Bird Photography in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by Mike Barth

UAE Vagrants and migrants

2012-01-21T14:22:00.000+04:00

First post for a month, been busy with Christmas, Year end at work , trip to Uganda etc... but hopefully will get back to normal with regular posts. Thought I'd post about some of the vagrants migrants seen in the UAE recently bringing my UAE list to 302.

We start on 23rd December with a trip to Zakher Lakes, the water levels here are increasing at an alarming rate. There used to be many reed beds with great habitat for reed loving birds, however that habitat is now extremely limited. The water is believed to be run-off from the city of Al Ain. During this specific visit (23-12) I saw Little Bittern and Great Bittern (uncommon) working the same patch of reed bed, however, now the water level is so high I believe they have now been forced out.

Great Bittern (Botaurus stellaris)

Clamorous Reed Warblers and Bluethroat are here in numbers at the moment, seen recently both at the Dubai Pivot fields, Zakher lake and Wamm farms. Currently resident at the lake is a Marbled Teal but to-date I have not managed any pictures as it tends to hang out in the middle of the lake. Another bird missing from my list after 5 attempts to view it is the splendid Long-eared Owl that is residing in Mushrif National Park. Can't win 'em all !

Bluethroat (Luscinia svecica)

Clamorous Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus stentoreus)

Next big outing was out to the west to Jebel Dhanna a cool three and a half hours drive from Dubai, famous for it's oil industry. The reason for the outing was a very rare, in fact probably the first record, of a Western Black Redstart (Phoenicurus ochrurosgibraltariensis). We do get regular records of Eastern Black Redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros phoenicuroides) however. The birds was resident inside a big oil terminal at Jebel Dhanna and permission had to be sought from the authorities in advance to gain access. This done we were given a short amount of time to enter and get our shots. As luck would have it there were a couple of birders on the same twitch that had just come from Sila where they had noted a Redwing and a European Robin, both of which I needed for the UAE. The downside was that this was another hour's drive towards the Saudi border making my return journey to Dubai four and a half hours, had to be done though right ??
No Redwing shots unfortunately as it was skulking inside Mesquite and the light was fading fast and a long drive home looming.

Western Black Redstart (Phoenicurus ochrurosgibraltariensis)

European Robin (Erithacus rubecula)

14th January was another long awaited tick in the form of Blyth's Pipit. A bird I find particularly difficult to ID from Richard's pipit. This bird was resident in the gardens of Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi and fortunately I was invited by a friend, who is a member of the beach club there, to a stroll around the grounds. In the company of two scopes and two excellent birders we eventually found the bird amongst several Water Pipits after an hour or so.

Blyth's Pipit (Anthus godlewski)

Back to Zakher Lake on 16th January as two Moustached Warblers had been noted in the same Reed Bed that I had seen the Bitterns back in December. But the water level is so high now that I doubt the Bitterns are still around, I certainly saw no sign of them. What's more, where I was able to drive my car on the sand back in December was well submerged in water, so had to get my feet wet ! The two warblers were visible along with Clamorous Reed Warblers and a Desert Whitethroat, however they stayed very low in the reeds and proved extremely difficult to photograph. Whilst there I was presented with a view of a Bonelli's Eagle being mobbed by no less than five Marsh Harriers.

Moustached Warbler (Acrocephalus melanopogon)

Bonelli's Eagle (Aquila fasciata)

Last but not certainly NOT least and a real extreme vagrant is the Black Drongo which is still resident in Dubai first spotted several days back at Barsha Pond Park. I believe this may be only the second record. We certainly had all UAE birders through the park within 24 hours ! I will actually go back this afternoon and watch the bird in a more relaxed fashion !

Black Drongo (Dicrurus macrocercus)

Great Bittern, Zakher Lake, Al Ain 23.12.11

2011-12-27T21:15:00.004+04:00

I hope everyone who celebrates Christmas had a good one !

No Blog for sometime due several reasons but mostly travelling and work. I recently made a trip to Uganda and will try and get time to write about it. This blog will focus on my very virst Eurasian Bittern which has now been residing in a Reed Bed at Zakher for close to 2 weeks. Zakher lake used to be named Zakher pools but it has increased in size so much it is now most definitely a lake ! Most of the water is believed to be runoff from Al Ain City, the water table there is very high and the amount of runoff that is created through things such as irrigation is now entering the Storm Drain system that empties into the lake. Whilst this may give a headache to the local government it is now starting to become a wildlife haven, although there has been massive loss of reed beds. The one remaining reed bed now hosts several Little Bitterns, Moorhen, Reed Warblers and a Great Bittern. This magnificnt bird is actually very friendly once it leaves the Reed Bed, however it does not do that too often and in actual fact I had to waith 4 hours for my first viewing which lasted about 10 minutes, it then disapperared back into the Reeds but re-appeared 2 hours later for another 10 minutes ! Here are some of the pics I managed during these little outings plus some pictures of other species I captured at the same place.

View Larger Map

Eurasian Bittern (Botaurus stellaris)

Check out this video at 0.40, very funny expressions from the Bittern :-)

Other birds on and around the lake included, Ferruginous Duck, Pochard, Mallard, Common Teal , Eurasian Coot, Black-crowned Night Heron and also one Marbled Duck (which I did not see unfortunately), Bluethroat, Reed Warblers, Desert Wheatear, Marsh Harriers.

Blac-crowned Night Heron - Juvenile (Nycticorax nycticorax)

Bluethroat (Luscinia svecica)

Great Reed Warbler or Clamorous Reed Warbler ?

Western Marsh Harrier (Circus aeruginosus)

Vultures at the DDCR 19.11.11

2011-11-20T22:39:00.000+04:00

Reports from the Dubai Desert Conservation resort of 8-10 Lappet Face Vultures feeding on a Camel carcass earlier last week prompted the arranging of a mass gathering for Saturday morning at the reserve, thanks to the generosity of the Reserve Wardens there. We arrived at 09:45am and departed into the desert in 4x4 vehicles arounf 10:15am. I opted not to drive this time , although I absolutely love driving the dunes, I wanted to concentrate on my surroundings for a change rather than the next Sand dune to negotiate !! We soon arrived at the carcass but no vultures in sight unfortunately. Just a couple of Desert Wheatears and Desert Warblers. We decided to hang around for a while - eventually a dot in the sky gradually came closer to revel itself as a lone Vulture, never descending enough to get any decent pics I'm afraid.

Lappet-faced Vulture (Aegypius tracheliotos negevensis)

Eventually we moved on to see what else we could find in the reserve, these included a nice Yellow Spotted Agama sunning itself but not displaying the lovely Blue and Yellow colours unfortunately. Not too many Sand or Arabian Gazelle spotted this time but there were many small herds of Arabian Oryx encountered.

Yellow Spotted Agama (Trapelus flavimaculatus)

Arabian Oryx (Oryx leucoryx)

The highlight for me was to be the sighting of a fabulous Pharoah Eagle Owl. This was found amongst a small oasis of Ghaf trees. Apparantly there are several now known to be in the reserve with at least one pair known to have bred this year.

Pharaoh Eagle-Owl (Bubo ascalaphus)

On a final note, our friendly Warden told us of sightings of some Houbara Bustard which were part of a large number released into the wild over the last year or two. They were (and continue to be) hunted close to extinction in the UAE. Although only released birds, I was still very keen to see them (if we could find them). We eventually found three birds sheltering behind small scrub, my first ever sighting of this bird. I was very pleased indeed.

Houbara Bustard (Chlamydotis undulata)

A fabulous 4 hours in the reserve, enjoyed thoroughly !

Dubai Pivot Fields 12.11.11

2011-11-12T20:04:00.001+04:00

Quick scoot round the Pivot fields this afternoon revealed the following :

Unusual visitors being the Golden Plover, Pied Wheatear and Northern Lapwing.

Western Cattle Egret	Bubulcus ibis ibis	2
Northern Lapwing	Vanellus vanellus	1
Red-wattled Lapwing [sp]	Vanellus indicus	20
White-tailed Lapwing	Vanellus leucurus	20
Pacific Golden Plover	Pluvialis fulva	3
Kentish Plover [group]	Charadrius alexandrinus alexandrinus/dealbatus	5
Little Stint	Calidris minuta	1
Temminck's Stint	Calidris temminckii	4
Common Stonechat [sp]	Saxicola torquatus	2
Pied Wheatear	Oenanthe pleschanka	1
Isabelline Wheatear	Oenanthe isabellina	2
Western Yellow Wagtail [sp]	Motacilla flava	5
White Wagtail (White-faced) [group]	Motacilla alba alba/dukunensis	60
Richard's Pipit [sp]	Anthus richardi	1
Tawny Pipit [sp]	Anthus campestris	5

White-tailed Lapwing (Vanellus leucurus)

Tawny Pipit (Anthus campestris)

White Wagtail (Motacilla alba alba/dukunensis)

Pied Wheatear (Oenanthe pleschanka)

Pacific Golden Plover (Pluvialis fulva)

Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus)

Pied Cuckoos everywhere !

2011-11-10T12:48:00.001+04:00

Well only 2 in the UAE .......

News of Pied Cuckoos in Kuwait and Oman, the latter in great numbers it seems, the UAE did manage 2 at the Fujeirah Dary Farm over the last weekend. This was actually a first for me having missed the last record in 2009 despite hours of searching. Initially there had been some confusion over wether there were indeed 2, studies of images suggested there were 2 but this became conclusive when I saw them both in the same Acacia bush. Having satisfied myself with the Cuckoos I then decided to wander around the farm , starting by the tree-line by the cattle sheds, I flushed a bird from the trees and having seen many of these in India I instantly called White-throated Kingfisher but I needed to be 100% convinced. A subsequent refind ensured I could confidently call this bird. A brief landing in the cattle sheds allowed photographic evidence. Not sure how many records there have been in the UAE but I know they are not frequent. Some pics from the day .......

Pied Cuckoo (Clamator jacobinus)

Masked Wagtail (Motacilla alba personata)

Ortolan Bunting (Emberiza hortulana)

Steppe Eagle (Aquila nipalensis)

White-throated Kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis)

Simon Aspinall 1958 - 2011

2011-11-01T12:32:00.000+04:00

It is with deep regret that I post this Blog today. I never met Simon but I do know he was a much loved and very much respected birder in the UAE and further afield for many many years. I am saddened that I will never meet this wonderful person that I have heard so much about. The following is an obituary posted by one of Simon's very good friends Peter Hellyer, I leave it to Peter to best describe Simon :

It is with great sadness that I report that Simon Aspinall died in Norfolk this morning, 31st October, after a valiant struggle against motor neurone disease. He was 53.

A graduate in Environmental Science from the University of East Anglia, Simon first came to the UAE in 1993 to work for the Environmental Research & Wildlife Development Agency, ERWDA, (now EAD). He brought with him a wealth of experience in the UK, having worked for nine years with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and the Nature Conservancy Council and then for three years for the NCC and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee on projects in southern England. The latter led to his first two books on Coastal Birds of East Dorset and Birds of the Solent.

