“Hope” is the thing with feathers
that perches in the soul
and sings the tune without the words
And never stops – at all – Emily Dickenson
Nature has endowed humankind with so many beautiful gifts. One such blessing is the rainbow of birds. Birds are a symbol of hope, their twittering and chirping is a source of happiness for many, their hopping and dancing is an eye captivating picture, their singing is like a river of merriment and their flight is the symbol of freedom and an aspiration for the caged ones like us.
For bird lovers or for the people who are in any way related to birding, bird photography or ornithology etc, the various bird sanctuaries are a perk for them. One needs to have a bird’s eye view in order to spot these birds. People with an acute observation can spot variety of birds even in urban dwellings.
“A city like our capital where there is so much of hullabaloo is an abode of various residential and migratory birds.”
This metropolitan which is famous for its people, food, streets, fashion, metro life, heritage tourism and a lot of things, has got various bird sanctuaries, biodiversity parks, ridge areas in around the city for all the nature and bird lovers and photography enthusiasts. But an interesting fact is that, if you are an ardent observer, a variety of birds can be spotted into the very heart of the city outside the bird sanctuaries. In my daily life, while walking on the roads of Delhi I personally have spotted and clicked a variety of birds within the city itself. Let’s have a quick bird tour through my eyes.
I spotted this green bee-eater in my college campus and the very next day I carried my camera to my college to click this beautiful bird of the bee-eater family. After watching the activities of this bee-eater and patiently waiting for almost half an hour, this bird finally gave me permission to click some pictures.
Mynas are quite common to spot in Delhi. But this one was a bit uncommon for me as I have always spotted common mynas and this was the first time I had clicked a pied myna.
I always used to hear about Laughing dove from my father and every time I heard, I used to get curious because of its name. And finally one usual day I got my chance to spot this bird and since then I have been lucky enough to spot this bird pretty often. Look at the smiling face!
State bird of Maharashtra, this bird is called Hariyal in Marathi. This pigeon is my neighbor and as soon as I go to my balcony we greet each other. The sighting of this bird makes my mornings pleasant.
This little one may resemble a leaf at first sight and knows very well to camouflage. To spot this bird was a fresh experience for me.
Some other birds that I have spotted around me in the city are Bulbuls, Jungle Babblers, Collared Dove, Spotted Owlets, Common Hoopoe, Indian Roller, Drongo, Tree pies, Magpies, Purple sunbird, Common Myna, Common Pigeon, House Sparrow, Indian Robin, Indian Grey Hornbill, Wagtail, Coppersmith Barbet, Brahminy Starling, Lapwings, White-breasted Kingfisher, House crows, Parakeets etc.
A few more pictures from my archives:
So this was my birding experience in Dil valo ki Dili and my journey continues further. Certainly there are more birds out there that are yet to be spotted and clicked. All we need is to observe and we all can have an amazing birding experience within this beautiful capital of India So next time you go out just keep one eye on the trees and one of course on the road. Happy Birding !
MALVIKA RUDRA
(TEAM TUB)
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