Showing posts with label #Birding in December. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #Birding in December. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 31, 2025

Birding in December — Mount Abu (December 31, 2025

Birds in the first week of December

The Cold Moon photographed from Mt Abu.

On the last day of the year—December 31, 2025—I walked the familiar trails of Mount Abu, camera in hand, and let the hills close the year with the soft music of wings. The Aravali rang with cheerful calls, and for a few golden hours, I watched, listened, and felt the world slow down.

Let the echoes of “tweet-tweet” ring out as the year ends. From rocky ridges to shadypine groves, “Happy New Year” seemed to come not only from friends and family but from the birds themselves — a small, hopeful chorus rising above the hill station.

Beyond the joy of sightings, my genuine wish for the coming year remains the same: more peace across the globe, and urgent action to soften the blows of climate change on the places and creatures we love. May the beauty we find in nature inspire each of us to protect it and to live more gently on this shared planet.

I’ve put together a small collection of Mount Abu birds photographed in the first week of December 2025 — a handpicked gallery from December of this year. Enjoy the images, and may each morning of 2026 begin with a tweet and a smile.

Wishing you a 2026 filled with:

Peace and clarity as steady as the Aravali hills

New adventures and doors opening.

Joy, good health, and many gentle mornings with birdsong.

I’ll be back in the New Year with more stories and a few new species added to our Aravali list. Until then, keep your binoculars ready, and your heart tuned to the small, insistent songs of the wild.
Bird of the week
Eurasian Sparrowhawk - Accipiter nisus winter visitor


Eurasian Sparrowhawk winter visitor Mount Abu Dec 2025.m4v

Ashy Drongo - Dicrurus leucophaeus


Ashy Drongo - Dicrurus leucophaeus Mount Abu Dec 2025.mp4

Ashy Prinia - Prinia socialis

Common Buzzard - Buteo buteo  winter visitor

Common Buzzard - Buteo buteo winter visitor

Common Buzzard - Buteo buteo 

Eurasian Crag-Martin - Ptyonoprogne rupestris

Eurasian Crag-Martin - Ptyonoprogne rupestris

Gray Wagtail - Motacilla cinerea

Gray Wagtail - Motacilla cinerea

Great Egret - Ardea alba

Great Egret - Ardea alba

House Sparrow - Passer domesticus  basking in the winter sun

Hume's Warbler - Phylloscopus humei  winter visitor

Indian Pond-Heron - Ardeola grayii 

Indian Pond-Heron - Ardeola grayii 


Indian Yellow Tit Mount Abu Dec 2025.m4v

Jungle Babbler - Turdoides striata

Jungle Babbler - Turdoides striata

Lesser Whitethroat - Sylvia curruca

Long-legged Buzzard - Buteo rufinus  and Common Buzzard - Buteo buteo territorial dispute, winter visitor

Long-legged Buzzard - Buteo rufinus  and Common Buzzard - Buteo buteo territorial dispute, winter visitor

Long-legged Buzzard - Buteo rufinus  

Red-breasted Flycatcher - Ficedula parva

Long-tailed Shrike - Lanius schach

Long-tailed Shrike - Lanius schach

Red-whiskered Bulbul - Pycnonotus jocosus

Shikra - Accipiter badius  

Spotted Owlet - Athene brama

Spotted Owlet - Athene brama

Yellow-throated Sparrow (Gymnoris xanthocollis)




Monday, December 27, 2021

Birding in the last month of the year 2021 in Mount Abu mountabubirds.blogspot.com

Birding in December Mount Abu. 

It’s been a cool third week of December. Frost has virtually embraced all the fields and automobiles every dawn for the last few days. Birding has been not too bad. It delighted me to see many more winter visitors have landed. The number of (Green-winged teals, Pochard, Eurasian Coot, Gadwall, Northern pintail, Northern Shoveler, Tufted Duck, and Common Sandpiper) has gone up. Hopefully, I see their figures grow by mid-January. Admire the captures and slideshows I have presented for your viewing.
15 Dec 2021.
Dusky Crag-Martin
Dusky Crag-Martin - Ptyonoprogne concolo

Dusky Crag-Martin
Dusky Crag-Martin - Ptyonoprogne concolo

Common House-Martin
Common House-Martin - Delichon urbicum 
RARE for this region 

Red-whiskered Bulbul
Red-whiskered Bulbul - Pycnonotus jocosus

Red-whiskered Bulbul
Red-whiskered Bulbul - Pycnonotus jocosus

White-eared Bulbul
White-eared Bulbul - Pycnonotus leucotis
An occasional visitor is not so common 

