Bird Walk at Punit van, Gandhinagar, Gujarat

Punit Van offers a rewarding mix of woodland, open-ground and wetland birding within Gandhinagar’s urban landscape. The green spaces and vegetation support a good variety of resident birds, from colourful White-throated Kingfishers, Indian Peafowl and Purple Sunbirds to familiar urban species such as Common Myna, House Sparrow and Rock Pigeon. The denser vegetation is particularly lively with Jungle Babblers, Red-whiskered Bulbuls, Red-vented Bulbuls and White-eared Bulbuls, while Baya Weavers and Indian Silverbills can be spotted around suitable grassy and open areas. The presence of water and open patches also adds diversity, with Grey Heron, White-breasted Waterhen, Knob-billed Duck and Red-wattled Lapwing representing some of the wetland-associated species recorded here. For raptor enthusiasts, Black-winged Kite is an interesting sighting, while Black Ibis and Rosy Starling add further variety to the bird list. The mix of native and planted vegetation, open spaces and water makes Punit Van a useful urban birding site where both common and more specialised species can be observed. Early mornings are particularly productive, when bird activity is at its peak and the park comes alive with calls and movement.