Birding the Second week of March 2021.Mount Abu.
Exploring Avian Marvels in March: A Story from the Abode of Gods.
As the second week of March 2021 unfurled, I found myself absorbed in Mount Abu's calm beauty, avoiding the customary Easter celebrations of barbecues and alcohol. For the second year in a row, our backyard BBQ spit went unused. Instead, I changed my emphasis to capturing the vivacious bird life that blessed the Abode throughout this blooming spring.
My camera lens enthusiastically recorded a broad range of flying beauties, including majestic raptors, secretive owls, melodious warblers, and fast flycatchers. Local residential birds were busy building nests in the most unusual areas of the terrain among them. The Large-billed Crow makes its nest-building debut during the end of March and beginning of April.
8 March 2021.
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| Indian Robin - Copsychus fulicatus nest building in the heart of the cactus. |
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| Indian Robin - Copsychus fulicatus |
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| Indian Robin - Copsychus fulicatus |
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| Osprey - Pandion haliaetus Osprey - Pandion haliaetus |
Among my outstanding findings was an Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), a rare species that has hitherto evaded Mount Abu birders. My meticulous observations over the previous three years yielded fruit on March 14th. This magnificent bird has consistently flown beneath the radar, eluding the observation of many who came before me.
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| Osprey - Pandion haliaetus |
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| Eurasian Sparrowhawk - Accipiter nisus |
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| Shikra - Accipiter badius |
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| Green Sandpiper - Tringa ochropus |
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| Common Tailorbird - Orthotomus sutorius |
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| Eurasian Hoopoe - Upupa epops |
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| Rock Pigeon - Columba livia |
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| Taiga Flycatcher - Ficedula albicilla |
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| Taiga Flycatcher - Ficedula albicilla |
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| Taiga Flycatcher - Ficedula albicilla |
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| Red-rumped Swallow - Cecropis daurica |
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| Yellow-throated Sparrow - Gymnoris xanthocollis |
9 March 2021. |
| Indian Silverbill - Euodice malabarica |
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| Shikra - Accipiter badius |
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| Shikra - Accipiter badius |
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| Spotted Dove - Streptopelia chinensis |
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| Woolly-necked Stork - Ciconia episcopus |
10 March 2021.
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| Common Buzzard - Buteo buteo |
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| Common Chiffchaff - Phylloscopus collybita |
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| Eurasian Sparrowhawk - Accipiter nisus |
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| Purple Sunbird - Cinnyris asiaticus |
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| Purple Sunbird - Cinnyris asiaticus |
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| Purple Sunbird - Cinnyris asiaticus |
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| Red-wattled Lapwing - Vanellus indicus |
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| Red-whiskered Bulbul - Pycnonotus jocosus |
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| Shikra - Accipiter badius |
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| Shikra - Accipiter badius mobbing Buzzard |
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| Sulphur-bellied Warbler - Phylloscopus griseolus |
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| Sulphur-bellied Warbler - Phylloscopus griseolus |
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| Taiga Flycatcher - Ficedula albicilla |
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| Taiga Flycatcher - Ficedula albicilla |
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| Yellow-throated Sparrow - Gymnoris xanthocollis |
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| Yellow-throated Sparrow - Gymnoris xanthocollis |
11 March 2021. |
| Ashy Prinia - Prinia socialis |
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| Eurasian Griffon - Gyps fulvus |
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| Eurasian Sparrowhawk - Accipiter nisus |
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| Eurasian Sparrowhawk - Accipiter nisus |
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| Eurasian Sparrowhawk - Accipiter nisus |
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| Gray Wagtail - Motacilla cinerea |
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| Greater Coucal - Centropus sinensis |
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| Greater Coucal - Centropus sinensis |
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| Greater Coucal - Centropus sinensis |
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| Greater Coucal - Centropus sinensis |
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| Greater Coucal - Centropus sinensis |
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| Oriental Honey-buzzard - Pernis ptilorhynchus |
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| Shikra - Accipiter badius |
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| Spot-breasted Fantail - Rhipidura albogularis |
12 March 2021.
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| Common Buzzard - Buteo buteo |
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| Eurasian Griffon - Gyps fulvus |
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| Eurasian Griffon - Gyps fulvus |
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| Eurasian Griffon - Gyps fulvus |
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| Indian Yellow Tit - Machlolophus aplonotus |
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| White-throated Kingfisher - Halcyon smyrnensis |
13 March 2021.
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| Brown Rock Chat - Oenanthe fusca |
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| Brown-headed Barbet - Psilopogon zeylanicus |
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| Osprey - Pandion haliaetus |
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| Osprey - Pandion haliaetus |
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| Purple Sunbird - Cinnyris asiatic |
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| Spot-breasted Fantail - Rhipidura albogularis |
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| Sulphur-bellied Warbler - Phylloscopus griseolus |
14 March 2021.On that particular day, I proceeded on a nostalgic trip to my alma institution, my second home. I obtained authorisation for my visit via the school's process. As I walked past the teachers' quarters next to the old gym, memories of the past flooded my mind, followed by a rush of melancholy. Armed with my camera, I went birding around the quarters and at the dam, hoping to spot the elusive Osprey hovering over the lake. Despite my efforts, there were just a few Black-winged stilts, a lone buzzard, several lapwings, a few egrets, and two cormorants at the dam.
As I was about to depart, a wonderful sight played out: students leisurely strolled around the central field opposite the dorms, each absorbed in phone talks. Miss Trina, who was in charge of this futuristic extravaganza, stated that each lad got his own phone, which allowed them to contact family and friends for 30 minutes. This unexpected sight into the present provided another depth to my journey, turning it into a worthwhile mix of past and present.
This birding adventure became a timeless voyage through both the avian marvels and cherished recollections of the Abode in the embrace of Mount Abu's natural beauty and the echoes of my school days.
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