Flutter of joy in Delhi park as rare birds back

NEW DELHI: Scientists at Aravali Biodiversity Park have recently documented the diversity of avian species here, soon to be published in a birding journal. The list is long; it also has several species that are rarely seen in Delhi. Scientists claim that manmade forests in the park with their own micro-climates may have led to revival of these species. Some birders are pleasantly surprised with the list.

According to M Shah Hussain, scientist-in-charge at the park, the number of species has gone up from 60-70 in 2005 to 190 now. "There could be many reasons for this rise. One of them is that we have insects for insectivorous birds and lots of fruiting trees for frugivores. The park now has micro-habitats like grasslands, there is some moist vegetation in the depressions which earlier used to be mining pits and there are many native trees," Hussain said. Before 2005, the area had almost a monoculture of Prospis juliflora (vilayati keekar), an invasive weed.

Park authorities claim that not just birds that had long disappeared from Delhi are being seen again, some belonging to other climate zones like moist deciduous forests have also been spotted here. Indian Pitta for instance, a bird usually found in Western Ghats and Himalayas was seen here recently. "Passage migrants" like red-throated flycatcher, orange-headed thrush, canary flycatcher, and some warblers migrate annually from the Himalayas in winters and white-eyed buzzard, common hawk cuckoo, pied-crested cuckoo, and blue-cheeked bee-eater visit the park in summers.

Among birds that have surprised birders and scientists at the park is the oriental pied hornbill that is usually seen in moist deciduous and evergreen forests of southeast Asia. "I don't think the oriental pied hornbill has been seen in Delhi any time recently. If the park authorities have really spotted it, it's surprising. I think it's a lovely park and their list of sightings is impressive. But the park is not open to birders or general public. I think they should let in interested people. The fact that the park is secure and undisturbed by other urban pressures is great for the birds," said author and birder Bikram Grewal.

Hussain said, "It's not easy to open the park for public because we need certain infrastructure. We do get students regularly. We have also proposed guided nature trails so that people understand how the area has been revived."

The list of birds is likely to be published in a couple of months.

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