Simon threw himself energetically both into field research in Abu Dhabi, and into the developing birdwatching fraternity, and was quickly co-opted to membership of the recently-established Emirates Bird Records Committee. He rapidly began writing as well – by the end of 1994, he had written or co-authored a total of ten papers and book chapters, including, with Colin Richardson, then EBRC Chairman, and myself, the UAE chapter in BirdLife International’s Important Bird Areas in the Middle East.In 1996, his first book on UAE birds appeared, Status & Conservation of the Breeding Birds of the United Arab Emirates, a seminal work based upon hundreds of hours of fieldwork.

In 1997, offered the choice between taking a salary cut at ERWDA or leaving the organisation, Simon struck out on his own as a freelance ecological consultant. Two years as my part-time Environment Editor at the daily Emirates News followed, until the paper closed, with Simon taking responsibility for the weekly ‘Twitchers’ Guide’, which we had started with Colin Richardson in 1994, and which continued on-line until 2006.

He also handled environmental studies for the Abu Dhabi Islands Archaeological Survey, ADIAS, of which I was executive director, until it ceased operations in 2006. In that capacity, he rapidly developed a keen eye for the identification of previously-unrecorded sites , helping to develop our understanding of Man’s relationship with the environment of Abu Dhabi’s deserts and elsewhere in the UAE.

During the late 1990s, the carrying out of environmental surveys became increasingly standard practice and Simon worked on projects throughout the country and also in Azerbaijan and Pakistan. He continued to carry out fieldwork long after he was first diagnosed with motor neurone disease, until its steady progress made that no longer possible.

While in the UAE, his primary interest was always birds and more books followed, including, in 1998, the popular Shell Birdwatching Guide to the United Arab Emirates, written with Colin Richardson. This was followed in 2003 by a revised 2nd edition of Breeding Birds, in Arabic, published by EAD. A 3rd edition, re-titled Breeding Birds of the UAE, appeared in 2010, as did the highly-acclaimed 2nd edition of Field Guide to the Birds of the Middle East, written with Richard Porter. Two more books followed this year, both commissioned by EAD, Birds of the UAE – a guide to common and important species, with Salim Javed and Jens and Hanne Eriksen, and, due shortly, the Field Guide to the Birds of the United Arab Emirates, with Richard Porter, the first country guide to any of the Gulf states.These and other works, like Important Bird Areas of the United Arab Emirates, a co-authored paper that appeared in British Birds in 2006, have done much to introduce the country’s birds to an international audience.

Besides his books, book chapters, articles in journals and reports flowed rapidly. At a rough guess, he authored or co-authored well over a hundred different papers and reports on the UAE’s birds and other fauna and flora.

Simon was never interested just in birds. Terrestrial ecology as a whole fascinated him while he was also for over a decade the co-ordinator of the UAE Marine Mammal Database. He was also interested in palaeontology and made several major Late Miocene fossil finds in Abu Dhabi’s Western Region. This equipped him to engage in publishing that extended far beyond birds. In 2004, he was co-editor, with me, of Jebel Hafit – A Natural History, this being followed the next year by another joint production, The Emirates: A Natural History. Insofar as both publications are of scientific merit, it was largely due to Simon’s expertise.

As UAE birders will know, Simon was an engaging and inspiring colleague in the field – ever ready to share his own expertise. For many years an ENHG committee member, he served a spell as Group Chairman and was awarded the annual Sheikh Mubarak Award, for his contributions to knowledge of the country’s natural history.Simon will be remembered partly for his unparallelled contributions to UAE natural history and, of course, as the first UAE birder to pass the 400 mark on his checklist. His last ‘tick’, his 415th, was the Wilson’s phalarope at Al Wathba Lake in January last year. His comment earlier this month, on seeing a picture of the latest addition to the UAE checklist, Great Stone-Curlew, was ‘about time’. He had predicted it over a decade earlier.

In her introduction to the Field Guide to the Birds of the UAE, the Secretary General of the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi, Razan Al Mubarak, pays this tribute: "I take particular pleasure in acknowledging the contribution made by Simon Aspinall over the last two decades to studies of the UAE’s environment, including its birds. His books on the topic, including this one, provide the foundations on which others will be able to build for many, many years to come.”Many of us, though, will remember him just as much for the strength of character he displayed as the motor neurone disease inexorably took hold. He was not someone who let his determination fade. A couple of days before he was taken to hospital in late August, we sat together in Norfolk to look over the final proofs of the UAE Field Guide and to discuss the next project that he wanted to get under way, the tracking of Abu Dhabi’s pallid swifts that Oscar announced on the Forum yesterday. He also told me to get over to Cley and look out for the young barn owls flying over the field at the back of his house. Sure enough, two appeared and performed magnificently – the best views I’ve had for many a year.

His parents, Jack and Sylvia, sent me an e-mail while they were waiting for the ambulance to come to take him to hospital, though he returned after ten days, irritated by the young nurses who treated him, or so he said, like a ‘silly old git,’ and spent his last weeks in bed at home, gently and peacefully fading away. While he was waiting for the ambulance, they told me, Simon had his ‘spirit undaunted, eyes still twinkling.’It is like that I wish to remember him – a great friend, an incredible colleague and an inspiration.

Peter Hellyer

Simon Aspinall 1958 - 2011

Pectoral Sandpiper 4th Record in the UAE

2011-10-10T22:42:00.000+04:00

News this week was of a Pectoral Sandpiper seen at Mirfa Water Treatment Plant in the Western Region of the UAE. It was reported on Thursday last week but it was Sunday before I could get out there. Mirfa is about a 2.5 hour drive from Dubai towards the Saudi Border. As this was a lifer for me I was not going to miss out and decided to put the effort in. So Sunday I awoke at 04:00am and set off on my 220km drive to Mirfa. The journey was uneventful and eventually arrived at 07:00am.

The very first bird I saw was the Sandpiper feeding on a small patch of grass. Unfortunately I was soon to learn that it was a very shy bird and it flushed before I could get any shots. As there is only desert around the plant I knew it would be back so I patiently waited. I was eventually rewarded soon after when the bird happened re-appear to land on some grass where there was cover for me to approach slowly and out of sight.

Some images I managed during those few minutes are below.

Pectoral Sandpiper (Calidris melanotos)

Safa Park in search of Honey

2011-10-06T18:30:00.000+04:00

Safa Park, UAE 06.10.11

Ok so got myself a lifer this morning in the shape of a European Honey Buzzard, my main objective of course was to get good images of the bird. This proved to be impossible as each time I flushed the bird it just flew between dense wooded areas, no chance of an aerial photograph. Will give it another go tomorrow !

However whilst wandering around I did come across a nice Wood Warbler, not too many records for the UAE, or at least a reasonable rarity. Having said that though this is the 2nd bird I have seen in just over a week.

Some images from my early morning walk.

Immature Striated Heron (Butorides striata)

Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia)

Wood Warbler (Phylloscopus sibilatrix)

Spotted Flycatcher (Muscicapa striata)

Warsen Lakes , Dubai, UAE

2011-10-01T22:24:00.000+04:00

First Blog for sometime. For one reason or another I have not had the time or inclination. However hopefully things are now back to normal and will hopefully post regularly again :-)Sat hidden in the heat this afternoon in the hope of getting a shot of a rather shy Spotted Crake. My patience and "numb" legs (as I was knelt down) finally paid off with a brief appearence of this very shy bird. A bonus whilst waiting was great views of a lovely Common Snipe that was very relaxed whilst feeding.

Spotted Crake, (Porzana porzana)

Citrine Wagtail (Motacilla citreola)

Common Snipe, (Gallinago gallinago)

Johannesburg 22-23.07.11

2011-08-08T23:03:00.000+04:00

With temperatures +40c with high humidity every day it's a little too hot and humid to do any photography in the UAE, should start getting a little cooler from next month onwards and will coincide with the Autumn migration season, so should be out and about again then. Before then I have a 3 week trip to visit my brother and sister-in-law in South Australia, so looking forward to that as I have never been there before. Recently I was fortunate enough to have a business trip to Johannesburg and so decided I would take a couple of days to do some bird photography. I had been advised to visit two locations, namely Suikerbosrand and Marievale. A colleague of mine was very kind enough to lend me his 4x4 for the weekend. There is a small town between the two locations called Heidelberg so I chose to stay there at a lodge called Coeria Lodge. It was adequate, with a nice bar and restaurant. They were kind enough to pack me a breakfast the night before as I would be leaving each morning before scheduled breakfast. I can definitely recommend the Burgers.

I spent Friday 22.07 at Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve a stunningly beautiful place with many different habitats. Although there is no real game there it is possible to see mammal species which include mountain reedbuck, common duiker and steenbok, grey duiker, baboon, oribi, eland, blesbok, springbok, red hartebeest, black wildebeest, kudu and zebra . Predators roaming this vast sanctuary are cheetah, brown hyena and other smaller species. There is a circular route that covers 67km and you can get out of the car anywhere at your leisure. This was obviously mid-winter but still plenty of birds around, as I had not been before , everything was of interest to me !
The plan was to spend Saturday 23.07 at Marievale Bird Sanctuary but had difficulty finding the place. I ended up birding a dam near the town of Nigel and knew I was close to the reserve, however I had little time and did not want to waste it trying to find the reserve (by the way even though I was very close - no one I asked had ever heard of it !!) so after a couple of hours at Nigel Dam I headed back to Suikerbosrand. I will head to Marievale as my first port-of-call the next time I get the opportunity.

The following are a selection of shots taken at Suikerbosrand and Nigel Dam :

Cape Robin-chat, (Cossypha caffra)

African Stonechat, (Saxicola torquatus)

Familiar Chat, (Cercomela familiaris)

Sentinel Rock Thrush, (Monticola explorator)

Village Weaver, (Ploceus cucullatus)

African Red-eyed Bulbul, (Pycnonotus nigricans)

Fiscal Flycatcher, (Sigelus silens)

Black-chested Prinia, (Prinia flavicans)

Crested Barbet, (Trachyphonus vaillantii)

Common Scimitarbill, (Rhinopomastus cyanomelas)

Blacksmith Lapwing, (Vanellus armatus)

African Spoonbill (Platalea alba)

Cloud Cisticola (Cisticola textrix)

Levaiilant's Cisticola (Cisticola tinniens)

Cape Wagtail (Motacilla capensis)

Cape Bunting, (Emberiza capensis)

Brubru, (Nilaus afer)

Common Scimitarbill, (Rhinopomastus cyanomelas)

Red Hartebeest (Alcelaphus caama)

Zebra

Common Eland (Taurotragus oryx)

Impromptu Ethiopia - Day 2

2011-07-16T17:28:00.005+04:00

After a fantastic nights sleep I awoke early. I wanted to have a trek down to "portuguese bridge" at first light before breakfast. We had had an amazing Thuunderstorm the night before and had watched, huddled around a wood fire, the most amazing electrical activity. This morning the view I was presented with was stunning ! Stood at the top of the gorge there was a layer of cloud below me in the valley, to my regret I did not have my pocket camera with me and a 500mm lens just would not have captured the scene. Spent most of the early morning in this location and at nearby Debre Libanos before heading off to Jemma Valley. This would mean a descent from around 3500m and to around a 1000m and a significant increase in temperature !

