Sultanpur National Park

My almost regular travel to Farukhnagar to a college, led me to visit the Sultanpur National Park, located 15 kms from Gurgaon and 40 kms from Delhi. You begin to realize that you are reaching the sanctuary when you see rare birds on the wayside. I have on a numerous times spotted the white throated kingfisher nearby to the Sanctuary, which had made me keen to visit the place.

History

White throated Kingfisher, easity spotted by me

Sultanpur named after Sultan Singh was the biggest village (covering 52000 bighas of land) under Farrukhnagar and many of the present day villages around it have originated as 'dhanis' i.e. temporary farmer's shelters within the boundary of Sultanpur. The region around Sultanpur was called Dhundhoti. Sultanpur was the center of salt production for use in Delhi and the United Provinces till the late 19th century exporting annually 250000 quintals of salt.

As a bird sanctuary it was the find of Peter Jackson, famous ornothologist, and Honorary Secretary of the Delhi Birdwatching Society, who wrote to Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi, founder of the Society, in 1970 about the need to declare the Sultanpur jheel near Delhi, a bird sanctuary, and she asked him to take her there.In 1972, the Sultanpur Bird Reserve was established. On 07/13/1989 the reserve was upgraded to a National Park.It has an area of 1.43 square kilometers.It is a protected area where over 250 species of birds have been sighted.

Earlier before the construction of bandhs and drainage areas around Sultanpur remained waterlogged and attracted a large numbers of migratory birds and hunters, many from the Diplomatic Corps at Delhi. Now however the bird sanctuary is artificially revived using pumped water from the Jamuna river.

Resident birds

Resident birds include the Common hoopoe, Paddyfield pipit, Purple sunbird, Little cormorant, Indian Cormorant, Common Spoonbill, Gray Francolin, Black francolin, Indian roller, White-throated kingfisher,Spotbill, Painted stork, Black-necked stork, White ibis, Black-headed ibis, Little egret, Great egret,Cattle egret, Crested lark, Red-vented bulbul, Rose-ringed parakeet, Red-wattled lapwing, Shikra,Eurasian collared dove, Red-collared dove, Laughing dove, Spotted owlet, Rock pigeon, Magpie robin,Greater coucal, Weaver bird, Bank Mynah, Common Mynah and Green Bee-eater.

Migratory birds

Sarus Crane (Grus antigone) at Sultanpur

Every year over a hundred migratory bird species visit here to feed. In winter the sanctuary provides is a panorama of migratory birds such as Siberian Crane, Greater Flamingo, Ruff, Black-winged Stilt, Common Teal, Common Greenshank, Northern Pintail, Yellow Wagtail, White Wagtail, Northern Shoveler, Rosy Pelican, Spot-billed Pelican, Gadwall, Wood Sandpiper, Spotted Sandpiper, Eurasian Wigeon, Black-tailed Godwit, Spotted Redshank, Starling, Bluethroat and Long-billed Pipit. In summer about 11 species of migratory birds such as Asian Koel, Black-crowned Night Heron, Grey heron, Eurasian Golden Oriole, Comb duck,Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, Blue-tailed Bee-eater and Cuckoos come here.

In addition to the many birds, animals such as Blue Bull and Black Buck are also seen here. Trees which are popular with the birds like Acacia nilotica, Acacia tortilis, Berberis and Neem have been planted.

Facilities

The park is a popular picnic spot for residents of New Delhi and the NCR (National Capital Region), especially during the winter migration months when thousands of birds visit here from across the globe. There are four watch towers (machans) located at different points, an education and interpretation center, a library, films, slides and binoculars for the benefit of bird lovers. A walk along the perimeter of the park takes up to two hours. A room dedicated to the memory of Dr. Salim Ali, which contains his bust, photographs, write ups, and some of his personal effects. There is public parking, bathrooms, drinking water facilities and a children's park in the reserve. For those wishing to stay overnight, the park also has a well appointed guest house with all amenities.

How to Get There

The park is 50 km from Delhi and 15 km from Gurgaon on the Gurgaon - Farukh Nagar Road. It is easily accessible by road and can be reached by hiring a taxi or by your own transport if you enjoy a long drive. Address: Divisional Inspector, Wildlife, Sultanpur National Park, Dist. Gurgaon. C/o DFO (Terr.) Gurgaon (0124) - 2015670, 2375242