In the dictionary the word passerine is described thus: passerine |ˈpasərin, -ˌrīn|Ornithology adjective – of, relating to, or denoting birds of a large order distinguished by feet that are adapted for perching, including all songbirds. noun – a passerine bird; a perching bird. The order Passeriformes comprises more than half of all bird species, the […]
Tag: yellow wagtail
Migration non-stop
The season proceeds and with it there are evident changes both in the field and at the ringing station.Today we saidgoodbyefor Arnold and Luc from Holland who has been with us for 4 & 2 weeks each. The “DreamTeam” is never going to be the same again… Also there are many new birds which are […]
A Smörgåsbord of Motacilla’s
Spring has truly sprung in Kuwait and the the diversity and migrants heading north is amazing and always appreciated, more so because many birds are already sporting their breeding colours. The White Wagtails that were present all winter, have now given way to an array of Yellow Wagtails in a variety of sub-species. In Kuwait […]
Rain of Birds at last…
This spring has been very strange. After such a rainy winter with 4-6 floods in the southern Arava, we all expected that the desert will be filled with migrants. Then came March and by the end of it we were still looking hard to find birds in the Arava. Nevertheless there were many quality species […]
Rain Sun Rain
Our newly arrived Red-Rumped Swallows start the task of nest building, feeding as the go. Black-eared Wheatears have been arriving with the lovely male photographed on the 15th. With a backdrop of the Grazalema mountain range Greater Flamingoes create a pink hue across the landscape as they move into feed at Venta La Palma on […]
Round up of Al Hayer in February
Last year I visited Al Hayer south of Riyadh almost weekly and it became what we birders call my local patch. This year I vowed to make trips more widely within Saudi Arabia and I have been doing so. However last weekend I returned to Al Hayer for the first time in over 6 weeks. […]
Canon EOS 1D X – First Impressions
Well, today I picked up my new Canon EOS 1D X – my first full-frame DSLR! To be honest, this was a big leap in faith. I had been satisfied with my 7D, but I often found myself in low-light situations wishing to capture high-speed action. I thought the 300/2.8L IS II USM would give […]
Bird Tour Report
From Sunday midday until Wednesday afternoon I guided a visiting birder from Canada around places in Kumamoto, Nagasaki and Saga prefectures. Firstly we went to Yatsushiro and Hikawa Estuary, where we saw gulls and shorebirds, however the Black-faced Spoonbills that I had expected there were not to be found. The next morning we watched Streaked […]