Gurugram: 130 species of migratory birds seen in Sultanpur National Park

GURUGRAM: With the onset of winter, migratory birds from various countries have started flocking to the shallow water bodies in Gurugram, Rohtak, Jhajjar, Rewari and nearby areas. Bird watchers said that around 130 bird species have already arrived here, while some like Crake, Dunlin, Jack Snipe and Whimbrel Terek Sandpiper have been spotted here after several years.
Thousands of migratory birds have already reached Sultanpur National Park, Najafgarh Lake, Basai wetland, Bhindawas Bird Sanctuary (Jhajjar), Dighal, and Basai.

While the Haryana forest department is still waiting for guidelines to reopen the bird sanctuaries, bird watchers from Delhi-NCR have started reaching the spots. In fact, birders have also spotted European Roller, Rosy Starling, Western Crowned Warbler and White-eyed Buzzards. Usually, these birds arrive during the winter migration season from around 29 countries between October and December and leave by March. Around 25,000 migratory birds of 132 species have reached Sultanpur National Park, while around 6,000 migratory birds have been spotted so far at Najafgarh drain and lake this winter.
Bird watcher Abhishek Sharma said that Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail, Common Teal, Ferruginous Duck are reported to be more than 200 and Eurasian Coot have also reached in large numbers at the water body. Eurasian Wigeon, Tufted Duck, Common Pochard, Gadwal, White-tailed Lapwing have also arrived in smaller numbers at the Sultanpur National Park.
Birders are looking forward to seeing the Bar-headed Geese and other migratory birds from Siberia.
Sunder Sambharya, divisional forest officer of Rewari, said, “Over one lakh migratory birds have so far arrived at various places in Rohtak, Jhajjar, Rewari and Gurgaon districts. The Pacific Golden Plover, which migrates from Alaska and other parts of America, has been spotted after a long time in Masani village.”
He added that Godwit, four species each of Sandpiper and plover, 15 species of raptors, wagtails and pipits, seven species of ducks, avocet, cracks, locally migrated cormorants, darters, flamingo etc have been spotted so far. Every year, bird sanctuaries witness more than 300 species of winter migratory and domestic birds. While there are some species of resident birds, many others come from Siberia, Europe, Central Asia, and Afghanistan. Some migratory birds also use Sultanpur as a stopover before heading further.