Delhi.. a Birding Heaven..
Posted by Prashanth | Filed under Uncategorized
I feel really lucky to be a Delhiet.. especially during this part of the year.. not because of the weather.. (well you can say “indirectly” because of weather).. but because of the animal and bird life that comes to Delhi during the winters..
Winters.. they are so chilly in Delhi that the brownian movement that mixes hot and cold water slows down to an extent that I need to stir water to take bath in the mornings..!!
But still, birds love it.. and since they do.. I do it too.. because.. Firstly.. the lizards, the cockroaches.. and rats.. are out of my house..
Secondly.. the birdlife in Delhi is in full swing during this time. All the 450 species of birds which Delhi flaunts proudly will be present in December.
And me being a nature freak would be the happiest to visit every birding attraction over here in Delhi. But alas.. the fun never stays for long.. lousy pre-boards finger themselves in the first half of December and the first half of January.. and after that its pure hëll to study.. study.. study and study a bit more..
Right now know as much abt Sanskrit as much Kalidasa knew about the PlayStation 3.. and still I have the audacity to blog..
Coming back to birding.. please visitors (to the blog).. do visit these places with a camera and a pair of binoculars.. and after you do so.. visit here once again..
Yamuna River-
For the birds eye view.. check this..
It smells bad.. seriously.. just go to the trans-Yamuna bridge.. and take a deeeep breath, you wont feel like taking one again..!!
The river literally is a sewer.. or in hindi.. Nala.. and still the birds love it…
Why.. may be because in winter the quantity of water in the river > the amt of sewage in it..?? Or I guess it is because it falls en route to Chilika Lake or Bharatpur (Keoladeo) Bird Sanctuaries.. to the birds that come here from the north… so the birds find this as a great holiday spot and stay here.
Anyways.. seeing the birds here makes me feel that birds don’t have olfactory lobes. But on second thought.. vultures have been sighted in that area which proves that birds with smell receptors exist there..!!
You have the greatest attraction here being the Greater Flamingo.
Being specific.. you have the Okhla Bird Park, and the area around the Yamuna barrage.
Khader -
This area is the southern extension of the west bank of the Yamuna south of the barrage. This place deserves a special mention as at this very place you have a terrain that is completely different from the previous place.
The best way to enter this area is by the narrow unmetalled, tree-lined road that turns south from the main barrage (Noida) road just before the barrage on the Delhi side. Follow this for c 2 kms where you meet a T-junction with a metalled road. Turning left you will quickly see a track off to the left again. This is motorable and takes you almost to the Yamuna bank. Walk another 100m and you will be there.
The Yamuna banks on the east are swampy.. green and not very wet and dirt.. but this place is sandy.. silty.. and has elephant grass growing..
Surrounded by fields.. this place is soon getting lost to idiotic housing projects.. (who would like to live there..??)
It has rich bird life.. namely Darters, Purple Herons and Spotbill, many spicies of Larks, River Lapwings, terns and pratincoles. (see wikipedia or search google urself for what these are..as i am too lazy to hyperlink all these..!!)
Delhi Ridge -
This place rocks.. literally. It is the most seismically active zone in the NCR. This famous area, studied intensively by Tony Gaston (a conservationist and birdwatcher) 30 years ago, is now rather fragmented and degraded in parts. But what remains is in theory protected and still holds some interesting birds. It is a combination of thick thorn scrub and rocks (less open than Asola) and patches of woodland. Most of Delhi’s land birds can be found here with effort and it can be excellent for overhead raptors including the few remaining vultures, Booted Eagles and breeding Oriental Honey-buzzards.
The easiest way to access this area is by the first road on your left off Willingdon Crescent and soon after the Sardar Patel Road junction (by the Gandhi Murti). Drive or better walk straight through to the Polo Clubhouse. You can park there and (after checking the field) take one of the paths into the jungle. The best (which leads to mature Ridge woodland) is right at the end of the Polo Ground and usually deeply littered with stable straw. Watch out for polo horses exercising at speed!
Well.. so these were the notable places. Please visit these and I too would do the same and put loads of photographs on the blog when I do so.
As usual, comments are welcome.
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