This morning I had the pleasure and honour to bird with two ornithological giants – authors of e.g. the recently published Handbook of Western Palearctic Birds, Lars Svensson and Hadoram Shirihai. I know Hadoram well since my childhood, but it was the first time I birded with Lars. We met up at Ma’agan Michael with […]
Category: Blogs
Rufous-capped Lark – Talea Valley
Rufous-capped LarkCalandrella eremicawas recently been split from Blandford’s LarkCalandrella blanfordi. The reasons for the split include genetic differences as well as in its smaller size. Its lower rump and uppertail-coverts are or only slightly shaded rufous vs strongly rufous. It is much paler above, including the colour of the crown and shade of buff and […]
Cyprus Warbler, Photos from Spring 2018
The Cyprus Warbler, (Sylvia melanothorax), is a typical warbler which breeds on Cyprus. The species is a partial migrant, with most birds migrating to north-east Africa and the remainder making short-distance or altitudinal movements to the lowlands and coastal areas of Cyprus. These birds breed in a rather wide range of scrub and maquis, favouring […]
November and Early December
Well, November seems to have passed me by without seeing a single bird of any note while much of the UK seemed to be awash with rare Swift’s. I have barely managed to get out due to work commitments and a general low ebb in my birding enthusiasm, this comes to me once in a […]
A Great Day in Maridalen
The cold temperatures continue and we awoke to -7C today with blue skies and no wind. A relaxed trip around Maridalen didn’t reveal huge quantities of birds but there was quality there and I had a long overdue patch tick. The lake held a single Guillemot but not the Long-tailed Ducks and Common Scoters that […]
Quraish Valley – Tanoumah
Whilst birding a valley on the outskirts of Tanoumah near the village of Quraish I came across a few good birds. There were plenty of common species such as Laughing Dove and White Spectacled Bulbul, some summer visitors such as Violet-backed Starlings and a few good south-west highland resident species such as Shikra and Palestinian […]
Kingfishers in the Pantanal
Although the main focus of our trip to Brazil’s Panatal was to see Jaguars. We had been told that the area was a paradise for birders and photographers. With over 600 species of birds to see and very few humans to disturb them we found It was often possible to get very close to many […]
Jaguars of the Pantanal
Our main reason and target for the trip to Brazil was to get close, personal and sticky with a Jaguar. There is nowhere else in the world where this is possible other than the Pantanal. We were concerned about our bad timing – best season for Jaguar observation is during the dry season in July […]
