Bird Walk at Tughlakabad Biodiversity Park, New Delhi

The guided bird walk at Tughlakabad Biodiversity Park brought together 21 participants, including families, children, and even a three-month-old infant, creating a vibrant morning of learning and exploration. Pleasant weather made for comfortable birdwatching as participants walked through the park’s varied habitats, discussing bird behaviour, urban biodiversity, and conservation issues. A major educational highlight was observing nesting sites of swifts, swallows, and martins around the historic Tughlakabad Fort walls, leading to engaging conversations about how birds adapt to urban landscapes. Participants also explored broader conservation topics, including water pollution, degraded wetlands, and afforestation efforts linked to infrastructure development. By the end of the walk, the group had recorded 32 bird species. Among the memorable sightings were a Black Drongo nest, offering a close look at breeding behaviour, an Indian Cormorant surfacing dramatically after prolonged dives, and an exceptionally close encounter with a Plain Prinia. These observations sparked discussions on nesting strategies, feeding adaptations, and habitat requirements of different bird species. Tughlakabad Biodiversity Park serves as an important green space within Delhi, demonstrating how protected urban habitats can support remarkable biodiversity despite increasing development pressures. The walk successfully combined birdwatching with meaningful conversations about habitat conservation, making it both an enjoyable outdoor experience and an opportunity to better understand the ecological challenges facing urban ecosystems.