We have just arrived in Melbourne for an hugely-exciting seven week trip around Australia, where I will soon be moving in time for going to university there in 2016.
We stopped off in Dubai, a city I have always wanted to visit, on the way. We arrived at five o'clock in the morning, and while the rest of my family went straight to sleep, I, strangely awake, sat on the balcony of our hotel room, hoping for some interesting birds to appear.
House Crow, Dubai
The first bird I saw- while it was still virtually dark- was the House Crow, a bird that has colonised much of the Gulf (along with many other areas of the world) from its native Indian Subcontinent, having travelled to the area as a passenger on trade ships. This species is truly abundant in Dubai.
Common Myna, Dubai
The next species was another Indian native that has spread across much of the world in the same way, the Common Myna. This close relative of the Starlings is also abundant in Dubai. The noises this species makes are truly remarkable- it is capable of mimicking virtually any noise extremely effectively.
Red-vented Bulbul, Dubai
Soon, another non-native species from India appeared, the Red-vented Bulbul. This was a new species for me and a really rather beautiful bird.
Western Reed Heron, Dubai
It was nice when a species native to Dubai finally appeared in the form of three Western Reef Herons flying past. This was another new species for me and one that is seemingly very common around Dubai.
Shikra, Dubai
A species that I was rather surprised to find has been introduced to Dubai is this bird, a Shikra. I have seen a large number of this small hawk in Kenya and it was fantastic to find one here.
Two Myna species- a Common Myna in the background with three Pied Mynas in the foreground
It wasn't long before another Asian introduction put in an appearance, this time the quite magnificent Pied Myna, noticeably much smaller than its more abundant cousin. This species is really quite striking in appearance and I enjoyed watching a small flock of them for some time (sadly they were always quite distant). This was another new species for me.
White-eared Bulbul, Dubai
Soon yet another non-native Asian species appeared, the White-eared Bulbul. This was again a new species for me and one I really rather enjoyed seeing.
On top of that I saw another new species for me- a White-cheeked Tern, a species that looks like a very dark Arctic Tern and is a common breeder along the Gulf coast. Another Asian species was present in large numbers- the Rose-ringed Parakeet, but sadly I was unable to find any Alexandrine Parakeets among them. I also saw several Hoopoes, one of my favourite birds, and there was an abundance of House Sparrows.
I then went to sleep and woke up early in the afternoon. I had hoped to visit two of Dubai's best birding sites- Ras Al'Khor and Safa Park, during the afternoon.
We arrived at Ras Al'Khor, a small wetland near the centre of Dubai, only to find that the reserve was closed due to it being Ramadan. This was a real shame, but it is very understandable. We looked through the fence onto the reserve, which created a sorry feeling of what might have been had we been able to enter- there was an enormous number of herons, waders and terns present. A large flock of Greater Flamingoes were close to the fence, a species which is the pride and joy and the Sheik and the reason for the area's protection. There were also several Black-winged Stilts and Kentish Plovers, but I could not make out several distant small waders, which may well have been Broad-billed Sandpipers (which would have been a new species for me). A large number of Caspian Terns, a fantastic gull-sized tern with a huge carrot-like bill, were feeding over the water and big group of herons- Western Reef and Grey, were near to the flamingoes. I did find one new species here- the Red-wattled Lapwing, of which about 15 were feeding in the shallow water. I shall have to return to this reserve at some point as it looked very promising indeed.
Black-winged Stilt, Dubai
Greater Flamingoes, Dubai
We decided not to try Safa Park as we strongly suspected that this would also be closed, so instead opted for a tour of Dubai in a 'limousine', as the beaten-up grey Lexus was described by its drive. We visited the Gold Souk, a truly gaudy place with a remarkable array of jewellery and clothing covered in gold. We then travelled to the Palm, an artificially-created palm-shaped area of land built on the sea. On the way, I added the resplendent Indian Roller and the Grey Francolin (another Asian introduction) to my life list. We also saw several Peacocks and Chickens, both with young, on the way, seemingly living feral in the area. The Palm itself was bizarre, with thousands of identical appartments built in dozens of identical, gaudy buildings. In the middle was 'Atlantis'- essentially an enormous hotel/restaurant with a gigantic aquarium. What a weird place! On the way back to our hotel, we passed the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building, rising up 828 metres (for comparison, the Eiffel Tower is 324 metres tall). Wow!
Soon we had to leave, to catch our flight on to Melbourne, with an all-too-brief stop-off in Singapore (it was dark, so I didn't see any birds...). Dubai was an extraordinary place to visit, but one that was certainly not to my taste.
Arriving in Melbourne, it is quite cold (10 degrees Celsius- it was 36 in Dubai), but it is a wonderful city. I am yet to see many birds, but there are numerous Common Mynas, Spotted Doves (continuing the trend of Asian introductions), Rainbow Lorikeets, Red Wattlebirds and Little Ravens around the area where we are staying and I have seen one White-plumed Honeyeaters, several Silver Gulls, as well as a Blackbird, several Common Starlings and House Sparrows- it's like I'm back in England!
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