Finding Steppe Whimbrel in Abu Dhabi
Guest blog by Oscar Campbell – with thanks to Simon Lloyd The start of it all. It was this image that really got us thinking seriously that we might, at last, have got the cigar. The underwing...
Category: Guest Blogs
The OSME expedition to Yemen in 1985 – personal reflections
Guest blog by Chris Bowden The opportunity to spend two months in the field in North Yemen (as it was at the time) was something that I had no hesitation in applying to join… and what an...
The Socotra Wildlife Association – conserving wildlife through awareness and capacity building
Guest blog by Ali Yahya Ali Bin Mahrous and Nasser Abdulrahman Ahmed of the Socotra Wildlife Association The Socotra Wildlife Association is a non-governmental, voluntary, environmental organization established in November 2014 and officially registered at the local branch...
Helping European Rollers in Northern Cyprus
A guest blog by Amie Wheeldon on encouraging the re-establishment of European Rollers at breeding grounds in Northern Cyprus The European Roller Coracias garrulus is a charismatic species that was once more abundant in Cyprus, where it...
Tape lures maximise the slaughter of songbirds in Cyprus
Guest blog by Matteo Sebastianelli Crossing the Mediterranean Sea represents a crucial step for migrant birds every year as they travel between Africa and Eurasia. Mediterranean islands are the first landmasses sighted after hours of uninterrupted flight...
Socotra celebrates International Vulture Awareness Day for the third year
A guest blog by Ali Yahya Ali Bin Mahrous of the Socotra Wildlife Association Socotra, for the third year, has again joined the world in celebrating International Vulture Awareness Day. Together with my colleagues in the Socotra...
Bee-eaters and beekeepers in Cyprus: a conflict with a solution
Guest blog by Tassos Shialis The problem The migration of bee-eaters in spring and autumn through Cyprus is a wonderful event for nature lovers and bird watchers. At the same time, beekeepers in Cyprus are not happy...
Common Swifts in Iran – a Conservation Project
A guest blog by Abraham Shokouhi I became very curious about the Common Swift Apus apus pekinensis in 2013 when I attended training courses for eco-tourism guides and birdwatching tour guides. It looked a very interesting and...
The Turkestan Ground-jay in Uzbekistan
Guest blog by Robert J. Burnside I have been working in the Kyzylkum desert, in Uzbekistan, since 2013 on the ecology and conservation of the Asian Houbara with the University of East Anglia, BirdLife International and the...
Update on the ‘Mangrove White-eye’ in Saudi Arabia
Guest blog by Jem Babbington The Abyssinian White-eye Zosterops abyssinicus occurs in the highlands of southwestern Arabia and eastern Africa in well-wooded areas above 1,000 m above sea level. Interestingly the discovery of mangrove dwelling White-eyes by...
The wonderful marshes of Khuzestan – an Iranian treasure
Guest blog by Keramat Hafezi Birgani My name is Keramat Hafezi Birgani, I was born in the city of Masjed Soleiman, where the first oil well was discovered in the Middle East. Masjed Soleiman lies in the...
Bird trapping in Cyprus – an update
Guest blog by Guy Shorrock In April 2020, BirdLife Cyprus published the autumn 2019 bird trapping survey. This suggests that an estimated 440,000 birds may have been killed within the survey area over the autumn. Whilst still...
Expansion of Namaqua Dove in the OSME Region
Guest blog by Łukasz Ławicki Expansion and range extension of Namaqua Dove Oena capensis in the OSME Region has been going on for several decades. But in the last decade, this process significantly increased in pace. In...
Youth development and Bird Camps update
Birds go on – birdwatchers on hold A message from Tomas Axén Haraldsson The current situation with the spread of the corona virus, and not least the consequences of all the emergency measures, has caused countries and...