The Sooty Falcon has undergone a major decline in Arabia. Current status as per the EBRC (Emirates Bird Recording Committee) – “Highly endangered declining breeding visitor (5 nesting pairs in 2008, per EAD) to offshore Arabian Gulf islands. Rare migrant onshore”.So it was a pleasant surprise when an Emirati friend of mine reported a sighting […]
Author: Mike Barth
Mike Barth, a photographer from Manchester England, was based in Dubai in the UAE from 2004 to 2016. He has travelled regularly to Africa and Asia and has had the pleasure of birding in some wonderful locations. A passionate bird photographer he now offers tours for small groups, maximum of 6, photographers and offers photographic tours to several locations such as Sri Lanka, India, Kenya, Ethiopia, Ghana. Please visit his site at https://www.mikebarthphotography.com for information, there you can also purchase prints in various formats.
UAE Pelagic Summary
Been a while since I posted, to be honest I have travelled a lot recently, taken a lot of pictures, been working hard and just not had time for the blog. However I find myself with 5 minutes to put together a small blog on a summary of some recent Pelagics I have been on […]
Eagles and Harriers
March seemed to be a good time for Marsh Harriers and Greater Spotted Eagles down in the Dubai Pivot fields. Whilst I am used to seeing many Harriers this time of year, Greater Spotted Eagles are a different story. Whilst fairly common down the road at the Ras Al Khor sanctuary, in my experience this […]
A few bits and pieces in the UAE Part II
Ajban farms is a favorite site of mine , located between Dubai and Abu Dhabi. It is a desert scrub area with large water lakes. Unfortunately the water is constantly being pumped into tankers for nearby constructions sites. Not sure how much longer there will be water there, once gone I am sure there will […]
A few bits and pieces from the UAE Part I
Not had much to report recently, travels have been limited and I have also been suffering with some niggly back problems. So here is a small blog showing some of the images I have taken over the last few weeks in the UAE. Dubai Internet City not only being mine and many other people’s work […]
Red-Billed Tropicbirds on Qarnein Island
I recently had the pleasure to be invited along with a small group to the island of Qarnein which is situated off the mainland of the UAE 180km north-west of Abu Dhabi and can be found here at 24°56’7.00″N,52°50’59.00″E. Back in 2003 the island of Qarnein and its surrounding waters were been declared as a […]
Jouanin’s Petrel Fest
For the last few years we have been running fairly regular Pelagic trips off the east coast of the UAE. Always out of Khor Kalba with our captain Abdullah. He has become very knowledgeable with regard to the birds and now has the longest Pelagic list of any birder in the UAE. He has become […]
Bateleur Eagle
The Bateleur is an eagle of the family Accipitridae, this beautiful sub-adult was photographed by me recently at a water hole in Kruger National Park, South Africa. It is a common resident species of the open savanna country in Sub-Saharan Africa. Its diet is made of mice, birds, antelope, snakes, and carrion. The Bateleur is […]