It's Deepawali today. To all my readers and our Guests in Abu, I wish all a stress-free and safe passage and hope you enjoy your Diwali holiday in the Abode of the Gods. Welcome to Mount Abu, please avoid littering and throwing empty water bottles and beer bottles on the hillsides.

A HAPPY Diwali TO ALL OUR GUESTS MAY YOU ENJOY YOUR HOLIDAY TO YOUR HEARTS CONTENT.

Birding in the first week of December 2021.

Birders heading here for Mount Abu should shun the first 10 days of November(Post Diwali). Abu at the moment is House FULL and there is a continuous movement of vehicular traffic throughout the day and late into the evening. Also, the weekends till December should be a NO. Birders seek to make it mid-week when there is a respite in the visitor movement.

We have migratory winter visitors like Alpine Swift, Eurasian Marsh-Harrier, and Pallid Harrier, as well as passage migrants like Eurasian Sparrowhawk and Eurasian Crag-Martin. We also have Greenish Warbler, Hume's Warbler, Common Buzzard, Gray Wagtail, and various wild ducks such as Northern Pintail, Northern Shoveler, and Common Pochard. The Green Munia should be a must on all birders’ lists, as Abu is doubtless one place where a birder can nail this exquisite bird in his collection.

1 Nov 2021.

HAPPY DIWALI FROM MOUNT ABU

Green Sandpiper - Tringa ochropus
WINTER VISITOR

Greenish Warbler - Phylloscopus trochiloides

Hume's Warbler - Phylloscopus humei

Indian White-eye - Zosterops palpebrosus

Indian Yellow Tit - Machlolophus aplonotus

Long-tailed Shrike - Lanius schach

Oriental Magpie-Robin - Copsychus saularis

Red-breasted Flycatcher - Ficedula parva

Shikra - Accipiter badius

Spot-breasted Fantail - Rhipidura albogularis

White-throated Kingfisher - Halcyon smyrnensis

2 Nov 2021.

Gray Wagtail - Motacilla cinerea

Indian Pond-Heron - Ardeola grayii

Indian Yellow Tit - Machlolophus aplonotus

Peregrine Falcon (Shaheen) Falco peregrinus

White-throated Kingfisher - Halcyon smyrnensis

Dusky Crag-Martin - Ptyonoprogne concolor

3 Nov 2021.

Black-winged Kite - Elanus caeruleus

Long-tailed Shrike - Lanius schach

Oriental Magpie-Robin - Copsychus saularis

Peregrine Falcon (Shaheen) Falco peregrinus

Rufous Treepie - Dendrocitta vagabunda

It's Tweet Tweet for now
Cheers to the Diwali Season

Migratory Raptors, ducks and warblers were observed in December 2020.

The threat of COVID-19, spreading again, is forcing countries all over the world to go into another phase of LOCKDOWNS. I had planned this year to visit a few places in Gujarat to do a spot of birding, but the threat made me call off my plans. I will have to be content observing and recording birds of Mount Abu.

Birding during winters is exciting throughout the winter months. Migratory birds to Abu such as Common Pochard, Eurasian Coot, Eurasian Moorhen, Gadwall, Green-winged teal, Northern pintail, Northern Shoveler, Tufted Duck, Common Sandpiper, Common Snipe, a few varieties of sandpipers, wagtails and cormorants also photographed here. It's the time of year to photograph a variety of warblers, flycatchers and raptors.

The winter this year is going to be cold as the monsoon season departed much later than usual. Our night temperatures hover below 10 degrees. The lowest recorded so far has been 0 degrees. Appreciate my endeavour of recording the birds of Mount Abu.

2 Dec 2020.