Birds of September 2025–Mount Abu

 Weeks One & Two–Birding & Weather Highlights.

September in Mount Abu is always a season of change. The monsoon loosens its grip, yet refuses to leave. The skies shift moods by the hour—blue one moment, thunderous the next. For a birder, this is when weather and wings weave together, creating stories worth chasing.

The first week of September began on an erratic note. Heavy downpours, strong winds, and fog blanketed the hills. On the 6th, the heavens opened and torrents of rain swept through Abu, flooding gullies and soaking trails. The rain spilt into the second week, stretching the drama further—roads slick, paths waterlogged, forests cloaked in mist. Some mornings, the fog was so thick that even the nearest trees were just pale outlines.

 Yet, amidst this restless weather, the bird life stirred. Between showers, the silence broke with sudden movement, a call in the canopy, or a swallow slicing the grey skies. September rewards patience—the birds appear when the clouds part, brief glimpses of travellers pausing on their way.

Bird of the week.

Eurasian Wryneck - Jynx torquilla, the surprise guest, a rare visitor to our abode.

Birds Spotted–Early September 2025.

Ashy Prinia - Prinia socialis

Blyth's Reed Warbler - Acrocephalus dumetorum – slipping through reeds, voice soft but familiar.

Blyth's Reed Warbler Sept 2025 Mt Abu.m4v

Common Tailorbird - Orthotomus sutorius

Eastern Red-rumped Swallow - Cecropis daurica – darting low, skimming across the misty air.

Eastern Red-rumped Swallow - Cecropis daurica Sept 2025 Mt Abu ..mp4

Eurasian Wryneck - Jynx torquilla

Eurasian Wryneck - Jynx torquilla

Gray Wagtail - Motacilla cinerea

Gray Wagtail - Motacilla cinerea

Greenish Warbler - Phylloscopus trochiloides 

House Sparrow - Passer domesticus

Indian Yellow Tit - Machlolophus aplonotus 

Indian Yellow Tit Sept 2025 Mt Abu.m4v

Oriental Honey-buzzard - Pernis ptilorhynchus

Oriental Honey-buzzard - Pernis ptilorhynchus

Red-vented Bulbul - Pycnonotus cafer.

Spot-breasted Fantail - Rhipidura albogularis

Spot-breasted Fantail - Rhipidura albogularis

Tawny-bellied Babbler - Dumetia hyperythra

Tawny-bellied Babbler - Dumetia hyperythra

White-breasted Waterhen - Amaurornis phoenicurus

White-breasted Waterhen - Amaurornis phoenicurus

Yellow-eyed Babbler - Chrysomma sinense

Birds Spotted – Second Week of September 2025 (9th–14th)

Will be back tomorrow, stay tuned

Cheers to the weekend!

Birds of August 2025–Mount Abu

 A monsoon diary of wings, rain, and resilience.

When Abu wears its cloak of mist, the birds sing louder to remind us they are still here.

The last week of August in Mount Abu is the very heart of the monsoon—steady showers, cool breezes, and a thick veil of mist and fog that make this place live up to its name as the “Abode of the Gods.” But times are changing. With shifting weather patterns, the rains now seem to arrive later, often stretching into September. I’ll share more on that in my early-September update.

 Through it all, I continued my daily birding. Even in this misty, grey monsoon backdrop, the birds never fail to bring colour, sound, and joy to Abu. This post documents the species in my hometown on an annual basis.

Bird of the week.

Oriental Turtle-Dove - Streptopelia orientalis
Oriental Turtle Dove – Quiet and graceful, often seen perched on large trees or feeding near damp fields.

Oriental Turtle-Dove Aug 2025 Mt Abu.m4v

August’s Bird Collection

The path, groves, and thickets presented a new sound, colour, or call with every step. The last week of August was unforgettable because of these birds:

Black Kite - Milvus migrans

Black Kite mobbed by Large-billed Crow Aug 2025 Mt. Abu.m4v.

Black Kite – Not welcomed in this town, mobbed by Large-billed Crow.

Brown Rock Chat - Oenanthe fusca

Brown Rock Chat - Oenanthe fusca

Brown-headed Barbet - Psilopogon zeylanicus

Dusky Crag-Martin - Ptyonoprogne concolor

Dusky Crag-Martin - Ptyonoprogne concolor

Eastern Red-rumped Swallow - Cecropis daurica – sweeping low across the hillsides, chasing insects stirred by the rains, feed their young.

Eastern Red-rumped Swallow  Aug 2025 Mt Abu..m4v

Gray Wagtail - Motacilla cinerea  – Fresh migrant arrivals, dancing along the streams and puddles.

Gray Wagtail - Motacilla cinerea

Grey-breasted Prinia - Prinia hodgsonii

Indian Yellow Tit - Machlolophus aplonotus

Indian Yellow Tit - Machlolophus aplonotus

Indian Yellow Tit - Machlolophus aplonotus – A cheerful burst of yellow and black, flitting busily through the monsoon-green trees.

Jungle Bush-Quail - Perdicula asiatica – A family party darting across the trail, vanishing quickly into the dripping undergrowth.

Jungle Bush-Quail - Perdicula asiatica

Jungle Bush-Quail - Perdicula asiatica

Oriental Magpie-Robin - Copsychus saularis perched atop a stump with its tail like an antenna.

Oriental Magpie-Robin - Copsychus saularis 

Peregrine Falcon (Shaheen) Falco peregrinus, an ace hunter with remains of prey atop the radio tower.

Red Spurfowl - Galloperdix spadicea 

Red Spurfowl - Galloperdix spadicea  – Skulking through the undergrowth, their calls echoing through the damp hillside.

Red-whiskered Bulbul - Pycnonotus jocosus

Rufous Treepie - Dendrocitta vagabunda 

Scaly-breasted Munia - Lonchura punctulata – Small flocks busy foraging and building nests, their soft chatter carrying through the drizzle.

Spotted Owlet - Athene brama

Spotted Owlet - Athene brama

Spotted Owlet - Athene brama

Western Crowned Warbler Phylloscopus occipitalis, a rare observation for Mount Abu.

Western Crowned Warbler Phylloscopus occipitalis Not common for Mt Abu

Western Crowned Warbler Phylloscopus occipitalis

White-bellied Drongo - Dicrurus caerulescens

White-bellied Drongo - Dicrurus caerulescens

Yellow-throated Sparrow (Gymnoris xanthocollis)

Help in identifying this bird?

August may feel muted under endless rains and fog, but the birds remind us that life carries on in the most beautiful ways. Each sighting adds to Abu’s timeless story of resilience and natural wonder.

I’ll return soon with updates on September’s weather and birding highlights—where the monsoon often reveals a new rhythm of life