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markle
15-01-2011, 20:29
Hello,

as a total rookie in birding in the UAE I would be very thankful for some hints about good locations where I can find Hume´s wheatear. I know that this is a mountain resident and found in the Hajar-mountains, but because it´s my first time in the UAE I would appreciate if I could get the name of some well-defined areas with a high probability of spotting oenanthe alboniger. I am a biologist from Sweden and doing research about this species´ energy/time-budget.

Thanks for helping !

With best regards from Sweden

Martin
daveclark
15-01-2011, 20:59
Hi Martin - I am not sure where you are staying but there are many Hume's wheatear in Al Ain at both the Mercure hotel and the Green Mubarrazah park - dave
Mike Barth
15-01-2011, 21:22
Saw several yesterday in the Wadi Bih area of Ras Al Khaimah. Another good bet us Masafi Wadi.
MarkS
15-01-2011, 21:25
Hi Martin. Welcome to the forum!

There are three places I would recommend. Dave's beaten me to number one - Green Mubazzarah and Jebel Hafeet are the easiest,both for locating them and for comfort, Masafi Wadi in the north-east of the UAE is good, but requires a lot of leg-work, and Wadi Bih in the north-west, near Ras Al Khaimah.

What is the objective of your study,if I may ask?

Edit: Typing too slow! Now Mike's beaten me to numbers two and three!!!
markle
15-01-2011, 22:26
Dave: Thanks a lot for the hint. I am going to stay in the UAE between feb. 1st until feb.28th, gonna stay in different parts of the Hajar-mountains. Got a 4x4 car with me so I hope I´ll see a lot of them.

Mike: thanks for your help ! The places you´ve named: are they accessible by car or do they require a longer walk ? Not that I´ve got a problem with walking, just curious. Doing a lot of hiking here in Sweden.

Mark: Thank you very much ! I appreciate your help a lot ! The object of my study is how Hume´s wheatear is using it´s time. I categorized typical behaviour and will try to observe every individual for about 5 minutes and record its different behavioural manners. After statistical analysis of the data one can make conclusions about how many percent of the total time/energy spent is used for each category.

Greetings from the cold north,

Martin
Mike Barth
16-01-2011, 07:24
Martin

Dave's locations are both easily accessible by car as is Wadi Bih. Masafi Wadi is not and you will need to walk into the Wadi, however I have seen them at the entrance to the Wadi so may not be necessary :-)
Neil Tovey
16-01-2011, 10:54
Martin

Dave's locations are both easily accessible by car as is Wadi Bih. Masafi Wadi is not and you will need to walk into the Wadi, however I have seen them at the entrance to the Wadi so may not be necessary :-)

Another great spot is Wadi Helo and surrounding mountains. It's on the Sharjah/ Khor Kalba highway and is easily accessible by road. In fact they are common all along this route once you hit the mountains.

There also been some desktop studies carried out by myself and a few others on the birdlife of this wadi, as it is/ will be become a protected area in the near future. Drop me an email at neiltovey@ gmail.com and I can share more detailed directions etc.
markle
19-01-2011, 19:51
Another great spot is Wadi Helo and surrounding mountains. It's on the Sharjah/ Khor Kalba highway and is easily accessible by road. In fact they are common all along this route once you hit the mountains.

There also been some desktop studies carried out by myself and a few others on the birdlife of this wadi, as it is/ will be become a protected area in the near future. Drop me an email at neiltovey@ gmail.com and I can share more detailed directions etc.

Thanks, Neil ! I´ll send you an eMail tomorrow !

Have a nice evening !

With best regards

Martin
ahmed al ali
20-01-2011, 05:41
mark recommendation is almost perfect...

i have found a fresh juv. at masafi wadi last year... so it is pretty much a very comfortable area for this wheatear.. it requires some walk (not too long)
you can even observe some from the main street from masafi toward daba.. (usally standing on he electrical wires)
wadi baih and wadi helo and green mubazarah are all good places.

i might recommend you one more place which is in Al Faya (Sharjah)
park your car at
25*10'02.25" N
55*50'30.43" E

and go down the mountain and look... (just pass over the fence)

good luck with your study ... :)
markle
21-01-2011, 12:28
Thank you, Ahmed ! I´ll surely try out that location !