And a few pics summarising some trips out of the local area this year - the Peru trip was absolutely mind blowing, the jaunt to Turkey was full of WP gold, and the occasional twitches were successful (mostly) too... all the best to everyone for 2026! #UKBirding #WorldBirding #WPBirding
A fresh version of the Rare birds in Western Palearctic is live on tony-rinaud.shinyapps.io/WP_rare_birds/!
New sightings are coming from Syria, Poland and Luxemburg.
Many thanks for the respective members for their help!
#Rstats #Shiny #RareBirds #WPBirding #MEGA
@bio-data.bsky.social
#793 Siberian Tit. I saw it very briefly at the feeders close to Inari. The bird was quite nervous and didn't stay around. No picture therefor. Hoping for a second chance later in the week.
#WPbirding
Thursday I arrived in Finland, the land of lakes and forests. Too much good habitat so better to get a guide to help you find the species you need. And that wasn't as easy as we thought. A flat tyre on the first day threw off our schedule and possibilities for the day.
#WPbirding
#774 White-throated Bee-eater. As soon as you go down from the Asir mountains to the west side, they turn up. Around the Jizan dam we first noticed them. After that on the whole of the Red Sea coast and on the Farasan islands. Very distinct black and white headpattern.
#WPbirding
#767 Brown Woodland Warbler. The size of a Common Chiffchaff but more brown. Very distinct are the greenish fringes on the upperparts. Also notable is the dark eyestripe and the narrow supercilium above it. Sings very loud.
#WPbirding
#764 African Stonechat. Very much like our stonechat, but darker on the back with only a small narrow white-rump patch. Song is quite similar. All the colours are simply a bit more bright. Both male and female in these pictures
#WPbirding
#763 Montane Nightjar. We heard and saw quite a few of them. Spectacular bird in flight, like a big butterfly. And the ones we found on the ground fully relied on their camouflage. The picture attached is by John Oates, member of our group. Doesn't get better than this...
#WPbirding
#761: Yemen Thrush. Resembles the female European Blackbird. The orange-yellow bill is different and as it is restricted to the Asir mountains there can hardly be a mix-up. The call reminds us of our Blackbird but the song is quite different. Musical but more like a bulbul.
#WPbirding
#758 Little Rockthrush. When you see it the first time you think you saw a Redstart. Same size and indeed a red tail. Quite abundant in the Asir mountains. It sings nicely, a fluty song but not similar to the other Rockthrushes. More variation.
#WPbirding
#756 Gambaga Flycatcher. Abundant in the Asir region. Very much like our own Spotted Flycatcher, but without the spots and streaking on head and breast. Also a little bit smaller.
Very active hunter from an exposed perch. And successfull too as we can see.
#WPbirding
To continue our first day line-up of little brown birds we can add the Buff-breasted Wheatear, #755 for the WP. A larger wheatear that stands almost upright. We found them on a sandy bank where it nests in the holes of rodents.
#WPbirding
And here is a relative of the Yemen Serin, the Arabian Serin. A little darker with also a dark bill and practically no streaking on the head. Not so easy to separate the two even when you find them together.
#752 for the WP. #WPbirding
After birding one day in the desert north of Riyadh we flew to Abha for four days in the Asir mountains. We were welcomed by rain which we didn’t expect. Appeared normal this time of year. Not so hot due to the altitude, 2500-3000 meters.
#WPbirding
#751 Arabian (Dunn's) Lark. On the last Birdquest trip this species was not found. It's that difficult to find. We were lucky. After seeing many Crested and Hoopoe larks we found an adult feeding a juvenile. In that case the risk of flying away is not so great so we had time for pictures.
#WPbirding
Yesterday we started birding in Saudi Arabia. This time in an organized trip by Birdquest. A very international group of 12 avid birders will no doubt find many interesting and new birds. The landscape is mostly unspoiled and very open.
#WPbirding
Mission accomplished! Operation Holland was a blast 💥 ✅ #birding #wpbirding #holland #texel #spectacledeider
Operation Holland 🇳🇱 is a go! #birding #Spectacledeider #wpbirding
On Monday I went to the south of Sweden to look for the Moltoni´s Warbler that was seen here on Sunday. With some 20 local birders we searched for 4 hours but no trace of the bird. The cold (close to freezing) probably got to him…
Not all adventures end on a positive note. 9 hours drive..
#WPbirding
Yes!! Got it. #731 Ivory Gull.
Foraging in the harbour of Wladislawowo in the first light and with a little rain. All smiles!
Will try later for a decent picture, but now it’s time for breakfast.
#WPbirding
This is the beauty we are looking for today. A picture from yesterday from one of the Polish birders.
#WPbirding
Yesterday I flew in to Gdansk, Poland, in order to try to find the Ivory Gull that was seen in the harbour of Wladislawowo. An early start today and congres crossed. The Ivory Gull is normally seen only within the Arctic circle… So this one has lost its way.
#WPbirding
But there are always birds that are more rare…
Yesterday the news came out that the Slender-billed Curlew was proclaimed extinct. Not seen in this century, but there are still Dutch birders that have it on their list. Last seen in Morocco in the ´90s.
#WPbirding
www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOXp...
This Dark-sided Flycatcher is an extreme rarity in the WP. It is only the 3rd record! The other two being from Iceland in 2012 and Norway in 2023.
So you understand that I am quite happy with this one.
#WPbirding
One of my favourite pictures. Nice to see it headlining this article on upcoming taxonomic changes on eBird.
#ukbirding #WPbirding #seabirding 🪶
ebird.org/news/prepari...
