Vol 24 no 9 September 2009

DUBAI NATURAL HISTORY GROUP PO Box 9234, Dubai,

DNHG Membership Renewal Time Members’ News DNHG Membership remains a bar- Through A Long Gary Feulner who sent his com- gain at Dhs.100 for couples and Dh. Hot Summer ments through to Gazelle. “The Al 50 for singles. You can join or re- Wasl Road dragonfly is a female new at our meetings or by sending Trithemis annulata, the purple- Stephen Green, although pleading us your details and a cheque made blushed darter. Males have a decid- overwork due to the economic out to: Lloyds TSB Bank account edly violet or purple-blushed abdo- downturn, nevertheless continues no. 60600669933501. (Please note men. Preferred habitat (at least in we cannot cash cheques made out to find time for amateur natural his- our area) is medium to large bodies tory. Resident in England but still in to the DNHG. Please also note our of still, but clear, water. I have seen account number has changed.) touch, he recently found and re- it in urban and suburban Dubai at, Subscriptions paid now are good ported some odd but apparently for example, the lakes in Safa Park through to September 2010. extensive occurrences of early and at Emirates Towers. Females stone tools at a site being exca- perch away from the water bodies DNHG membership entitles you to vated for improved amenities within unless they want to visit to feed or participate in field trips and helps a famous English park. breed. Still, it's unusual to see them pay for our lecture hall, publication perched by the roadside.” and distribution of our monthly Chairman Gary Feulner thinks he newsletter, the Gazelle, additions to is nearing the finish line on a study our library, incidental expenses of of distinctive aspects of the flora of speakers and occasional special the Ru'us al-Jibal (the high peaks of projects. the Musandam peninsula), a project which builds on many years of ob- This month’s servations. Recently, Gary's efforts Contributors have helped Dr. Norbert Kilian, of the Botanic Garden and Botanical The Editor would like to thank Museum Berlin-Dahlem, to resolve the following for their reports the status of several species of As- and contributions: teraceae (the daisy family) in the Angela Manthorpe UAE and northern . Dr. Kil- Nancy Papathanasopoulou ian's conclusions will be published Hussein Al-Qallaf in an upcoming volume of Flora of Martin Gaethlich Arabia. Aris Vidalis Colin Murray In June, one of our members photo- Binish Roobas graphed a dragonfly on an aloe in a Gary Feulner very dry garden on Al Wasl Road, Diane Lewis at least half a kilometre from Safa Stephan Beck Park. The photograph was sent to Trithemis annulata Willy & Helga Meyer

Under the patronage of H.E. Sheikh Nahayan bin Mubarak Al Nahayan

Field Trips & Notices Page 2

Coming up … to sponsor field trips or to recruit technician. As a precaution, it is volunteers to lead them. advised to phone (04 315 5145) in A varied programme of field trips is advance to be sure that there is planned for the coming cool not a meeting taking place in the weather, and prior to that some workroom. close-handy, in-the-shade outings. We welcome your suggestions and help - don’t hesitate to put forward your ideas and offer to lead trips. Contact the Field Trip Coordinators listed on p. 7.

DNHG Field Trip Policies Musandam mountain hike Members are reminded that Photograph by Stephan Beck DNHG field trips are cooperative ventures among the participants, Field trips vary in both format and for their mutual benefit and enjoy- organisation, depending on the Photograph, uncredited, from Gazelle, June ment. DNHG field trip leaders are nature of the trip, the number of 1998. It was taken during a field trip to the not normally professionals or ex- participants, and the preferences Ru’us Al Jibal, and is an example of the treasures housed in the DNHG library perts, but fellow members who of the field trip leader. If the num- have agreed to share their time ber of participants is limited and and their knowledge with other sign-up is required, members participants, on a volunteer basis. should make every effort to hon-

