It was quite warm and humid today, and unfortunately there were fewer birds to be seen. Last week I recorded almost 40 species and this morning only a little over 20. Despite that it was still good to be out and about. A Squacco Heron waiting for breakfast to come within range As usual there were several small parties of Indian Silverbills The big numbers of Pipits and Wagtails have departed but there were about a dozen Red-throated Pipits to be seen I found a single Tree Pipit in the shade of a tree that had dropped a lot of fruit Small numbers of Yellow Wagtails were also present. These birds look like they are of the blue-headed race Here a Common Sandpiper has found a nice juicy Caterpillar I came across what looks like a leucistic Eurasian Collared Dove. An unusual and rather rare sighting. I think these are the blooms of a Saguaro Cactus. Please correct me if I am wrong
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I spent a couple of hours out on the inter tidal zone on an in-coming tide to see what waders I could pick up. Unfortunately there were a lot of people out swimming, walking their dogs and vehicles driving backwards and forwards, so the birds kept on being disturbed and moving off. Despite this I still managed to come away with some reasonable images. A smart looking Lesser Sand plover in summer plumage. There were hundreds of these birds feeding on the beach. All in various stages of moult A Curlew Sandpiper in breeding plumage striding out across the beach A Dunlin starting to show the black summer breast patch. I had given up on trying to get an image of this Bar-tailed Godwit when out of the blue it flew and landed near my vehicle. Happy days. These Terek Sandpipers are always on the move so are difficult to photograph. Here one stopped to catch its breath There were only one pair of Grey Plovers on the beach. This one starting to show breeding plumage A lone Sanderling was present amongst all the other birds There are always a couple of Ruddy Turnstones to be found This Slender-billed Gull found this rock to perch on so could keep its feet dry on the incoming tide A Common Greenshank moving through the shallow water on the lookout for a meal Sadly I came across this dead Turtle that had been washed up onto the beach Also out of place was what looks like a Peregrine Falcon that had flown away from its handler
I spent the morning out at the farm. It was a little quieter than last week, which was very productive. Nevertheless I still recorded a few new species for this Spring, as well as getting some more images of the usual suspects. I watched a European Roller using the power line as a lookout point. It would swoop down, catch an insect and then fly back up to the cable, stun it and then despatch it. A first for this Spring. This is the first Blue-cheeked Bee-eater of the season for me. It was the only one I came across today. There were several European Bee-eaters to be seen. With two almost identical shots it allows for a good comparison between these two species. The other day I managed a pic of the female, today it was the turn of the male Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush One of the ever present female Pallid Harriers allowed me to get within range before it took to flight A male Namaqua Dove giving me the beady eye The Red-wattled Lapwings were still present. Today there were 5 birds, up from a pair that I saw the other day Last but not least, a nice clean image of an Isabelline Wheatear Other species included: Crested Lark, LilithOwl, Wood Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, Squacco Heron, White-eared Bulbul, Barn Swallow, Common Swift and the rest
Another pleasant day out and about. A Eurasian Stone-curlew or Thick-knees as it is also known, was seen and photographed at the farm the other day. Whilst I have seen this bird in Qatar I do not have an image of it. I tried to connect with it today, but without any luck. I did however, manage to get shots of two other birds previously seen. So all in all, not a bad result. This puts me on 164 ticked and 151 of them with images A beautiful male Barred Warbler. A passage migrant species A male Eurasian Blackcap. Another passage migrant Lilith Owl on the look-out A female Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush. A pair of these Red-wattled Lapwings have been present for a while now. Today this one allowed me within range This Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin was perched inside a thick bush, but would hop out every now and then to catch big black ants that were scurrying around on the ground Other birds included: Little Stint, White Wagtail, Yellow Wagtail, Crested Lark, Greater Short-toed lark, Red-vented Bulbul, Barn Swallow, Common Swift, Squacco Heron, Northern, Pied and Isabelline Wheatears, Common Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper, Willow Warbler, Daurian and Turkestan Shrikes, a ringed Homing Pigeon and the rest
