Our recent India birding adventure began in Delhi. We had a comfortable flight on Emirates, via Dubai, landing in Delhi late morning. Glad to have left the traumatic experience of visa applications and immigration control behind us, we were met by UK tour manager Andy and Ved, our ground agent. A short coach ride took us to The Grand Hotel – our base for the first couple of nights. After a relaxed lunch we birded until dusk in Lodhi Gardens, a nearby city park – getting our India birding eye in.
Jane and Nicola at Delhi airport – met by Ved, our ground agent
Wildlife in our Delhi hotel garden included Red-wattled Lapwing around the pool
The historic palace in Lodhi Gardens – popular place with Delhi residents after work – formed a spectacular birding backdrop
Any urban birding is going to include crows – here the two common species, House (Jackdaw-like) and Large-billed
High on Neil’s ‘must see’ list was Yellow-footed Green Pigeon – superb things. In the end we saw thousands!
How many times did we hear this creature and go looking for an exotic bird! – Five-stripped Squirrel
Treepie were generally inconspicuous in Thailand – here Rufous Treepie were cocky, ‘pick-pocket’ birds
No birding trip is complete without a woodpecker – the default species around Delhi was Black-rumped Flameback
Even the starlings in India were interesting – these are Asian Pied
We saw several babbler species during the trip – these Jungle Babbler, with their squeaky toy call, were the commonest
But the biggest surprise in this inner-city garden was this regal Black Ibis, with it’s crimson crown – feeding on the irrigated lawns
After a hard afternoons birding, it’s good to get back to your B&B and put your feet up
The following day was an excursion to Sultanpur National Park, an up and coming birding hotspot on the outskirts of the city.
Trevor On Tour 