More than 1,300 critically endangered land snails have been released in the Ilhas Desertas (Desert Islands) archipelago off the Moroccan coast. The reintroduction of the tiny molluscs to their native habitat followed the rescue of two obscure species of the snail from the edge of extinction, reported The Guardian. The snails hadn’t been recorded for […]
Tag: Morocco
Pharaoh Eagle Owl – Jubail area
I saw and photographed a Pharaoh Eagle Owl recently in the desert in the Eastern Province. Records suggest it is an uncommon bird in the Saudi Arabian deserts, although it is probably more common than records suggest as they are secretive and well camouflaged. The Pharaoh Eagle Owl is distributed throughout much of North Africa […]
Blackcap Singing
Blackcaps are quite stocky birds, about the size of house sparrows. They are mainly light grey-brown in colour with the male having a neat black cap on its head, while the female’s cap is chestnut-brown. In summer, recently fledged young also have a chestnut-brown cap, with young males gaining their black cap by late autumn. […]
Migrating Raptors on The Strait of Gibraltar
It’s been a busy six weeks with almost non-stop birding here on The Strait and across Europe. I thought I’d quickly post some of the raptor shots I have managed to edit so far on the blog to show at least some of the autumn delights… Black-winged Kites (old name is Black shouldered Kite) have […]