OSME Region List Update 4.4 (Available at https://osme.org/orl)

This update incorporates, inter alia, intriguing conclusions from several heavyweight papers on: The Common/Long-legged/Upland/Mountain Buzzard superspecies. Divergence between Middle Spotted Woodpecker populations between Asian Turkey and continental Europe. (I have illustrated my blog post with images of the...

I LOVE NATURE 7

Guest blog by Leyla Muslim Hi. My name is Leyla. I live in the capital of Azerbaijan, Baku. Since 2010 I am a member and volunteer of Nature Friends (an NGO) in Azerbaijan. Our aim is to enlighten more...

Egyptian Vulture Neophron percnopterus

Racing to help declining Vultures

Champions of the Flyway is in its fifth year and the next Flyway Bird Race will be taking place, one again, at the end of March in Israel. So far these races and their sponsorship have raised over...

OSME Chairman’s report on 2018, and the year ahead

The year 2018 was a hugely significant one for OSME as we celebrated our 50th anniversary. In 1968, The Ornithological Society of Turkey (OST) was launched, and in 1978 its geographical remit expanded and became the Ornithological...

Azerbaijan and the Besh Barmag project

Guest blog from Gunay Behramzade Hello my name is Gunay and I’m an ecologist. Since my childhood I have a great passion for nature, but my great interest in birds started during my university years when I met German...

The Arabic App of Birds of the Middle East

A key focus for OSME over the last year has been the production of a smartphone App version of the Arabic field guide to the birds of the Middle East. In April 2018 we were able to...

Fighting illegal bird killing

A guest blog by Lloyd Scott The Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS) is a European bird protection NGO based in Bonn Germany. Each year, we bring together around 250 volunteers from across the globe to conduct strategic...

Martin Woodcock’s book auction

Martin Woodcock’s book collection is being auctioned by Dominic Winter Auctioneers on the 12th December. The collection includes scarce titles on Asian and African birds, and much else, and also a number of extra-illustrated “one-offs”, some with...

The 19th Turkey Bird Conference

The 19th Turkey Bird Conference The 19th Turkey Bird Conference will take place on the 17th -22nd May 2019, in Mersin, Camliyayla. The conference will be organized by Doga, BirdLife Turkey, and Camliyayla Municipality and Kizilkaya Society, the...

Bird Camp Lebanon

A guest blog from Tomas Axen Haraldsson ”Are ALL those birds eagles you mean? But there are hundreds of them…!” Shouts of excitement and disbelief from Lebanese picnic tables as the spectacle of bird migration overwhelms local villagers during...

Introducing BirdLife Cyprus

A guest blog by Elena Markitani BirdLife Cyprus – the official partner of BirdLife International in Cyprus – is currently the most active non-profit, non-governmental conservation organization in Cyprus, working to conserve wild birds, their habitats and wider...

Chairman’s update on OSME’s 50th anniversary year

This year has been an important milestone for OSME as we reach our 50th anniversary. In 1968, The Ornithological Society of Turkey (OST) was launched, and in 1978 its geographical remit expanded and became the Ornithological Society...

Assad Serhal from Lebanon wins the Midori Prize

Assad Serhal from Lebanon wins the Midori Prize

This year one of the winners of the prestigious Midori Prize is our good friend from the Middle East, Assad Serhal, Director General of the Society for the Protection of Nature in Lebanon (BirdLife Lebanon). Assad’s nomination...

On Velvet Paws through Wild Kurdistan

Guest blog by Dr Lars-Uwe Kettner, German Consulate General Erbil, Iraq (July 2016 – July 2018) When one thinks of northern Iraq, conflicts often come to mind: the horrific crimes of the so-called Islamic State, death and destruction in Mosul,...