Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary (Gurgaon) - Timings, Ticket Price, Best Time

Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary, Gurgaon Overview

A perfect weekend getaway from Delhi, Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary is an amazing escape, especially for nature lovers and birding enthusiasts. It is home to a number of migratory birds and is a great spot for spotting the various species, especially during winters. Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary is located at a distance of 40 kilometres from Dhaula-Kuan in Delhi on the Gurgaon-Farukh Nagar Road. There are astonishing 250 species of birds here during the peak season, i.e. September and during winters.

Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary has been declared to be a National Park by the Haryana Government and is home to a plethora of resident and migratory birds. The varied species of migratory birds flock here after covering incredible distances from various parts of Europe, Siberia and Central Asia. To make the process of bird watching more feasible, there are about four towers erected at different points of this property.

Best Time To Visit Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary

Winters serve as the ideal time to visit this sanctuary as all migratory birds flock here during the winter season. Hence, the months from October to February are the best months to visit Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary.

Species of Birds at Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary

Resident birds at the Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary include the common hoopoe, paddyfield pipit, purple sunbird, little cormorant, Indian Cormorant, common spoonbill, gray francolin, black francolin, Indian roller, white-throated kingfisher, 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 include Siberian crane, greater flamingo, ruff, black-winged stilt, common teal, common greenshank, northern pintail, yellow wagtail, white wagtail, northern shoveller, 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, Indian golden oriole, knob-billed duck, blue-cheeked bee-eater, blue-tailed bee-eater and cuckoos also come here.

Tips For Visiting Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary

1. Bird watching is best done early in the morning. 7:00 AM is the perfect time for bird watching as migratory birds fly out of their nests at sunrise and return at sunset.
2. Carry a decent pair of binoculars along with you
3. Make sure to be as quiet as possible so as to not scare the birds.

How To Reach Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary

Driving on your own is a feasible way to reach Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary from Delhi. You can also hire a day cab from any rent-a-car operator and drive up to Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary, which is about 50 kilometres from central Delhi. Alternatively, you can also travel by bus that is easily available in Delhi and is a comfortable mode of transportation. Since the sanctuary is located quite far from the Huda City metro station, it is not a good idea to use Metro as the mode of transport. Finding cab or auto from Huda City metro will be quite chaotic.

History of Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary

Sultanpur is named after Rajput Chauhan Sultan Singh who was the great-grandson of Harsh Dev Chauhan. Sultanpur was the centre of salt production till the 19th century. In 1969 at the Conference of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural resources (IUCN) in New Delhi, the potential of the Sultanpur Jheel was highlighted. It had been the main attracting force for birds, since about a century. Peter Jackson of the IUCN, along with the late Prime Minister of India, Mrs Indira Gandhi was the main force regarding this. On April 2, 1971, the Sultanpur Jheel with an area of 1.21 sq. Kilometres was provided with the Sanctuary status under section 8 of the Punjab Wildlife Preservation Act of 1959. Further on 5th July 1991, the status of the park was upgraded to National Park under Section 35 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. Simultaneously the area was increased to 1.42 sq. kilometers. The National Park comprises of the land of Sadhrana, Chandu, Sultanpur and Saidpur villages.