Whilst birding the bottom of the Raydah Escarpment I saw up to ten African Grey Hornbills Tockus nasutus together. This is the largest group I have recorded in Saudi Arabia. They only occur at the bottom of the Raydah Escarpment and are not seen higher up. The birds were located in the large wadi system […]
Category: Blogs
Western Ghats – 3rd December (Day 9)
We were up at 05:45, loaded the car and then drove to Cairn Hill Park just outside of Ooty to get better views of a couple of the endemics to be found here after our last visit on 1st December when the weather was terrible. As we entered the park there were three Black-and-Orange Flycatcher […]
Plain Tiger – Raydah Escarpment
The below photograph of Plain Tiger Danaus chrysippus was taken in the bottom valley of the Raydah Escarpment in the Asir Mountains of southwest Saudi Arabia. This butterfly was first depicted in an Egyptian tomb 3,500 years ago, making it the first ever butterfly to be recorded in history. Its striking tawny-orange colouration serves as […]
Blackstart – Raydah Escarpment
Whilst birding the Raydah Escarpment we found a number of Blackstart near the wadi bottom and village. The species is a common resident of rocky desert areas throughout with the exception of the east and northeast. Birds occur eastwards to Riyadh where it is a fairly common breeding resident at the base of the escarpment. […]
Summer or Winter, They Need …
It’s the staple of life! Water, birds need water every day, multiple days a day. They need it for both drinking and for bathing, both essential survival needs. In the summer, free water is scarce in many regions because pools evaporate. In the winter time free water freezes. Both scenarios remove water from the system. […]
Wendy’s Crows
Today I stood outside in the cold for a while watching this crow forage in the trash behind a Wendy’s fast food restaurant. I like the way it is puffing up its feathers. Another one flew over and then both left when I got too close, making dramatic silhouettes as they went. They are so […]
Cachudito Pico Negro-Tufted Tit-Tyrant / Anairetes parulus (Kittlitz, 1830)
Creo haber dicho con anterioridad que debía apurarme un poco para publicar todo el material fotográfico que se pudo obtener durante el pasado 2017. Por tal motivo hoy aprovechando las vacaciones me puse a revisar los archivos de las vacaciones de Luis Lugo el año pasado a la Localidad de San Carlos de Bariloche. Durante […]