A Guide to the Biodiversity of Deir ez-Zor Area

The following photographs are of Ahmad Aidak (Syria) showing his book A Guide to the Birdlife Area to interested rangers and officials in the field. This book, written in Arabic and using photographs taken mainly by the author, was...

AFGHANISTAN Large-billed Reed Warblers discovered breeding

The breeding site of one of the world’s least known birds, Large-billed Reed Warbler Acrocephalus orinus, has been discovered in the remote and rugged Wakhan Corridor of the Pamir mountains of northeastern Afghanistan. The first specimen of...

Armenia news 2010

Armenia news 2010

Bird of the Year Within its ‘Bird of the Year’ annual campaign, the Armenian Society for the Protection of Birds (ASPB) has announced the Common Crane Grus grus to be the Bird of 2010 in Armenia. ASPB...

Egypt Lake Qarun under threat

Egypt Lake Qarun under threat

Birding Egypt on Facebook Birding Egypt have opened a new forum on Facebook for all those interested in birds, birdwatching and bird conservation in Egypt. (Source: Mindy Baha El Din) Lake Qarun under threat Nature Conservation Egypt...

Georgia Batumi Raptor Count 2010

Georgia Batumi Raptor Count 2010

Since 2008 the autumn migration of raptors at Batumi on the east side of the Black sea has been monitored by teams of volunteers. Over 830 000 raptors have been counted in eight weeks. More information about...

IRAN Waterbird monitoring in 2009

IRAN Waterbird monitoring in 2009

In January 2009, a group from Foundation Working Group International Waterbird and Wetland Research (WIWO) and the Iranian Department of Environment (DoE) took part in the International Waterbird Census to count birds in the most important wetlands...

New bulletin for Iran

New bulletin for Iran

A new bulletin, Balaban, aimed to encourage Iranian birders and ornithologists to publish results of their works in their native language and introduce a place to transfer ornithological papers, notes and news regarding Iranian birds and ornithology...

Socotra (Yemen) Prize for Socotra Project website

Socotra (Yemen) Prize for Socotra Project website

The Socotra Governance & Biodiversity Project website (www.socotraproject.org) has been awarded the gold prize in the Yemen Web Awards 2009. The SGBP website received first place within the second largest category of Projects & Government Websites beating...

Mheimideh under immediate threat

Mheimideh under immediate threat

Mheimideh is probably the best birding site along the Syrian Euphrates; all who visit come away astonished that such a rich site can exist in the middle of a village. It has an outstanding list of breeding...

Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Arabia

Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Arabia

The Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Arabia project reaches a very important stage this year with the publication of the Atlas. The last records were added to the Atlas in April 2010 and it will be...

OSME Summer Meeting & AGM 2011

OSME Summer Meeting & AGM 2011

Saturday 16th July 2011, BTO, Thetford, Norfolk, UK The 2011 OSME Summer Meeting and AGM will be held on Saturday 16th July at the British Trust for Ornithology, Thetford, Norfolk, UK. Doors will open at 10.00 –...

OSME Summer Meeting 2010

Azzam Alwash, Chief Executive of Nature Iraq and an OSME Vice-President. The 2010 Summer Meeting and AGM, held at the BTO headquarters in Thetford on Saturday 10 July, was bathed in glorious sunshine and temperatures which created...

The Birds of the Middle East

The Birds of the Middle East

The second edition of Birds of the Middle East has just been published. Written by Richard Porter and Simon Aspinall, it will be reviewed more fully in OSME’s journal, Sandgrouse but is obviously absolutely essential for any visitor to the Middle...

Thanks to Keith Betton

Thanks to Keith Betton

While writing the above account of the 2010 Summer Meeting, I realised, with much embarrassment, that this is the first write-up since 2008. The main reason for my embarrassment though is that as a result, OSME has...