1/11-14 Zakher lake

This peculiar lake, in the middle of the desert (and I literally mean the middle of the desert, large dunes close by), is a fantastic birding spot. Of course, water in UAE draws wildlife like bees to honey and there were a lot of birds in this large lake. Due to its size, its a bit difficult to completely cover the entire lake but still, a lot could be seen. 

We first drove on a sandy road betweed a couple of dunes to reach one side of the lake. We stopped to check the lake but from this side, the distances were to big for any photos to be taken and we didn't really see anythin worth mentioning except for, perhaps, the trip's only Greater Flamingo (större flamingo, Phoenicopterus ruber).

We drove around the lake to a spotting place just beside the road. From here we could see a lot of waders and other birds close by.

Glossy Ibis (bronsibis, Plegadis falcinellus)

First nice bird from the second stop by the Zakher lake was this Glossy Ibis (bronsibis, Plegadis falcinellus)

Soon Mark got excited... He had found a Jack Snipe (dvärgbeckasin, Lymnocryptes minimus). We drove closer to try to get some photos. So, I started shooting photos. In the end we managed to get really close to the Snipe, which was not at all bothered by us.

Red-wattled Lapwing (rödflikvipa, Vanellus indicus)
Snipe (enkelbeckasin, Gallinago gallinago)

First photo of the Snipe... At first I just started to shoot photos. Then I realised that something was wrong...

Red-wattled Lapwing (rödflikvipa, Vanellus indicus)
Snipe (enkelbeckasin, Gallinago gallinago)

It turned out to be a Common Snipe (enkelbeckasin, Gallinago gallinago)... But Mark was, of course, not wrong in seeing a Jack Snipe. It was just a little bit to the right and quite a bit smaller.

This was the first time for me seeing a Jack Snipe like this. If I remember correctly, I have once in my youth heard a Jack Snipe during a visit to Store mosse in Småland (Sweden) but that might be a false memory...

Jack Snipe (dvärgbeckasin, Lymnocryptes minimus)

Here it is, the Jack Snipe. There will be quite a few photos now picturing this bird.

Jack Snipe (dvärgbeckasin, Lymnocryptes minimus)

As with so many places in UAE, there is trash everywhere. Really sad to see...

Jack Snipe (dvärgbeckasin, Lymnocryptes minimus)

Jack Snipe (dvärgbeckasin, Lymnocryptes minimus)

Jack Snipe (dvärgbeckasin, Lymnocryptes minimus)

Other birds were of course present.

Little Stint (småsnäppa, Calidris minuta)

Just beside the lake, the desert is everywhere. And also the deser birds. The red dunes can be seen behind this nice male Desert Wheatear (ökenstenskvätta, Oenanthe deserti). 

Desert Wheatear (ökenstenskvätta, Oenanthe deserti)

Immediately on the other side of the road, still close to the lake, we went looking for another elusive bird. I did not manage to see it during my previous trip to UEA but this time I was luckier. It didn't take five minutes before no less than three Asian Desert Warbler (ökensångare, Sylvia nana) could be found. 

Asian Desert Warbler (ökensångare, Sylvia nana)

Not a good photo but the Deser Warbler tried to stay as far away from me as possible...

Before driving down to Al Qua'a fodder field, which was the last main stop during this trip, we visited one of the parks in Al Ain called Al Jimi Oasis, where we hoped to find a Pallid Scops Owl (blek dvärguv, Otus brucei). Now, Mark knew which tree the owl was supposed to roost in so we went to the tree and started looking. No owl... We checked all the other trees close by but no owl. I must have checked the same tree at least ten times beford Mark suddenly said that he had found it. In the same tree as we had checked so many times. But there it was and I cannot understand how we managed to miss it. 

What a beauty though...

