gryllosblog   Gryllo's (aka Ian Lewis') blog. All things to do with travel, wildlife especially birds, history, architecture and anything else that interests me.

I had been to Sultanpur Jheel on my first visit to India in 1986, but the area held one bird that was a lifer for me, so a return was called for.

Much of the northern lowlands of India, especially the Ganges plain, is affected by smog and pollution in the winter, this is worst by far in Delhi where an acrid haze hangs over the city.

Sultanpur Jheel (jheel refers to a shallow lake or flood) is a small reserve compared to Bharatpur but still contains a wide range of waterbirds. Here Coots, Grey-headed Swamphens and various ducks can be seen.

In this photo a flock of Spoonbills and a Painted Stork are flying in …

… as well as the Coots and a single Moorhen plus Shoveler and Pochards.

This species was originally called Purple Gallinule, but this was also the name of a species in the New World, so the alternative name of Purple Swamphen was employed. Then the species was divided into six on morphological grounds and this one that occurs in South and South-east Asia is known as Grey-headed Swamphen, although this one doesn’t look all that ‘grey-headed’!

Other regular birds were Indian Pond Heron (which can be found in just about every puddle across the sub-continent) and Glossy Ibis.

In the dense vegetation we found a wide range of Phylloscopus warblers; Siberian Chiffchaff, Greenish Warbler, Tickell’s, Hume’s, Large-billed and Brook’s Leaf Warblers, none of which I got decent photos of, as well as this Ashy Prinia.,

There were also a few Nilgai, also known as Blue Bull, the largest antelope in India.

But most of our targets were in the dry scrub outside the reserve – Indian Thick-knee (or Indian Stone Curlew) …

… Yellow-wattled Lapwing (which is far rarer than its red-wattled cousin) …

… and the bird I most wanted to see, Sind Sparrow.

Smaller than a House Sparrow with a greyer crown and a broad rufous supercillium that extends behind the ear coverts, Sind Sparrow is restricted to north-western India, Pakistan and south-east Iran.

Any bird that only occurs west of India, south of Uzbekistan and east of the Levant can be most difficult to find in the current political climate. Fortunately I was able to catch up with this little gem, only the second life-bird of the trip, near to Sultanpur Jheel.

We headed back into Delhi, Indian roads are the source of endless wonder and amusement. We wondered what this strange contraption was …

… it proved to be just a man on his bike delivering a huge fridge!

We headed for Qutub Minar. The traffic in Delhi was just awful. India seems to have a unique set of road rules, but in spite of the constant blaring of horns, the rapid braking and dodging of stray animals, everything seems good natured. Delhi was different, drivers seemed mean and would cut you up to gain a six foot advantage. A typical three-lane road would become five lanes as drivers squeezed past each other with literally inches to spare and most cars were dented from the inevitable collisions. Fortunately our driver was calm and level headed.

Once at Qutub Minar we wandered around the ancient buildings.

From Wikipedia: Qutub Minar (or Qutab Minar), is a minaret and “victory tower” that forms part of the Qutb complex, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Mehrauli area of New Delhi, India. The height of Qutub Minar is 72.5 meters, making it the tallest minaret in the world built of bricks. The tower tapers, and has a 14.3 metres base diameter, reducing to 2.7 metres at the top of the peak. It contains a spiral staircase of 379 steps.

Again from Wikipedia: The Minar is surrounded by several historically significant monuments of the Qutb complex. Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque, to the north-east of the Minar was built by Qutub-ud-Din Aibak in A.D. 1198. It is the earliest extant – mosque built by the Delhi Sultans.

We wandered around …

… marvelling at the architecture.

More from Wikipedia: It consists of a rectangular courtyard enclosed by cloisters, erected with the carved columns and architectural members of 27 Hindu and Jaina temples, which were demolished by Qutub-ud-Din Aibak as recorded in his inscription on the main eastern entrance. Later, a lofty arched screen was erected and the mosque was enlarged, by Shams-ud- Din Itutmish (A.D. 1210-35) and Ala-ud-Din Khalji.

The cloisters can be seen here …

… and here.

Qutub Minar was begun after the Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque, which was started around 1192 by Qutb-ud-din Aibak, first ruler of the Delhi Sultanate. The mosque complex is one of the earliest that survives in the Indian subcontinent

Another view of the tower …

… and a close up of the intricate carving on the base.

Our intention was to visit Humayun’s Tomb, the tomb of the Mughal Emperor dating from 1558 but however we tried we just couldn’t get near due to the congestion. It was a Sunday and the roads around all tourist attractions were packed. Eventually we told our driver to abandon the attempt and just take us to India Gate.

… but of course the roads around were also heavily congested and there was nowhere to park.

Our driver dropped us off by the adjacent government buildings …

… where we admired the seat of government of the largest democracy in the world (India’s population is over 1,300,000,000!).

In one direction we could see the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the Presidential palace (formerly the Viceroy’s palace during the days of the Raj) …

… and from the other all the way down to India Gate. From Wikipedia: The India Gate is a war memorial located astride the Rajpath, on the eastern edge of the “ceremonial axis” of New Delhi, formerly called Kingsway. It stands as a memorial to 70,000 soldiers of the British Indian Army who died in between 1914 and 1921 in the First World War, in France, Flanders, Mesopotamia, Persia, East Africa, Gallipoli and elsewhere in the Near and the Far East, and the third Anglo-Afghan War. 13,300 servicemen’s names, including some soldiers and officers from the United Kingdom, are inscribed on the gate. Designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, the gate evokes the architectural style of the triumphal arch such as the Arch of Constantine, in Rome, and is often compared to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, and the Gateway of India in Mumbai.

Around the building we saw the ubiquitous Common Myna and …

… overhead large numbers of Black Kites. I have commented before about lack of vultures and kites in the skies above India compared to say my visit in 1986. However here at least Black Kites were numerous.

On the 2nd December, our final morning, we were dropped off at airport at 0800 in good time for our flight back home. Delhi now has a modern and easy to navigate airport, a far cry from my experience in 1986.

… and nine hours later the east coast of England came into view. Imagine my surprise when I realised that we were right above Margaret’s daughter’s house in Maldon, Essex. The Blackwater Estuary, the River Chelmer, Heybridge Basin and  lakes, the Chelmer-Blackwater Navigation Canal and Maldon itself can be seen in the photo. It’s almost possible to make out her house.

So I’ll conclude this account of a highly successful and most enjoyable trip to India with another view of Qutab Minar, a trip that encompassed wildlife, local culture and history. I can’t wait to get back, I have another India trip pending – just waiting to the Covid situation to improve!