Some pics from the Portuguese Bridge and Debre Libanos locations :

Red-cheeked Cordon-bleu (Uraeginthus bengalus)

Pied Crow ( Corvus albus)

African Goshawk (Accipiter tachiro )

Brown-throated Wattle-eye (Platysteira cyane)

Mountain Wagtail (Motacilla clara)

Speckled Mousebird (Colius striatus)

White-billed Starling (Onychognathus albirostris)

Speckled Mousebird (Colius striatus)

We then moved on down into Jemma Valley, this was a beautiful journey descending into the valley. The road down was a little hairy in places but added to the fun !! At the bottom was a river bed and as it was only just the start of the rainy season the flow of water was not too strong. With plenty of space to walk along side. However my stride was soon halted with the site of what I believe to be Nile Crocodiles ! Fortunately they were keen to get into the water as I approached closer, something I was quite happy about and made sure I did not get too close to the water's edge !! Some pictures taken on the way to the valley and in the valley. You can see many more of my Ethiopian Images here : Flikr or here Pbase

Hammerkop (Scopus umbretta)

Tawny Eagle (Aquila rapax)

Abyssinian Siskin (Serinus nigric)

Spur-winged Plover (Vanellus spinosus )

Senegal Thick-knee (Burhinus senegalensis)

Nile Crocodile

Impromptu Ethiopia !

2011-07-09T17:49:00.003+04:00

Day 1

Weekend of 30.06.11 was a three day weekend here in the UAE due to a national holiday. Not wanting to be sitting around in the heat for three days a friend of mine suggested a short trip somewhere, he had in mind Ethiopia given it's proximity to the UAE and relatively cheap travel opportunity. Unfortunately the weather forecast was pretty poor as this was now the start of the rainy season, so the trip was off then on then off and then on again ! We both decided we should take the risk as the birding opportunity was too good to give up on with a number of endemic and near-endemic species on our hitlist. So eventually, wtih everything booked, we arrived at the airport around 15:00 in good time for our 17:15 departure to Addis Ababa. We were travelling Ethiopian Airlines and arriving at check-in, it quickly became obvious that this was going to be a slow process :-(

Eventually we were checked in and informed of a one-and-half hour delay , hmm, in my experience that number is standard as the first stake-in-the-ground. I was to be proved right when the total delay was eventually 6 hours, eventually leaving at 23:00 and not arriving at our hotel in Addis Ababa until 03:30 leaving us with only a couple of hours to sleep as we wanted to be up at first light ! We stayed at the Ghion Hotel, known for it's extensive Garden's. These gardens were alive with birds at 5:30am a little too dark for photography but one or two species were captured. Adrenalin was to keep me going for the rest of the day, sites visited were :

Addis airport swamp, Sululta Plains, Portuguese Bridge & Debre Libranos (o/n Ethio-German Lodge, Portuguese Bridge)

During the whole three days we saw 137 Species , including 21 near-endemic and 4 endemic. In conclusion Ethiopia is a wonderful country to visit , with lovely country side and lovely people. Best of all many species which are very approachable !

Here are some pictures from Day 1.

Brown-rumped Seedeater (Serinus tristriatus)

Tacazze Sunbird (Nectarinia tacazze)

Baglafecht Weaver (Ploceus baglafecht)

Ethiopian Cisticola (Cisticola lugubris)

Groundscraper Thrush (Psophocichla litsipsirup)

Blue-winged Goose (Cyanochen cyanoptera)

Ethiopian Cisticola (Cisticola lugubris)

African Citril (Serinus citrinelloides)

Sacred Ibis (Threskiornis aethiopicus)

Thekla Lark (Galerida theklae)

Blue-eared Glossy-starling (Lamprotornis chalybaeus)

Egyptian Goose (Alopochen aegyptiaca)

Hemprich's Hornbill (Tockus hemprichii)

Grey Woodpecker (Dendropicos goertae)

Fan-tailed Raven (Corvus rhipidurus)

White-cheeked Turaco (Tauraco leucotis)

"The Gelada Baboon is large and robust. It is covered with buff to dark brown coarse hair and has a dark face with pale eyelids. Its arms and feet are nearly black. Its tail is shorter than its body and has a tuft of hair at the end. Adult males have a long, heavy cape of hair on their back. The gelada has a hairless face that is shorter and higher than in baboons and its snout is more like that of a chimpanzee. It can also be physically distinguished from a baboon by the bright patch of skin on its chest. This patch is hourglass-shaped. On males it is bright red and surrounded by white hair; on females it is far less pronounced. However, when in estrus, the female's patch will brighten, and a "necklace" of fluid-filled blisters forms on the patch. This is thought to be analogous to the swollen buttocks common to most baboons experiencing estrus. In addition, females have pearl-like knobs of skin around their patches" quote - Wikipaedia.

Gelada Baboon (Theropithecus gelada)

Weavers in Abu Dhabi 18.06.11

2011-06-21T21:09:00.000+04:00

Golden-Backed Weaver is now accepted by the EBRC (Emirates Bird Recording Committe) so I thought I would go check them out. A friend of mine knew a site in Abu Dhabi where he knew they were nesting.

So thought as this would be a relatively easy twitch I would take the "other half" with me and we could have lunch with my friend and his wife whilst in Abu Dhabi. Left Dubai about 9:30am and arrived at the location in Abu Dhabi about 11:00am. Took a little while to spot the first weavers even though there were several nests in several trees. Eventually the first female weaver was spotted of the Village Weaver species, not yet accepted by EBRC unfortunately. Then a couple of male Golden-backed weavers were seen nest building on an obviously new nest as it was still green, whereas a male Village Weaver was busy on what looked like an old nest one of which fell to the ground in the strong wind we had that morning. Shots were quite distant I'm afraid so what you see are heavily cropped.

Golden-backed Weaver (Ploceus jacksoni)

Village Weaver (Ploceus cucullatus)

Gulf Pelagic 17.06.11

2011-06-20T17:33:00.000+04:00

Quiet Pelagic today, weather very hot and humid. Usual suspects :

Persian Shearwater c100
Wilson's Storm Petrel 6
Red-necked Phalarope 20
Sooty Gull 15
Bridled tern 120
Common Tern 50
White-cheeked Tern 1
Little Tern 5
White-winged Tern 1
Arctic skua 2

The White-winged Tern was unusual to see out at sea.

We followed the Wilson's Petrels on a couple of occasions, was really beautiful watching them hover and skip on the water, quite amazing really.

Wilson's Storm Petrel, (Oceanites oceanicus)

White-winged Tern , (Chlidonias leucopterus)

Sooty Gull (Ichthyaetus hemprichii)

Sunset over Kalba and the Hajar Mountains at the end of the Pelagic.

Gulf Pelagic 10.06.11

2011-06-12T22:13:00.004+04:00

It's very much still Pelagic season here in the UAE. There had been a storm heading for Oman which we thought might bring us a few more birds, however it changed direction and headed off for Pakistan. Nevertheless we set off at 3pm for a 4 hour Pelagic ranging from the Omani Border up to and beyond Fujeirah. The sea was pretty rough to start with but had settled a little by the time we were half way through. Birds were difficult to find and a lot of time was spent searching the seas. Small groups of Persian Shearwater , Bridled Terns and Common Terns were seen here and there but nothing much out of the ordinary. Eventually about 2 hours we came across a large group of mixed terns in a feeding frenzy when suddenly one of the team calls out "Sooty Tern". Took me a little while to find it but eventually locked on. It flew from one group to the next and was quite distinguishable from the other Terns, wing span being quite noticeable. The tern was identified as 2nd year individual. I believe only the 7th Record for the UAE.Unfortunately my photography was off form today, we have all had those days right ? So not the best shots I'm afraid. Once the excitement was over and the tern had left the area we then continued scouring the seas. Just as it was starting to go dark and we were returning to the Harbour we fortunately (for me) came across two Wilson's Storm Petrel, firsts for me as was the Sooty tern. It was too dark to get any decent shots I'm afraid, but still went home with two new birds for my UAE list.

Feeding Terns, Bridled and Common

Common Tern, Sterna hirundo

Sooty Tern, Onychoprion fuscatus

Abu Dhabi Islands - Breeding Terns 04.06.11

2011-06-05T20:02:00.002+04:00

I was fortunate enough to be invited on a morning sail out to some of the islands close to Abu Dhabi in the UAE, including Futaisi. Some of the islands hold breeding colonies of White-cheeked, Saunders's and Bridled Terns. It was a chance to see these birds in Breeding Plumages. Obviously these birds become very agitated when you approach their nest sites so we were very conscious of limiting our time to just a few minutes in these areas so that the eggs did not over heat in the very hight temperatures. Numbers of breeding pairs did appear to be up on last year, one of the reasons may well be the eradication of crows from the area, only a couple being seen during the whole trip. I was told there had some culling activities during the year. Another highlight of the area is nesting Ospreys with several nests sighted. We say 4 pairs of Ospreys, beautiful birds !

Other birds seen :

Lesser Crested Tern,
Caspian Tern,
Gull Billed Tern
Sooty Gull (very unusual to see this side of the UAE)
Crab Plover
Bar-tailed Godwit
Redshank
Sand Plover
Terek Sandpiper
Turnstone
Socotra Cormorant

Osprey, Pandion haliaetus

This is me working on the Osprey pics above !

Osprey, Pandion haliaetus - Nest on a hut

Osprey, Pandion haliaetus -

Keeping up with the Jones'

The large nest has been here for many years

White-Cheeked Tern, Sterna repressa

Saunders's Tern, Sternula saundersi

Bridled Tern, Onychoprion anaethetus

Common Redshank, Tringa totanus

Western Reef Egret. Egretta gularis

Bridled Tern, Onychoprion anaethetus

Extreme Migrant in the UAE - Franklin's Gull 20.05.11

2011-05-27T13:27:00.001+04:00

An extreme migrant, 1st Record of Franklin's Gull in the UAE - it all started here Birding Forum thanks to Dr Reza Khan !

Discovered on Tuesday 17th I had to wait till Friday morning before I could get out there.
Very early start (got up 4:15am yawn !) arrived at 6:15am . Thought I was early , however Ahmed and Steve were already there ! Amongst all the Sooty Gulls the bird was relatively easy to find on the stretch of beach close to Fujeirah Port., it seemed pretty settled until a bunch of Fisherman started to haul their nets so off it flew, fortunately only 150m away where it quickly settled again. As the sun was rising over the sea it was obvious that the only way to get good light was to approach the bird from the sea. The tide was coming in and the waves were very high - was not long before I was completely drenched by the odd Tsunami that caught me by surprise. Seems my camera is water resistant - glad about that ! You can hear the waves lapping around me in the video.