The relationship of trip leaders and our their commitments or to give participants is that of co-venturers, timely notice otherwise, as a cour- Our Next not professional and client. For tesy both to the trip leader and to these reasons field trip participa- other members who might like to Speaker tion is limited to DNHG members have the chance to participate. and their bona fide non-resident guests. Steve James is a lifelong bird- DNHG Library Open for Use watcher, whose love for birds, bird- ing and wild places is infectious to Members are reminded that the those around him. He has travelled DNHG library collection is now extensively throughout the world, open for reference use within the amassing a world list of just over library at the Emirates Academy of 4,600 species. He has been resi- Hospitality Management, where dent in the UAE since 1992 and his our monthly lectures are held. The UAE list is over 400 species. He is library is upstairs in the main build- a member of the Emirates Bird Re- ing, to the left, in the back of the cords Committee, and he is avail- building. (Lectures are now more able as a bird-guide on trips often in the lecture theatres to the throughout the Emirates and into Shelling on ‘Black Palace Beach’ left of the main carpark.) The Oman. Between birding trips, Photograph by Diane Lewis DNHG collection is in a cabinet in Steve is the Senior Environmental the library's utility room. Various dangers are inherent in Protection Officer for ADCO. travel in and around the UAE and Access to the DNHG collection in the exploration of the natural Steve is a Bish Brown Award win- and the library's reading room is environment, whether by automo- ner and past Chairman of the permitted during regular opening bile, by boat, on foot or otherwise, ENHG and continues to give illus- hours. The EAHM Library hours and whether on-road or off-road, in trated talks from time to time. He are Sundays to Thursdays, 9AM to the cities or countryside, in the has a house on a game reserve in 9PM. Fridays and Saturdays mountains or deserts or at sea. South Africa, a wonderful spot to closed. By participating in DNHG field observe and photograph wildlife. trips, members accept these risks, He took a trip earlier this year to Members must present their and they accept responsibility for the extreme north east of , DNHG membership card to the their own safety and welfare. Field and that will be the topic of his Oc- receptionist in the EAHM lobby in trip participants are normally re- tober lecture to the DNHG. quired to sign a waiver form to this order to access the library on the effect. Without these understand- first floor, and again to their librar- ings, the DNHG would be unable ian, Farook, or the duty library

Page 3 Field Clips ...

Email your field reports and news to cious inspection revealed two also the view of Torben Larsen, [email protected] (Arial 10 chicks among the cover of newly who confirmed that no Lycaenid justified). Please send your photo- planted palms. The spotted, downy was known that had such graphs as separate jpg files, or deliver chicks, already with incongruously "black spot" markings. Report by them to Anne Millen for scanning. long legs, hunkered down in palm Gary Feulner and Binish Roobas debris and tolerated a few quick Summer Near the City: Du- photos. The nest and chicks cannot bai Pivot Fields have been unknown to the garden- ers who tend the site, so it is com- Milkweed Seed Pod Photo 2009 has been one of the more forting to know that the birds have Gallery

humid Dubai summers, but if you been unmolested, and perhaps Most members will be familiar with don't mind dripping while standing even encouraged. still, there is still much to enjoy. the large and attractive milkweed The Dubai Pivot Fields, even with- Calotropis procera, also known as out migrant birds, rarely fails to Sodom's apple. It is particularly please. One early morning visit in common in the low sands of the mid-July witnessed a squadron of northern Emirates, especially on a dozen or more blue-cheeked waste ground or overgrazed ter- bee-eaters swarming high over- rain, and flowers through the sum- head, another saw a similar num- mer. ber of cattle egrets marching slowly in parallel through the grass, but in both cases they were White-tailed plover chick gone before the clock struck Photograph by Binish Roobas seven. Areas adjacent to the grassy fields The white-tailed plover was rela- were frequently alive with butter- tively new to the UAE in the mid- flies. On sandy areas with mats of 1990s, associated particularly with Sesuvium we saw the western the former "Wimpey Pits" where it pygmy blue Brephidium exilis. Else- was considered a potential breed- where, on "weed" species such as ing species. It is now a regular at Trianthema portulacastrum (Family the Pivot Fields, feeding in the low Aizoaceae) or grass and readily distinguished by (Family Zygophyllaceae) we saw its yellow legs. It is believed to many grass blues, generally fresh and vividly colored, with a number have bred there for a number of Seed pod of Calotropis procera years. As we walked slowly along mating and several females ob- Photograph by Angela Manthorpe the vehicle track at one point, an served egg-laying on nearby Ama- adult began to circle above us, ranthus sp. The kidney-shaped fruit or seed calling. The bird was obviously pod (technically called a follicle) is, serious, but as 'harassment' its when opened (a sticky job), found performance was ineffective to contain many scores of small against UAE naturalists inured to seeds, each attached to a silken the much more raucous and per- ribbon that dries and disaggre- sistent efforts of its relative, the gates to become a mini-parachute red-wattled plover. of many splayed, silken threads, ready to catch a breeze and glide for long distances. The other UAE milkweeds follow a similar strat- A dark-spotted 'sport' of the grass blue, egy. karsandra Photograph by Binish Roobas

