Whilst birding recently in the Abha area I came across a few endemic Arabian Serin Serinus rothschildi. This is a rather scarce resident of the south-west highlands occurring in scrubland and acacia sites, where they have been seen regularly on Raydah escarpment at Raydah Farm and at the farm at the bottom of the escarpment […]
Going on a bear hunt: the animal activists signing up to ‘shoot’ grizzlies
Jane Goodall, the renowned conservationist, and a group of wildlife activists are some of the unexpected entrants in a lottery to hunt up to 22 grizzly bears near Yellowstone national park. Their goal is to infiltrate Wyoming state’s first grizzly bear hunt in 44 years by acquiring licenses they have no intention of using. “We […]
Birding safari in Tadoba Tiger Reserve
On a morning safari into the Tadoba National Park we saw the Oriental Honey Buzzard that came down to the lake to quench its thirst. It was a lovely sighting. The Brown Fish Owl, featured above, was another price catch of the afternoon safari, later that day. While waiting at the camp for the jeep, […]
POLL: Should there be a total ban on the sale of all ivory products?
An undercover investigation has found it is easy to access illegal ivory in Europe, despite supposed strict import bans on freshly harvested ivory products. The research, conducted by the global pressure group Avaaz, saw undercover agents buy 109 items of ivory from across 10 European countries and then have them tested via radiocarbon dating. Those […]
Shining (Arabian) Sunbird – Raydah Escarpment
Whilst birding the Raydah Escarpment in June I saw a few Arabian Sunbird Cinnyris hellmayri. The birds were at the bottom of the escarpment near the village and dry wadi. It is normally treated as conspecific with Shining Sunbird Cinnyris habessinicus, but differs in males by having much-reduced and slightly duller red breast-band and more […]
‘Better and better’: Thermal cameras turn up the heat on poachers
Nearly 2 million animals, mostly wildebeest and zebra, migrate roughly 800 kilometers (500 miles) each year between Serengeti National Park in Tanzania and Maasai Mara National Reserve across the border in Kenya. Their joint search for fresh green grass is an ecological phenomenon and a major tourist attraction in both countries. But along with tourists, […]
A little holiday update
I eventually found up to 9 breeding pairs of Red-backed Shrikes (5 pairs plus single birds at 4 sites) plus Wrynecks at 2 sites so these two species may well have an OK year after all. One of the pairs of Wrynecks had 3 young already out of the nest and I heard their begging […]
Arabian Red-capped Lark – Talea Valley
Arabian Red-capped Lark Calandrella eremicais a scarce medium-sized lark that occurs in a very limited number of sites in southwest Saudi Arabia. It had not been seen for many years until recently when some birds were found at Azeeza near Abha. In 2015 Phil Roberts and I found a number of birds, probably more than […]