Article in the UAE National ! National Article

Franklin's Gull (Leucophaeus pipixcan)

UAE Pelagic 07.05.11

2011-05-14T13:09:00.001+04:00

Belated Blog I'm afraid. Another Pelagic into the Gulf of Oman last weekend.Proved to be one of the best for me yet ! I got a lifer in Wedge-Tailed Shearwater of which I saw 2. Our boatman is now getting very experienced and is able to spot these birds on the horizon better than we can ! He is also now very adept at chasing Shearwaters and keeping them alongside the boat. However bouncing the waves at 40-50 Km/h trying to focus on a moving Shearwater, which are the most excellent fliers, is an extremely difficult task indeed !! Many many shots show bits of blurry shearwater and often nothing at all ! But you will always get one or two that are in frame and sharp :-)

Wedge-Tailed Shearwater 2
Sooty Shearwater 10+
Flesh-footed Shearwater 1
Persian Shearwater 300+
Red-knecked Phalarope 8
Bridled Tern 30
Arctic Skua 1

Bridled Tern (Onychoprion anaethetus)

Sooty Shearwater (Puffinus griseus)

Persian Shearwater (Puffinus persicus)

Arctic Skua (Stercorarius parasiticus)

Flesh-footed Shearwater (Puffinus carneipes)

Wedge-tailed Shearwater (Puffinus pacificus)

UAE East Coast Pelagic 22.04.11

2011-04-23T14:56:00.002+04:00

Went off on a local Pelagic with many of the UAE birders yesterday ! Weather was perfect, with a lovely breeze on the boat. Probably the largest numbers of Sooty Gull I have seen over there easily in excees of 300 I would guess. There were many flocks of Persian Shearwater 200+. I saw 3 Arctic Skua, only one close enough to photograph though and unfortunately into the sun, but fab to see it up so close. Highlight for me was my first Flesh-footed Shearwater, very distant but certainly distinguishable. The only downside was a stranded Socotra Cormorant that was attached by the foot to some fishing line which had got caught on a Harbour Buoy and could not free itself. Fortunately shrap knife at hand allowed one of the team to cut the line and allow it to swim away. You can see a picture of this below. All in all a nice afternoon out ! :-)

Arctic Skua
(Stercorarius parasiticus)

Arctic Skua

(Stercorarius parasiticus)

Persian Shearwater

(Puffinus persicus)

Persian Shearwater

(Puffinus persicus)

Persian Shearwater

(Puffinus persicus)

Socotra Cormorant

(Phalacrocorax nigrogularis)

Flesh-footed Shearwater

(Puffinus carneipes)

Flesh-footed Shearwater

(Puffinus carneipes)

Persian Shearwater

(Puffinus persicus)

Socotra Cormorant

(Phalacrocorax nigrogularis)

Socotra Cormorant

(Phalacrocorax nigrogularis)

Socotra Cormorant

(Phalacrocorax nigrogularis)

Migrants in the UAE 16.04.11

2011-04-21T22:00:00.000+04:00

Migration had been a little slow recently until last weekend when reports started to come in of several migrants around the place. Probably the best of the bunch was a Long-tailed Shrike, only the 7th UAE record. This was found in Mamzar park, Dubai. Also reported were several Barred Warblers, White-throated Robin and larger numbers of Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin. The day before I had spent one day in Green Mubazzara where there were several Upcher's Warblers and Rufous Scrub Robin. Also had the pleasure to see that Barbary Falcons had been breeding in the back Wadi where I saw one of the juveniles catch a pigeon and fly back to the roost, followed closely by one of the Adults. No pics unfortunately as I was not prepared :-(Some pics from the weekend.

Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin
(Cercotrichas galactotes )

Hooded Wheatear female

(Oenanthe monacha )

Upcher's Warbler
(Hippolais languida )

Sinai Agama
(Agama sinaita)

Long-tailed Shrike
(Lanius schach)

Common Redstart
(Phoenicurus phoenicurus)

White-throated Robin
(Irania gutturalis )

Wamm Dairy Farms - Fujairah, UAE 09.04.11

2011-04-13T21:54:00.000+04:00

Thought I would just post a small blog on my visit to Fujairah last Saturday. Access has now been given to the Farms once again , first time since last September. So as there had been reports of a large number of Lesser Kestrels passing through with numbers as high as 28 I thought I would give it a shot.
Before entering the farms I had a run around the Goat Farm nearby where there is scrub and Acacia. 3 Upcher's Warbler were found with one staying paticularly faithful to one tree allowing very good views. Also seen were a number of Isabelline Wheatear, Turkestan Shrike and Southern Grey Shrike. So now it was over to the Farm entrance.

With the formalities completed I started to wander the fields with my mate Mark, it was hot but there was a nice breeze to keep us relatively cool, but this will only get worse as the summer gets closer. I almost stepped on a Quail (my first) which decided the better option was to fly away as quickly as possible. A number of Richard's pipits were also flushed and subsequently scrutinised for Blythe's charateristics. Many Indian Rollers frequent the standpipes in the fields and numbers always go well into double figures. I was pleased to see that there still remained at least 5 Lesser Kestrels , 3 males and 2 femals. The Females proved extremely approchable, this could not be said for the males who took to the air before I could ever get close to them. Still we got plenty of time to watch the birds as they hunted and interacted with each other. Even watching them eat their catches on the wing ! I really enjoyed the experience of sharing an afternoon with these birds especially one female who was happy to allow me come as close as 3 metres, allowing me a full frame (portrait) using my 500mm, not something that happens very often !

Birds seen :

Common Quail (Coturnix coturnix)	1
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta )	2
Western Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis ibis)	30
Eurasian Marsh Harrier (Circus aeruginosus)	1
Pallid Harrier (Circus macrourus)	1
Lesser Kestrel (Falco naumanni)	5
Eurasian Kestrel ] (Falco tinnunculus])	1
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago)	1
Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse (Pterocles exustus)	8
Rose-ringed Parakeet (Psittacula krameri)	15
European Bee-Eater (Merops apiaster)	5
Indian Roller (Coracias benghalensis)	20
Turkestan Shrike (Lanius isabellinus phoenicuroides)	8
Daurian Shrike (Lanius isabellinus isabellinus)	1
Southern Grey Shrike (Lanius meridionalis)	3
Upcher's Warbler (Hippolais languida)	3
Common Grasshopper Warbler (Locustella naevia)	1
Richard's Pipit (Anthus richardi)	3

Isabelline Wheatear
(Oenanthe isabellina)

Upcher's Warbler
(Hippolais languida)

Upcher's Warbler

(Hippolais languida)

Upcher's Warbler
(Hippolais languida)

Lesser Kestrel
(Falco naumanni)

Turkestan Shrike
(Lanius isabellinus phoenicuroides)

Lesser Kestrel
(Falco naumanni)

Kerala, India February 2011 (06.03.11) Day 3

2011-04-03T20:06:00.000+04:00

So Day 3 was another day in Thattekad. I had a much better night's sleep and as promised there was no temple music!. Hornbill Camp is a wonderful place in the morning, with birdsong and beautiful views.
The staff at the camp are all from the local communities and earn an income from the running of the camp. They source all the camp requirements from the local village.

So after a lovely breakfast it was off with Shibu and Jijo once again for our visits to sites around Thattekad National Park.

Species seen today :

Black Baza	Malabar Grey Hornbill	Vernal Hanging Parrot
Malabar Trogon	Black-headed Bulbul	Flame Minivet
White-bellied Treepie	River Tern	Orange-headed Thrush
Crested Honey Buzzard	Common Flameback	Common Hawk-cuckoo
Stork-billed Kingfisher	Greenish Warbler	Eurasian Golden Oriole
Large-billed Crow	Green-winged Emerald Dove	Rufous Babbler
Brahminy Kite	Heart-spotted Woodpecker	Asian Drongo-cuckoo
Blue-bearded Bee-eater	Great Reed Warbler	Black-naped Oriole
Dusky Crag Martin	Pompadour Green Pigeon	Crimson-backed Sunbird
Common Kestrel	Large Woodshrike	White-rumped Spinetail
Dollarbird	Asian Brown Flycatcher	Black-hooded Oriole
Velvet-fronted Nuthatch	Plum-headed Parakeet	Little Spiderhunter
Whiskered Tern	Scarlet Minivet	Black-naped Monarch
	Blue-throated Flycatcher

Stork-billed Kingfisher
(Pelargopsis capensis)

Malabar Grey Hornbill
(Ocyceros griseus)

Little Cormorant
(Phalacrocorax niger)

Green-winged Emerald Dove
(Chalcophaps indica)

Orange-headed Thrush
(Zoothera citrinacyanotus)

Scarlet Minivet - Female
(Pericrocotus flammeus)

Oriental Darter
(Anhinga melanogaster)

Greater Coucal
(Centropus sinensis)

Common Flameback
(Dinopium javanense)

Kerala, India February 2011 (05.03.11) Day 2

2011-03-26T13:36:00.001+04:00

Day 2 05.03.11

So yesterday had been an extermely long day. Due to a night flight from Dubai I had very little sleep. So took an early night last night. I was due to get up at 6am but was woken abruptly at 5am to VERY loud music coming from a nearby Hindu temple. Think of the catchiest and noisiest songs from any Bollywood movie played on loudspeakers to be heard for miles and then imagine that is what you awake to at 5am !! To say I felt a little groggy that morning would be a huge understatement. However I was on the road at 7:15am after a lovely breakfast provided by the guys at the camp. Jijo and Shibu were as lively as ever which perked me up somewhat. The morning was spent up in the forested hills of Thattekad National Park, a little misty to start with but the sun was soon shining and the humidty rising ! This was to be the weather theme for the rest of my stay at Thattekad before moving on to Munnar. If you would like to contact my Birding guide just click his name, Jijo Matthew

Species seen today included :

Lesser Whistling Duck	Chestnut-headed Bee-eater [sp]	Greenish Warbler [sp]
Grey Junglefowl	Malabar Grey Hornbill	Grey-breasted Prinia [sp]
Oriental Darter	White-cheeked Barbet	Asian Fairy-bluebird [sp]
Little Egret [sp]	Brown-capped Woodpecker [sp]	Asian Brown Flycatcher
Crested Serpent Eagle [sp]	Heart-spotted Woodpecker	Blue-throated Flycatcher [sp]
Shikra [sp]	Common Iora [sp]	Malabar Whistling Thrush
Mountain Hawk-eagle [sp]	Scarlet Minivet [sp]	Orange-headed Thrush [sp]
Pin-tailed Snipe	Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrike [sp]	Southern Hill Myna
Pompadour Green Pigeon [sp]	Eurasian Golden Oriole [sp]	Golden-fronted Leafbird [sp]
Green Imperial Pigeon [sp]	Ashy Drongo [sp]	Plain Flowerpecker [sp]
Malabar Parakeet	Bronzed Drongo [sp]	Crimson-backed Sunbird
Common Hawk-cuckoo [sp]	Greater Racket-tailed Drongo [sp]	Long-billed Sunbird [sp]
Jungle Owlet [sp]	White-bellied Treepie	Little Spiderhunter [sp]
Common Kingfisher [sp]	Black-headed Bulbul [sp]	Grey Wagtail [sp]
	Black-crested Bulbul [sp]
	Red-whiskered Bulbul [sp]

