I was birding the Jubail area when I found an immature Eurasian Spoonbill on a wet Sabkha area. The bird was quite some distance away on the ground but flew after a couple of minutes. It circled around but unfortunately did not land again and flew off and away. The status of the species has […]
After more than 50 years of absence, the Glossy Ibis has once again returned to breed in the Obedska Bara wetlands in Serbia. This was confirmed earlier this month by ornithologists Dr Slobodan Puzović and Loránd Vigh, whose survey of the breeding grounds found four pairs of Glossy Ibis and 6-8 pairs of Eurasian Spoonbill, […]
Whilst birding Abqaiq Wetlands on 1 May with Phil Roberts we came a cross a number of good birds with the best probably being a Eurasian Crag Martin. This species is a scarce passage migrant in the Eastern Province mainly in the spring and I have only seen one before in the Eastern Province over […]
Two new species for Saudi Arabia Fulvous Whistling Duck Dendrocygna bicolor & Lesser Whistling Duck Dendrocygna javanica were found together on Malaki Dam Lake 3 September. Eight Harlequin Quail Coturnix delegorguei were in a large field near Jizan 30 June including at least two males, a species that has not been recorded in Saudi Arabia […]
Here’s a quick photo summary of some of the birds we watched down in Andalucia on one of my spring birdwatching tours. Each spring we offer such small tour group holidays to go out in the field and see what bird species are arriving from Africa. The close proximity of the two continents makes this […]
Nikon 500 mm + convert 1/4 – Platalea leucorodia This series of pictures was taken near the Arcachon basin at Le Teich. The preserve extends on 110 hectares of wooded areas, reed beds, meadows, saltmarsh and water stretch out between the mainland sector right up to the coastline. This wide variety of natural habitats is […]
Here are some of the raptor photos we managed to see with my Swiss group from Arcatour last week. The wind direction swung around to give us moderate to strong Levante (easterlies) for five days and only died down on our last two days. Still, knowing what the migrating raptors do and where they will […]
Beaver, bison and eagles are among the species that have made a successful comeback in Europe in the past 50 years, according to a major survey published by a coalition of conservation groups on Thursday. The report selected 37 species that have showed signs of recovery, studied changes in their numbers and range since 1960, […]
It’s been another busy week here down on The Strait of Gibraltar. As the summer slowly comes to an end and autumn weather and shorter days signal birds to move slowly south, the skies above Cadiz province have all kinds of bird species flying over or stopping off to feed before crossing the narrow stretch […]
Good news that aerial crop spraying is now limited to only a few specific controls for health and agriculture. Natural sprays are used against mosquito control in La Janda although to be honest the problem with such insects is the same in the pine forests. Most of the fertiliser spraying that takes place is showering […]
The wet weather continued north and southern Spain was once again bathed in sunshine. Saying that though, rain is forecast for the coming weekend. Back out in the field, La Janda’s tracks are passable with care and you can get through to Benalup from the main N340 road. There are a few sticky bits with […]
Yesterday the weather started to change, as a low-pressure system came up from the south-west. Rain came in the night which is a pity as it’s our daughter Amelia’s birthday today! There were some insects around as I explored the coastline from Tarifa to Pelayo with father and son, Terry and Gary from the UK […]
