Nature lovers meet for a stroll in the Aravalis

GURUGRAM: The

Aravali Nature Trail

, organised by The Times of India as part of ‘Give Gurugram Its Due’ initiative, received a warm response from nature lovers. The na-ture walk was held at Arav-ali Biodiversity

Park

on Saturday and

Mangar Bani

on Sunday.


Conducted by well-known bird watchers Pankaj Gupta and Sourajit Ghosal, the event helped participants discover the rich flora and fauna of the Aravalis. Interestingly, 67 species of birds were spotted during the two-hour long walk. While 53 species were recorded at Mangar Bani, 42 were sighted at the Aravali Biodiversity Park.

Participants were lucky to spot Eurasian roller, which are early migrants to the region, and the White-bellied drongo. Eurasian collared dove, greater coucal, laughing dove, pied cuckoo, cattle egret, black kite, Eurasian hoopoe, bay-backed shrike, Indian robin and Indian silverbill were some other species spotted by the group.

Moreover, several species of butterflies, including spotted Pierrot, plain tiger, lemon emigrant and common lineblue, were also sighted.

Talking about the Aravali Biodiversity Park as an important bird habitat, Sourajit Ghosal said, “The park has been developed by the NGO iamGurugram through sustained efforts over many years. The idea was to re-wild a part of Aravalis ravaged by mining operations, by planting native flora. Today, it’s a rich and thriving habitat for birds, including migratory species.”

Pankaj Gupta added, “A few species that were considered rare in Delhi-NCR, including white-bellied drongo, Indian pitta and black-headed cuckooshrike, have been found in Mangar Bani. People used to go to places like Jhalana to see some species earlier, but they come to Mangar Bani now. We are glad that such events have helped raise awareness about preserving forests.”

For participants, it was an eye-opening experience. “We have been living here for eight and a half years and we crossed the park many times, but never realised that it is so rich in flora and fauna. We heard and saw so many birds. We really enjoyed the event,” said Pooja, who was part of the nature trail at the Aravali Biodiversity Park.

Seven-year-old Kaira, who came along with her mother, was amazed to spot wild mushrooms at Mangar Bani. “Apart from spotting birds and knowing about some native trees of the Aravalis, she enthusiastically clicked photos of some beautiful wild mushrooms. We are definitely going to come here again,” said Kaira’s mother.