This Squacco Heron has been around for a while now. I photographed it previously and saw that is was missing its hind facing claw on the left leg. The other day I saw and photographed the same bird again. Looking closer I can now see what looks like a healed break / bent leg below the left leg joint. In addition, what is meant to be the rear facing claw, is actually folded under and faces forward and the claw points upwards. In the image taken a while ago, it looks like the rear claw is missing on the left leg. I did not notice the mended break/bend in the left leg at first, but it is visible Here the mended break/bend in the left leg below the joint is also visible, as well as the rear claw that is folded under and faces forward Where is this all leading to, you may ask? Well this all works to the bird's advantage when it has the need to scratch Here is an image taken back in February. Both of the rear facing claws are visible. This bird was able to defy gravity and lean forward and down to spear dragonflies that were hovering just above the water
A lovely sunny day, fresh to start off with but warming nicely later, and no wind, thank goodness. Ideal conditions to be outdoors. I must make the best use of these days before the temperatures climb too high and photography becomes a challenge with the heat haze. Eurasian Curlew Siberian Stonechat There was another wave of Wagtails and Pipits passing through. Here from the left is a Yellow Wagtail, A Red-throated Pipit and a Tree Pipit. Willow Warblers were on every small bush today. Here is a nice crisp image of one A male Semi-collared Flycatcher was hawking insects from this low branch. Unfortunately he would only very briefly venture out into the sunlight, so I was unable to get a sharper image An inquisitive Common Red Fox stopped to have a look at me before moving on Other species included: Ortolan Bunting, Red-vented Bulbul, Slender-billed Gull, Squacco Heron, Masked Shrike, Crested Lark, European Bee-eater, Northern Wheatear, Common Redstart, Pied Wheatear, Indian Silverbill, Common Redshank, Daurian Shrike, Little-ringed Plover, Sand Martin, Common Swift, Common Greenshank, Green Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, Eurasian Hoopoe and the usual suspects.
There had been sightings of European Bee-eaters out at the farm but I had not managed to find them until today, when I came across about 20 birds resting on the ground. We have been waiting for them to arrive for a while now, and it was good to connect with them. European Bee-eater in lovely technicolour There was also another wave of Wagtails present. I saw White, Yellow and this one which I think is a Citrine Wagtail tbc. This Pied Wheatear male was very confiding and approached very close to the vehicle, hence the very full frame Male Common Redstart Female Common Redstart Female Namaqua Dove. Unfortunately the male did not want his photo taken, and left early Whilst I was watching some Wagtails this Ortolan Bunting appeared and started to glean some loose barley seed heads that were to be found lying on the road A Red-throated Pipit about to drink some run-off irrigation water that had formed a pool on the road
The farm has been quite productive recently. In addition to the shrikes posted yesterday I also managed to photograph an assortment of other birds. Upcher's Warbler. As it made its way from tree to tree it was characteristically flicking its tail up and down and from side to side. A first for me in Qatar Male White-throated Robin I only got a momentary glimpse of this Willow Warbler before it took off, never to be seen again Hume's Whitethroat.Two in the space of a week. One down at the Sealine Beach resort and now another one on the farm This Chiffchaff was feeding on small insect larvae/eggs on the underside of leaves in weed growth alongside one of the irrigation storage reservoirs A Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin tail and wing flicking in characteristic fashion on the ground
The farm threw up several different shrikes all on the same day. A couple of the ID's are straight forward, but others were a little more complicated, so I had to call for backup. Check them out. Arabian Grey Shrike 1st year bird. Could be confused with a Steppe Grey Shrike Masked Shrike Female Turkestan Shrike An impressive male Turkestan Shrike A Male Daurian Shrike
Here are various Lark images, all taken on the same day An obliging Greater Short-toed Lark out in the open. The strong bill, white supercilium, dark neck patch and lack of streaking on the breast help to separate this from the similar Lesser Short-toed Lark A very well camouflaged juvenile Crested Lark lying motionless in a shallow scrape in the ground Here is the same bird out in the open. Note the fleshy gape and the fresh plumage. Compare this with the paler/worn plumage of the adult bird below Adult Crested Lark Here an adult Crested Lark is gathering nesting material. I have never found a nest, but believe they are constructed under bushes, or on a tuft of grass on the ground
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