Greater Flamingos Spotted at The Basai Wetland Gurgaon

Just today on the third day of my summer vacation, I wanted to do something different. It had been a long time since I had last visited the Sultanpur National Park, a mere twenty-two kilometres from my home on the New Railway Road, Gurgaon. I woke my brother from his deep slumber at half-past five in the morning and urged him to ride pillion with me on a ride to the National Park. He reluctantly agreed and we sped away merrily hoping to spot a rare migratory bird or two!

Alas! On reaching the main gate of the Bird Sanctuary we found the gate barred, and before the gate were two Park attendants who were equally surprised to see both of us at this time (of the year?). I sheepishly grinned at them and asked if we had reached early! The Park always opened at seven in the mornings and it was just seven, wasn't it? One of the attendants then rather patiently told me that the Park had shut down for the breeding season! Of course, I had forgotten this, I should have checked before rushing to the Park. Looking at our disappointed faces, the attendant had the cheek to suggest that we could drive in through the other gate into the Sultanpur Haryana Tourism Complex as we might be able to see something. I knew the only birds we would spot would be Crows and Maina birds.

Resignedly we made a U-turn and drove back home, but then just as we reached the vicinity of the Basai Wetland, I suggested to my brother that we might as well take a peek into the wetland. The way into the wetland was dangerous what with piles of debris, soft dust into which the wheels sank threatening to make the bike skid and topple over (But the BAJAJ V15 has a good grip) however this did not happen and so wended over to the dyke on one side of which lay the remaining patch of water. It was after we had parked and collected our cameras that we got our greatest surprise. Out there in the distance was a flock of Flamingoes foraging in the mud of the rapidly drying up waters of the wetland! Unfortunately, they were not only too far away, but also against the rising sun! Moreover, I was carrying a 250 mm lens and there was not much I could do with that lens.

In spite of all the hurdles, I was able to take a couple of really whacky snaps! In one of them, a flying Flamingo seemed to be voiding the contents of its stomach with great enthusiasm over the Wetland. What a way to bomb the ground, that too with poop! Fortunately, enough none of us on the ground was hurt!

The second photograph was a rather cute one, it was of another flight of Flamingoes, in which one pair was in perfect flight formation, one exactly on top of the other! There a few other interesting snaps we were able to take, especially of a flock of Painted Storks standing on the mud flat of the wetland, preening their feathers or just sitting idle. The resident Pheasant-tailed Jacana, the Purple Swamp-hen and the pair of Kingfisher birds were in the vicinity, though I often wonder, how long it will be before they are forced to flee from the advancing bulldozers and trucks laden with sand and mud.

It is indeed a sad state of affairs especially exacerbated by Officials and people in power who turn a blind eye towards the steady destruction of a habitat home to so many resident and migratory birds. The Basai Wetland is a rich resource that we are wantonly squandering away for real estate prices and greased palms. Till then, we can only wait with bated breath as the advancing jaws of development draw nearer and nearer to this Oasis of life, a reservoir of endangered species, all for the sake of development, advancement and settlement!