(Nikhil Devasar) (Subramanian Venkatramani) (Subramanian Venkatramani) Aditi.Pancholi@gmail.comSeveral birding enthusiasts set out to different wetlands, biodiversity parks and forests across NCR to record a count of bird species in the area on Sunday. As part of the Big Bird Day, the birders spent hours sighting birds and observing their patterns and photographing them. From Surajpur Wetlands and Okhla Bird Sanctuary to Dhanauri and Aravalli Park , the wetlands and forests were buzzing with birders in action.Nikhil Devasar, the organiser of the event, tells us, "This was the 18th edition of the Big Bird Day. It is an annual event, where birdwatchers gather together and collate the number of species spotted in different regions across the country. The data gathered from different wetlands and forestlands is collated to help bird enthusiasts understand the trends and habitats of birds and their movements." He adds, "The event is gaining popularity by the year. This year, we saw a large participation of school children and a lot of newcomers, too. For the NCR crowd, the whole idea of stepping out on a holiday and staying outdoors amid nature and spotting birds with friends and family is fast picking up. Around 45 birders participated in the event across Noida and Greater Noida."Some spotted over 120 species at Surajpur and Police LinesPrasanna Gautam, a birder and resident of Indirapuram , says, "East Delhi Birders were given to scan Surajpur and Police Line area in Greater Noida. The habitats that we covered were wetlands, woods and grassland. From 7am till 4pm, we managed to record about 120 species of birds.” He added, “This is my 5th Big Bird Day and all the birders in Delhi look forward to this event as this is one opportunity when we get to give back what birding has given to us. Some of the notable sightings were Peregrine Falcon, Common Hawk Cuckoo, two pairs of Sarus Crane, Black-necked Stork and Tree Pipit, among other birds. We also spotted a good number of ducks and waders at Lake Surajpur. Some of the ducks we sighted were Northern Shoveller, Northern Pintail, Gadwall, Common Teal, Spot-billed Duck, Common Pochards, Tufted Duck, Bar-headed Geese and Greylag Geese. Amongst the waders, we sighted Sandpipers, Godwits, Stints, Eurasian Spoonbill and Pied Avocet."He added, "While in woodland we found Common Hawk Cuckoo, Lesser Goldenback, Flycatchers, Hume’s Leaf Warbler, the grassland rewarded us with Munia (Red Avadavat, Scaly-breasted Munia, Indian Silverbill) and Prinia (Plain Prinia, Ashy Prinia, Graceful Prinia)."Subramanian Venkatramani, another birder and a resident of Vaishali, who had gone to Surajpur, tells us, "Setting off early on a Sunday morning to observe birds while it was foggy was an interesting experience. The lake inside Surajpur reserve forest was teeming with various migratory ducks like Northern Shoveller, Common Pochard, Northern Pintail and Eurasian Wigeon.The woods adjourning the lake also yielded Common hawk cuckoo, Lesser golden back (woodpecker) and an assortment of warblers like Hume’s warbler, common chiffchaff, etc. What surprised us was the early arrival of Common hawk cuckoo, which is generally seen at the advent of spring."Around 45 birders set out to record bird species in Noida and Greater NoidaVikash Chaudhary, a birding enthusiast and resident of South Extension II, who went to Dhanauri Wetlands in Greater Noida, says, "This time we spotted 93 species as compared to 84 last year. It was a great experience, birding in the company of good friends. We spent around four hours bird-watching, chit-chatting and photographing birds. We often go to Dhanauri for birding, but this time it was special as we had fieldscopes with us and it helped us sight a greater number of birds and get a panoramic view of the wetlands."Common TailorbirdJaswinder Singh Waraich, team captain of the group that covered Okhla Bird Sanctuary and a resident of Sector 29, says, "The group size was around 25, comprising people of all age groups and ranging from beginners to expert birders. We spotted 99 species. Of these, just over a third are winter visitors. Okhla is a wetland spread over an area 4sqkm. The habitat is favoured by aquatic species including cormorants, dabbling ducks and diving ducks. Waders, which prefer shallow water are not so much at home here because there are hardly any suitable pools with shallow water in this season. This is a good time to see wintering ducks and geese: two species of geese and thirteen species of ducks were counted. Three species of gulls were seen: most of them were Black-headed gulls. A few Brown-headed gulls also seen. Some highlights were a few Great White Pelicans, Mallard and Common Shelducks that were spotted close to gate no. 1. Besides, Orange-headed thrush, Grey bushchat, Richard’s Pipit and Common kingfisher were also observed. Some common species we could not find were Asian Koel, Grey Hornbill, Bank Myna."Common Hawk Cuckoo

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