Whilst birding the Jebal Hamrah pivot irrigation fields recently with Phil Roberts, I came across a Bimaculated Lark Melanocorypha bimaculata. The bird was on the edge of the field in with a very large group of around three hundred Greater Short-toed Larks, but flew almost immediately. We moved to where it had landed and refound […]
Category: Wildlife
Watching the largest herd of African Elephants in Amboseli National Park
While out on the safari drive in Amboseli National Park, we saw a huge cloud of dust in the distance. As the animals came closer, it became clear that this was probably the largest herd of African Elephants (as seen in the feature image) that we had seen here. It was also a herd with […]
Pennington Marsh – 23rd March
With a couple of hours to spare after dropping Tobias at school I had a wander around Pennington Marsh taking in Jetty, Butts, Fishtail and Keyhaven Lagoons. It was a bright spring like day but with a strong NW wind it was deceptively cold. Numbers of wader and wildfowl had shown a noticeable and decrease […]
Seven species of Wheatear – Jebal Hamrah
Whilst birding the Jebal Hamrah area in March I came across seven species of Wheatear in a single day including Black-eared Wheatear, Hooded Wheatear, White-crowned Wheatear, Northern Wheatear, Isabelline Wheatear, Pied Wheatear and Desert Wheatear. The week previously, I also saw an Eastern Mourning Wheatear, making a total of eight species in a week. The […]
Beaver
An unexpected sighting last week was a Beaver at very close range in the middle of the day. I have seen a few signs recently that Beavers are out and about despite the snow and ice (which must make it difficult for them to come in and out of their lodges). Seeing the animal today […]
Cigua Palmera – Palmchat ; Dulus dominicus (Linnaeus, 1766)
Vacaciones 2018, el destino elegido para las vacaciones familiares de este año fue Punta Cana / República Dominicana; viaje organizado con mucho tiempo de planificación y muchas expectativas por nuestra parte, yo particularmente enfocado en la actividad de observación y fotografÃa de aves para lo que desde el mes de Junio de 2017 comencé a […]
Amazing Firecrest fall at Dunge
Wanting Bluethroat for a year tick we headed down to Dunge this morning arriving just after first light. We found the gorse bushes alive with Firecrests and I mean alive, simply dozens of the little gems feeding frantically after the long crossing. A few Goldcrests flitted around with them and a couple of singing Chiffchaff […]
Trumpeter Finch – Jebal Hamrah
Whilst birding the Jebal Hamrah pivot irrigation fields recently with Phil Roberts we came across a pair of Trumpeter Finch Bucanetes githagineus. This species is a locally common widespread resident found in manly arid rocky areas where it is thinly distributed. Birds are seen throughout the year but may become common after good rains with […]