A Lake With a View - Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary, Haryana

thewanderers · Aug 20th, 2009, 15:22

The weather was beautiful! After a long period of heat and humidity, Delhi had finally seen some rain……….continuously through the weekend! Pigeon holed for days in our apartment, or should I say our bedroom that is the only room in the house with an A/C, we were waiting to be let out. And so, after a little coaxing, my husband decided to surf the net for areas around Delhi that we could visit.

Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary, said the site, was a national reserve that had migratory birds and some animals. Birds…….we have never been interested in, we barely know their names! But wildlife we love! You can figure that out from the fact that we went to the Pench Tiger Reserve for our honeymoon! So, without a blink we decided to pack our new Nikon D60, a tripod, a set of binoculars, and some food (the foodies that we are!) and left.

Around forty kilometers from Safdarjung Enclave (where we stay), the drive to Sultanpur took us one and half hours. Taking the Gurgaon toll road we went ahead till the Hero Honda Factory and then took a right turn from there towards Basai Road. Till Gurgaon we were greeted by the concrete monsters. But moving on Basai Road, intermittently asking for directions, we crossed fields, small houses, some factories, an unfinished flyover, a huge puddle of water, a railway crossing, and even some villages. Everything looked wonderful and bright, reflecting the day and our mood!

The Bird Sanctuary was another world! We walked towards a trail in the reserve that was calm and serene and started taking in the beauty presented to us by nature. But, not for long as a cackling of laughter disturbed the peace around. A family of six, with an equal mix of males and females including children, were chattering away little realizing that they would scare the birds or animals around. We decided to quicken our pace to put some distance between us and the loud family and the trick worked. We were left to once again submerge ourselves in the beauty around us.

Monkeys with their children were the first to greet us! And they kept their distance, unlike the monkeys in Simla who miss no chance to pounce on you. My husband, who usually has an answer for most things, very serenely informed me that this might be because the visitors are not allowed to feed the animals (as there is a rule against taking food items into the reserve) and so the monkeys do not pounce on people for food. Hmmmm! Interesting observation.

One has to see a peacock with its feathers open and dancing away to really understand how beautiful a sight it is. With only a 18-55 mm zoom lens with us we could not capture a close-up but the sight is forever captured in our hearts. And as one walked by, I couldn’t help notice that the dance was for a peahen standing close-by. Matters of the heart!

The dense forest of trees that we reached was home to just a few squirrels and some birds. But as we walked I saw some faeces that were not human. My know-all husband again came to my help. These were left by blue bulls (or nilgais as we call them in Hindi). The anticipation of coming across nilgais was building in me.

Walking towards the lake that is around 1.75 kilometres wide, one could hear different bird calls. And then we say them! One was standing tall in the water and the other was sitting on the land just beside that. Both looked handsome! My wish of seeing a nilgai out here had come true. Standing at the periphery we clicked some snaps but couldn’t get enough! My adventurous husband decided to move ahead towards them through the swampy area. I was not very sure but followed his instincts. We must have walked around 300 meters and couldn’t believe our luck. There were some more from the herd and the female nilgais were sun-bathing on the other side. With a few islands in the lake the beauty was unimaginable. The camera just didn’t stop clicking! All angles, panaromic views and close-ups, it captured all. I was the ‘spotter’ and my husband the ‘shooter’.

And as we turned to leave I looked back once again, and saw the nilgais coming out of their shaded island and crossing the lake. Back we went to clicking away the moment as the herd followed the leader into the water and out of it towards the other side.
We ran back to the periphery and circled it to come out to an area where the nilgais had moved. And the camera clicked on again!

As we left the reserve, almost two and half hours after entering it, we were smiling to ourselves. The experience had been wonderful and we had found a place to go back to whenever we needed a break from the city.

The beauty of the return journey was like icing on the cake! Dark clouds mixed with clouds of varied colours and hue, pink and orange and red and grey, covered the light blue sky. I clicked away in abandon and my camera did the rest!

When we reached home by dinner time, we were tired but still chattering away about the birds, the nilgais, the train we crossed at the railway crossing, the clouds and its hues…………

This is one place we plan to go back again!

indracal · Aug 20th, 2009, 16:50

Wanderers, what an excellent post to start with! Welcome to IM!

A great maiden post - and excellent pics!

What camera are you using?

epidaetia · Aug 20th, 2009, 17:00

I just joined today looking at places to travel..
I think if it rains this weekend (or weather gods provides even a little respite), I might just drive down to Sultanpur..

thewanderers · Aug 20th, 2009, 17:11

Thank you for the welcome.

We are using a Nikon D60, with the standard kit lens 18-55mm.

vinayverma · Aug 20th, 2009, 17:19

Great post...seems like a good idea for weekend drive..
I too was waiting for the rains. Sultanpur comes alive with the migratory birds in the winters..

Raptor · Aug 20th, 2009, 17:26

thewanderes welcome to the community.

Vinay, some birders from Delhi have planned to do Sultanpur on sunday morning 6 am. And some of them will then drive down to Bhindawas Sanctuary. Most of them bring their own breakfast and those who will drive to Bhindawas will come prepared with lunch.

We can have a Delhi-Gurgaon meetup/picnic either on Sunday itself, or even on Saturday to avoid the crowds. If interested please get back to me and we can plan something.

shahronakm · Aug 20th, 2009, 23:13

Nice write up. Thanks.

Ronak.

