I am so glad to be back in Israel. Came here with my family for a two-week visit. First day was devoted to friends and family but I was so happy to see all the birds around. Just casual stuff but lots of things – Long-eared and Scops Owls, Great Spotted Cuckoos, Pallid Harrier, Lesser […]
POLL: Should Norway’s whaling program be stopped?
So few people in Norway want to eat whale meat that it’s ending up in the feed manufactured for animals on fur farms, according to a new document released by the Environmental Investigation Agency, a London-based nonprofit, and the U.S.-based Animal Welfare Institute. The document shows that more than 113 metric tons of minke whale […]
African elephants ‘killed faster than they are being born’
More African elephants are being killed for ivory than are being born, despite poaching levels falling for the fourth year in a row in 2015. The new data, released on UN world wildlife day on Thursday, shows about 60% of elephant deaths are at the hands of poachers, meaning the overall population is most likely […]
The special plight of Trans-Saharan migratory birds
Long distance migratory birds that use the African Eurasian flyway have been in serious trouble for at least a few decades, more so than their counterparts that travel shorter distances. Major declines have been observed for a number of species – including popular symbols of spring, such as the Nightingale – that fly each year […]
White-throated Kingfisher – Dhahran Hills
Whilst birding my local patch on 11 March I found an adult White-throated Kingfisher in the trees around Dhahran Hills swimming pool. The bird was very vocal and called regularly from its main perch of a very tall palm tree. This is the second White- throated Kingfisher I have seen on my patch after a […]
VOTE for the Best Photo of the Week 02 Apr 2016
Welcome to the “Best Photo of the Week” competition showcasing and celebrating the biodiversity of Planet Earth. Voting is easy and lots of fun. First click an image and browse through the slideshow. Then select the three images you like best of all and click the VOTE button at the bottom of the page. […]
Sociable Lapwings in Saudi Arabia
Phil Roberts has written an excellent personal account of the finding of 18 Sociable Lapwings in Haradh in February 2016. The account is on the Birdlife website The Amazing Journey under this link http://www.birdlife.org/sociable-lapwing/2016/03/three-on-the-move-and-news-from-saudi-arabia/ This excellent website also shows where some of the Sociable Lapwings cross Saudi Arabia on route to and from their breeding […]
Pigeon patrol takes flight to tackle London’s air pollution crisis
They’ve been driven from Trafalgar square for being a nuisance, derided as rats with wings and maligned as a risk to public health. But now pigeons could play a small part in helping Londoners overcome one of the capital’s biggest health problems – its illegal levels of air pollution blamed for thousands of deaths a […]