Pallid Scops Owl (blek dvärguv, Otus brucei)

So, new species for me here at Zakher lake and Al Jimi oasis were Asian Deser Lark and Pallid Scops Owl. Below there is a list of some of the birds seen in these two locations

Little Grebe (smådopping, Tachybaptus ruficollis)

Glossy Ibis (bronsibis, Plegadis falcinellus)
Cormorant (storskarv, Phalacrocorax carbo)
Grey Heron (gråhäger, Ardea cinerea)
Greater Flamingo (större flamingo, Phoenicopterus ruber)
Egyptian Goose (nilgås, Alopochen aegyptiacus)
Shoveler (skedand, Anas clypeata)
Garganey (årta, Anas querquedula)
Pochard (brunand, Aythya ferina)
Marsh Harrier (brun kärrhök, Circus aeruginosus)
Coot (sothöna, Fulica atra)
Black-winged Stilt (styltlöpare, Himantopus himantopus)
Ringed Plover (större strandpipare, Charadrius hiaticula)
Kentish Plover (svartbent strandpipare, Charadrius alexandrinus)
Red-wattled Lapwing (rödflikvipa, Vanellus indicus)
White-tailed Lapwing (sumpvipa, Vanellus leucurus)
Snipe (enkelbeckasin, Gallinago gallinago)
Jack Snipe (dvärgbeckasin, Lymnocryptes minimus)
Little Stint (småsnäppa, Calidris minuta)
Temminck's Stint (mosnäppa, Calidris temminckii)
Lesser Black-backed Gull (silltrut, Larus fuscus heuglini)
Caspian Gull (kaspisk trut, Larus cachinnans barabensis)
White-winged Tern (vitvingad tärna, Chlidonias leucopterus)
Sand Martin (backsvala, Riparia riparia)
Pale Crag-Martin (blek klippseglare, Hirundo obsoleta)
Citrine Wagtail (citronärla, Motacilla citreola)
Desert Wheatear (ökenstenskvätta, Oenanthe deserti)
Asian Desert Warbler (ökensångare, Sylvia nana)
Pallid Scops Owl (blek dvärguv, Otus brucei)

Bronsibis i Skanör 10/10

När Linda ville åka på en sväng till sin brorsa passade jag på att göra en liten utflykt med barnen. Det hade sedan några dagar tillbaka hållit till en bronsibis nere på falsterbohalvön och dessutom varit stationär på ett ställe i Skanör ett tag. Så, det var ett lätt beslut att ta med Ella och Klara för att titta på den. Det är ju en ganska stor fågel och när vi kom fram så visade det sig att den stod relativt nära också så det gick bra för båda barnen att titta på den.

Bronsibis har jag ju sett flera gånger tidigare, både i Kroatien och i UAE men det var första obsen i Sverige och art nummer 280. Bara 20 kvar nu... :-)

Den samsades ofta med den här brushanen. Det verkade
som att brushanen följde efter ibisen

Ibisen syns som en lite brun prick i mitten av bilden. Ella
har blivit duktig på att använda handkikaren

Så här bra kan det faktiskt bli när man använder mobiltele-
fonen genom tubkikaren. Borde öva mer på det...

Ella tyckte att det var kul att stå med alla andra skådare och
titta på ibisen.

Tidigare på förmiddagen hade det varit ett bra sträck på tomten. Bl.a. dök årets första fjällvråk upp och det sträckte rätt så mycket duvor. En ren flock med sju skogsduvor var ju lite häftigt. Både dubbeltrast, rödvingetrast och trädlärka blev också nya årstomtarter.

Tomtens första tistelfjäril

Även på söndagen kom det en del fågel. Fyra fjällvråkar varav den här kom riktigt nära. Dock hade jag inte koll på kamerainställningarna så den här fågeln blev kraftigt underexponerad och jag har fått ljusa upp den ordentligt i photoshop. Det blev ok men rätt mycket detaljer har ändå försvunnit ur de mörkare delarna av fågeln. Klantigt!

