Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary, Gurgaon

A VERY VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR.

If you are bird lover, This is one of the bird paradise to visit near Gurgaon, Delhi. Last year, we had an amazing trip to this bird sanctuary. This is a popular weekend getaway for the people from Delhi NCR. Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary (now Sultanpur National Park) is located in Gurgaon, Haryana, around 15 kms from Gurgaon on Gurgaon - Farukh Nagar Road. At least 250 migratory birds come into the park area during the year, providing an excellent opportunity for bird watching. The park is also named as Dr. Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary after famous Indian ornithologist and naturalist to pay tribute to his miscellaneous efforts in natural conservation.

Best time to visit Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary [Dec-Feb]: This is a ideal place for bird lovers, but it depends on the time of your visit. During summers, when temperature reaches upto 45 degrees, mostly water bodies in the park may become dry and this is not a good time to visit at all. In rainy season, the park and surrounding areas remain very green. A good time to see the greenery of the farm fields of Haryana as well as the greenery at this national park. But, the best time to visit this park is in Winter, from October to February, as to find the maximum counts of migratory species in the area. 

Every year during monsoons and winters over hundreds of migratory bird species visit here in search of shelter and food. During the peak season the whole musical aroma of the sanctuary turns chirpful with the presence of migratory birds. Some of the resident and migratory species of birds found in the area are: [Ref: Sanctuary Book, wiki and various sites]

Resident Birds:
Bank Mynah, Black francolin, Black-headed ibis, Black-necked stork, Cattle egret, Common hoopoe, Common Mynah, Common Spoonbill, Crested lark, Eurasian collared dove, Gray Francolin, Great egret, Greater coucal, Green Bee-eater, Indian Cormorant, Indian roller, Laughing dove, Little cormorant, Little egret, Magpie robin, Paddy field pipit, Painted stork, Purple sunbird, Red-collared dove, Red-vented bulbul, Red-wattled lapwing, Rock pigeon, Rose-ringed parakeet, Shikra, Spotbill, Spotted owlet, White ibis, White-throated kingfisher, Weaver bird etc.

Migratory Birds:
Black-tailed Godwit, Black-winged Stilt, Blue-throat and Long-billed Pipit, Common Teal, Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, Common Greenshank, Eurasian Wigeon, Gadwall, Greater Flamingo, Northern Pintail, Northern Shoveler, Rosy Pelican, Ruff, Siberian Crane, Spot-billed Pelican, Spotted Sandpiper, Spotted Redshank, Starling, White Wagtail, Wood Sandpiper, Yellow Wagtail.
Summers bring the sanctuary more colorful with about 11 species of migratory birds such as Asian Koel, Black-crowned Night Heron, Blue-tailed Bee-eater, Comb duck, CuckoosIndian, Golden Oriole, and Grey heron.

TIPs: Please carry binoculars/high range cams to watch rare birds from top of the towers.
Keep away children from wild life animals in this area, and parents should guide them.
Try to have park clean and clear.

The whole sanctuary area was quite lively and pleasant. The birds here can be easily spotted wading, swimming or flying. We also spotted two beautiful peacocks playing around, but couldn't took proper pics. We spotted many birds in lake area and captured many. There were four watch towers (machans) at different points to watch birds easily. Sultanpur Bird Sactuary has parking, chilren's park and other facilities like toilets and drinking water for visitors. It takes approx 1.5 - 2 hrs to take a full round of Sulanpur Bird Sanctuary on foot. Walking Path marks can be improved with directions and details. We also relaxed and took many photographs and spent approx 4 hrs here. A small trip with friends, family or kids would be a nice experience.

Happy Birds Watching!!!

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