Explore Urban Birding Habitats during Delhi Earth Walks to Amrut Biodiversity Park
Date: 22 Feb 2026
Location: Amrut Biodiversity Park
Location Map: https://maps.app.goo.gl/FWYgLkRwN4tv2R7RA
Walk Leader: Rajesh Kalra
Walk theme: Where birds belong: Understanding avian habitats
Walk Coordinator: Salil Dutta
No. of participants: 7
Name of participants: Nishad Venugopal, Shruti Ambast, Manoj Gupta, Archana Gupta, Shivani Wadera, Geetanjali Aggarwal, Nidhi Batra
Delhi is a happening city, whether it is regarding encountering the unexpected avian diversity or finding urban biodiversity hotspots closed because of VIP movement. Such was the tale of Sunday, when Asian Adventures, in collaboration with Global Wildlife Fair and Delhi Tourism, had organised an Earth Walk in Asita East DDA Park. The decided location could not be accessed because of executive transit. But we believed in the spirit of “when the going gets tough, the tougher gets going” and chose another biodiversity gem, Amrut Biodiversity Park, as the venue for the birdwalk. At the beginning of the walk, the leader gave a brief introduction to the location. The park, which spans over 115 hectares, results from the collaboration between the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and the CSIR- National Botanical Research Institute in Lucknow. The biodiversity park is an integral aspect of the DDA’s Yamuna Floodplain Restoration Initiative.
As the walk proceeded, the participants started asking questions related to the ideal gadgets that can be used for photography. The walk leader duly explained the models to be chosen in the beginning and how to upgrade the device after a specific span of time, and develop expertise. The participants even inquired about the gliding movement of birds in the air. He explained that the duration of the flight has a direct relation to the body proportion of the bird, which it efficiently uses in floating in the air. As one of the major yardsticks of Earth Walks is promoting citizen science, during the walk, too, the participants were asked to keep apps like eBird and Merlin handy to enlist and record the sounds of birds that are being witnessed during the walk.
The sounds of birds like the oriental magpie were recorded using the app. The participants here shared a query that many times, the sounds of birds like the Asian Pied Starling or the common crow are not recognised by the apps. He explained that the potential glitch is possibly because of the audio length. Even though the app uses a 3-second interval for identification, the actual time taken may vary. The app sometimes cannot even distinguish between similar-sounding birds. Hence, even though these apps are a birder’s heaven, the attentiveness of the birder itself is the key aspect that makes the art of birding joyous.
It was then that the highlight of the walk was spotted. Right across the sky, a game of pursuit was in full swing. Earlier, it appeared that the house crows were following some bird; on closer observation, it was witnessed that the bird was the Steppe Eagle. This magnificent sighting became the first record of the Steppe Eagle being witnessed in the park. The moment became an important occurrence in the avian history of Delhi. As the walk continued, the crucial relationship between the weather and the bird diversity in the region was being discussed. It was said that the change of seasons has a significant impact on the types of birds migrating or living in an area.
The discussion then took a turn on how rich the Indian Culture has been, as it is filled with ragas and melodies that invite and rejoice the arrival of seasons. This quick exchange turned into a recreational session where a participant sang a song about the arrival of the monsoon in her regional language. Music surpasses every language and transcends into the realm of the soul. The similarity of the wording of the song was recognised by the walk leader, who then sang a song on a similar theme in Hindi. The walk ended on a high note, where participants enjoyed every bit of birding from a whole new, refreshing perspective. Even you can add value to your ordinary Sundays, cause with us, you do not merely take a birdwalk, you experience an immersive birdwatching venture. To be a part, click here https://asianadventures.info/p/af0725/
Bird List
- Indian Spot-billed Duck
- Indian Peafowl
- Feral Pigeon
- Eurasian Collared-Dove
- Laughing Dove
- Yellow-footed Green-Pigeon
- Asian Koel
- Common Moorhen
- Red-wattled Lapwing
- Green Sandpiper
- Common Greenshank
- Temminck’s stint
- Little Grebe
- Painted Stork
- Oriental Darter
- Little Cormorant
- Great Cormorant
- Little Egret
- Eastern-cattle Egret
- Great White Egret
- Crested Honey-Buzzard
- Steppe Eagle
- Black Kite
- Asian Green Bee-eater
- White-throated Kingfisher
- Coppersmith Barbet
- Brown-headed Barbet
- Alexandrine Parakeet
- Ring-necked Parakeet
- Black Drongo
- Rufous Treepie
- House crow
- Large-billed Crow
- Common Tailorbird
- Delicate Prinia
- Yellow-bellied Prinia
- Ashy Prinia
- Plain Prinia
- Grey-throated Martin
- Barn Swallow
- Wire-tailed swallow
- Eastern red-rumped swallow
- Red-whiskered Bulbul
- Red-vented Bulbul
- Hume’s Warbler
- Common Chiffchaff
- Lesser Whitethroat
- Indian White-eye
- Jungle Babbler
- Indian Pied Starling
- Brahminy Starling
- Common Myna
- Indian Robin
- Taiga Flycatcher
- Purple Sunbird
- House Sparrow
- Western Yellow wagtail
- Citrine Wagtail
- Paddyfield Pipit