Ugglesträck

Barnen vaknade redan 05:45... Inte vad jag hade tänkt mig idag. Visst såg dagen lovande ut enligt prognosen. Eller, i alla fall så såg det ut att bli fint väder. Fågelmässigt var det kanske svårare att uttala sig om. I vilket fall hade jag tänkt ta en liten sovmorgon men det satte barnen effektivt stopp för. Nåja, genom sovrumsfönstret syntes ju att det var lite dimmigt men inte alltför farligt. Sånt väder kan ju alltid vara bra. 

Efter att ha satt barnen framför tv:n (ja, jag skäms lite...), som de ju alltid vill, så gick jag ut för att kolla läget en stund. Det hoppade ju rätt mycket småfågel i buskarna och träden, mest grönsiskor, rödhakar, gransångare och blåmes. Sträcket var dock rätt uselt. Bästa sträckart idag var blåmes med kanske hundra individer.

Ganska snabbt kom jag väl upp i fyrtiotalet arter med brunand som det mest speciella. Ganska artrikt med tanke på att det inte var mycket till sträck men så låg det gott om änder - framförallt bläsand - och gäss utanför tomten, som gav en del. Både skedand, snatterand och stjärtand kunde ses. Helt ok.

Så kom det då en lite udda fågel på ganska hög höjd. Rätt rovfågelslik, både flaxande och glidflygande men ändå helt annorlunda. Jag har ju sett tillräckligt många jordugglor för att mer eller mindre direkt se att det var en sådan. Det var väl en av de mest förväntade arterna som jag ännu inte sett på tomten men jag hade kanske inte förväntat mig en fågel som drog högt över huvudet rätt ut över vattnet... Snarare ute över fälten eller tätt utmed kusten. I vilket fall så drog ugglan ganska långsamt mot SV ut i Lommabukten. Jag kunde spana på den länge i tuben. Läckert! Tomtkryss 186! :-)

Jag försökte snabbt ta några foton men det blev ju inga höjdare. Går väl att se att det är en jorduggla iaf. Första bestämda ugglan från tomten, efter att ha haft två skymtar av jord/horn tidigare.

Det var en helt underbar dag så jag utverkade en timma till efter frukost. Nedan finns några foton ifrån dagen. Är det någon som läser detta och som vet vad det är för larv så får du ju väldigt gärna skriva det.

Barnen tycker ju att det är kul att få titta i tubkikaren och ibland får man ju jobba på nästa generations fågelintresserade. Här spanar de på en ringduva på grannens tak. :-)

Tofsvipa som kom förbi snyggt i det härliga ljuset under
förmiddagen

Några ur den stora flocken ljungpipare, som kom nära
ibland.

Så här såg det ut ifrån min plats där jag står och spanar.
Ganska gott om fågel i vattnet utanför och när dimman väl
hade lättat så var det bra sikt ända bort till Köpenhamn.

Grågässen vrider och vänder på sig när de skall tappa höjd
inför landning.

Samma gäss som ovan, strax innan de kom ned till vattnet

Framåt kvällen hördes det härliga ljudet av tranor. Totalt
räknade jag ihop till 214 st. Den näst första är en årsunge.

Färggrann och fin larv. Men vad skall det bli av den här? Ca
4 cm lång.

Ella spanar på ringduvan. Hon börjar få
lite teknik på att hantera kikaren.

Klara gör så gott hon kan. Men kul är
det, tycker hon. :-)

1/11-15 Green Mubazzarah and Jebel Hafit

Day two of my birding excursions with Mark started in the same way as day one. We met at 04:30 in the morning. I'll be completely honest and say that I was very tired this morning. A long day, the day before and then an evening with my family and a pretty late night, was perhaps a little bit too much for me... But on the other hand I was really looking forward to the sites we were supposed to visit.

