Hi everyone,
About 30 IITD students set off towards Sultanpur National Park this rather chilly autumn morning. Dr. Surya Prakash was kind enough to drop in from JNU and lead our venture through the lush forest, large lakes and scanty scrub of this well known birding hotspot.
And the birding extravaganza kicked off right at the parking lot! An adult Eurasian Spoonbill flew casually over us as we tried to get hold of our tickets. Once inside, it was easy to spot several Ashy Prinias actively calling from read stems while a lone Booted warbler gave a brief appearance before diving back into the undergrowth. A Comb Duck appeared out of nowhere on a mound of grass and chased off a (poor) Little Cormorant who was drying his wings there.
Several Indian Pond Herons glanced at us as we approached the sandy area that had yielded many Eurasian Thick Knees just last week. The Thick Knees gave us a miss, but we still saw Black Redstarts, Hoopoes and a Eurasian Roller.
Moving on we chanced upon a highly cooperative Long Tailed Shrike that gave the group excellent views (and of course excellent photos too). Some Sarus Cranes later, a Purple Heron gave us a bit of a shock as it poked its long neck out of the grass...looking very snake-like. A little ahead and 3 beautiful European Rollers gave dazzling flypasts.
We were almost at the main pond when a soft call pierced the air. It turned out to be my first lifer of the trip, a pair of Sind Sparrows! At Duck point we chanced upon several Common Teal, Northern Pintails, Coots and the like. However, a 5 strong group of Blue Cheeked Bee Eaters quickly stole the show (for me, atleast)! It was awesome to see the acrobatics of these green and turquoise birds as they launched themselves after tiny dragonflies.
Also seen here was a juvenile Black Necked Stork which nevertheless towered over the other birds in the area. We rounded off phase one of our walk and now headed towards Basai to initiate phase two.
The lush green wetlands of Basai contrasted sharply with the rapid urbanization happening all around it. And yet we were greeted by scores of Wood & Green Sandpipers, Wire Tailed Swallows, Black Drongos and the like. And then the Sarus Cranes appeared! Watching a pair of these stately birds walking and bugling in unison was the most memorable part of this trip.
Next to be spotted was a group of Common Cranes, which are not as common as their name suggests. One the fields to our right, an adult Black Necked Stork appeared, looking a lot more refined than the juvenile we had seen earlier. Also seen were a Marsh harrier and an Isabelline Shrike, which rounded up today's morning with a bang!
And it turns out we saw a total of 94 species this morning in just 3hrs, two of which were lifers for me.
Thanks for reading another lengthy report,
Udiyaman
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