Indian Pond Heron
Ardeola grayii

Southern Hill Myna
Gracula indica

Jungle Owlet
Glaucidium radiatum

Malabar Parakeet
Psittacula columboides

Golden Fronted-Leafbird
Chloropsis aurifrons

White-Bellied Treepie
Dendrocitta leucogastra

Common Hawk Cuckoo
Hierococcyx varius

Intermediate Egret
Egretta intermedia

Indian Pond Heron
Ardeola grayii

White-Browed Wagtail
Motacilla maderaspatensis

Indian Darter
Anhinga melanogaster

Common Kingfisher
Alcedo atthis

Lesser Whistling-Duck
Dendrocygna javanica

Grey-Breasted Prinia
Prinia hodgsonii

Red-Whiskered Bulbul
Pycnonotus jocosus

Greater Recket-Tailed Drongo
Dicrurus paradiseus

Pin-Tailed Snipe

Gallinago stenura

Bar-Winged Flycatcher-shriker

Hemipus picatus

Kerala, India February 2011 Thattekad (04.03.11) Day 1

2011-03-19T16:55:00.002+04:00

Ok, not exactly UAE Birding but thought I would share my trip to Kerala in India. I had organised this through an Indian company Birds of Kerala. This was to be an 8 day trip staying at various locations.

In the early hours (2:45am to be precise) on Friday 4th March I departed Dubai headed for Cochin (Kochi) where I would land about 8:30am and meet my driver. Shibu was my drivers name and over the course of the week we got to know each other quite well. He was an excellent driver and knew is way around well. He would also be responsible for one or two pics that I would have missed without his keen observation !

We set off from the airport to Thattekad where we arrived at Hornbill Camp (a tented camp) around 11:00am where I met my guide for the week Jijo Matthew. And what a guide he turned out to be, I cannot recommend him enough !

After unpacking I was keen to get out around the camp before our 3:30pm excursion. It was mid-day, the light was very harsh and it was hot and humid but I was in my element. Managed to capture some images of Purple-Rumped and Loten's Sunbirds (Long-Billed Sunbird) and one or two other species such as Jungle Babbler and Oriental Magpie-Robin. Decided it was best to get some lunch and a little sleep before our afternoon sortie.

3:30pm soon arrived and feeling a little groggy ventured out with Shibu and Jijo to a local birding spot for a few ours, birds of note included Brown-Capped Woodpecker, Chestnut-tailed Starling and endemic White-cheeked Barbet. Jijo also managed to re-find a Mottle Wood Owl (extremely shy) from a week earlier, a skill I that was going to impress me more and more as the week went on.

As I went back to the camp I reflected on 39 species seen in my first couple of hours.

Oriental Magpie-Robin (Copsychus saularis)

Loten's Sunbird (Cinnyris lotenius)

Mottled Wood Owl (Strix ocellata)

White-Cheeked Barbet (Megalaima viridis)

Chestnut-Tailed Starling (Sturnia malabarica)

Brown-Capped Woodpecker (Dendrocopos moluccensis)

Menetrie's in Ajban 19.02.11

2011-02-23T21:07:00.000+04:00

There is a place between Dubai and Abu Dhabi called Ajban. In Ajban there are a number of farms which have a lot of water run-off I believe. This has resulted in small lakes that have now become home to several species of bird. I decided to spend the day there last Saturday in the search for good Desert Wheatear pictures and anything else of interest. I had only been there a few minutes when I encountered two Menetries's Warblers. Now I have seen these birds before but not had great opportunities for Photographs, fortunately that was about to change :

Bird sightings included :
Menetries's Warbler 2
Asian Desert Warbler 5
Desert Wheatear 4
Isabelline Wheatear 1
Turkestan Shrike 1
Daurian Shrike 1 (Now split from Daurian Shrike (Lanius isabellinus))
Ruff 15
Little Egret 2
Western Reef Heron 1
Cattle Egret 12
Clamourous Reed Warbler 1 (several more heard)
Little Ringed Plover 1
Kentish Plover 2
Little Stint 2
Black Winged Stilt 10
Green Bee-Eater 6
Barn Swallow 4
House Martin 1
Pallid Swift 100

Menetries's Warbler (Sylvia mystacea)

Pallid Swift (Apus pallidus)

Asian Desert Warbler (Sylvia nana)

Western Reef Heron (Egretta gularis)

Turkestan Shrike (Lanius phoenicuroides)

Now split from Daurian Shrike (Lanius isabellinus)

Scrub Warblers in Masafi Wadi 05.02.11

2011-02-09T20:51:00.000+04:00

The weather was perfect last weekend for walking in the Wadis near Masafi (on the way to Fujeirah from Dubai).

This location has had a good variety of records over the years and has the reputation of turning up surprises. Black-eared Wheatear being one of those a couple of years back. However on this occasion I was targeting the Scrub Warbler (Scotocerca inquieta) which I had noted there exactly one year before and is known to be resident breeding. Habitats for this bird are barren , stony hillsides, semi-deserts and sandy plains with low scrub, up to 2600m. Masafi Wadi being typical habitat. I had taken call recordings with me but the call proved to be of interest to only one of the four birds I was to encounter. These little birds move very quickly and are highly active, so be prepared for a lot of scrambling up rocky hillsides !

Other birds encountered of note were Red-Tailed Wheatear, Hume's Wheatear, Variable Wheatear, White-Spectacled Bulbul, Desert Lesser Whitethroat and Plain leaf Warbler.

Scrub Warbler (Scotocerca inquieta)

Red-Tailed Wheatear (Oenanthe xanthoprymna)

Desert Whitethroat (Sylvia minula)

Plain Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus neglectus)

Red-Tailed Wheatear (Oenanthe xanthoprymna)

Sociable Lapwing

2011-01-28T19:17:00.000+04:00

Short trip to the Dubai pivot fields to try and photograph a couple of Sociable Lapwing that weren't actually that "sociable" ! They were on open fields with zero cover so approaching them was very difficult. Lot's of crawling around on my belly (not a pretty sight !). The results are attached , not exactly the shots I was looking for but considering the shy nature of these birds I am quite happy.

Sociable Lapwing
(Vanellus gregarius)

Wadi Bih, Ras Al Khaimah 14.1.11

2011-01-21T14:34:00.001+04:00

A belated blog I'm afraid. Just didnt get the time to update during the week. After the success of finding the Streak-Throated Swallow I went off to Wadi Bih in the Hajar Mountains not too far away from the Hirundine site. Not too far in to the rocky Wadi is a small farm where the workers are quite amenable to you entering and having a wander round. There was one small field growing some herb or small plant of some sort (not an expert on plants I'm afraid) which I discovered held several Bluethroat which were out of site most of the time. However with iPod in hand I managed to coax a couple out with some Bluethroat song !

Bluethroat
(Luscinia svecica)

Further in to the Wadi there is a quarry which has a number of pools nearby, I had seen several Trumpeter Finch here last year when there was plenty of water around. However they were pretty much dried out now and rains have been few and far between this winter so far (unusually). I did find a small pool near a water outlet used for filling Water Tankers, I spotted a group of approx 15 Chukar wandering to the pool so decided to position my 4x4 alongside and cover up as a hide. Unfortunately I had spooked the Chukar sufficiently that they did not return in the 2 hours that I sat there, but fortunately several Finch did, along with Striolated Bunting and Desert Lark. Some of the Trumpeters were showing a lovely pink Hue which had not been present last year.

Striolated Bunting
(Emberiza striolata)

House Sparrow
(Passer domesticus)

Desert Lark
(Ammomanes deserti)

Trumpeter Finch
(Bucanetes githagineus)

Striolated Bunting
(Emberiza striolata)

Trumpeter Finch

(Bucanetes githagineus)

In search of Streak-Throated Swallow 14.1.11

2011-01-17T20:50:00.000+04:00

Mark and I decided it was a good time to go look for Streak-Throated Swallow at Ras Al Khaimah Water Treatment Plant in the North of the UAE. Three had been observed the week before. An early start was called for as this was a 1.5 Hour drive from Dubai and we wanted to stop off at first light at Umm al Quain mangroves to see if we could pick up anything. I wanted to find Great Knot for my UAE list. We arrived just as day was breaking, the area was calm, many birds roosting including 30-40 Crab Plover and equal numbers of Oystercatcher. Whilst making our way along the shoreline we flushed a Greater Spotted Eagle from a Mangrove bush unseen by us. The bird was no more than 20ft away, amazing sight watching this magnificent bird take to the air ! Anyways my luck was in as we found several Knot amongst a flock of Bar-Tailed Godwit and other waders. On the way out of the Mangroves my attention was drawn to a 'dog fight' coming closer to us, we soon realised we were watching a Sparrow doing it's utmost to outwit a male Merlin as they both weaved around the sky eventually disappearing into the Mangrove, the Merlin then retreated back to where it had come seemingly without it's meal.

So the day had got off to a great start, off to Ras al Khaimah we set. We eventally arrived at the water pits where we found huge numbers of Pallid Swift (probably more than 1000) dominating the skies along with pale Crag Martin, House Martin, Barn Swallow and Sand Martin. I was amazed at the sheer quantity of insects in the air, they were in my mouth , eyes, they were everywhere - not for the faint-hearted!

How were we going to find the small number of Streak-Throated Swallow amongst these hundreds of other Hirundines and Swifts ? As luck would have it and had been suggested by other birders , many of the Swallows and Martins were resting on distant Telegraph wires including the ST Swallow !. Because of this distance good photos were impossible, however I have included what I could manage, I have included some shots of Pallid Swift and Pale Crag Martin.

I will definitely be returning as this is an amazing experience with some good photo opportunities.

Here you see two Streak-Throated Swallow (left),
a House Martin and Barn Swallow

Two Streak-Throated Swallow

Pallid Swift
(Apus pallidus)

Pale Crag Martin
(Ptyonoprogne obsoleta)

Buff-Bellied Pipit 12.1.11

2011-01-12T22:08:00.000+04:00

Took an hour at first light this morning to look for the 3rd time for a reported Buff-Bellied Pipit at the Pivot Fields. Not an easy task with so many Water Pipits about ! Tried to get close with my beanbag for a low angle shot but the bird was having nothing of it. So trekked back to the car for my Tripod hoping that I would be able to re-find the Pipit. Surprisingly enough (and you would know why if you knew me) I actually did re-find it :-)

The bird was very shy and with no cover I had to opt for a longer range shot from the Tripod so results not too good. But hey it was a lifer !

