, Common Kestrel, Shikra, Red-necked Falcon, Pied Avocets, Eurasian Wryneck, Ruffs, Indian Eagle Owl, Common Redshank.

White-eyes Buzzards are the most dominant species of raptors found in Tal Chhapar Sancturary. Some of the rare birds include Red Phalarope, Water Pipit, Buff-bellied/American Pipit, White-browed Bushchat, Eurasian Skylark, Pale-backed/Yellow-eyed Pigeon, White-tailed Eagle, Merlin, Black-bellied Sandgrouse, and Sociable Lapwing.

In Jorbeer you can find Griffon Vultures, Egyptian Vultures, Cinereous Vultures, Steppe Eagles, Eastern Imperial EagleS and so on. Even Punjab Raven and Laggar Falcon are spotted sometimes.

Entry Fee | Tal Chappar Sanctuary

Indian – INR 20

Other Activities to enjoy

It’s a 1 hr 50 min drive to Shekhawati from Tal Chhapar. Shekhawati offers tourists to experience life king-size. The old Havelis have been transformed into hotels that give you a royal look and feel just the way kings used to live. A gem of the Marwari community, you can see mural paintings especially of Bhagtonki haveli, Anadilalpoddar haveli, and Khedwal Bhawan.