Sunday 29 April 2012

Garden Moth Update

27th April 2012 - Minimum Temperature 4.3C

Powdered Quaker 1 (new for garden)


Garden Birdwatch Update

Week Starting 22/4/12

Feral Pigeon 2
House Sparrow 3
Greenfinch 2
Goldfinch 5
Dunnock 2 (nesting in garden)
Jackdaw 2
Blue Tit 2 (currently nest building)
Starling 2
Collared Dove 2

Food: Sunflower Hearts, Seed, Peanuts & Kitchen Scraps
Water

Mammals: Wood Mouse 3

Garden Birdwatch Update

Week starting 15/4/12

Greenfinch 2
House Sparrow 5
Feral Pigeon 2
Blackbird 2
Blue Tit 2
Starling 1
Collared Dove 2
Goldfinch 3
Dunnock 2
Woodpigeon 2
Jackdaw 2
Robin 1

Food: Sunflower Hearts, Seed, Peanuts and Kitchen Scraps
Wood

Mammals: Wood Mouse 3

Sunday 15 April 2012

Garden Moth Update

13th April 2012
Minimum Temperature 2.2C

Early Grey 1
Clouded Drab 1

Sunday 8 April 2012

Garden Moths Update

Minimum Temperature 8.6c

Hebrew Character 1
Early Grey 1

Brown House Moth see later in house.

Garden Birdwatch Update

Week starting 1st April 2012
Maximium Temperature 31.1c, Minimum Temperature -0.3c

Goldfinch 7
Greenfinch 3
Blackbird 1
Blue Tit 2
Jackdaw 3
House Sparrow 3
Starling 4
Dunnock 2
Collared Dove 3
Woodpigeon 3
Feral Pigeon 3
Long-tailed Tit 1
Coal Tit 1

Food: Sunflower Hearts, Peanuts, Seed, Fat Balls & Kitchen Scraps
Water

Butterflies: Small White 7/4/12

Monday 2 April 2012

Garden Moth Update - 30th March 2012

Minimum Temperature 6.8C

Small Quaker 1 (see photo - new for garden)
Hebrew Character - 6
Double-striped Pug - 2









Dubai Photos































Dubai Photos































10th March 2012

Ras La Khor
Sadly this was our last bird session in UAE and the light was dropping fast as we scanned the reserve from the car park.
Greater Flamingo
Marsh Sandpiper
Indian Spoonbill
Eurasian Spoonbill
Redshank
Teal
Pintail
Marsh Harrier
Great Spotted Eagle
Great Cormorant
Great Black-headed Gull
Slender-billed Gull
Dunlin
Western Reef Heron
Little Egret
Grey Heron
Greater Sandplover

Species = 100

10th March 2012

Dubai Pivot Fields

Cattle Egret
Marsh Harrier
Tawny Pipit
Richard's Pipit
Hoopoe
White-tailed Lapwing
Little Ringed Plover
Crested Lark
Woodchat Shrike
Collared Dove
House Sparrow
Collared Pratincole
Isabelline Wheatear

Species = 98


9th March 2012 - Ajman

Another fantastic birding location and probably a favourite together with Kor Kalba. At one point as we stood near the car there must have been 5,000+ birds resting on the mud.
Greater Flamingo (see video clips below)
Dunlin
Redshank
Curlew
Ruddy Shelduck
Greater Sandplover
Kentish Plover
Whimbrel
Caspian Tern (see video clip below)
Black-tailed Godwit
Turnstone
Curlew Sandpiper
Western Reef Heron
Great White Egret
Grey Heron
Little Egret
Teal
Pintail
Ringed Plover
Gull-billed Tern
Osprey
Marsh Harrier
Purple Sunbird
Crested Lark
Marsh Sandpiper
Golden Plover
Pacific Golden Plover
Black-headed Gull
Indian Spoonbill
Eurasian Spoonbill
Skylark (heard only)

Species = 92








8th March 2012

Hotel Rotana & Wamms Goat Farm

Hotel
Purple Sunbird
Laughing Dove
Rose-ringed Parakeet
House Sparrow
Graceful Prinia (see video below)
Common Myna

Fujairah Beach - Family Beach
Sanderling
Isabelline Wheatear

Wamms Goat Farm
Isabelline Wheatear
Northern Wheatear
Indian Roller
House Crow
Indian Silverbill
Mourning Wheatear
Daurian Shrike
Hoopoe
Lesser Kestrel
Crested Lark
Cattle Egret
Laughing Dove

Species = 86

Fujairah Fishing























7th March 2012

Awaking up with the blue skies and the sound of birds in the hotel garden was brilliant. A pre-breakfast walk along the shore to watching Terns fishing was the only similarity between Fujairah and home in the North East.

As we drove out of Fujairah heading to Kor Kalba we stopped to watch the local fishermen hauling in the nets to bring their catches ashore. Flat backed trucks passed by brimming with small silvery fish and the local birds did not miss a dropped fish. Socota Cormorants fished offshore in and out of the nets dashing between the small boats. Onshore there were small groups of Gulls and Terns presumably disgesting their catch and resting under the heat of the sun. Near to our parked car we spotted Sooty Gull, Black-headed Gull, Steppe Gull and a Slender-billed Gull just starting to get a pink flush. Common Tern, Sandwich and Bridled Tern rested at the waters edge on what was a beautiful morning.

Kor Kalba
What a wonderful birding location! When we arrived the bridge crossing the river was closed much to our disappointment as we had come especially to see White-Collared Kingfisher. So unable to drive any further we put up our telescopes and scanned from the bridge. We were very lucky after 5 minutes of scanning a single Kingfisher was seen flying across the mud catching crabs before fly up to a favoured tree. A Striated Heron and an Indian Pond Heron could be seen slowly moving across the exposed mud, stopping at the occasional pool. Then in a flash a dark bird of prey flow very close in front of us and as we followed its flight we identified it as a Sooty Falcon - Wow.

After studying the map, we drove around the other side of the mangroves to see what else could be found and we were not disappointed. We parked up near a stretch of creek about 100 metres long for a couple of hours and the birdlife was amazing. As we heading back towards to road we also stopped at two small pools which were full of birds. Our records for Kor Kalba were as follows:
Redshank
Kentish Plover
Marsh Sandpiper
Common Sandpiper
White-collared Kingfisher (5 individual birds)
Laughing Dove
Great Sandplover
Bar-tailed Godwit
Indian Pond Heron
Striated Heron
Common Myna
Curlew
Green Beeeater
Black-tailed Godwit
Sooty Falcon
Common Kingfisher
Cattle Egret
Purple Sunbird
Swallow
Crested Lark
Willow Warbler
House Crow
White-cheeked Bulbul
Greater Flamingo
Black-winged Stilt
Temminck's Stint
White Wagtail
Crag Martin
Green Sandpiper
Desert Wheatear
Hooded Wheatear
Greater Spotted Eagle
Collared Dove
Lesser Sandplover
Ringed Plover