Mike Barth Bird Photography Blog: Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve 30.10.10

I was kindly invited onto the reserve last Saturday to look for Long-legged Buzzard that had been regularly seen near watering holes in the reserve. Having arrived early in the morning I actually saw one sat on a Sand Dune in the distance before I had even entered the gate - a very nice quick result ! This was added to with a lovely Desert Warbler and Menetrie's Warbler, unfortunately the pictures are not worthy of my Blog :-) However a shot of a Desert Warbler inside the reserve has been added (as it's not too bad !). We drove around the dunes for a little while (testing my sand driving skills to the max !) and eventually found an area with many Ghaf trees, two Buzzards were being harrased by a Desert Eagle Owl but the tables were soon turned as the Owl was forced to dive for cover at the base of a tree. All too distant I'm afraid for any decent pics.
One of the Rangers received a call to say 4 Lappet-Faced Vultures (lifer for me !) had been seen at another watering hole about a 30 minute drive away. What I hadn't realised was that the estimation of 30 minutes was at break-neck speed. Unfortunately however the birds had left by the time we got there, all that remained were 2 birds soaring at high altitude - Oh well, always next time :-) I have to say though the drive was the most exciting part of the day driving at 40-50km/hr over Sand (my very own roller-coaster) and was a real adrenalin rush ! I am proud to say that during the 4 hours in the desert I did not get stuck once unlike last time (twice !) There is always plenty to see and photograph in the reserve and I enjoy this place very much. I have added some pics of the various wildlife encountered during the drive.

Thanks again to DDCR and the guys (you know who you are!)