First off would be the Green Mubazzarah, a man made park in the middle of the desert and at the foot of Jebel Hafit. After that we would go up the mountain (Jebel Hafit), we would visit Zakher lake and Al Qua'a fodder field. I had, in advance, read what I could about these places, in order to be prepared for this day. Especially Al Qua'a fodder field held some special allure to me. Last year when I visited UAE there had been two Amur Falcons in Al Qua'a, a species I would very much like to see. There were none reported before this trip so I didn't really hope too much...

Anyway, we started off towards Green Mubazzarah. A coffe on the road made life a little easier and soon we could the the first traces of the morning in the sky. We approached the site when the sun was just up and the green park with its manufacured little stream made a nice contrast to the desert. At least in the beginning but then, again, the amount of litter started bothering me. I can't believe that they don't take care of their nature better.

Some birds were present on the turf; Wagtails and Pipits. We drove around one of the places where the Hooded Wheatear (munkstenskvätta, Oenanthe monacha), one of the target species for this trip, could often be seen. Mark told me that he was bad luck when it came to Hooded Wheatear and, to be sure, no specimens could be seen. 

We parked the car and started down the little wadi, just by the park. Another of the target species for today was the Sand Partrigde (ökenhöna, Ammoperdix heyi), which with some luck should be present here. We were lucky... Mark immediately spotted a siluette up on the stony ridge of the wadi. Very nice. A couple of Blue Rock-Thrush (blåtrast, Monticola solitarius) were also there and it also turned out to be a good place for Arabian Babbler (arabskriktrast, Turdoides squamiceps).

Sand Partridge (ökenhöna, Ammoperdix heyi)

Up on the ridge, one Sand Partridge could be seen. Much better in the scope of course but this made for a nice start of the morning, despite me being very tired. A new lifer.

Arabian Babbler (arabskriktrast, Turdoides squamiceps)

Still exotic for me but not very rare in UAE. But in order to see the Arabian Babbler you need to get out of the Dubai city center, for sure. Though I believe that some of the parks and perhaps the Pivot fields can hold some Babblers.

We started walking up the Wadi and some of the species we had amed for yesterday in Masafi Wadi were present here as well. Several Plain Leaf-Warblers (dvärgsångare, Phylloscopus neglectus) could be seen and finally we got to see the Desert Whitethroat (ökenärtsångare, Sylvia minula), which we only heard, the day before. In the upper end of the Wadi, there was another male Black Redstart (svart rödstjärt, Phoenicurus ochruros) probably of race phoenicuroides. More Desert Whitethroats everywhere and also Plain Leaf Warblers. 

Plain Leaf-Warbler (dvärgsångare, Phylloscopus neglectus)

It was nice to see some more Plain Leaf Warblers and this time they were easier to get close (or at least closer..) to. But the light was still pretty poor, the Wadi being in the shadow of Jebel Hafit.

Desert Whitethroat (ökenärtsångare, Sylvia minula)

Finally here it was, the Desert Whitethroat. I had to spend some time to manage this shot of one of the birds...

In the blog post from Masafi Wadi I called them Desert Lesser Whitethroat, which is the name for the bird in the "Birds of the UAE" but in the official list of Swedish bird names it is called Desert Whitethroat, which I why I used that name here.

Desert Whitethroat (ökenärtsångare, Sylvia minula)

We headed down the Wadi to what had once been a dam, I think. nothing new while walking there but on the way back we got some better views of Sand Partridges and I took some time to try to take some decent photos of Hume's and Red-Tailed Wheatears. 

Sand Partridge (ökenhöna, Ammoperdix heyi)

The Sand Partridges were not very accomodating when it came to photography... This was the best shot I got but at least it shows what I believe to be a typical environment of where they live.

Red-tailed Wheatear (persisk stenskvätta, Oenanthe chrysopygia)

Hume's Wheatear (svartvit stenskvätta, Oenanthe alboniger)

After walking through the Wadi, we drove a short distance to the artificial stream going through the park. We were looking for, among other things, Crakes of different kinds, but found none. We saw two Arabian Partridges (arabisk rödhöna, Alectoris melanocephala), but as they are a known to be introduces, the find was not that cool. I hope I get to see them during my trip to Oman in November.

