We start on 23rd December with a trip to Zakher Lakes, the water levels here are increasing at an alarming rate. There used to be many reed beds with great habitat for reed loving birds, however that habitat is now extremely limited. The water is believed to be run-off from the city of Al Ain. During this specific visit (23-12) I saw Little Bittern and Great Bittern (uncommon) working the same patch of reed bed, however, now the water level is so high I believe they have now been forced out.
Great Bittern (Botaurus stellaris)
Great Bittern (Botaurus stellaris)
Great Bittern (Botaurus stellaris)
Clamorous Reed Warblers and Bluethroat are here in numbers at the moment, seen recently both at the Dubai Pivot fields, Zakher lake and Wamm farms. Currently resident at the lake is a Marbled Teal but to-date I have not managed any pictures as it tends to hang out in the middle of the lake. Another bird missing from my list after 5 attempts to view it is the splendid Long-eared Owl that is residing in Mushrif National Park. Can't win 'em all !
Bluethroat (Luscinia svecica)
Clamorous Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus stentoreus)
Next big outing was out to the west to Jebel Dhanna a cool three and a half hours drive from Dubai, famous for it's oil industry. The reason for the outing was a very rare, in fact probably the first record, of a Western Black Redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros gibraltariensis). We do get regular records of Eastern Black Redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros phoenicuroides) however. The birds was resident inside a big oil terminal at Jebel Dhanna and permission had to be sought from the authorities in advance to gain access. This done we were given a short amount of time to enter and get our shots. As luck would have it there were a couple of birders on the same twitch that had just come from Sila where they had noted a Redwing and a European Robin, both of which I needed for the UAE. The downside was that this was another hour's drive towards the Saudi border making my return journey to Dubai four and a half hours, had to be done though right ??
No Redwing shots unfortunately as it was skulking inside Mesquite and the light was fading fast and a long drive home looming.
Western Black Redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros
gibraltariensis)
European Robin (Erithacus rubecula)
14th January was another long awaited tick in the form of Blyth's Pipit. A bird I find particularly difficult to ID from Richard's pipit. This bird was resident in the gardens of Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi and fortunately I was invited by a friend, who is a member of the beach club there, to a stroll around the grounds. In the company of two scopes and two excellent birders we eventually found the bird amongst several Water Pipits after an hour or so.
Blyth's Pipit (Anthus godlewski)
Back to Zakher Lake on 16th January as two Moustached Warblers had been noted in the same Reed Bed that I had seen the Bitterns back in December. But the water level is so high now that I doubt the Bitterns are still around, I certainly saw no sign of them. What's more, where I was able to drive my car on the sand back in December was well submerged in water, so had to get my feet wet ! The two warblers were visible along with Clamorous Reed Warblers and a Desert Whitethroat, however they stayed very low in the reeds and proved extremely difficult to photograph. Whilst there I was presented with a view of a Bonelli's Eagle being mobbed by no less than five Marsh Harriers.
Moustached Warbler (Acrocephalus melanopogon)
Bonelli's Eagle (Aquila fasciata)
Last but not certainly NOT least and a real extreme vagrant is the Black Drongo which
is still resident in Dubai first spotted several days back at Barsha
Pond Park. I believe this may be only the second record. We certainly
had all UAE birders through the park within 24 hours ! I will actually
go back this afternoon and watch the bird in a more relaxed fashion !
Black Drongo (Dicrurus macrocercus)
Black Drongo (Dicrurus macrocercus)
