Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary

The best part:  Miracle really, so close to Gurgaon, nature awaits in such a lovely form, and can be a starting lesson for any budding bird watcher. Also a hot spot for a date with nature

Couldn,t identify them...the birds..but the view was breathtaking, as we stepped inside the park and started walking by the marshy lands

 Common Coot.. Black body and white beak..

A pleasure to have spotted her... Purple swamphen.. i guess..zoomed and focused binoculars to get a glimpse of the rich colour

In all probabilities Grey Heron (With due respects to my limited bird knowledge, humble camera and smart eyes)

After a great confusion over egrets, cormorants, ibis...settled for black necked stork...rather love birds..!!!

Again have doubts regarding their identity...( more Salim Ali for me!!)

Painted Storks... their colony

Babies are grey in colour , mostly resting in trees, waiting for food

Well agreed could not spot or identify many of them, but as a beginner it was a delight to spot, focus and find. Even without much briefings ( our Bharatpur trip a few days back awakened the bird lover in us..plus the knowledge showered upon by the guide) the place was worth a dekko...abundance of nature..open places, water bodies specially in the winter. The birds basking in the sun, floating in wetlands for prey...and the different chirps and twitters ( for once not the microblogging site!!)... reminds me of old times when the continuous chattering of various birds would ensure beginning of dawn...how the chirping would be started by one and joined by many gradually till it,s a pure mayhem in my hometown. Not sure when those voices ebbed off  save an occasional odd cawing of crow sounding terrible....

Different voices beckon to a different world...and even without the knowledge of  names a mere look brings us so close to nature.

The worst part: May get overcrowded on weekends in season. No guides or binoculars on rent  available. Write up about birds is minimal. Have to carry your own food... not sure about the adjacent resort...might just have a restaurant inside it. Most people were seen picnicking at a designated place outside which is not bad of course. We satisfied ourselves with the mooli gajar, guava sold outside with a sprinkle of lemon and masala.

And ended the trip with posing slyly in the mustard field on the opposite side of the road... Yash Choprasque pics minus the chiffon... since it was a all girl trip..we could take pics and pose as merrily as we could without a frowning bickering man screaming after us !!

P.S Yes photographs by an amateur...with a not-so-competent camera and its zoom..but the fun inside multiplies nonetheless without digital or optical enhancement!!!