Bird and Animal watching at Basai Wetlands and adjacent lands (Near Delhi,India)

We left at 6am. We didn't want to miss the morning birds! Sultanpur bird sanctuary was closed, since it's monsoon season.  However, we were still able to see some animals because of a nearby wetland - Basai Lake.

This is a Pheasant tailed Jacana :) It was a beautiful area we went to, a local birder came to help us spot birds, we saw over 30 varieties of birds, some of which are endangered. So much construction has been happening in the area, that the once beautiful lake is now mostly drained. Large apartment complexes have taken over in the surrounding areas, there is about 250 acres of wetlands for the birds, but many birds have died or hopefully found other homes. This place used to be home to flamingos, but since the waters are much more shallow, flamingos can no longer call it a home. We saw: Sarus Crane, Hoopoe, Paddyfield Pipit, Indian Roller, White Ibis, Black Headed Ibis, Little Egret, Purple Swamp Hen, Common Moor Hen, Purple and Grey Heron, Red Wattled Lap Wing, Spotted Billed ducks, Pheasant tailed ducks, Black winged Stilts, Pond Heron, Euration Roller, White Throated Kingfisher, Bank Miner, Little Stint.. among others.. Some of the rare birds we saw: Bars Button Quail, Rain Quail and the Indian Corsel. This land is so precious! If you have any ideas how we can save these wetlands from construction please contact me: esther.shanti1@gmail.com Thank you!!!

A couple more shots from the wetlands

The above three pictures were taken on a nearby farm less than 20 km away from Basai Lake

Fact sheet for Basai Wetlands http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/sitefactsheet.php?id=18172