Birdwatchers are becoming more and more interested in trying to identify sub-species of birds that they see. This may be because they feel they can identify most species they see and are trying to extend their knowledge, or for a small percentage they are doing it in case the sub-species in question is ‘split’ into [...]
Ile aux Aigrettes is a tiny coral island 800 metres off the south-east coast of Mauritius near the small town of Mahebourg and has been declared a nature conservation site (1965) run by the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation since 1987. The island is 26 hectares in size and is made of coralline limestone partially overlain by [...]
In the morning of the 29th March an adult Black-winged Kite (Elanus caeruleus) was present at the Percolation Pond in Dhahran Camp. The bird was sitting on top of a dead tree and was being mobbed by a flock of Common Mynas. Later in the day the bird was present in the Spray fields perched [...]
Information on the Eastern Woodchat Shrike (Lanius senator niloticus) is not so easy to come by on the internet and as a result I am posting a few details of this eastern sub-species of Woodchat Shrike here. Identification is fairly straightforward on spring/summer males with the lores and feathers next the nostrils white and an [...]
Whilst ringing at Alba Marshes, Bahrain, on Friday 2nd March 2012, with Brendan Kavenagh and Nicole Proven, we caught a male White-spotted Bluethroat (Luscinia svecica cyanecula) which is a scarce passage migrant to the region, unlike the Red-spotted Bluethroat (Luscinia svecica svecica) which winters in good numbers. The White-spotted Bluethroat breeds locally in central & [...]
The House Crow (Corvus splendens), as it name suggests is a member of the crow family and is approximately 42–44 cm long (body and tail) and weighs 250–350 grams. Their plumage is glossy black, except for the nape, sides of the head, upper back and breast, which are grey and not glossy. Their bills, [...]
The taxonomic treatment of the Large White-headed Gulls (LWHG) in Saudi Arabia has undergone various revisions over the years. Prior to 1970, and following the principle reference works for the region at the time, Vaurie – The Birds of the Palearctic Fauna, Non Passeriformes (1965) & Hue & Etchecopar –Les Oiseaux du Proche et du [...]
I have starting to learn (July 2011) to ring (band) birds, as a trainee, in Bahrain with the help of trainer Brendan Kavanagh . Brendan is licensed to ring under the British Trust for Ornithology scheme which operates in Britain and Ireland and has permission to use their rings in Bahrain. As a trainee ringer [...]
The Saudi Arabian Gulf coral islands are very important sites for birds, both breeding seabirds and migrant passerines and hold internationally important numbers of breeding Lesser Crested Terns (Thalasseus bengalensis) and Bridled Terns (Onychoprion anaethetus). All six Saudi Arabian, Gulf Coral Islands were formed when sand, produced by wave action, boring of some worm species [...]
This post will give you all a flavor of my local ‘patch’ and the habits that occur there before I post anything about birds seen. My local ‘patch’ is in Dhahran which is situated in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, between the cities of Dammam and Al-Khobar, and is the headquarters of Saudi [...]
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