Aug 20th, 2009, 15:22	#1
thewanderers Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Delhi Posts: 2	A Lake With a View - Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary, Haryana The weather was beautiful! After a long period of heat and humidity, Delhi had finally seen some rain……….continuously through the weekend! Pigeon holed for days in our apartment, or should I say our bedroom that is the only room in the house with an A/C, we were waiting to be let out. And so, after a little coaxing, my husband decided to surf the net for areas around Delhi that we could visit. Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary, said the site, was a national reserve that had migratory birds and some animals. Birds…….we have never been interested in, we barely know their names! But wildlife we love! You can figure that out from the fact that we went to the Pench Tiger Reserve for our honeymoon! So, without a blink we decided to pack our new Nikon D60, a tripod, a set of binoculars, and some food (the foodies that we are!) and left. Around forty kilometers from Safdarjung Enclave (where we stay), the drive to Sultanpur took us one and half hours. Taking the Gurgaon toll road we went ahead till the Hero Honda Factory and then took a right turn from there towards Basai Road. Till Gurgaon we were greeted by the concrete monsters. But moving on Basai Road, intermittently asking for directions, we crossed fields, small houses, some factories, an unfinished flyover, a huge puddle of water, a railway crossing, and even some villages. Everything looked wonderful and bright, reflecting the day and our mood! The Bird Sanctuary was another world! We walked towards a trail in the reserve that was calm and serene and started taking in the beauty presented to us by nature. But, not for long as a cackling of laughter disturbed the peace around. A family of six, with an equal mix of males and females including children, were chattering away little realizing that they would scare the birds or animals around. We decided to quicken our pace to put some distance between us and the loud family and the trick worked. We were left to once again submerge ourselves in the beauty around us. Monkeys with their children were the first to greet us! And they kept their distance, unlike the monkeys in Simla who miss no chance to pounce on you. My husband, who usually has an answer for most things, very serenely informed me that this might be because the visitors are not allowed to feed the animals (as there is a rule against taking food items into the reserve) and so the monkeys do not pounce on people for food. Hmmmm! Interesting observation. One has to see a peacock with its feathers open and dancing away to really understand how beautiful a sight it is. With only a 18-55 mm zoom lens with us we could not capture a close-up but the sight is forever captured in our hearts. And as one walked by, I couldn’t help notice that the dance was for a peahen standing close-by. Matters of the heart! The dense forest of trees that we reached was home to just a few squirrels and some birds. But as we walked I saw some faeces that were not human. My know-all husband again came to my help. These were left by blue bulls (or nilgais as we call them in Hindi). The anticipation of coming across nilgais was building in me. Walking towards the lake that is around 1.75 kilometres wide, one could hear different bird calls. And then we say them! One was standing tall in the water and the other was sitting on the land just beside that. Both looked handsome! My wish of seeing a nilgai out here had come true. Standing at the periphery we clicked some snaps but couldn’t get enough! My adventurous husband decided to move ahead towards them through the swampy area. I was not very sure but followed his instincts. We must have walked around 300 meters and couldn’t believe our luck. There were some more from the herd and the female nilgais were sun-bathing on the other side. With a few islands in the lake the beauty was unimaginable. The camera just didn’t stop clicking! All angles, panaromic views and close-ups, it captured all. I was the ‘spotter’ and my husband the ‘shooter’. And as we turned to leave I looked back once again, and saw the nilgais coming out of their shaded island and crossing the lake. Back we went to clicking away the moment as the herd followed the leader into the water and out of it towards the other side. We ran back to the periphery and circled it to come out to an area where the nilgais had moved. And the camera clicked on again! As we left the reserve, almost two and half hours after entering it, we were smiling to ourselves. The experience had been wonderful and we had found a place to go back to whenever we needed a break from the city. The beauty of the return journey was like icing on the cake! Dark clouds mixed with clouds of varied colours and hue, pink and orange and red and grey, covered the light blue sky. I clicked away in abandon and my camera did the rest! When we reached home by dinner time, we were tired but still chattering away about the birds, the nilgais, the train we crossed at the railway crossing, the clouds and its hues………… This is one place we plan to go back again! Attached Thumbnails

Aug 20th, 2009, 17:19	#5
vinayverma Maha Infrequent Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Gurgaon Posts: 1,472	Great post...seems like a good idea for weekend drive.. I too was waiting for the rains. Sultanpur comes alive with the migratory birds in the winters.. __________________ If Life is a journey....travel on...and on..on..on.....

Aug 20th, 2009, 17:26	#6
Raptor Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: New Delhi Posts: 56	thewanderes welcome to the community. Vinay, some birders from Delhi have planned to do Sultanpur on sunday morning 6 am. And some of them will then drive down to Bhindawas Sanctuary. Most of them bring their own breakfast and those who will drive to Bhindawas will come prepared with lunch. We can have a Delhi-Gurgaon meetup/picnic either on Sunday itself, or even on Saturday to avoid the crowds. If interested please get back to me and we can plan something. __________________ Motorcars Last edited by Raptor : Aug 20th, 2009 at 17:26. Reason: typo

Aug 20th, 2009, 23:13	#7
shahronakm Maha Guru Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Mumbai, India Posts: 1,851	Nice write up. Thanks. Ronak. __________________ My Picture Gallery

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Aug 20th, 2009, 16:50	#2
indracal Wanderlust - but bills bug! Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Kolkata Posts: 514	Wanderers, what an excellent post to start with! Welcome to IM! A great maiden post - and excellent pics! What camera are you using?

Aug 20th, 2009, 17:00	#3
epidaetia Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Noida Posts: 50	I just joined today looking at places to travel.. I think if it rains this weekend (or weather gods provides even a little respite), I might just drive down to Sultanpur..

Aug 20th, 2009, 17:11	#4
thewanderers Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Delhi Posts: 2	Thank you for the welcome. We are using a Nikon D60, with the standard kit lens 18-55mm.

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