Arriving at Bayan Nuur from Sangiin Dalai Lake it was immediately apparent that this lake was teaming with birdlife even though it was blowing a gale. Almost the first birds we picked up were a pair of stunning White-naped Crane on the far hillside with another pair closer in the reeds, we saw nine in […]
Tag: Garganey
Mongolia – 18th May (Day 11) – Barig Mountain to Sangiin Dalai Lake
We were up at 05:15 to the sound of screaming Saker Falcon, packed our bags and after a quick coffee headed back up Barig Mountain at 06:00 for a last try for Hodgson’s Bush-chat. After climbing the steep grassy and rock strewn slopes of the mountains in the vehicles we parked at the summit and […]
A few more migrants return
Today saw me on a solo run up to Minsmere with a quick stop at Dunwich Heath on the way in and Abberton on the way home. I ticked Dartford and Cetti’s Warbler on the heath before making my way to North Hide at Minsmere where I quickly found a drake Garganey and smart pair […]
Oare and Elmley
An early morning trip down to Oare marsh in Kent rewarded me with a drake Garganey, Marsh Harriers, Cuckoo and Bearded Tits to name a few. Moving on to Elmley I found more Marsh Harriers and a Short-eared Owl along with plenty of Yellow Wagtails, Redshank and Lapwing as you’d […]
Water birds around Jubail
Whilst birding Jubail recently I came across a nice selection of water birds some of which I have not seen so often this year. Terns are always common in Jubail and Caspian Tern has been seen in numbers up to 100 birds in some visits. It is a local breeding species and can often be […]
Much more at Rakhyut
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 […]
Tour of the east side
As well as visiting local farms on Friday, I toured some sites east of the city starting at Ayn Hamran. The stop at Ayn Hamran was relatively short but it is never uninteresting. Though there were no wintering birds seen yet apart from a couple of common sandpiper and a grey wagtail. It’s always a […]
Collared pratincole twitched at Raysut
I finally saw collared pratincole in Oman yesterday. It became bird number 295 on my Oman list. Thanks are due to Jens Eriksen for tipping me off that four were at Raysut settling pools. It wasn’t easy as I was at work at the time the message came through. I left work at the close […]