Joe H
Well-known member
Birding around Baghdad
Greetings,
I‘ve posted here before but mostly about trips in and around Alaska. I find myself in Baghdad these days and thought I’d share my birding experiences with this group. There are a few other bird watchers who have been to this part of the world recently and the best resource for that would be the Blog: Birding Babylon, which I found to be a great site. I’m a month into my visit and here’s how my trip is going:
Pre-departure preparation: For any other bird watchers planning a trip to Iraq, obviously the Birds of the Middle East is a “must have,” but due to its format (descriptions separated from illustrations, few in-flight illustrations, and range maps only including breeding data) it is not perfect. I also got a copy of the Princeton Field Guides’ Birds of Europe, by Mullarney, et al. While the book is advertised as a complete guide to birds of Europe and the Middle East, the text states that it does not cover Iran and Iraq but the distribution maps clearly do cover most of Iraq. Furthermore, the illustrations and descriptions are co-located, which I prefer, and the distribution maps include all seasons and migration routes. Between these two books any visitor to Iraq should be well prepared. Lastly, I printed up a up a copy of the on-line bird list for Iraq linked on the Birding Babylon web site. This list is said to be current as of 2004 and lists 416 birds found in Iraq. These sources should give any potential visitor to the area a good head start in getting familiar with what to expect.
I spend four days in Kuwait awaiting transportation to Baghdad. While in Kuwait, I observed only eight different species of birds, all from the area around Ali Al Salam military base near Kuwait City: House Sparrows were the most common bird seen every day; surprisingly I saw no feral pigeons during my brief stay; I saw four or five Eurasian Kestrel, Falco tinnunculus, on light posts around the installation; one European Turtle-Dove, Streptopelia turtur; one sub-adult Steppe Eagle, Aquila nipalensis, circling low over the post; a small number of Rufos-tailed Shrikes, Lanius isabellinus, also known as the Isabelline Shrikes; one Northern Wheatear, Oenanthe oenanthe, which I’ve also seen during its breeding season in Alaska ; a Crested Lark, Galerida cristata; and one Indian Roller, Coracias benghalensis. The Roller was certainly a high point. I observed it through a spotting scope for a good long while until it flew off its perch and went to the ground out of sight - beautiful bird. The area around Ali Al Salam is a sparsely vegetated desert. Temperatures were around 104 degrees Fahrenheit during the mid-October timeframe.
In Iraq I stayed around the various camps in the area of the Baghdad International Airport. Due to my work schedule, my birding opportunities were restricted to walks to and from my office. I used various routes, each of which were about a half mile long. My routes passed by open scrub fields, man-made canals and lakes, and built up areas with mature trees. My observations for October were:
Great Cormorant, Phalacrocorax carbo, these started showing up towards the end of the month, mostly seen overhead during what I assume is their migration through this area.
Shag, Phalacrocorax aristotelus, a possible (see post #8 below) pair of adults were seen in the Al Fah palace lake on Camp Victory one afternoon.
Pygmy Cormorant, Phalacrocorax pygmaeus, a pair was seen for several days in a small lake near the “Perfume Palace.”
Little Egret, Egretta garzetta, small numbers seen most days.
Greylag Goose, Anser anser, a single adult seen in the Al FAh palace lake on a small artificial island.
Greater Scaup, Aythya marila, a pair of winter plumage or juvinals seen for two days in the Al Fah palace lake.
Spur-winged Plover, Venellus spinosus, a pair seen in a field near a drainage pond on Camp Victory.
Red-wattled Plover, Venellus indicus, small numbers seen every couple of days.
Common Sandpiper, Actitis hypoleucos, one seen near the Perfume Palace.
Eurasian Kestrel, Falco tinnunculus, one seen over an abandoned field on Camp Victory.
Wood Pigeon, Columba palumbus, small numbers seen, mostly on open fields.
Eurasian Collared-Dove, Streptopelia decaocto, large numbers seen daily.
Feral Pigeon, large numbers seen everywhere, possibly the most prevalent bird in Baghdad.
Pied Kingfisher, Ceryle rudis, a daily sighting but only in small numbers.
White-throated Kingfisher, Haycyon smyrnensis, two seen.
Graceful Prinia, Prinia gracilis, small numbers seen on Camp Victory.
Rook, Corvus frugilegus, fairly common and seen daily.
Hooded Crow, Corvus cornix, seen daily but in less numbers than Rook.
Magpie, Pica pica, one seen on a barbed wire fence near a ditch on Camp Slayer.
White-cheeked Bulbul, Pycnonotus leucogenys, large numbers seen daily.
Common Babbler, Turdoides caudatus, small numbers seen on Camp Victory only.
And of course, House Sparrows are competing with the Feral Pigeons as Baghdad’s most common bird.
