I, along with my mother and her friend Mr. Jitendra Pandey explored the sprawling city forest of Sanjay Van for resident species and the hoards of migratory birds that have arrived in the capital over the last couple of months.
My previous visits to Sanjay Van have always been refreshing and this one was no different. Walking through meandering trails, looking on both sides for minuscule birdlife and loosing your way several times in a few hours seem to hold a sort of uncanny fascination for nature enthusiasts like you and me.
In fact we lost our way due to the fog even before reaching the main gate. This forced us to enter through and tiny gap in the wall. As soon as we entered the van,the first birds to proclaim their presence were the Lesser Whitethroats. Every second tree and bush had one of these birds calling away. Soon, the usual tiny denizens, Greenish & Humes Warblers, Red Throated flycatchers and others made themselves heard from the thick canopy as did several pairs of Rufous Treepie. Several peafowl were feeding on the walking trails and we even got distant but clear views of 3-4 Grey Francolin who had joined them.
After flushing a pair of Grey Hornbills and a flighty Spotted Owlet, we arrived at a detour and proceeded to a more open habitat. A few minutes later we came to a thorny tree surrounded by bushes. There was intense bird actvity over here. Fidgety Plain prinias clambered about the bushes while tiny but very cute Silverbills perched openly, giving great views. Plenty of confusing turns later, we found ourselves spotting Brown Headed Barbets, Asian Koels, a Honey buzzard and managed good views of a hefty Greater Coucal.
We made our way back now to visit the West gate which was close to the water body (honestly, I has no idea about where I was going this whole while). We once again passed the Plain Prinias and I managed to photograph a Sunbird that was feeding in the open. On the way back we also saw Red Throated Flycatchers and I heard the calls of a Plum Headed Parakeets and a Wagtail.
We arrived at the other gate at 10am and the sun was quite strong by now. I quickly spotted the migratory race of House sparrow and several peacocks.
At the water body their were several Green Sandpipers, bobbing their tails and screaming their heads off as usual. Plenty of Black winged Stilts had claimed their own corners of the lake and a migratory Duck took a circle of the whole waterbody.
We went on to check the area from on top of the check dam and from here there were a dozen Little Grebes, just coming out of their stylish breeding plumage. Also present was a Grey Heron, Yellow Wagtails, Common Sandpipers (much better behaved than their madcap cousins) and of course egrets and lapwings.
We climbed up the incline on the other side and this is where the fun really began. Some minutes later we found ourselves at the highest point in the forest, perched on some rocks. We had an amazing view of the landscape from up here, seeing for miles around.
From here we began to head back, but not before loosing our way a few times amongst the rough terrain. Climbing down the steep incline was treacherous but we made it unharmed. A last pit stop at the lake revealed Common Chiffchaffs and a Red Rumped Swallow.
After having breakfast, we called it a day, having ticked off almost 60 species in a little more than 3 hours.
Happy Birding,
Udiyaman
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