I am now in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. Arrived in this fabulous country four days ago, leading a tour for Rockjumper. We have had many fantastic birding experiences up till now. Internet connection here is very problematic, so I will be very brief now and will expand when I can. Pander’s Ground Jay doing what it says […]
Tag: White Wagtail
Chiffchaff
Yesterday saw me visit Maridalen and Nordre Øyeren. Maridalen was extremely quiet although the Black Redstart was still present and attracting a stream of admirers. At Nordre Øyeren the water level is a whole metre higher than normal for this time of the year but there is still shallow water and mud to find and […]
Blue Rock Thrush – Jubail
Whilst birding the desert near Jubail I came across a small vegetated valley with a little wet pool. It was very attractive to migrants with plenty of Common Chiffchaffs, several Eurasian Hoopoes, White Wagtail and a single female Blue Rock Thrush. Blue Rock Thrush is an uncommon passage migrant through Saudi Arabia that is seen […]
Still waiting
Despite afternoon temperatures reaching +6C, overnight frosts and thick snow and ice means that there are very few signs of spring. Apart from a couple of scouts, finches and thrushes have yet to arrive and that is no surprise as there would be no food for them to find. It is still a long way […]
Winter birding – Haradh
Phil Roberts and I went for our normal winter birding trip to Haradh recently and saw a lot of good birds. Best was 14 Sociable Lapwings which I have already posted about but we also saw a number of other good winter visitors and early spring migrants. The first pivot field we stopped at had […]
White Wagtail (Motacilla alba)
The White Wagtail (Motacilla alba) is a small passerine bird in the family Motacillidae, which also includes pipits and longclaws. The species breeds in much of Europe and Asia and parts of North Africa. It has a toehold in Alaska as a scarce breeder. It is resident in the mildest parts of its range, but […]
‘Superciliaris’ type Yellow Wagtail – Jubail
Whilst birding the Jubail area I came across a large group of wagtails including Yellow Wagtails, White Wagtails and Citrine Wagtails. In amongst the mainly Black-headed Yellow Wagtails I saw briefly a superciliaris type bird. I managed to get a single photo of it before it flew off and could see it had many features […]
First winter White Wagtails – Jubail
Whilst birding the Jubail area on 21 October I came across the first winter White Wagtails for me. Birds will arrive in good numbers in the next few weeks and stay for the winter. White Wagtail records occur from Mid-September to April with the majority of birds arriving in October and only occasional records in […]