Fun with Wheatears

During recent works trips to Jordan I was lucky enough to have some fun with Wheatears both on the works site and where I was staying in Dana Village.  Only 4 species were seen (only two photographed!) and I missed out on what would have been some new species for me - colleagues also working in Jordan saw Finch's and Mourning - but despite looking in similar areas I was not that lucky.  Does mean I will have to go back though, next time may have to be a holiday though!

Have selected my best pictures from my two weeks - hope you enjoy.

Black-eared Wheatear (Oenanthe hispanica / melanoleuca)

Isabelline Wheatear (Oenanthe isabellina)

Jordan 2013 - An Introduction

Jordan 2013

Over the last 4 weeks I've been fortunate enough to be working in the south of Jordan near to the Dana World Biosphere Reserve and Important Bird Area. The reserve is managed by the Jordanian Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature and I was lucky enough to stay at their Dana Guesthouse in the village of Dana. 

I was also lucky enough to meet many travellers whilst staying in Dana and the other bits of Jordan sound fantastic.  It a bit of a shame that I only saw the airport, desert highway, Dana and our works site.  Oh I did see Amman (once) but that was for a meeting so didn't really see anything to write home about (apart from some very crazy driving)!  By all accounts (and from the bits I saw) Jordan is an amazing country and well worth a visit and the birds (wider ecology and scenery) simply stunning. 

A full species list from both trips is  included at the bottom of this blog.  Total species seen  were 79 species (of high quality) including 20 species new to me (shown in red in the table). 

Best birds were -

Palestine Sunbird - this was one species I really wanted to see.  The males are little corkers - colours are truly amazing and they sound very Wren-esque (amongst other calls). 

Palestine Sunbird

Pale Rock Sparrow - this species was (according to our local expert) not regularly recorded in Jordan until about 2000 but this species is now well established.  The call is described in Collins as sounding like an insect or electric motor and once tuned in they were fairly easy to pick up.  One was finally obliging enough for a pic and was by far one of my best pictures of the trip.

 

Wheatears - Black-eared, Desert and Isabelline - two new and one I've seen before.  Dana was full of BE Wheatears and of both dark and pale varieties.  Lovely songsters too.  A selection of wheatear pictures will be posted shortly.

Doves - Saw both Laughing and European Turtle Dove.  Nice to see Laughing as it was a new species for me and so nice to see and hear lots of Turtles - it is just very sad that this species has all but disappeared from the UK.  Both species were in good numbers in the orchard at Dana.

Warblers - were cracking, but no pics are they were all a bit skulky (typical warblers).  Again mostly in the village in the orchards.

Raptors - the main focus of the trip.  Griffon Vultures breed in the Wadi Dana and other species were seen in the evening circling around the cliffs looking for somewhere to go and roost.  Good numbers of all species were seen with early numbers of Steppe Buzzards and eagles with 4 Bonelli's being seen  at Dana on one of the evenings in April.  Other eagles included - Imperial, Golden, Booted, Steppe, Lesser Spotted and Short-toed. 

The May trip was raptor-tastic with 3 days of fairly epic Honey Buzzard passage of over 10,000 birds over three days.

I will post a selection of other pictures soon.

Species List

Common Name	Latin Name	Common Name	Latin Name
Chukar	Alectoris chukar	White Stork	Ciconia ciconia
Griffon Vulture	Gyps fulvus	Golden Eagle	Aquila cheysaetos
Imperial Eagle	Aquila heliaca	Lesser Spotted Eagle	Aquila pomarina
Steppe Eagle	Aquila nipalensis	Short-toed Eagle	Circaetus gallicus
Booted Eagle	Aquila pennata	Bonelli’s Eagle	Aquila fasciata
Black Kite	Milvus migrans	Pallid Harrier	Circus macrourus
Long-legged Buzzard	Buteo rufinus	Steppe Buzzard	Buteo buteo vulpinus
Common Buzzard	Buteo buteo	European Honey Buzzard	Pernis apivorus
Eurasian Sparrowhawk	Accipiter nisus	Common Kestrel	Falco tinnunculus
Lesser Kestrel	Falcon naumanni	Sakar Falcon	Falco cherrug
Rock Dove	Columba livia	European Turtle Dove	Streptopelia turtur
Laughing Dove	Streptopelia sengalensis	Common Cuckoo	Cuculus canorus
Eurasian Eagle Owl	Bubo bubo	Eurasian Scops Owl	Otus scops
Common Swift	Apus apus	Pallid Swift	Apus pallidus
Alpine Swift	Apus melba	Eurasian Hoopoe	Upapa epops
European Bee-eater	Merops apiaster	Crested Lark	Galerida cristata
Greater Short-toed Lark	Calandrella brachydactyla	Desert Lark	Ammomanes deserti
Calandra Lark	Melanocorypha calandra	Common Sand Martin	Riparia riparia
Rock Martin	Ptyonoprogne fuligula	Barn Swallow	Hirundo rustica
Common House Martin	Delichon urbicum	Tawny Pipit	Anthus campestris
Black Redstart	Phoenicurus ochruros	Northern Wheatear	Oenanthe oenanthe
Isabelline Wheatear	Oenanthe isabellina	Black-eared Wheatear	Oenanthe hispanica
Desert Wheatear	Oenanthe deserti	Whinchat	Saxicola rubetra
Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush	Monticola saxatilis	Blackcap	Sylvia atricapilla
Common Whitethroat	Sylvia communis	Lesser Whitethroat	Sylvia curruca
Sardinian Warbler	Sylvia melanocephala	Spectacled Warbler	Sylvia conspicillata
Asian Desert Wabler	Sylvia nana	Cetti’s Warbler	Cettia cetti
European Reed Warbler	Acrocephalus scirpaceus	Upcher’s Warbler	Hippolais languida
Olivaceous Warbler	Iduna pallida	Spotted Flycatcher	Muscicapa striata
Great Tit	Parus major	Lesser  Grey Shrike	Lanius minor
Red-backed Shrike	Lanius collurio	Woodchat Shrike	Lanius senator
White-spectacled Bulbul	Pycnonotus xanthopygos	Palestine Sunbird	Cinnyris osea
Brown-necked Raven	Corvus ruficollis	House Sparrow	Passer domesticus
Common Rock Sparrow	Petronia petronia	Pale Rock Sparrow	Carpospiza brachydactyla
Linnet	Carduelis cannabina	European Goldfinch	Carduelis carduelis
European Greenfinch	Carduelis chloris	Syrian Serin	Serinus syriacus
Ortolan Bunting	Emberiza hortulana

TOTAL – 79 species.  Additions to Life List - 20