One butterfly was marked with a distinctive black patch more or less centered on the underside of the hindwing. Brief but inconclusive views piqued our interest but sub- sequent examination of a photo- Nesting area of white-tailed plover graph suggested that it was a muta- Photograph by Gary Feulner tion or 'sport' of the common grass We knew, however, to look for a blue (thought to be the Asian grass Seed pod of Calotropis procera (open to show seeds) nest or chicks nearby, and judi- blue, Zizeeria karsandra). That was Photograph by Angela Manthorpe

Field Clips... Page 4

Angela Manthorpe recently en- shaped fruit of the climbing milk- countered the fruits of two other weed vine Pentatropis nivalis and milkweed plants (Family Asclepi- the elongated fruit of the large, de- adaceae) that are much less com- sert-dwelling broom bush Leptade- mon but equally interesting and nia pyrotechnica. unforgettable. One is the small, wrinkly leafed Glossonema vari- ans.

Ramthah wetlands with powerlines and saline pools Photograph by Gary Feulner

Plans exist to develop the area in a more sanitised and conventional Seed pod of Pentatropis nivalis way as the Al-Wasit Nature Re- Photograph by Gary Feulner serve, but these have not pro- gressed to date. In the meantime, nature has taken matters into her own hands. Now the area is home to a small number of characteristic and interesting local species. A few pair of black-winged stilt Himanto- pus himantopus still breed there. Chicks and active nests with speck- Seed pod of Glossonema varians led eggs could be observed in mid- Photograph by Angela Manthorpe summer, the nesting parent birds

The other is the twining dwarf repeatedly dipping their chests in shrub, Pergularia tomentosa, Seed pod of Leptadenia pyrotechnica the shallow ponds before returning which favours disturbed ground Photograph by Gary Feulner to their nests to moisten and cool

the eggs. and features widely spaced, heart- Missing from our milkweed photo shaped leaves. Its fruits are typi- gallery are the seeds of the UAE's cally in pairs. other three milkweeds: the tall, spindly Periploca aphylla and the cactus-like Caralluma arabica and Caralluma flava. Report by Gary Feulner and Angela Manthorpe

Recalled to Life: Ramthah Wetlands Nest of black-winged stilt at Ramthah wetlands, an area of Ramthah wetlands Photograph by Gary Feulner drainage accumulation (and tidal

probably tidal seepage) on the Sharjah-Ajman border, was once one of the UAE's premier bird- watching sites, under the official protection of the government of Sharjah. The imperatives of devel- opment were not kind to the site, which suffered the side effects of highway development, powerline Seed pod of Pergularia tomentosa installation and dehydration (partly, Photograph by Angela Manthorpe Young black-winged stilt at it must be admitted, due to the ces- Ramthah wetlands. A few months later Gary Feulner sation of wastewater dumping by Photograph by Binish Roobas was able to add photos of two tankers). more milkweed pods: the flame-

Page 5 Reports

On the saline ground, cushions of Dubai Natural the low, spreading saltbush Sesu- vium sp. are home to the natural- History Group ized western pygmy blue butterfly Brephidium exilis, a native of Recorders south-western North America that can now be found throughout the Reptiles - Dr Reza Khan UAE and into northernmost Oman Crab plovers res 344 8283 (roadside plantings of Sesuvium Photograph by Aris Vidalis off 344 0462 are one of the best places to look). fax (off) 349 9437 At 33–36 cm of body length and And in the remaining saline ponds, with a wingspan of 75–78 cm, it is Archaeology - David Palmer the small conical Potamidid snail a beautiful bird that birdwatchers 050-7387703 Cerithideopsilla conica (formerly are delighted to spot. It has a very office direct line: 04-2072636 the more manageable Potamides large bill and a heavy head, which [email protected] conicus) is hyperabundant. In the seem to be out of proportion to the

