Black Redstart - Phoenicuros ochruros
Happy New Year ! The Daily Bird really petered out last year so one resolution is to apply myself a little more to the Task. A New Year camping trip into the UAE side of the Hajar mountains near Wadi Helo provided a good opportunity for a few birds.
The drive out across the desert is an interesting one along the E 102 and crossing the end of Fossil Rock. Up until the rock there are rolling red dunes and then beyond a Gaff plain until the start of the mountains. Turning right we soon got off the beaten track and discovered a brand new pitch - no rubbish, not a bottle top or wrapper. One thing that does disappoint in the UAE is the way that some people treat the natural environment. Anyway a pristine site along a wadi bed and we left it as we found it.
Plenty of rocky hills to climb for the kids (and adults) and lots of shade. Through the day lots of birds to keep me busy. The temperature was beautiful and we stayed for two nights.
A very peaceful and beautiful location - just an hour and a bit out of Dubai.
And beautiful sunsets to see in the New Year.
Back to our Black Redstart this is the male bird and probably representative of the Rufiventris subspecies. In the UK a few pairs of Black Redstarts nest in building sites and quarries - they came back to nesting in the UK on bomb sites after the second world war. The birds here in the UAE are over Wintering and fly North to breed in rocky areas each Summer - typically to Germany and the Ukraine. At our Wadi site there were also females present.
A really good find to end 2015.
Black Redstart, Phoenicurus ochruros
Near Wadi Helo, United Arab Emirates
31 December 2015
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