I’ll update my sightings next month.
Greetings,
I‘ve posted here before but mostly about trips in and around Alaska. I find myself in Baghdad these days and thought I’d share my birding experiences with this group. There are a few other bird watchers who have been to this part of the world recently and the best resource for that would be the Blog: Birding Babylon, which I found to be a great site. I’m a month into my visit and here’s how my trip is going:
Pre-departure preparation: For any other bird watchers planning a trip to Iraq, obviously the Birds of the Middle East is a “must have,” but due to its format (descriptions separated from illustrations, few in-flight illustrations, and range maps only including breeding data) it is not perfect. I also got a copy of the Princeton Field Guides’ Birds of Europe, by Mullarney, et al. While the book is advertised as a complete guide to birds of Europe and the Middle East, the text states that it does not cover Iran and Iraq but the distribution maps clearly do cover most of Iraq. Furthermore, the illustrations and descriptions are co-located, which I prefer, and the distribution maps include all seasons and migration routes. Between these two books any visitor to Iraq should be well prepared. Lastly, I printed up a up a copy of the on-line bird list for Iraq linked on the Birding Babylon web site. This list is said to be current as of 2004 and lists 416 birds found in Iraq. These sources should give any potential visitor to the area a good head start in getting familiar with what to expect.
I spend four days in Kuwait awaiting transportation to Baghdad. While in Kuwait, I observed only eight different species of birds, all from the area around Ali Al Salam military base near Kuwait City: House Sparrows were the most common bird seen every day; surprisingly I saw no feral pigeons during my brief stay; I saw four or five Eurasian Kestrel, Falco tinnunculus, on light posts around the installation; one European Turtle-Dove, Streptopelia turtur; one sub-adult Steppe Eagle, Aquila nipalensis, circling low over the post; a small number of Rufos-tailed Shrikes, Lanius isabellinus, also known as the Isabelline Shrikes; one Northern Wheatear, Oenanthe oenanthe, which I’ve also seen during its breeding season in Alaska ; a Crested Lark, Galerida cristata; and one Indian Roller, Coracias benghalensis. The Roller was certainly a high point. I observed it through a spotting scope for a good long while until it flew off its perch and went to the ground out of sight - beautiful bird. The area around Ali Al Salam is a sparsely vegetated desert. Temperatures were around 104 degrees Fahrenheit during the mid-October timeframe.
In Iraq I stayed around the various camps in the area of the Baghdad International Airport. Due to my work schedule, my birding opportunities were restricted to walks to and from my office. I used various routes, each of which were about a half mile long. My routes passed by open scrub fields, man-made canals and lakes, and built up areas with mature trees. My observations for October were:
Great Cormorant, Phalacrocorax carbo, these started showing up towards the end of the month, mostly seen overhead during what I assume is their migration through this area.
Shag, Phalacrocorax aristotelus, a possible (see post #8 below) pair of adults were seen in the Al Fah palace lake on Camp Victory one afternoon.
Pygmy Cormorant, Phalacrocorax pygmaeus, a pair was seen for several days in a small lake near the “Perfume Palace.”
Little Egret, Egretta garzetta, small numbers seen most days.
Greylag Goose, Anser anser, a single adult seen in the Al FAh palace lake on a small artificial island.
Greater Scaup, Aythya marila, a pair of winter plumage or juvinals seen for two days in the Al Fah palace lake.
Spur-winged Plover, Venellus spinosus, a pair seen in a field near a drainage pond on Camp Victory.
Red-wattled Plover, Venellus indicus, small numbers seen every couple of days.
Common Sandpiper, Actitis hypoleucos, one seen near the Perfume Palace.
Eurasian Kestrel, Falco tinnunculus, one seen over an abandoned field on Camp Victory.
Wood Pigeon, Columba palumbus, small numbers seen, mostly on open fields.
Eurasian Collared-Dove, Streptopelia decaocto, large numbers seen daily.
Feral Pigeon, large numbers seen everywhere, possibly the most prevalent bird in Baghdad.
Pied Kingfisher, Ceryle rudis, a daily sighting but only in small numbers.
White-throated Kingfisher, Haycyon smyrnensis, two seen.
Graceful Prinia, Prinia gracilis, small numbers seen on Camp Victory.
Rook, Corvus frugilegus, fairly common and seen daily.
Hooded Crow, Corvus cornix, seen daily but in less numbers than Rook.
Magpie, Pica pica, one seen on a barbed wire fence near a ditch on Camp Slayer.
White-cheeked Bulbul, Pycnonotus leucogenys, large numbers seen daily.
Common Babbler, Turdoides caudatus, small numbers seen on Camp Victory only.
And of course, House Sparrows are competing with the Feral Pigeons as Baghdad’s most common bird.
I’ll update my sightings next month.
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