UAE, this snail is more common rest of its body. Its plumage is Birds - David Bradford on soft mud in the upper intertidal black and white and on the [email protected] zone, but elsewhere it is known to ground, it somewhat resembles that of the avocet (Recurvirostra inhabit saline ponds even hun- Astronomy - Lamjed El-Kefi avoceta, also found in Masirah, dreds of kilometres inland, where res: 06-5247 958 usually during spring migration). off: 06-5583 003 it is thought to be carried on the email: [email protected] webbed feet of wading birds. Adults develop directly from the Marine Life - Lamjed El-Kefi egg, without a free-swimming lar- val stage. In fact, it may be ovovi- Geology - Gary Feulner viparous (the eggs hatching within res 306 5570 the body of the adult); this is ap- fax 330 3550 parently not known. In either case it makes a good coloniser. – Gary Feulner The site was probably once an Fossils - Valerie Chalmers estuary of freshwater drainage Avocet grooming itself res 349 4816, from the mountains, and it was to Photograph by Colin Murray fax 340 0990 this area that floodwaters flowed email: [email protected] across the sands from inland in 1987, augmented by the collapse Plants – Valerie Chalmers of the old Shuwayb dam. Consis-

tent with that hypothesis, the area Seashells - Recorder needed! includes low shell middens com-

posed of edible gastropods such The recorders are not necessarily scientific experts in their designated as Terebralia palustris and fields. In fact, most are not. However, Hexaplex kuesterianus as well as they are interested and knowledgeable unidentified oysters. Report by amateurs - please contact them if you Gary Feulner have any interesting reports or queries. Masirah Island, Oman The intention is that information will be The crab plover’s huge bill is channelled through to the Gazelle editor, Part 2 always unmistakable so new information can be shared with An Exceptional Resident: the Photograph by Hussein Al-Qallaf all our readers Crab Plover . The crab plover is easily distin- guished in flight by its fully black The crab plover (Dromas ardeola) back and flight-feathers. At rest, it is considered to be one of the carries its head low (like a gull), most extraordinary waders be- but when on alert or in flight, it ex- cause of what it eats, the nest it tends it up or forward on a builds and its largely nocturnal stretched neck. The juvenile has a habits. grey rear crown and plumage of a

Reports Page 6 duller contrast, lacking the striking In Masirah, crab plovers can be Helga got the short straw and paid pattern of the adult. At all ages, the found mainly on the west coast, on dearly for holding the jelly fish bill is black, paler at base. The legs its Sur Masirah mudflats or in Mar- while Willy photographed them. are dark-coloured, strong and sis at low tide. Very few breeding Her hands were blotched, stinging sturdy. colonies of this bird are known so and blistered, though at the time far, but in Oman, it is regularly she did not feel more than the odd found in a few locations such as gentle little sting. Thanks to Willy Khawr Jirama, Ad Duqm, Barr al and Helga Meyer for report and Hikman and, of course, Masirah. photographs. Thanks to Nancy Papathanasopou- lou for this report, and to Colin, Aris, Hussein and Martin for their photo- Salps: Jelly But Not Jelly graphs. Fish

Crab plover crabbing Admire That Jelly Fish Photograph by Aris Vidalis At a Distance!

The crab plover is an essentially maritime wader, occurring on coastal isles, coral reefs and mud- or sandbanks. It nests in dense colonies, in sandy ground close to the sea, usually on islands or coastal dunes. The nest is in a chamber at the end of a tunnel 120– 188 cm long, excavated by the birds Salps - strings of these little creatures found in the sea break up easily themselves. Photograph by Willy and Helga Meyer

Angela Manthorpe has provided Willy and Helga Meyer, visiting the the answer to Willy Meyer’s ques- beaches despite the heat, reported tion about the strings of tiny jelly that in June they found a lot of jelly creatures in the sea at this time of fish in the water, some very blue, year. They are probably salps. A others more like milk. salp is a free floating tunicate and is barrel shaped. The brown spot that can be seen with the naked Crab plovers, whimbrels and godwits eye is the salp’s stomach. in Dawwa

