As I predicted, no time for birds for me in Qatar apart from out the window from the backseat of idling taxis... which did produce various sparrows, doves, mynahs, etc... However, the big bird story from my trip landed on the front page! The day arrived in Doha I was handed a copy of the Gulf Times from a colleague who said I'd be interested in one of the tales on the front. Sure enough, at the bottom of the front page was a story about a Jacobin Cuckoo. It, along with a Eurasian Golden Plover, had been found in Qatar... for the first time... ever. That bit of news, along with my current leisure reading - To See Every Bird On Earth by Dan Koeppel - has led me to conclude this solitary truth: Birding truly knows no bounds. We leave on 22 December for the LRGV. Looking forward to it!
Hello there!
ReplyDeletemy name is Gabriel Mapel, and I'm a 12 year old birder from Virginia and I'm completing a "Junior Big Year" this year in 2011. As of now, I've seen 429 species this year. My blog is: www.juniorbigyear.blogspot.com
Best of luck and have fun on your Photographic Big Year! What a great idea to do a photography Big Year.
Thanks Gabriel! We've been watching your progress. Good luck on the final day of your Big Year!
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