Also had enough time to capture two lovely Stonechat, a Daurian Isabelline Shrike and a Graceful Prinia at the same time.

Buff-Bellied Pipit
(Anthus rubescens)

Daurian Isabelline Shrike
(Lanius isabellinus)

Graceful Prinia
(Prinia gracilis)

European Stonechat
(Saxicola torquatus)

Mourning Wheatears at Jebel Dhanna 8.1.10

2011-01-10T21:06:00.000+04:00

Happy New Year to you all, this is my first blog of 2011 !

There had been recent reports of a small group of Eastern Mourning Wheatears in Jebel Dhanna which is about a 3 hour drive from Dubai. They had been spotted in a facility owned by an oil company and so permission had to be sought for access. Fortunately there are a number of birders who work there and permission seemed to be an easy process given that I was to be escorted by one of those birders ! So having decided that I would make an early start on Saturday morning I made an early night of it. I had decided to get up at 4am (now I know I'm definitely mad) which for me is REALLY early - although some of the UAE birders will laugh at that as 'luxury' knowing they regulalrly travel to far flung places at even earlier hours than that !!

So still half asleep I set off for the long journey to JD. After about an hour I had reached Abu Dhabi and I noticed that visibility was starting to reduce and all too soon I was in the middle of a 'pea-souper' (english term for thick fog !). It was patchy but nevertheless slowed me down somewhat - I eventually arrived at JD about 8:30am, and subsequently struggled to find my contact in the fog :-). Eventually we found each other and made our way to the site where we sat it out for a couple of hours till the fog lifted, the sun was shining but the humidity was intense. Unfortunately I had missed the best light of the day but 'que sera sera'. I saw at least 4 of them and possibly 5 or 6 but difficult to tell as they were moving around a lot. There were no organic perches for the birds either so I had to make do with Stand Pipes and Fencing - not ideal. I did manage a few shots though so I was relatively happy. With a few shots in the bag it was now time to make my way back to Dubai - too tired to really make any more bird stops, "wimp" I hear you all shout ! Well I am knocking on a bit now :-)

Eastern Mourning Wheatear 4
Desert Wheatear 2
Isabelline Wheatear 2
Common Kestrel 3
Marsh Harrier 1
Skylark 50
Meadow pipit 2
Water pipit 4

Eastern Mourning Wheatear
(Oenanthe lugens)

Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary 27.12.10

2010-12-28T23:08:00.001+04:00

Not had chance to do an "India Part 2" yet, but hopefully will get to it soon. In the meantime I managed to catch the last couple of hours sunlight at this sanctuary yesterday. Not somewhere I go very often as the hides are not placed well and 95% of the sanctuary is out of sight. However it does offer great photographic opportunities of Greater Flamingo especially towards the end of the day when many fly into position in front of the hide. Biggest problem I have with these birds is getting a correct exposure, most usually end up clipped :-(

Anyways if you are ever in Dubai it is worth an hour of your time especially if you are here in the winter months.

Seen during my visit were Great Cormorant, Western Reef Egret, Grey Heron, Pacific Golden Plover, Shelduck, Eurasian Curlew, Eurasian Spoonbill, Marsh Harrier, Greater Spotted Eagle, Kentish Plover, Little Ringed Plover, Black-Winged Stilt.

Great Cormorant
(Phalacrocorax carbo)

Greater Flamingo
(Phoenicopterus ruber)

Great Egret

(Ardea alba)

Greater Flamingo
(Phoenicopterus ruber)

Eurasian Spoonbill
(Platalea leucorodia)

Eurasian Curlew
(Numenius arquata)

Greater Flamingo
(Phoenicopterus ruber)

Dubai and Al Ain 17-18 Dec 2010

2010-12-18T21:47:00.000+04:00

A round up of this weekends activities. Not been too well last week so stayed local yesterday. Visited the Dubai Pivot Fields Friday afternoon. Things quietening down now here after Autumn migration.

Dubai Pivot Field 17.12.10

1 Black-Throated Thrush
1 Southern Grey Shrike
1 Bluethroat
2 Siberian Stonechat
6 Glossy Ibis
20 Starling
1 Citrine Wagtail
1 Richard's Pipit
6 White Wagtail
1 Marsh Harrier
5 Little Green Bee-Eater
Other pipits/wagtails/bank myna/cattle egret etc....

Bluethroat (Luscinia svecica)

Siberian Stonechat (Saxicola torquatus)

Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus)

Little Green Bee-Eater (Merops orientalis)

Al Ain 18.12.10
Jimi Oasis

Pallid Scops Owl 2

Jebel Hafit

Ring Ouzel 1
Black Redstart 2
Hume's Wheatear 1

Green Mub - Back Wadi

Lesser Whitethroat 4 (or desert ? looks more like Desert to me)
Plain Leaf Warbler 3
Barbary Falcon 1 (heading back to base with a kill)
Red-Tailed Wheatear 1
Black Redstart 2
Olivaceous Warbler 1

Pallid Scops Owl (Otus brucei)

Lesser Whitethroat (Sylvia curruca )

Eastern Olivaceous Warbler (Hippolais pallida)

Plain Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus neglectus)

Red-Tailed Wheatear (Oenanthe xanthoprymna)

Sila 3.12.10 - 4.12.10

2010-12-06T22:41:00.000+04:00

Since I started birding in the UAE, Sila has been on my 'to-do' list as it is famous for rarities and has had a good variety of birds over recent years. One of the problems being a Dubai resident is the distance in getting there. The drive is approx 4 to 4.5 hours down to the western most point of the UAE , very close to the Saudi border.
As it was a long weekend with two Public holidays I thought I would spend a couple of days down that way. It was also good to know that several other UAE resident birders were going to be there too, this proved to be a blessing in disguise :-)

I set off Friday morning around 6:30am with the intentention of going as far as Jebel Dhanna via Mirfa, birding these locations, staying over night and then moving on to Sila the next day. I arrived in Mirfa mid morning and met a fellow Emirati birder, Khalifa. Together we both found a Pied Stonechat female in the small park, it was extremely shy and having only got brief views and no pics, it quickly disappeared for good ! At this point I changed my plan and decided to go straight to Sila, an hour past Jebel Dhanna and spend the afternoon looking for and photographing wintering Grey Hypocolius, one of the few places in the UAE to still see these birds. This was a good decision as when I arrived at the Marsh Date Plantations in Sila there were at lease 20 individuals amongst the flock, happily coming backwards and forwards to a dead Acacia tree.

Grey Hypocolius
(Hypocolius ampelinus)

Grey Hypocolius

(Hypocolius ampelinus)

With several reasonable pics in the bag I decided to head back to Jebel Dhanna for a couple of beers, currry and a good nights sleep at the Dhafra Resort hotel.

Next morning I got up early and had breakfast at 6:00am with a view to surveying the grounds of the hotel, Corn Bunting had been seen here a few days earlier. Alas no bunting but many Water Pipits , White Wagtails , Skylark and one Common Kestrel. So off back to Sila it was. This time with Dark-Thoated Thrush in my sights. Two had been noted Friday by some of the guys preceding me. One to be found in Sila Park and one in a small Ghaf/Date plantation. With a quick call to friends I soon had the location and within 10 minutes I had the first Dark-Throated Thrush.

Dark-Throated Thrush
(Turdus atrogularis)

It was about to get more interesting, I got a call from Oscar to tell me that he was with others in the next adjacent plantation and they had a possible Taiga Flycatcher. This would be only the 3rd record in the UAE ! I quickly got out of the plantation and drove over to the second larger plantation where I found the group playing the Taiga calls from an MP3 player. This certainly created some reaction in the bird. It was quite visible but tucked away in the undergrowth and low bushes. The light was terrible and gave no real opportunities for good pictures. Recordings were taken and along with in-depth studies of what photographic evidence could be gained a decision was made that it was indeed a Taiga Flycatcher. I had decided that I would come back later in the afternoon as the light would have improved by then, as fate would have it my friends Tommy and Mark were making a mad dash to the area at the end of the day and asked me to meet them there. This proved to be a decisive moment as the bird was out of the undergrowth and much more visible, we had good views but limited photographic opportunities. But enough to at least get one or two off ! This proved to be the sighting of the weekend for me. In the plantation there were also Sparrowhaek, Oriental Honey Buzzard, Black Redstart, Song Thrush and Red-Breasted Flycatcher.

Taiga Flycatcher
(Ficedula albicilla)

In between the Flycatcher sightings I had visited Sila Park, a small but lovely park which I believe is very good during migration seasons ! I shall certainly visit during the next season. Another Dark-Throated Thrush was to be noted here but a much shyer bird. Disappearing into the trees at the slightest interest ! Here I also found several Durian and Isabelline Shrike, many Water Pipit and White Wagtails and one particularly lovely Kestrel !

Dark-Throated Thrush
(Turdus atrogularis)

Daurian Shrike
(Lanius isabellinus)

Common Kestrel
(Falco tinnunculus)

So my first trip to the Western Region was a wonderful experience - somewhere I will be spending much more time in future !

India Nov 2010 Part 1

2010-11-27T15:26:00.000+04:00

Not strictly UAE birding I know but thought I'd share some comments and pictures from my trip to Rajasthan recently. Although I have lived in the UAE for 6 years it was my first trip to India (I know - pathetic !). As I wanted to go with my wife we put an itinery together that had a mix of birding and sightseeing. Our initial port of entry was Delhi from where we quickly left to Bharatpur. This was once one of the Top Birding sites in the world, however over recent years the water levels have dramatically reduced and the number of birds recorded there have diminished significantly. The Keoladeo Ghana National Park was once famous for the Siberian Crane, sadly these have not been reported for several years now. Adding to this was the issue of reported sightings of a Tiger in the Park, this had the negative effect of restricting large areas of the park to the Public. However I had only 3 days there and so left us with plenty of birds to go after. I hired a guide and a couple of Rickshaws for the 3 days, the guys were execllent and looked after us well !! I have included the cycle licence plates of the Rickshaw drivers for your reference, should you ever be out that way. Soran Singh was my guide and we stayed at the famous Birder's Inn , Bharatpur. Cheap and friendly - enjoyed our stay very much.

