At the Delhi Zoo, curated Sunday morning walks to watch birds

4 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Jul 9, 2026 11:58 AM IST

Bird watchers spotting birds during a walk organized by Delhi Zoological Park, at New Delhi on Sunday, July 05, 2026. (Express photo by Abhinav Saha)

The morning was not too hot or humid yet, and about 25 people clustered together, some clutching binoculars or cameras with impressively long lenses. They all looked upwards, trying to find among the leaves the birds whose chirping filled the air.

This scene at the National Zoological Park (NZP) last Sunday has been recurring every week – for four Sundays now, a three-hour bird-watching walk has attracted hobbyists, photographers, and families to the Zoo.

The walk starts at 6:30 am. It is free – all that you pay while registering is the Zoo’s Rs 80 entry fee.

On July 5, when The Indian Express joined the walk, it was led by wildlife writer Surya Prakash – dressed for the part in khaki pants, a military-green t-shirt printed with beige paw marks, and a camouflage-print hat. Biologist Aarti Chavda and curator Manoj Kumar accompanied the group.

Several species of birds were sighted – according to the NZP, the July 5 session recorded 41 species and more than 100 individual sightings. Zoo director Sandeep Kumar said larger numbers of bird species are typically sighted in the winter season.

Each Sunday, the walk explores a different trail around the Zoo. The idea is to watch free-ranging birds, but participants can visit the Zoo’s captive birds and animals afterward.

Ashwin Sachdev, who was part of the July 5 group, said he was hooked on birding; it was almost like a drug now. “Drugs ke nashe se bura nasha hai,” he laughed.

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A trip to Jim Corbett National Park with his wife in 1995 had changed his life, and he had spent the last three decades touring wildlife parks around the country, Sachdev said.

The Sachdevs’ daughter Brinda (18), said: “Almost all our trips are planned around wildlife. It started with animals for me, but then grew into an interest in birds too. I am now able to recognise many species.”

Others in the group demonstrated their own connections with specific bird species. So when a white-throated Kingfisher was seen perched on a branch, some raised their phones to take pictures; others discussed the joys of a cold beer on a muggy day.

At a water body, the resident pelicans of the Zoo were yawning widely and flapping their wings. Rahul Sharma, who said he was a government official, recalled the picnics he had enjoyed with his family at this green patch years ago. “It’s nice to come back here,” he said.

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A black-crowned night heron sat on one of the topmost branches of a tree. Soon, the group spotted another individual of the species – but its feathers were brown, not white. That’s a juvenile, Neeraj (43), a birder, informed the group.

Seven-year-old Zachory Lopez was the walk’s youngest bird enthusiast. His father Jason, who runs tourism camps, had spotted the announcement by the Zoo on Instagram and signed the family up.

Zachory was thrilled to see a male peacock open its feathers. He was even more delighted as other peacocks turned up along the path, displaying their spectacular tail fans.

As the call of a white-breasted waterhen rang out, Priyanshu, a Zoology Master’s student who was volunteering at the Zoo, pointed out to walkers that bird names were revealing, and very descriptive of the appearance of the species.

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Someone spotted an Indian grey hornbill — and the binocs went up and the lenses zoomed in. Many in the group had read or seen reports about a female pied hornbill that has been helping feed a nesting female grey hornbill alongside her own mate at Lodhi Garden.

The walk ended with a talk by the expert and the Zoo director at the Zoo’s Education Centre. They discussed the birds the group had encountered, and asked for suggestions and feedback. As the monsoon settles over the city, a Butterfly and Dragonfly Walk will begin at the Zoo on July 12.

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