One of the seven wonders of the world, the great barrier reef has been one of Australia’s defining features for decades. The great barrier reef is the largest living structure in the world and is even visible from space. However, in spite of its sheer volume of life, the reef is currently experiencing a difficult […]
Category: Wildlife
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 Pantanal 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 […]
King Jird – Talea Valley
Whilst birding the Talea Valley near Abha in October 2018 I came across a King Jird Meriones rex. The animal was seen briefly running through some sparce grasses at the base of large acacia trees. It disappeared almost immediately down a burrow and out of site. Phil Roberts then saw another on out in the […]
Dusky Turtle Dove
Whilst birding the southwest of the Kingdom at various times from spring through summer I came across good numbers of Dusky Turtle Dove. Numbers have been much higher this year than any previous years I have been to the southwest. The species is a breeding resident in the Asir notably the Abha and Jebel Soudah […]