Some pics from Keoladeo Ghana National Park :

Painted Stork
(Mycteria leucocephala)

Darter
(Anhinga melanogaster)

Painted Stork
(Mycteria leucocephala)

Sarus Crane
(Grus antigone)

White-Throated Kingfisher
(Halcyon smyrnensis)

Pied Buschat
(Saxicola caprata)

Painted Stork

(Mycteria leucocephala)

Dusky Eagle Owl

(Bubo coromandus)

Spotted Owlet
(Athene brama)

Long-Tailed Shrike
(Lanius schach)

Black-Rumped Flameback
(Dinopium benghalense)

Eurasian Spoonbill
(Platalea leucorodia)

Asian Openbill
(Anastomus oscitans)

Finally in this Part here is the information on the Rickshaw riders and Guide that I used :

MEGA at the Pivot Fields 8.10.11

2010-11-09T19:55:00.000+04:00

7th November 2010 was an exciting day for the UAE. It's very first record of a Buff-Breasted Sandpiper ! I heard about it in the evening of the 7th and along with many others made my plans to be there at first light.I arrived at the site at approx 6:30am and met up with four other Birders, Clive, Neil , Mark and Andrew. We feared the worst when it seemed that the bird was not around but I knew I was with several very experienced birders and that if it was here it would be found !! At approx 7:15am it flew in and was quickly spotted by Neil. The scopes were set up and good views were achieved. By now I was getting an itchy trigger finger but I did not want to risk flushing the bird whilst people were yet to get there views. But work was calling all of us and one by one everyone left until I was left on my own. So out came the trusty Canon 7D and 500mm and off I went. Here are some of the results.

Buff-Breasted Sandpiper
(Tryngites subruficollis)

Ajban Video 5.11.10

2010-11-06T11:15:00.000+04:00

Just uploaded some video from yesterdays trip to Ajban. I have included the Stonechat and Pied Wheatear.
If you look at the first video carefully - you will see one very brave, lucky ant ! :-)

Ajban, UAE 5.11.10

2010-11-05T21:23:00.000+04:00

Wanted to spend some time at Ajban to photograph Wheatears. I located a pair of Pied Wheatears near a pool , I could see that they didn't move to far from their current location so decided to park the Pajaero cover the window and wait. I spent a good 90 minutes photographing the pair in various positions and lighting. A couple of examples attached. Unfortunately the male was only a 1st Year so not in the typical plumage of an adult Pied Wheatear, but still made a lovely subject. An added bonus was a lovely Stonechat, I cannot usually distinguish Common from Siberian (we get both) so will leave it as Stonechat :-)

Pied Wheatear 2
Isabelline Wheatear 1
Black-Winged Stilt 30
Ruff 30
Common Sandpiper 2
Wood Sandpiper 1
Little-Green Bee-Eater 3
Crested Lark 20
Little Stint 3

Stonechat
(Saxicola torquatus)

Pied Wheatear

(Oenanthe pleschanka)

Pied Wheatear

(Oenanthe pleschanka)

Pied Wheatear

(Oenanthe pleschanka)

Pied Wheatear

(Oenanthe pleschanka)

Pied Wheatear

(Oenanthe pleschanka)

Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve 30.10.10

2010-11-02T23:45:00.001+04:00

I was kindly invited onto the reserve last Saturday to look for Long-legged Buzzard that had been regularly seen near watering holes in the reserve. Having arrived early in the morning I actually saw one sat on a Sand Dune in the distance before I had even entered the gate - a very nice quick result ! This was added to with a lovely Desert Warbler and Menetrie's Warbler, unfortunately the pictures are not worthy of my Blog :-) However a shot of a Desert Warbler inside the reserve has been added (as it's not too bad !). We drove around the dunes for a little while (testing my sand driving skills to the max !) and eventually found an area with many Ghaf trees, two Buzzards were being harrased by a Desert Eagle Owl but the tables were soon turned as the Owl was forced to dive for cover at the base of a tree. All too distant I'm afraid for any decent pics.
One of the Rangers received a call to say 4 Lappet-Faced Vultures (lifer for me !) had been seen at another watering hole about a 30 minute drive away. What I hadn't realised was that the estimation of 30 minutes was at break-neck speed. Unfortunately however the birds had left by the time we got there, all that remained were 2 birds soaring at high altitude - Oh well, always next time :-) I have to say though the drive was the most exciting part of the day driving at 40-50km/hr over Sand (my very own roller-coaster) and was a real adrenalin rush ! I am proud to say that during the 4 hours in the desert I did not get stuck once unlike last time (twice !) There is always plenty to see and photograph in the reserve and I enjoy this place very much. I have added some pics of the various wildlife encountered during the drive.

Thanks again to DDCR and the guys (you know who you are!)

Young Male Sand Gazelle
(Gazella subgutturosa marica)

Arabian Oryx
(Oryx leucoryx)

Asian Desert Warbler
(Sylvia nana)

Yellow Spotted Agama

(Trapelus flavimaculatus)

Arabian Gazelle
(Gazella arabica)

Arabian Gazelle

(Gazella arabica)

Desert Monitor Lizard
(Varanus griseus)

Dubai Pivot Fields 22.10.10

2010-10-23T21:30:00.000+04:00

Not had too much time to get out this weekend, arrived back late from Kuwait on Thursday evening, then attended a party last night which sort of limited my options today ! :-)

Anyway managed a few hours yesterday afternoon at the Pivot Fields. Not too much of note, however a nice mixture of Pipits including Tawny, Richard's and Red-Throated ! Quite a collection of Yellow, Citrine and White Wagtails also present. The weather is starting to improve each week, so now looking forward to spending more 'comfortable' hours outdoors now temperatures are down to the low 30's. Here are a some of the pics captured yesterday. I have also included a mall piece of video of one of the Red-Throated Pipits.

Red-Throated Pipit
(Anthus cervinus)

Collared Pratincole
(Glareola pratincol)

Citrine Wagtail
(Motacilla citreola)

Tawny Pipit
(Anthus campestris)

Ajban Farms and Dubai Pivot Fields 18.10.10

2010-10-18T21:43:00.003+04:00

Been working up in Kuwait for the last two weeks and not had a lot of time to update the blog. However I now have remote access to my home machine from my hotel room in Kuwait, how cool is that ?!!
On the 9th Oct I went over to Ajban Farms on the way to Al Wathba in Abu Dhabi to search out a Stone Curlew found by my friend Mohamed the day before, unfortunately no Stone Curlew but there were a group of lovely Black-Winged Stilts feeding in the pools by the farms at Ajban.

Black-Winged Stilt
(Himantopus himantopus)

On the 16th October (in between trips to Kuwait) I visited my local patch (Dubai Pivot Fields), it was a beautiful day, no haze or humidity to speak of, first time for many months - a good sign that winter is approaching. Was not really looking for anything special just some good images. A beautiful Daurian (Isabelline) Shrike gave me some excellent views and let me approach very close. The sun was setting and the light was fabulous. The bird also managed to perch in a situation that provided a lovely brown background. Anyways, I have included a couple of examples. Other captures were Crested lark, Isabelline Wheatear and Tawny Pipit

Isabelline Wheatear
(Oenanthe Isabellina)

Crested Lark
(Galerida cristata)

Daurian (Isabelline) Shrike
(Lanius Isabellinus)

Daurian (Isabelline) Shrike

(Lanius Isabellinus)

Tawny Pipit

(Anthus campestris)

Dubai Pivots 3.10.10

2010-10-06T22:33:00.000+04:00

Returned from cold Prague where I had been on a training course for a week, so stayed local and went to my local spot at the Dubai pivot Fields. Weather was very humid , roll on Winter !! Apart from the usual suspects several migrants were around including 8 Temminck's Stints, 20+ Yellow Wagtails of various Ssp , 1 European Roller (Juve) , 2 Little Ringed Plover (Juve) and 3 Isabelline Wheatear but the highlight was a very nice migrant in a lovely Richard's Pipit . Some images below, more from this day can be seen at Pbase.
(A link to some video of the Pipit is also included)

Temminck's Stint
(Calidris temminckii)

White-Tailed Lapwing
(Vanellus leucurus)


Red-Wattled Lapwing (Vanellus indicus)


Richard's Pipit (Anthus richardi)

Yellow Wagtail
(Motacilla flava)

Isabelline Wheatear
(Oenanthe isabellina)

Green Mubazzara 25th September

2010-09-25T18:04:00.000+04:00

Drove the 1.5 hour journey down to Al Ain early this morning to chance my luck with a Baillon's Crake ! Not too many records of these little fellas in the UAE. Set off at 6am only to find thick Fog for the first 40km, slowed me down somewhat, but as I headed inland the Fog soon dispersed. Green Mubazzara is an area of parkland just at the foot of Jebel Hafeet and is always good during Migration ! Today was no exception.

A fine Hooded Wheatear pair were the first birds I encountered, so I spent some time with them before looking for the crake.

Hooded Wheatear

(Oenanthe monacha)

Hooded Wheatear
(Oenanthe monacha)

Whilst following this pair around I also stumbled across a lovely Pied Wheatear sitting on a fence watching the Hooded Wheatear scrap with 2 Hume's Wheatear over territory !

Pied Wheatear
(Oenanthe pleschanka)

Finally took myself to the location where the crake had been found and set up the camera. Didnt have to wait too long before the young Baillon's crake made an appearence, although the area was quite dark. For that reason I had to work quite hard to get anything remotely decent - but reasonably happy I guess.

Baillon's Crake
(Porzana pusilla)

Baillon's Crake

(Porzana pusilla)

Other birds seen during the morning included,

1 Common Kestrel
3 Blue Rock Thrush
1 Rock Thrush
2 Isabeline Wheatear
3 Lesser Whitethroat
2 Graceful Prinia
1 Spotted Flycatcher

Blue Rock Thrush
(Monticola solitarius)

Blue Rock Thrush

(Monticola solitarius)

Off to Prague now on a business trip for a week so probably no more reports until I get back.

As always for more pics please visit Mike at Pbase

Around the UAE 24th September

2010-09-25T16:52:00.001+04:00

I travelled around the UAE quite a lot this weekend. Probably the nicest find for me was a lovely Masked Shrike right by my office. I saw this bird whilst going for a coffee on Thursday. Made sure I got to the office early Friday morning (24th) The bird showed really well and was not too shy, preferred sitting on top of a rock rather than a tree which was good !

Masked Shrike

(Lanius nubicus)

Masked Shrike
(Lanius nubicus)

Later in the afternoon I drove over to Ajban near Abu Dhabi, there are some farms located here and I had heard reports of up to 6 Egyptian Nightjar. With GPS co-ordinates in hand I set off. Fortunately I fairly quickly discovered 3 of the birds, 2 of which I managed to flush as my fieldcraft wasn't particularly good ! :-)

Egyptian Nightjar
Caprimulgus aegyptius

Egyptian Nightjar

Caprimulgus aegyptius

Qarn Nizwa, UAE 18.09.10

2010-09-19T21:46:00.000+04:00

On the lookout for migrants I spent the day travelling around the UAE, noted in excess of 60 species - not too bad ! Not too many pictures today but still made a lifer - Golden Oriole seen fleetingly at this location - no picture that I am proud of I'm afraid :-(

Other birds seen here were :

Isabeline Wheatear
Red-Tailed Wheatear
Pied Wheatear

Pied Wheatear
(Oenanthe pleschanka)

Pelagic - East Coast , UAE 17.9.10

2010-09-19T21:38:00.001+04:00

Ventured on another Pelagic on Friday afternoon, finally the temperatures are starting to come down, barely touching 40c now at mid-day.At first birds were scarce, but after an hour or so we came across good numbers of fish and of course birds. I saw the largest number of Persian Shearwater so far , in excess of 150 ! We also had around 13 Brown Noddy and 500 Bridled Tern, many of which were first year. For me the highlight (as I haven't experienced them before) were a small group of 6 Red-necked Phalarope, a beautiful little bird !

