Sila birds Friday 16 March 2012

[drrezakhan]

Sila birds on my first bird-watching trip
Friday 16 March 2012
Strated from Dubai at 5am and returned by 7.30pm, covered 912km, time spent in Sila Park and its neighbourhood 5 hours with 30 minutes Friday prayer and lunch break and noted the following:
Woodchat shrike-4
Daurian Shrike-1
Turkestan Shrike-16
Steppe Grey shrike-3
Southern Grey Shrike-2
Song Thrush -2
Isabelline wheatear-1
Desert Wheatear-4
Menetries’s Warbler-4 and
Asian desert Warbler- 4 and
Chfichaff-3 on 4 neighbouring Tencomella undulata or ferfer trees laden with the largest flowers of the UAE possibly drinking nectar and gathering insects.
Caspian Stonechat-1
White-eared Bulbul- 50+
Collared Dove-100+
Laughing Dover-50+
Hoopoe- 40+
House Sparrow- 100+
White Wagtail- 12
Yellow Wagtail-2
Rufoustailed Bush Robin-1
Shikra-1
Tawny pipit-4
Indian Silverbill- 4 building nest on c.10m high Washintonia fillifera tree[1^st time noted such a high nest]
Barn Swallow-6
Pallid Harrier- 1 male
1 Kestrel and 1 Water Pipit got dropped from the list posted
Also heard Bee-eaters and Crested Lark but did not see them. It was windy.

NOTE:_Glad not to see invasive species such as H Crow, C. Myna, Bank Myna, Parakeets, Grey Francolin, Red-vented Bulbul
but sad not to see Indian Roller and purple Sunbird that have not yet been able to extend their natural range extension. This may take another half a century when there will be more shabias-human settlements and/or forest and man-made gardens between Musaffah and Tarif, Tarif and Mirfa, Mirfa and RUwais, and Ruwais and Sila.