Why do we bird? The standing theory is that our passion is a sublimation of primal predatory instincts. To be sure, birders employ their senses and a similar set of skills as hunters in pursuit of their quarry, particularly those of us who’ve become “target birders”, focusing our efforts on tracking down and documenting a […]
An Namas is an area north of Tanoumah in the Asir Mountain chain. It is the northerly most point where Asir (Arabian) Magpie can currently be found and is a good birding location. Whilst birding a small valley there I found a lot of good birds including Ruppells Weaver, Violet-backed Starling, Crested Lark, Gambaga Flycatcher, […]
Wadi Grosbeak is a site where Arabian Golden-winged Grosbeak has been see I recent years although when we went this year we failed to find any. The site is good for a number of other species and Arabian Babbler can always be found there in small noisy groups. Another bird regularly seen in the area […]
The Talea’a Valley near Abha is in the Asir mountains in southwest Saudi Arabia and is a large upland wadi with stony ground and acacia trees growing in the bottom. It has had some good birds seen in it in recent years including Arabian Magpie, although this species has not been seen there for many […]
Whilst birding the Wadi Thee Gazelle area of Taif we came across a good number of Arabian Endemic Species, seeing eight out of the twelve species. The high rainfall in the mountains in spring 2016 appears to have produced a good breeding season for many species and adults with juveniles of Arabian Wheatear and Arabian […]
Recently I was in Bani Saad and stopped along the roadside at a nice looking area of market garden fields with crops. This area had once held Arabian Golden-winged Grosbeak where birds were seen sitting on a roof in Bani Saad but unfortunately I have never seen them in the built up areas. I did […]
There was much more to Rakhyut than owling (see yesterday’s blog). On the mountain top before we (Saeed Shanfari, Hedi Khecharem and I) descended into Rakhyut the action started. There were four eagles. Three were steppe eagle which soon disappeared. Eastern imperial eagle 1 One eagle stayed behind and give good views. It was […]
I spent much of Saturday morning at Wadi Darbet. It is still very green and attracting many birds indeed more so than from November onwards when the ground dries out under the trees. I was looking mostly for any passage birds. I found quite a few. adult male common cuckoo Remarkably in one […]