White-bellied Drongo
White-bellied Drongo - Dicrurus caerulescens

White-bellied Drongo
White-bellied Drongo - Dicrurus caerulescens

Common Buzzard
Common Buzzard - Buteo buteo

I'm posting a raptor and would appreciate your feedback on its ID.
It's the Eurasian Sparrowhawk - Accipiter nisus

"In flight, a Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus)winter visitor. Small raptor with a striking gray-brown coloration, short wings, and a long tail. The standout characteristics are the hooked, pointed beak and yellow eyes."
Eurasian Sparrowhawk - Accipiter nisus

"In flight, a Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus)winter visitor. Small raptor with a striking gray-brown coloration, short wings, and a long tail. The standout characteristics are the hooked, pointed beak and yellow eyes."
Eurasian Sparrowhawk - Accipiter nisus

"In flight, a Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus)winter visitor. Small raptor with a striking gray-brown coloration, short wings, and a long tail. The standout characteristics are the hooked, pointed beak and yellow eyes."
Eurasian Sparrowhawk - Accipiter nisus

Eurasian Sparrowhawk - Accipiter nisus

16 Dec 2021.

Ashy Drongo
Ashy Drongo - Dicrurus leucophaeus 

Bonelli's Eagle
Bonelli's Eagle - Aquila fasciata

Dusky Crag-Martin
Dusky Crag-Martin - Ptyonoprogne concolor

Eurasian Griffon
Eurasian Griffon - Gyps fulvus 

Hume's Warbler
Hume's Warbler - Phylloscopus humei

Peregrine Falcon (Shaheen)
Peregrine Falcon (Shaheen) Falco peregrinus

Peregrine Falcon (Shaheen)
Peregrine Falcon (Shaheen) Falco peregrinus

Eurasian Sparrowhawk
Eurasian Sparrowhawk - Accipiter nisus

White-bellied Drongo
White-bellied Drongo - Dicrurus caerulescens

Eurasian Crag-Martin
Eurasian Crag-Martin - Ptyonoprogne rupestris

Rock Pigeon
Rock Pigeon - Columba livia 

17 Dec 2021. 
Let me show you the little lake in front of the Mahadeva Temple, just before Achalgarh. I lovingly refer to it as THE DUCK POND OF MOUNT ABU. It's our miniature Bharatpur migratory sanctuary for our feathery buddy who comes from thousands of kilometres afar. This small body of water is home to a variety of wild ducks, including (Green-winged teals, Pochard, Eurasian Coot, Gadwall, Northern pintail, Northern Shoveler, Tufted Duck, Sandpiper,) as well as other winter visitors like Bluethroat, wagtails, Green Avadavat, Siberian Stonechat, pipits, and buntings.

Common Buzzard
Common Buzzard - Buteo buteo 

Ducks sp mixed bag
Ducks sp mixed bag

Eurasian Coot
Eurasian Coot - Fulica atra

Eurasian Coot
Eurasian Coot - Fulica atra

Gadwall
Gadwall - Mareca strepera

Gadwall
Gadwall - Mareca strepera

Gadwall
Gadwall - Mareca strepera

Gray Wagtail
Gray Wagtail - Motacilla cinerea

Green Sandpiper
Green Sandpiper - Tringa ochropus

Green Sandpiper
Green Sandpiper - Tringa ochropus


This is one Slide show you should watch in FULL SCREEN to see the beauty of these birds 



Green-winged Teal  Mount Abu  17 Dec 2021.m4v

Little Grebe
Little Grebe - Tachybaptus ruficollis

Little Grebe
Little Grebe - Tachybaptus ruficollis

Northern Pintail
Northern Pintail - Anas acuta

Northern Pintail
Northern Pintail - Anas acuta

Northern Pintail
Northern Pintail - Anas acuta

Tufted Duck
Tufted Duck - Aythya fuligula

Tufted Duck
Tufted Duck - Aythya fuligula

White-browed Wagtail
White-browed Wagtail - Motacilla maderaspatensis 

Peregrine Falcon (Shaheen)
Peregrine Falcon (Shaheen) Falco peregrinus

I will post shortly Merry Christmas Folks Cheers for tonight.

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