On Mount Terbol in northern Lebanon, shell casings scatter across meadows, marking a grim scene for the millions of migratory birds traveling one of the busiest routes between Africa and Eurasia. This natural corridor, shaped by harsh winds, forces birds to fly low, making them easy targets for local poachers. Michel Sawan, director of the […]
Tag: wheatear
The best of Uzbekistan
I am already in Kazakhstan now with my Rockjumper group. There are many good things to say about Uzbekistan, but internet connection is not one of them. Tonight, in Almaty, is my first encounter with at least partial wifi for the last few days. I have many stories to tell ad photos to share […]
Rusty-tailed Flycatcher near Samarkand
This morning our Rockjumper tour went up to the mountains south of Samarkand. We had a fantastic morning around Takhta-Karacha mountain pass, at about 1700 m. We saw so many wonderful birds, including Eastern Rock Nuthatch, Irania, Upcher’s Warbler, Indian Paradise flycatcher, Red-headed and White-capped Buntings, ‘vittata’ Pied Wheatear, Lammergeier, Grey-headed Goldfinch, Hume’s Lesser Short-toed […]
Upcher’s Warblers
This morning I went out birding with Piki, Micha and Stefan in E Lakhish hills. It was my first visit to this wonderful part of the country since my return from the UK. As the days are already very hot now, we started super early when it was actually quite chilly (7⁰C!). As we stepped […]
Best of the 400
So I have finally crossed the line and made the personal milestone of 400 birds seen in Britain and this has got me thinking back on a few of them and which ones I enjoyed most. Now you’d think it would be easy just by picking the rarest but it’s not that simple. One may […]
Slimbridge WWT, Hayling Island, Denny Wood and Pennington Marsh
With the last days before my next foreign trip, work and family life have been hectic. The glorious, warm sunny Easter weekend of 19th April was spent decorating at home with some time on the beach with friends and family and enjoying the garden. Birding of late has been confined to a few short jaunts […]
Day and night
What an excellent day this was. In the morning I checked Baths of Aphrodite, mainly inside the caravan park. It was alive with migrants – not huge numbers on the ground but cool stuff and some cooperative birds. Highlights were Barred Warbler, 6 Collared Flycatchers, 5 Wood Warblers, and good movement of hirundines out towards […]
Back in business
The last 5 days we have been downhill skiing at Trysil. Birding wise it was dire and in stark contrast to last year when Hawk Owls were a regular sight both from the chair lifts and whilst skiing. On the drive back today I had a quick stop at the floodlands at Starene where there […]