On the first day we departed at 05:30 am from the hotel in New Delhi to reach Sultanpur National Park when the gates opened at 7 am. Sultanpur National Park is situated about 1 hour drive south of the capital. About 250 bird species are found at the Sultanpur RAMSAR site, of which about 100 are migratory. The best period to visit for birdwatching is therefore in the winter when many northern birds come here to avoid the cold winters in the Himalayas or even Mongolia and Siberia. A trail encircles a small lake, and we spent 5 hours at Sultanpur, and walked maybe 5 km and observed about 80 species. It was quite hazy, and dark at dawn, so although not optimal conditions for photography, it was a great start of the trip. Later, we stopped at a roadside wetland near Hassanpur Sohna on our way toward Bharatpur and observed more species there. In total, we ended on 112 species the first day. Unfortunately, I had a camera malfunction this day and struggled to adapt to the local conditions (very hazy and often difficult to focus, and cool in the morning and near 30°C at noon). I missed some easy targets. So, a good start in terms of the number of bird species seen, but suboptimal in terms of photography (lots of relatively poor photos, and some missed opportunities this day still annoys me!).
Being the first day, I was surprised by the high number of recognizable species. A lot the waterfowls we saw this day are also common in Northern Europe. Although I got plenty of «lifers», birds I have not seen before, there were a lot of ducks and other species we also have in Norway. On this page I therefore post photos of many birds commonly seen in Norway. Most photos are heavily cropped, so the quality is not very good, unfortunately.
Also included here are a few photos of birds we saw at a wetland next to the road on our way from Sultanpur to Bharatpur (labeled Hassanpur).
Little Grebe / Dvergdykker (Tachybaptus ruficollis)
Northern Shoveler / Skjeand (Spatula clypeata)
Gadwall / Snadderand (Mareca strepera). The Gadwall was the most common duck at Sultanpur NP
Common Pochard / Taffeland (Aythya ferina)
Ferruginous Duck (Aythya nyroca)
Tufted Duck / Toppand (Aythya fuligula)
Northern Pintail / Stjertand (Anas acuta)
Green-winged Teal / Krikkand (Anas carolinensis)
Eurasian Wigeon / Brunnakke (Mareca penelope)
Indian Spot-billed Duck (Anas poecilorhyncha)
Greylag Goose / Grågås (Anser anser), Hassanpur
Knob-billed Duck (Sarkidiornis melanotos)
Knob-billed Duck, Hassanpur
Common Moorhen / Sivhøne (Gallinula chloropus)
Eurasian Coot / Sothøne (Fulica atra)
Purple Swamphen (Porphyrio porphyrio)
White-breasted Waterhen (Amaurornis phoenicurus)
Little Cormorant (Microcarbo niger)
Great Cormorant / Storskarv (Phalacrocorax carbo)
Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea)
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta)
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia)
Great Egret (Ardea alba)
Eurasian Spoonbill / Skjestork (Platalea leucorodia)
Grey Heron / Gråhegre (Ardea cinerea)
Black-headed Ibis (Threskiornis melanocephalus)
Red-naped Ibis (Pseudibis papillosa), Hassanpur
Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus)
Asian Woolly-necked Stork (Ciconia episcopus)
Painted Stork (Mycteria leucocephala)
A far-away Black-necked Stork (Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus)
Red-wattled Lapwing (Vanellus indicus)
White-tailed Lapwing (Vanellus leucurus) and a Citrine Wagtail (Motacilla citreola)
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus)
Spotted Sandpiper / Sotsnipe (Actitis macularius)
Wood Sandpiper / Grønnstilk (Tringa glareola)
Common Greenshank / Gluttsnipe (Tringa nebularia)
Ruff / Brushane (Calidris pugnax), Hassanpur
Ruff in flight, with a few Black-winged Stilt
Lots of birds near the highway at Hassanpur
Pheasant-tailed Jacana (Hydrophasianus chirurgus), Hassanpur
The trail encircling the lake at Sultanpur National Park
Sultanpur National Park
Pallas's Gull (Ichthyaetus ichthyaetus)
Pallas's Gull (Ichthyaetus ichthyaetus)
Yellow-footed Green Pigeon (Treron phoenicoptera)
Eurasian Collared Dove / Tyrkerdue (Streptopelia decaocto) and a Black Drongo (Dicrurus macrocercus)
Laughing Dove (Spilopelia senegalensis)
Black Drongo (Dicrurus macrocercus)
White-fronted Kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis)
White-fronted Kingfisher
Alexandrine Parakeet (Psittacula eupatria)
Rose-ringed Parakeet (Psittacula krameri)
Shikra (Accipiter badius) in the early morning
Eastern Imperial Eagle (Aquila heliaca)
Eurasian Marsh Harrier / Sivhauk (Circus aeruginosus)
Oriental Honey Buzzard (Pernis ptilorhynchus)
Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans formosanus). A subspecies of the Black Kite
Spotted Owlet (Athene brama)
Booted Eagle (Hieraaetus pennatus), Hassanpur
Eastern Imperial Eagle (Hieraaetus pennatus), Hassanpur
Sind Sparrow (Passer pyrrhonotus)
Red-vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus cafer)
Long-tailed Shrike (Lanius schach)
Bay-backed Shrike (Lanius vittatus)
Small Minivet (Pericrocotus cinnamomeus) - female
Small Minivet - male
Western Yellow Wagtail / Gulerle (Motacilla flava)
Citrine Wagtail (Motacilla citreola)
Olive-backed Pipit (Anthus hodgsoni)
Paddyfield Pipit (Anthus rufulus)
Jungle Babbler (Turdoides striata)
Large Grey Babbler (Argya malcolmi)
Ashy Prinia (Prinia socialis)
Pied Bush Chat (Saxicola caprata)
Indian Robin (Saxicoloides fulicatus)
Oriental Magpie-robin (Copsychus saularis)
Purple Sunbird (Cinnyris asiaticus)
Red-breasted Flycatcher / Dvergfluesnapper (Ficedula parva)
Grey-throated Martin (Riparia chinensis)
Wire-tailed Swallow (Hirundo smithii)
Siberian Chiffchaff / Gransanger (Phylloscopus collybita tristis)
Lesser Whitethroat / Møller (Sylvia curruca)
Nilgai male (Boselaphus tragocamelus), the largest antelope in Asia
Nilgai female
Very hazy conditions in Sultanpur NP
Sultanpur lake