By - Purnima Anup Singh

 “I want to sing like the birds, not worrying about who hears, or what they think”-Rumi

Here we go again! One misty winter morning hubby and I land up at the Okhla Bird Sanctuary Metro station, having been called the night before by Ajay. “Birding chalna hai”? He asked. Do we ever say no to Adventure, my husband smiled and here we were, shivering in the cold, trying to snuggle in our jackets. The sanctuary is just a short walk from the metro station and since there is no place for parking we traveled from Gurgaon by metro. Ajay and Sonam met us in their usual cheerful backpacking resourceful avatars- don’t ask me how much stuff can come out of those two small backpacks! I’ve known them to carry lots of stuff to eat, drink and tents to pitch and clothes to change, all in small tight packs which look so small but you could not lift them, believe me!

Sure enough, out came breakfast for the nine of us and hot Chai while we waited for gate security to check our tickets. After disposing of all waste responsibly, Ajay led us to a stop just inside the gate explaining when and how the sanctuary was formed. All this while my husband dear was jumping excitedly from one foot to another, pointing at a tiny gray bird hopping in a bush. The expert guide, Mr Aswini Patel said it was an Ashy Prinia and that is the one name my husband has not forgotten! The power of early mornings!

As we strolled into the sanctuary I could not help but notice how dry the vegetation was and how rustic and ill-funded the whole place looked. I have to say that whenever I go to a reserved forest or wildlife sanctuary I feel a lack of support for infrastructure as well as upkeep. In spite of all the challenges the wildlife perseveres and how! That day was made spectacular by the sighting of several overseas winged visitors like the emerald-headed Northern Shoveler, Greylag goose, Northern Pintail, Teals, and Gadwalls- some swimming with their families, others roosting on the floating bunds. Other spectacular water birds like the Cormorants, Grey Herons, Purple Herons, Darter, Grebes, Moorhens, White Ibis, and Glossy Ibis, just made the day so joyful.

Quietly we snaked our way into the sanctuary towards the tall reeds, all the while spotting a pair of Red-vented Bulbul, Red-whiskered Bulbul, Purple sunbird, Barn Swallows, Babblers, Drongo, Indian White-eye, Common Chiff-chaff and the Asian Koel, just to name a few. The River Terns filled the sky as we crossed a wooden bridge to the reed beds and thicker bush. The Roufus Oriental Treepie made its displeasure known at our trespass whereas the Oriental Magpie Robin carried on without a care in the world. There was a little girl with us who marveled at every bird and her enthusiasm rubbed on us as we keenly observed our surroundings mostly we were rewarded by the presence of a Common Pochard or Coot but just once we spotted the Brown-headed Barbet and the gorgeous Pelican and we knew our day was made! With cheerful smiles and our jackets, mufflers, and caps in our hands we walked back to the end point but not before clicking some pictures on the boat-like seats present on the waterfront and some fallen yet mighty gnarled trees.

Built over the Okhla barrage of the mighty Yamuna, the Okhla Bird Sanctuary is spread over a 4 square km area on the Delhi-UP border. A high-power line runs at its edge. It is mainly dry scrub, grassland, and wetland. Although it boasts of about 300 species of birds, at least about 30 species of water birds and 30 species of other birds were spotted that day all thanks to the expert Patel ji, the Adventureism team, and all of us aware and enthusiastic participants. Thank you to whoever invented binoculars. He he! The day became more spectacular by spotting of a Peregrine Falcon on an electric tower. Ending our trip with snacks and juices, we all walked tiredly back to the metro station, animatedly discussing all the names of the birds we spotted. And guess what my husband remembered- Ashy Prinia of course!! Thank you team Adventureism. Asola Bhatti next?