The final days of the Rockjumper tour I was leading were spent in the steppes and wetlands around Nursultan (until recently Astana…). Together with our sharp-eyed local guide Andrey, we birded one day west of the city, and another day south. Birding was fantastic, with non-stop action both in quality and in numbers. Insect load […]
Tag: Pallid Harrier
Black-throated Diver and Dodgy Duck
Yet another day that didn’t feel birdy but still had enough going on to keep it interesting. My first House Martin of the year was my only year tick but I did have my first Osprey for Maridalen, Willow Warblers, Three-toed pecker and an interesting female Tufted (type) Duck that may be a hybrid. The […]
Winter Harriers – Haradh
Whilst birding the NADAC Farm area of Haradh recently I saw plenty of Harriers including a female Montagu’s Harriers in a pivot irrigation field. Male Montagu’s Harriers are easily identified by their upperwing pattern amongst other details but Juvenile and female Montagu’s and Pallid Harriers are difficult to identify with certainty and good views are […]
My contribution to Global Big day
Today was eBird’s October Global Big Day. For me it was a day full of family commitments, so all I managed to do is a good and intensive morning session. I birded Tal Shachar and Tsor’a area, mostly solo but I joined some other birders there for short periods. The big September push is gone, […]
Female Montagu’s Harrier – Haradh
Whilst birding the NADAC Farm area of Haradh 20 October I saw plenty of Harriers including at minimum of two Montagu’s Harriers over the pivot irrigation fields. Male Montagu’s Harriers are easily identified by their upperwing pattern amongst other details but Juvenile and female Montagu’s and Pallid Harriers are difficult to identify with certainty at […]
Collared Pratincole and other interesting birds
Phil Roberts and I went to Haradh in late April to look for migrants and other birds. We set off at 03:00 hrs and arrived at 06:00 hrs. Birding was not exactly stunning but a few good birds were seen in our day out. Birds we do not see often in the Eastern Province included […]
Plenty of migrants – Jubail
Whilst birdwatching the Jubail area at the end of March I saw a lot of good birds and plenty of migrants. Unfortunately the weather was very poor and photography was difficult so most species remained un-photographed. The weather this winter has been very wet and windy and the morning drive to Jubail was through a […]
Red flanked Bluetail at Titchwell
A planned trip to Norfolk today had added spice with news of Titchwell’s first ever Red-flanked Bluetail staying put for a second and hopefully third day. We stopped at first light in the hope of seeing the Golden Pheasant at Wolferton but had to settle for it on call alone before we moved on to […]