Geography
Saman Bird Sanctuary is centred around a seasonal, rain-fed oxbow lake on flat ground. Its northern boundary is the
Kishni-
Karhal
Karhal is a town and Nagar Panchayat in Mainpuri district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is also a tehsil that is subdivided into two blocks, Karhal and Barnahal. It is one of the Vidhan Sabha constituency of Uttar Pradesh.
The nea ...
road, and its western boundary is defined by the border between the villages of Saman and
Sauj. Its southern boundary is marked by the boundary between Saman and the village of
Sarsai Helu, which forms part of
Etawah district
Etawah district is one of the Districts of Uttar Pradesh, districts in the western portion of Uttar Pradesh States and territories of India, state of India. Etawah town is the district headquarters. The district covers an area of 2311 km. ...
. The sanctuary covers a total area of about 525
hectare
The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), that is, square metres (), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. ...
s (the official government designation is 526.3 hectares, but
GIS
A geographic information system (GIS) consists of integrated computer hardware and software that store, manage, analyze, edit, output, and visualize geographic data. Much of this often happens within a spatial database; however, this is not ...
calculations give an area of 527.7 hectares). As of 2020, about 75% of the designated area consists of privately-owned land.
Getting There
Mainpuri
Mainpuri (; ) is a city in Mainpuri district in the States and territories of India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of Mainpuri district and is 55 km from Etawah and 294 km from New Delhi. Mainp ...
is the nearest railhead. Also,
UPSRTC
The Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) is a public sector passenger road transport corporation which services Uttar Pradesh, India, and adjoining states of North India. It operates as a state and interstate bus service and ...
operates city buses to and from the main archaeological sites.
Agra
Agra ( ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is the ...
is the nearest Airport.
Ecology
The sanctuary is home to around 150 nests of
black-crowned night heron
The black-crowned night heron (''Nycticorax nycticorax'') r black-capped night heron commonly shortened to just night heron in Eurasia, is a medium-sized heron found throughout a large part of the world, including parts of Europe, Asia, and Nort ...
s,
egret
Egrets ( ) are herons, generally long-legged wading birds, that have white or buff plumage, developing fine plumes (usually milky white) during the breeding season. Egrets are not a biologically distinct group from herons and have the same build ...
s, and
Indian pond heron
The Indian pond heron or paddybird (''Ardeola grayii'') is a small heron. It is of Old World origins, breeding in southern Iran and east to the Indian subcontinent, Burma, and Sri Lanka. They are widespread and common but can be easily missed whe ...
s; several breeding pairs of
sarus crane
The sarus crane (''Antigone antigone'') is a large nonmigratory Crane (bird), crane found in parts of the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and northern Australia. The tallest of the flying birds, standing at a height of up to , they are a c ...
s; at least one breeding pair of
black-necked stork
The black-necked stork (''Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus'') is a tall long-necked wading bird in the stork family. It is a resident species across the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia with a disjunct population in Australia. It lives in wetla ...
s; and several
greater spotted eagle
The greater spotted eagle (''Clanga clanga''), also called the spotted eagle, is a large migratory bird of prey in the family Accipitridae.
It is a member of the subfamily Aquilinae, commonly known as "booted eagles".Helbig, A. J., Kocum, A., ...
s year-round. During the winter, thousands of migratory birds flock to the wetland; the number regularly exceeds 50,000. In total, some 187 bird species have been recorded here. The wetland is also home to mammals, such as the
nilgai
The nilgai (''Boselaphus tragocamelus'') (, literally meaning "blue cow") is the largest antelope of Asia, and is ubiquitous across the northern Indian subcontinent. It is the sole member of the genus (biology), genus ''Boselaphus'', which was ...
, and reptiles, such as the Bengal monitor lizard (''
Varanus bengalensis'').There is a diverse plant life including various aquatic plants such as the mosquitofern (''
Azolla pinnata
''Azolla pinnata'' is a species of fern known by several common names, including mosquitofern, feathered mosquitofern and water velvet. It is native to much of Africa, Asia (Brunei Darussalam, China, India, Japan, Korea, and the Philippines) and ...
''), ''
Cyperus alopecuroides'', waterthyme (''
Hydrilla verticillata
''Hydrilla'' (waterthyme) is a genus of aquatic plant, usually treated as containing just one species, ''Hydrilla verticillata'', though some botanists divide it into several species. It is native to the cool and warm waters of the Old World in A ...
''), and ''
Smithia
''Smithia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae. It includes 20 species of herbs or subshrubs native to sub-Saharan Africa, the Indian subcontinent, Indochina, southern China, Japan, Malesia, and northern Australia. The ...
sensitiva''.
The wetland also plays an important role in
groundwater recharge
Groundwater recharge or deep drainage or deep percolation is a hydrologic process, where water moves downward from surface water to groundwater. Recharge is the primary method through which water enters an aquifer. This process usually occurs in ...
.
Attractions
The sanctuary is spread over an area of 5 km
2. Besides birds, there are different animals such as
Jackal
Jackals are Canidae, canids native to Africa and Eurasia. While the word has historically been used for many canines of the subtribe Canina (subtribe), canina, in modern use it most commonly refers to three species: the closely related black-b ...
,
Mongoose
A mongoose is a small terrestrial carnivorous mammal belonging to the family Herpestidae. This family has two subfamilies, the Herpestinae and the Mungotinae. The Herpestinae comprises 23 living species that are native to southern Europe, A ...
, Hare and various local and
migratory birds
Bird migration is a seasonal movement of birds between breeding and wintering grounds that occurs twice a year. It is typically from north to south or from south to north. Migration is inherently risky, due to predation and mortality.
The ...
.
The best time to visit the sanctuary is between November and February.
Birds here include Sarus Cranes and Black Necked Stork as well as sharp hunters like
Egyptian vulture
The Egyptian vulture (''Neophron percnopterus''), also called the white scavenger vulture or pharaoh's chicken, is a small Old World vulture in the monotypic genus ''Neophron''. It is widely distributed from the Iberian Peninsula, North Africa ...
, Sparrow Hawk, Black Shouldered Kite, Crested Serpent Eagle and Black Kite. Some Small species of birds are also residing in nearby areas of the Sanctuary like Magpie Robin, Rufous Fronted Prinia, Little Green Bee-eater, Tailor Bird and Ashy Prinia. Indian Grey Hornbill, Lineated Barbet, Yellow Footed Green Pigeon and Asian Openbill are some of the species which are not common for an area like this.
References
External links
http://www.world-wildlife-adventures.com/india/wildlife-park.asp?sanctuary=Saman+Bird+Sanctuary&state=Uttar+Pradeshhttp://envfor.nic.in/report/0607/Annex-06.pdf
{{Protected areas in Uttar Pradesh
Bird sanctuaries of Uttar Pradesh
Ramsar sites in India
Mainpuri district
Lakes of Uttar Pradesh
1980 establishments in Uttar Pradesh
Protected areas established in 1980