Campus Bird Count-2025 at Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati University Ajmer

In the golden mornings of February, the Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati (MDS) University in Ajmer transformed into a haven for feathered visitors and enthusiastic birdwatchers alike. From February 14 to 17, 2025, the university hosted its annual Campus Bird Count, a part of the nationwide citizen science initiative coordinated by Bird Count India. This year's event marked yet another successful chapter in the university’s ongoing efforts to document and celebrate biodiversity on its grounds.

The event was organized by the Department of Environmental Science, which has been spearheading this initiative for three consecutive years. What made the 2025 edition remarkable was the recording of 48 different bird species within the campus during the four-day count—a testament to the ecological richness of the university environment.

Over the years, starting from 2018, more than 109 bird species have been documented in and around the university through CBCs and similar biodiversity efforts. These counts not only provide valuable data for conservation but also bring students closer to nature, turning the campus into a living classroom.

This year, birdwatchers from THAR Lab (The Habitat and Applied ecology Research Lab) played a crucial role. Students and researchers such as Ishwar Sahu, Rounak Choudhary, and Vivek Sharma meticulously tracked and recorded bird sightings using the eBird platform. Their observations included some rare and seasonal species, including the Indian Peafowl, Grey Francolin, Yellow-footed Green Pigeon, Spotted Owlet, Barn Owl, Indian Scops Owl, and migratory wonders like the Red-breasted Flycatcher and Grey-headed Canary Flycatcher.

Rounak Choudhary, one of the participating researchers, highlighted the presence of the Red-breasted Flycatcher, a long-distance migratory species that travels from Europe and Central Asia to the warmer climates of South Asia during winter. He noted that the university’s green cover provides an ideal refuge for such birds, offering both food and rest stops.

Dr. Vivek Sharma observed that the count this year noted over 50 individual Indian Peafowls, India's national bird. This robust number reflects the healthy habitat and abundant resources the campus provides for both resident and migratory bird species.

The CBC 2025 event also saw enthusiastic participation from a wide array of students and faculty members. Names like Pawan Singh, Saba Khan, Kalyan Khandelwal, Ruby Malik, Ayushi Meena, Anshika, and Yashika stood out among the many who took part in bird identification, data entry, and awareness-building activities.

As the sun set on the final day of the count, the echoes of chirps and coos lingered through the neem-lined walkways and academic corridors. The birds had spoken—not just in calls, but in numbers, in presence, and in the stories they carried across skies and seasons. Through initiatives like these, MDS University continues to evolve as a biodiversity hub, where nature is not merely observed, but embraced and understood.