Retired Squadron Leader spots 35 rare avian visitors in Noida

Former Jaguar pilot Vijainder Kumar Thakur, living in Arun Vihar, says dense trees in the area are a habitat for several rare and regular birds. The passionate bird watcher further claimed that there is a bird that comes from the Himalayas. Thakur concluded this after a close observation of nearly a year.

Thakur said Arun Vihar, which comprises Sectors 28, 29 and 37, houses numerous small birds such as tailor bird, oriental white eye, purple sunbird, brown rockchat, priental magpie-robin, bee eater, house sparrow, brown-headed barbet, coppersmith barbet and red-vented bulbul.

Rose-ringed parakeet, Asian koyal, yellow-footed green pigeon, white throat kingfisher, cattle egret, ashy drongo, red-wattled lapwing (tatiri), brown hawk owl, white breasted water hen, crow pheasant and pond heron are some of the medium size avian guests that frequent Thakur’s neighbourhood. In raptors, he claimed to have spotted Indian white rumped vulture and shikra.

“I and my wife are bird enthusiasts. We have been spotting birds since 2013-end and have observed various species of birds frequenting our area. These birds are found in bird sanctuaries and forests of our country. We have visited bird sanctuaries in and around Delhi-NCR to know more about these birds. We have clicked nearly 3,000 birds in the area and came to know about their species in consultation with world-renowned photographers. We also checked their body shape, tail, flange, leg, sound and their chirping on Flicker and Wikipedia. Ashy drongo visits Noida from the foothills of Himalaya. Shikra, a raptor, can move from one place to another, which is rare,” said Thakur.