Whilst birding the Jebal Hamrah with Phil Roberts recently we came across a wheatear at the bottom of the escarpment in a largish wadi. It lwas perched ontop of a large boulder in a slightly vegetated area at the foot of the escarpment. On closer inspection in became obvious it was a female Hooded Wheatear. […]
POLL: Should the Trump Administration ban deadly ‘Cyanide Bombs’?
Conservationists are expressing some serious disappointment over the Trump administration’s decision not to ban deadly devices otherwise known as M-44s, or “cyanide bombs,” despite their brutality, sickening death toll and the risks they continue to pose. These devices are spring-activated bait traps placed in the ground that are loaded with sodium cyanide, which is ejected […]
Birding with giants
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 […]
Endangered Hawaiian monk seals face new challenge: eels stuck up their noses
The Hawaiian monk seal has become endangered due to a range of threats, from fishing net entanglements to disease. Now the beleaguered species is facing an unexpected new challenge – eels getting stuck up their noses. A picture of a monk seal with an eel up its nose was shared this week by a Hawaii-based […]
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 […]
POLL: Should the Trump Adminstration be allowed to auction off public land for fracking?
RENO, Nevada— The Trump administration plans to auction more than 900,000 acres for oil and gas extraction on the doorstep of Nevada’s only national park and other protected public lands. It would be the largest single lease sale of public lands in the lower 48 states in at least a decade. “The Trump administration is […]
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 […]
The true scale of deforestation today
The most pertinent issue in the modern world is the state in which we are leaving the planet we live on and the damage we’re doing to it. Since the Industrial Revolution, the vast need to grow, to harvest, to exploit, for economic and social gain has resulted in the world being left in a […]
