India, March 24 -- As spring turns into summer, migratory birds from central Asia and beyond that flew south to India in order to escape the harsh winter chill of their northern homelands return to their countries, making short pitstops along the way to rest and recuperate.

One of these havens is the Okhla Bird Sanctuary in Gautam Budh Nagar - spread across 400 hectares along the Yamuna, the park is designated an IBA (important bird area) site. It was notified as a bird sanctuary in 1990, and is part of the Central Asian Flyway. According to birders, more than 20,000 birds of over 70 native and migratory species can be spotted at the site.

However, this year, the Uttar Pradesh irrigation department has drained out water from the Okhla B...