100 species & more: Why birds flock to this township

Noida: After retiring as a zoologist at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, Surya Prakash (61) was worried that the shift to Gaur City will put an end to his daily hobby – bird watching. Abundant greenery meant birds flocked to the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU)campus in Delhi.
But his fears were unfounded. Since the move in 2021, the former zoologist says he has spotted at least 100 species of birds in and around the 250-acre Noida Extension township. eBird.org – which maintains crowdsourced data of bird sightings and verifies it – also kept the count around Prakash’s figures.
He said he has heard the calls of Indian thick-knees — resident birds with piercing yellow eyes and browks streaks on their plummage. Then there are many yellow-throated sparrows and scaly-breasted munias, who have made the township their home.
“When I was working at JNU, I counted 215 bird species within the campus. After retiring in 2020, I thought about what I will do here. I am amazed that there is very little documentation about the abundance of bird species here. Some of the uncommon birds that I have seen here are olive-backed pipit (a migratory bird), the grey-bellied cuckoos, rain quail and even sarus cranes,” he told TOI on Wednesday.
There are also species of butterflies here such as the tawny coster and the oriental palm dart, which aren’t normally spotted in NCR.
Prakash believes the township is a safe haven for birds and other species because of its proximity to wetlands. The Dhanauri wetland is just six kilometres away.
Anand Arya, a birder, said, “The society is surrounded by several wetlands, which attract many bird species. Sarus cranes may have been here long before the structures came up. Birds will also find it easy to get nourishment in this area, prompting them to come here again.”
Gaur City is surrounded by agricultural land as well, providing birds an impetus to put up their nests in the region. Additionally, an artificial lake spanning across 800 square metres inside the township has fishes like the common carp – another attraction.
“Birds tend to stay when they find a favourable environment. This housing society is surrounded by agricultural fields that make it an environment-friendly habitat for the species,” said Dr Pranab J Patar, a city-based environmentalist.