This post will give you all a flavor of my local ‘patch’ and the habits that occur there before I post anything about birds seen. Dhahran Camp, Saudi Aramco’s compound, is a man-made environment, where a remarkable greening of the environment has occurred, which now helps support a varied range of flora and fauna, including […]
Gosforth Park Nature Reserve
On Thursday, a glorious sunny but cool day, Brian Moorhead and myself visited Gosforth Park Nature Reserve. The reserve compromises of 60ha of lake, reed-bed and mixed woodland, fewer than 4 miles from Newcastle-Upon-Tyne’s City centre. Managed by the Natural History Society of Northumbria since 1929, it boasts a vast diversity of flora and fauna, […]
Birding in Saudi Arabia – Challenges
Birding in Saudi Arabia is a relatively challenging task for a number of reasons but the main one is probably not the one you are expecting. Saudi Arabia has a relatively poor press in Western countries as well as elsewhere in the world and this press makes the country out to be a dangerous place […]
Some who welcome the drought in Oklahoma
Mornings dawn bright in Oklahoma, and one of my favorite places to revel in the awakening landscape is Lake Carl Blackwell, west of Stillwater. In addition to the reservoir itself, the park’s mix of forest, shrub woodlands, and native prairie provides great opportunities for birding and other wildlife viewing. I took advantage of all of […]
My Top 20 for 2011
It’s that time of year again…a time for resolutions and reflection. I think most nature photographers make resolutions about visiting more exotic locations and getting that one elusive image that keeps evading them…and I would be lying if I said I don’t have at least some aspirations like that. On the whole I would just […]
Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge Very Productive In December
In the past Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge has had good activity during the months of Jan-March, but this year it started early. The ducks started to arrive, then the roseate spoonbills, avocets, reddish egrets and the like. Also, a local favorite gave us some really nice photo ops by staying in the same place, with […]
A Grey But Productive Day
This past Saturday myself and a friend went on a road trip to Gainesville, Florida to visit the Butterfly Rainforest, associated with the University of Florida. It was rather an overcast day, with the sun sneaking out on occasion. We looked along the way at different small ponds and the like to see what we […]
And The Action Continues!!
Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge is now full of ducks (northern shovelers,pintails,american wigeons and blue winged teals), roseate spoonbills, kingfishers, and the like. The trick is getting them in the right light. Black Point Drive seemed to have most of the action this past weekend. The early morning or late afternoon light is so much better! […]