For the third year in a row, a snowy owl originally banded in Maryland is back from the Far North—and thanks to ground-breaking tracking technology, scientists with Project SNOWstorm have been able to follow its movements across thousands of miles with an unprecedented level of precision. The male snowy owl, then a juvenile on its […]
Dowkah in early spring
Either side of midday I birded Dowkah farm on Friday. The bad news was that there were no passage passerines in the shaded wooded area. The other news is more interesting. In particular the larger birds in the field were a mix of strangely off course herons and storks. An Abdim’s stork was a most […]
Record number of African rhinos killed in 2015
A record number of rhinos were killed by poachers across Africa last year, driven by demand in the far east for their horn. The number slaughtered in their heartland in South Africa, which has four-fifths of the continent’s rhino, dipped for the first time since the crisis exploded nearly a decade ago. But increases in […]
Eastern (Siberian) Stonechat – Jubail
Whilst birding at Jubail I came across a Stonechat with extensive white wing patches and a white rump but did not show any white down the side of the tail that many show, indicating it was not a variagata/armenicus type. These birds are uncommon winter visitors to the Eastern Province from late August until March […]
African Elephants On Their Way to U.S. Zoos, Despite Protests
It’s a done deal. Seventeen elephants from Swaziland are today en route to three U.S. zoos despite an attempt by an animal welfare group to stop the controversial move. The elephants are bound for the Dallas Zoo, the Sedgwick County Zoo, in Wichita, Kansas, and the Henry Doorly Zoo, in Omaha, Nebraska. And the nonprofit […]
Siberian Rubythroat
Today I went on my first international twitch. I met up with Nick early am to catch a 06:50 flight out of Heathrow. Our original plan was to hit the Siberian Rubythroat that took up residence in the small village of Hoogwoud, about 40 minutes north of Schiphol airport, since January 15th. Then head straight […]
Solar farms to create natural habitats for threatened species
Threatened wildlife including turtle doves and skylarks could benefit from a scheme which has been launched to create natural habitats at solar farm sites. The project by wildlife charity RSPB and clean tech company Anesco aims to boost wildlife at the firm’s solar farms across England and Wales. Wild flower meadow areas and seed-rich planting […]
Some good birds in and around Jubail
There are some good areas for birdwatching in Jubail but they take some looking for. The birds that frequent these areas are also good at times and again take some looking for. Whilst birding the area recently I have come across a few good birds including a Citrine Wagtail, and a fly past Long-legged Buzzard. […]