Nalbana Bird Sanctuary nllbnn pkssii abhyyaarnnyy - Bird watching area in Nalaban - Khordha, India

Nalbana Bird Sanctuary, I mean Nalbana Island is the core area of the Ramsar designated wetlands of Chilika Lake in Odisha. This is mainly a tourist attraction during winters when foreign birds come here for migration. The area of this island is about 16 square KM. In monsoon this island disappears, I mean submerged under water due to rising of water level of chilka lake. Again in the month of August - September, water levels drop down and tourists are able to visit here. Countless species of foreign birds migrates here in winter on the Island and surrounding wetlands like the flamingos, Goliath heron, purple herons, storks, ibis, egrets and much more. You tourists and Nature lovers must visit here in winter.

I had been to Nalabana bird sanctuary on 9th January 2021 as a part of delegation of 3rd National Chilika Bird Festival. We stayed overnight at OTDC Barkul & from 6.30 AM to 10.30 AM were in Chilika lake for bird watching. We changed the diesel boat at the edge of Nalabana bird sanctuary & boarded non-engine boat. At bird protection camp (watch tower) we had watched many bird species with spotting scope guided by an expert. We had spotted Brahminy shelduck, Brahminy kite, Northern Pintail, Lesser Flamingo, Brown headed Gull, Ruff, Indian Cormorant, Black winged Stilt, Black-tailed Godwit, Common Green shank, Little Egret etc.

A must visit place while you visit Odisha. One of the finest and well preserved Bird sanctuary of India. This is just in between the only brackish water lagoon of India. This sanctuary is comes to live after rainy seasons with when fresh water fills the lagoon from different canals. So plan your journey in between September to march month to enjoy fullest, though you can visit through out the year for different reasons. Nalabana is a bird's paradise. And a bird lovers heaven. You need to carry your water and food for the day trip as there is no food or water facilities available. You can hire a motor boat or can come with shared boats from Barkul and Rambha ( two small towns) , situated west side of chilika lake.

Beautiful place. 1. Only bring cameras lens above 600mm. 2. Carry a binoculars. 3. Get someone who knows about birds. 4. DO NOT BRING PERSONS NOT INTERESTED.

A picturesque and a peaceful place. What a place... You can hear birds chirping from a distance. Very peaceful and calm place. Must see par in chillika. Cost 1700 by private boat and 1900 by govt boat.

Nice place to be watched by every bird and nature lover. Now visiting this place has been restricted by the state Govt. Migratory Birds from far off cold countries come here in search of suitable food and autmosphere in this marshy and saline land of vast Chilika lake. Visitors can watch a veriety of birds hovering around these places. Big Flemingoes, Goose, Gulls, Godwits, Shelducks, Gadwalls, Plovers etc. are few names among them. The place has a great & special look. Visitors move through cricks by boat to see them. They move to distance with slight disturbances.

A wonderful place to visit. But there are some Govt restrictions on visiting this core area of the sanctuary.

A beautiful place for birding, but the entry is restricted. Thousands of birds spread over a very large area. We encountered at least 20 species of birds.