Hoopoe (härfågel, Upupa epops)

The everpresent Hoopoe, beautiful as always.

After the Green Mubazzarah we drove towards Jebel Hafit. At this point I was really, really tired and started thinking how I would get through the day without sleeping some... As always, though, the mountains are beautiful and Jebel Hafit was no exception.

We stopped at the Mercure hotel, another place where there was a good chance of finding the Hooded Wheatear (munkstenskvätta, Oenanthe monacha). After not finding it in the parking zone, where it is quite often found, we started walking around the hotel itself. Still tired, but I pushed on as this was one of the absolute top species I wanted to see during these two days. 

First we found a couple of White-spectacled Bulbul (levantbulbyl, Pycnonotus xanthopygos) but still the Wheatear eluded us. We walked around the pool, where a Black Redstart was seen, and up to the lookout spot. There it was!! At a little bit of a distance sitting on a light fitting below the lookout spot. Perfect!!

Hooded Wheatear (munkstenskvätta, Oenanthe monacha)

Hooded Wheatear (munkstenskvätta, Oenanthe monacha)

The Hooded Wheatear, a 1cy male, showed itself nicely from the lookout point for some time until it flew off.

We studied the Wheatear for some time until it flew off. As Mark had relatively few encounters of this species he was also pretty happy. I definitely thought we had seen the last of this bird but instead of flying away it flew towards us. As it happens, it flew all the way to the wall, which we were leaning against. It stopped just two meeters away... Close enough that I didn't get the hole bird in my shot below, the feet are missing. I then stayed close to us for a long time and the photos below are just a selection of all the shots I got. Another Black Redstart kept the Wheatear company in the hotel yard where I spent some time taking photos.

Hooded Wheatear (munkstenskvätta, Oenanthe monacha)

Hooded Wheatear (munkstenskvätta, Oenanthe monacha)

Hooded Wheatear (munkstenskvätta, Oenanthe monacha)

Hooded Wheatear (munkstenskvätta, Oenanthe monacha)

Hooded Wheatear (munkstenskvätta, Oenanthe monacha)

Nice close up of a nice bird!

Black Redstart (svart rödstjärt, Phoenicurus ochruros)

After the hotel, we drove further up the mountain towards the main vantage point. On the way we stopped for a while in another good spot. There were supposed to be Egyptian Vultures (smutsgam, Neophron percnopterus) on the mountain and normally you shoul be able to see several sitting in a mast on the mountain but none could be seen this day. Mark found one pretty far off, which was very nice. It dissapeared behing a small mountain knob and I figured that that was it. But it came back, flying just over our heads giving us a spectacular view of the bird. 

We saw one more in the distance a little bit later on but this was the last bit in Jebel Hafit and after this we drove off towards Zakher lake, but more about that in another blog post.

Egyptian Vulture (smutsgam, Neophron percnopterus)

Egyptian Vulture (smutsgam, Neophron percnopterus)

New species in Green Mubazzarah and Jebel Hafit were: Egyptian Vulture (smutsgam, Neophron percnopterus), Sand Partridge (ökenhöna, Ammoperdix heyi), Desert Whitethroat (ökenärtsångare, Sylvia minula) and Hooded Wheatear (munkstenskvätta, Oenanthe monacha)

Other nice birds consisted of e.g.: Indian Roller (indisk blåkråka, Coracias benghalensis), Hoopoe (härfågel, Upupa epops), Desert Lark (stenökenlärka, Ammomanes deserti), Sand Martin (backsvala, Riparia riparia), Pale Crag-Martin (blek klippsvala, Hirundo obsoleta), White Wagtail (sädesärla, Motacilla alba), Red-vented Bulbul (rödgumpad bulbyl, Pycnonotus cafer), Isabelline Wheatear (isabellastenskvätta, Oenanthe isabellina)