Red-Necked Phalarope
(Phalaropus lobatus)

Red-Necked Phalarope

(Phalaropus lobatus)

Red-Necked Phalarope
(Phalaropus lobatus)

Red-Necked Phalarope
(Phalaropus lobatus)

Brown Noddy
(Anous stolidus)

This is the boat we have hired for the next pelagic !!

Fujairah National Dairy Farm 10.9.10

2010-09-12T14:13:00.004+04:00

Had a drive over to the North East coast on Friday to visit FNDF, known for it's migrant drop ins.
First light as I approached Dibba revealed 12 Brown-Necked Ravens flying in formation. Some settled on a nearby fence before heading off back into the desert. Arrived at the farm and over the course of the next couple of hours noted the following :

Spotted Flycatcher
Lesser Grey Shrike
Southern Grey Shrike
Isabeline Wheatear
Pied Wheatear
Ruff
Wood Sandpiper
Green Sandpiper
Curlew Sandpiper
Cattle Egret
Citrine Wagtail
Grey Wagtail
Temminck's Stint
Pale Crag Martin
Sand Martin
Barn Swallow
Menetries Warbler
Eastern Olivaceous Warbler
Bengal Weaver
Indian Roller
European Roller
Crested Lark
Bank Myna

Pied Stonechat was noted by a friend of mine but I dipped on that one :-(

Brown-necked Raven
(Corvus ruficollis)

Teminck's Stint
(Calidris temminckii)

Citrine Wagtail
(Motacilla citreola)

Eastern Olivaceous Warbler
(Iduna pallida)

Curlew Sandpiper
(Calidris ferruginea)

Bengal Weaver
(Ploceus benghalensis)

Caspian Plover and Short-toed Lark 7.9.10

2010-09-09T10:51:00.001+04:00

After a tip-off I managed to get to the Dubai Pivot fields in time to catch the last light of the day and a Caspian Plover to go with it ! (My first). Added bonus in the 30 minutes I had were two Short-toed Lark passing through also. Was a pretty good 30 mins :-) If you listen carefully at the end of the Plover video you will hear the Blue-Cheeked Bee-Eaters that have hit the UAE in good numbers this year.

We now have a 4 day weekend and plenty of migrants about - just gotta go find them !

Caspian Plover
(Charadrius asiaticus)

Greater Short-toed Lark
(Calandrella brachydactyla)

Wadi Helo, UAE 4.9.10 - Sand Partridge

2010-09-05T20:27:00.006+04:00

Spent a few hours Saturday morning staking out a water pool in the Hajar Mountains , specifically Wadi Helo.
With temperatures around 45c in the Wadi I was hoping Sand partridge (known in this area) would come to the pool. Fortunately it worked out and after one hour a couple of adventurous females made their way to the water, the males however, were a little more wary and never quite got there ! If you are interested in the location it can be found here 24°56'31.22"N 56°13'0.01"E Just copy into Google Earth.

As always please check out Pbase for more images from this trip.

Sand Partridge
(Ammoperdix heyi)

Arabian Sea Pelagic 13.08.10

2010-08-15T22:04:00.000+04:00

Once again went out to sea with Abdullah. Highlight of the trip was a lovely Masked Booby, not too many of these recorded in the UAE, 11th record I believe.

Masked Booby
(Sula dactylatra)

This time took a few fish with us to see if we could attract the birds to us rather than scouring the seas for activity. Seemed to work well with Sooty Gull, Bridled and Common Tern and an Arctic Skua appearing from nowhere ! Lesson learned was that we need more fish - so next trip out will see us stocked up with adequate quantities :-)) Some pics attached, please also visit my Pbase account for many more images.

Common Tern

(Sterna hirundo)

Bridled Tern
(Sterna anaethetus)

Arctic Skua
(Stercorarius parasiticus)

UK Tour 2010

2010-08-03T00:40:00.000+04:00

Been a while since I updated my Blog !
Main reason being that I have been back home in the UK - travelling for 3 weeks. Chance to test my new Canon 300mm 2.8 Prime. What a fabulous lens it is.

Anyway I will update the blog with images from various locations over the next few days. First selection come from Gigrin Farm in Wales , where Red kite are fed each day. This activity now brings in excess of 100 kite each afternoon and is fantastic to watch and experience !

As always more images can be seen at my Pbase account.

Red Kite (Milvus milvus )

Pelagic Trip 25th June 2010

2010-06-28T20:24:00.002+04:00

Rented a boat to take us out to sea off the east coast of the UAE. The aim was to photograph Persian Shearwater, Bridled Tern and Brown Noddy. The water was fairly choppy but not too bad , unfortunately the weather was very dusty and affected the lighting conditions somewhat. Anyways it was a great few hours and will definitely be doing it again. More images at Mike Barth's Pics

Persian Shearwater
Puffinus (Iherminieri) persicus

Brown Noddy
Anous stolidus

Bridled Tern
Sterna anaethetus

Osprey
Pandion haliaetus

Sandwich Tern
Sterna sandvicensis

Bay-Backed Shrike article in the National Newspaper

2010-06-18T12:31:00.000+04:00

Attached is the article publised in the UAE on the 2nd only reported breeding Bay-Backed Shrikes in the Arabian Peninsula.

First Breeding record for Bay-Backed Shrikes in the UAE !

2010-06-17T23:49:00.000+04:00

I was advised of the first Bay-Backed shrikes to be recorded breeding in the UAE. Theye were seen over in Masafi Wadi. So last Saturday I got up early , 4:30am (Yawn) and set off for the Wadi. I arrived around 6:00am and finally found the birds around 7:00am. The birds were very active and very mobile and I found it difficult to pin them down. It was also very hot and getting hotter by the minute, by 9:00am they had pretty much disappeared. Here is what I managed.

Juvenile Bay-Back-Shrikes

Bay-Backed Shrike

Bay-Backed Shrike

Images uploaded from my wonderful trip to Norway and Finland in March

2010-05-18T22:54:00.001+04:00

Managed to find some time to process some more images from my trip.Couple of examples here but more loaded in my Pbase.

Pine Grosbeak

Siberian Jay

Steller's Eider

Al Zora Shoreline and Mangrove 8.4.10

2010-05-12T20:02:00.001+04:00

Ventured over to Al Zora in Ajman on Saturday. I had never visited this area before, my good friend Ahmed showed me the location. We had gone to try to get some shots of Lesser Crested Tern and Sandwich Tern which had appeared in some numbers. Fortunately our early morning visit concided with the fishermen bringing in their nets....it was very comical watching the Socotra Cormorants being brave enough to steal fish from the guys despite the best efforts of the fishermen to scare them away ! Some pics attached but as always full catalog of images in my Pbase account. Nice views of several Yellow-Spotted Agamas were achieved near the mangrove area.

Socotra Cormorant

Sandwich Tern

Lesser Crested Tern

Socotra Cormorant

Sooty Gull

Wadi Bih 1.5.10

2010-05-05T20:38:00.000+04:00

Went for a drive to the Hajar Mountains near Ras Al Khaimah in the UAE. Went to find Trumpeter Finch, Ortolan Bunting and most importantly Chukar. Managed to find a water pool with frequent visits from the Finch and Buntings along with nice Striolated Bunting. Then on one of the mountain sides I heard the call of the Chukar, this was followed by a scramble up the mountain side with the 500mm slung over my shoulder !

All the pics can be found under the UAE section of my Pbase account.

Hatta 30.4.10

2010-05-01T09:54:00.000+04:00

Nice trip out to Hatta Fort, bit of R&R with the family. Took the Camera "just in case". Actually I knew that the normally shy Spectacled Bulbul (Yellow Vented Bulbul) were quite common there and friendly as they seem to integrate with Humans more at the Hotel. Only had the 100-400mm with me but did ok as they were quite approachable ! Some pics attached, but more comprehensive album to be found in my Gallery.

Using my Dad as the "beater" , managed some nice Indian Roller action too.

Upcher's Warblers

2010-04-25T21:48:00.000+04:00

Ok, went over to Al Ain on Friday to see if I could locate some of the Upcher's Warblers reported there. Success ! Some pics attached. Also seen were Common Whitethroat, Barred Warbler, Spotted Flycatcher and a lovely male Rock Thrush. Would have loved to stay a little longer but had to make the hour and half dash back for the Dubai St Georges Society Ball with the band of the Royal Marines - Great night !

Common Whitethroat

Upcher's Warbler

Upcher's Warbler

Upcher's Warbler

Spotted Flycatcher

Common Whitethroat

Rock Thrush

Collared Pratincoles 16.4.10

2010-04-18T21:58:00.002+04:00

Went over to the Dubai Pivot fields Friday afternoon, not much about but a couple of Collared Pratincoles were obliging. A Brown Shrike made a brief appearance, would have preferred more more time with it !
A few Cattle Egret in breeding plumage seem to be appearing now too.

http://www.pbase.com/barty63 contains my Gallery

Migration has been pretty poor this spring on the whole.

Pictures from Norway leg added

2010-04-15T23:04:00.002+04:00

Now uploaded some of my pics from Norway in March.
They can all be seen at http://www.pbase.com/barty63.

Here I have included Long-Tailed Duck, Steller's Eider, Kittiwake, Shag, Great Tit, Razorbill, Guillemot, Brunnich's Guillemot.

2010-04-10T15:25:00.000+04:00

Didn't fancy travelling too far this morning so decided to go to Mamzar Park (between Dubai and Sharjah) with my friend Ahmed Al Ali. Temperatures around 35c took their toll and went home at lunchtime. Migrants have been few this year but I did manage to get some shots of a Common Redstart and a male White-Throated Robin, only seen females before ! A Reed Warbler and Ménétrie’s warbler (my first) were also seen but only poor photos - they weren't too keen to show themselves. First Arabian Babbler I had seen in the park too.

Finally some pics from Finland and Norway

2010-04-09T16:22:00.000+04:00

Managed to find some time at last to add some pics from my trip to Finland and Norway - check out http://www.pbase.com/barty63

Added pics of Siberian Jay and Siberian Tit

2010-04-04T09:17:00.002+04:00

Hmm, the less said about Mike Dean this morning the better !
Let's leave it there shall we.

2010-04-03T13:22:00.001+04:00

Staked out a Barn Owl site last night near Abu Dhabi, didn't get any real good photos but did see 3 Barn Owls between 9pm and 11pm, so mission accomplished !

2010-03-31T10:33:00.000+04:00

Ok, my first Blog posting - weird ! Not sure my life is that interesting really - let's see