It's that time of the year again in Delhi when the weather is just fine for a spot of birdwatching. Winter is when India gets many winged visitors who fly in from as far as Siberia. Birdwatching is great for your health too. Several studies have found that seeing or hearing birds improved people's mental well-being for up to eight hours. The water bodies in and around Delhi are perfect destinations for migrating as well as resident birds. Here are some places where you can spot some of these amazing winged visitors.
Situated in Noida, Okhla Bird Sanctuary is one of the most visited bird sanctuaries near Delhi. One of the 554 Important Bird Areas in India, it is a mixed vegetation of thorny shrubs, wetlands, and grassland alongside the Yamuna River that makes it a choice destination for birds like Baikal teal, and Baer's pochard, and critically endangered species like the social lapwing. Okhla Bird Sanctuary is also a great place to see critically endangered species of vultures like the white-rumped and Indian vulture.
Timings
For winter: 7:30 am to 5 pm. For summer: 7 am to 5:30 pm
More information on their website here.
More than 300 species of birds have been recorded at Sultanpur National Park making it a birding haven. The park is located just 15 km from Gurugram in Haryana and is a perfect place to spot birds like the greater flamingo, common teal, spot-billed duck, common greenshank, northern pintail, rosy pelican, Eurasian thick-knee, painted stork, and others.
Timings: 7 am to 4:30 pm
Located in the middle of the busy Wazirabad Village, Yamuna Biodiversity Park comes as a surprise and a pleasant one at that. The park is divided into wetland, grassland, and semi-dense forest and supports a healthy number of avian lives especially in winter. Though you can see a number of aquatic birds and more common birds like white-throated kingfisher, pied myna, drongo, winter is the time when birds like cormorants, darters, pintails, painted stork, red-crested pochard, gadwalls make the park their home. Only guided visits are allowed inside the park as the park is also home to many species of snakes.
Timings: 10:30 am to 5 pm
More information on their website here.
The many lakes that dot the area attract migratory birds. Birds like pallied harrier, black kite, red-headed vulture, little cormorant, common coot, tufted duck, northern shovellers, and spot-billed duck find a safe haven in Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary. Asola is located near Shooting Range Road in Tughlakabad.
Timings: 6 am to 2 pm
More information here.
Home to a large number of resident as well as migratory birds, Surajpur Wetlands is one the most frequented birding spots for birders in and around Delhi. The wetland is located in Greater Noida and is a safe haven for visitors like sarus crane, red-crested pochard, spot-billed duck, bar-headed goose, ferruginous pochard, and gadwalls, to name a few. The Asian Waterbird Census (AWC) 2023 found 3,137 waterbirds of 37 species at the Surajpur wetland, compared to 1,453 waterbirds of 46 species the previous year.
Timings: 9 am to 4 pm
More information here.