Sultanpur National Park
The scene is reminiscent of a Jurassic Park movie — painted storks flap slowly overhead, circling downwards to land, pterodactyl-like, on an acacia tree, where their large, ungainly offspring shriek for attention, heads bobbing as they solicit food. There is something primeval and awe-inspiring about watching these colored birds crisscross above you while walking in Sultanpur National Park.
Though small, at just 1.42 sq km, Sultanpur is not only a national park and wildlife sanctuary but also, since 2021, a Ramsar site. The park is centered around a jheel (lake), which is surrounded by a 4-km-long circular walking trail. There are four machans or watchtowers along the way which give unimpeded views of the lake and birds in the distance.
Much like Keoladeo National Park in Bharatpur, Sultanpur is an “Important Bird Area”. It first received protection under the instruction of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The lake was accorded sanctuary status in 1971 and was declared a national park in 1991.
Sultanpur is less than an hour from Gurgaon/Gurugram in Haryana and so close to the highway that you can hear the traffic even in the national park’s core. The park’s little lake is an ecologically important sanctuary to tens of thousands of birds of over 320 species, many of which are waterfowl that winter in the park. This park is an important breeding colony for over 50 pairs of painted storks. The storks nest on acacia trees which jut out from artificial islands in the lake, the boughs heavy with nests and leggy offspring.
The park is famous for birds, especially migratory waterfowl like the bar-headed goose (Anser indicus), greylag goose (Anser anser), common teal (Anas crecca), and northern shoveler (Spatula clypeata). There are significant breeding colonies of painted storks (Mycteria leucocephala), oriental darters (Anhinga melanogaster), and black-headed ibis (Threskiornis melanocephala). Mammals include nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus), golden jackal (Canis aureus), and jungle cat (Felis chaus).
