Today (actually already yesterday – it’s late!) I headed down towards Eilat with Mark and Amity to join the Eilat Bird Festival /COTF / IBOC events. We made a quick stop at Har Amasa that was simply brilliant. There were birds everywhere, and what quality. I was really looking forward to arrive on site and […]
Category: Wildlife
Netted, glued and eaten whole – can we keep this songbird free?
The Eurasian Blackcap is one of seven flagship birds in our Flight for Survival campaign to raise awareness of the scope and scale of the illegal killing of migratory birds. For many people, it’s an iconic sound of the countryside: a rich, complex musical whistle which culminates in a loud, high-pitched crescendo. It is so […]
Still waiting
Despite afternoon temperatures reaching +6C, overnight frosts and thick snow and ice means that there are very few signs of spring. Apart from a couple of scouts, finches and thrushes have yet to arrive and that is no surprise as there would be no food for them to find. It is still a long way […]
POLL: Is the booming fashion trend for coyote fur ethical?
Colton Morris, 28, knelt on the concrete floor of a warehouse in rural Ohio, carefully combing the fur on a pile of coyote pelts with a wire brush before putting them up for auction. A sunny but chilly morning greeted him and around 150 other buyers and sellers at the event in the small settlement […]
Pond visitors
Its nice sometimes to just stay at home in the backyard and see what birds turn up at my small reflection pool. On this occasion one of the Long Tailed Tits that visit the feeders came down briefly for a drink, as well as the more usual Collared Dove, Goldfinch, House Sparrows, Great Tit and […]
Red-wattled Lapwing – Khafrah Marsh
Whilst birding the Khafrah Marsh area on 9 March I saw three adult Red-wattled Lapwing. The species is scarce in Saudi Arabia with records from Riyadh, the Empty Quarter and the Eastern Province. This species is a resident breeder at wetlands in eastern Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Kuwait, and is gradually colonizing westwards. […]
Wheatears – Shedgum Escarpment
Whilst birdwatching at Shedgum Escarpment we saw a few interesting birds although the weather was not good so photos wereaverage to poor. Winter birding at this location is always difficult with few species seen but it is an excellent place to see White-crowned Wheatear. We first went to the bottom of the Escarpment and looked […]
Buntings and Larks – Jebal Hamrah
Whilst birding the Jebal Hamrah pivot irrigation fields recently with Phil Roberts, we came across a huge flock of Corn Buntings. The total seen was a minimum of one hundred birds and possibly many more. They were feeding in the grassy pivot fields but a couple of times all took to the air and landed […]