Photograph by Martin Gaethlich The salp moves by pumping water These birds feed in loose groups, through its body, and as it does, it almost exclusively on crabs, mostly feeds on the phytoplankton in it. in the inter-tidal zone, chiefly on These tiny tunicates look insignifi- mudflats exposed at low tide and cant, but occur in such enormous sometimes in shallow water. It is numbers in certain places such as generally observed in flocks of the Southern Ocean that their fae- rarely less than 20–30 individuals, ces and dead bodies, falling to the but sometimes also solitary. The ocean floor, contribute significantly feeding flocks are restless and to the ocean’s carbon cycle. noisy, feeding at dusk and often continuing into darkness. The birds A wealth of information about can break open crab shells easily these fascinating creatures can be with their powerful bill. If the prey is found on the internet, together with small, it is swallowed whole, if large, close-up photographs that show it’s cut into pieces. Chicks are fed the ’s anatomy. mainly on crabs brought back whole to the nest burrows. Some of them come to the entrance of the burrow to be fed, especially at night. Ma- sirah boasts the only breeding grounds for crab plovers in Oman. Some blue, some milky

Page 7 dnhg committee 2009

name tel home tel office fax Chairman Gary Feulner 306 5570 330 3600 330 3550 messages: 306 5300 Vice Chairman Valerie Chalmers 394 8872 050-4558498 email: [email protected] Treasurer Louisa Akerina 050-241 5045 Email: [email protected] Membership Secretary Anindita Radhakrishna 282 3952 050-656 9165 email: [email protected] Speaker Co-ordinator Angela Manthorpe 288 6232 050-645 1743 email: [email protected] Fieldtrip Co-ordinator Pradeep Radhakrishna 282 3952 050-450 8496 email: [email protected] Fieldtrip Co-ordinator Jenny Hill 050-8861508 email: [email protected] Fieldtrip Co-ordinator Sandhya Prakash 050-5512481 348 2868 email:[email protected] Newsletter Editor Anne Millen 394 7076 no calls please 394 7075 email: [email protected] Publisher Peter van Amsterdam 394 7076 335 5495 394 7075 email: [email protected] Librarian Librarian needed!

Book Sales Mairead Porter 055 656 1949 email: [email protected] Postmaster Sandi Ellis 050-644 2682 email:[email protected] Chief Engineer Jesse Ellis 050-8993413 email:[email protected]

Wanted: Board are receiving an increasing Old Tribulus Volumes number of requests from overseas Snail Call: academic and other scientific insti- Snails and Slugs Wanted The ENHG journal, Tribulus, is in its tutions for sets of Tribulus. Unfor- fifteenth year of semi-annual publi- tunately, it is not possible to meet Your unwanted land snails and cation. Since it began, it has be- all of these requests, since some slugs are of interest for scientific come increasingly important as a of the issues are out of print, and study and an accounting of the source of published data about the reprinting would make no eco- terrestrial and freshwater snails of natural history and archaeology of nomic sense. the UAE. All specimens will be the Emirates. Much of the material gratefully accepted by Chairman published in Tribulus is available If any DNHG members are leaving Gary Feulner, and contributors nowhere else. the UAE, and do not want to take will be kept informed of progress their copies of Tribulus with them, and pedigrees. Dead shells are then the Editorial Board would be preferred; we'll follow up if you've delighted to have them back! Any- got something unusual. There one wishing to hand back copies have already been a few sur- should contact any member of the prises. It's easy. Just bag 'em and

DNHG Committee, who will ar- tag 'em! Please remember to re- range to get the copies to the Edi- cord the location and the habitat, torial Board. Many thanks, in ad- as well as your name, the date, vance. and any remarks.

Members’ Night December 6

This is your chance to make a 20 minute presentation on the natural his- tory subject of your choice. Be in!! Angela Manthorpe, DNHG Speaker As the journal continues to expand Coordinator would like to hear from you. Email Angela at: its reputation overseas, the Editorial [email protected]

Dubai Natural History Group Programme

Lectures at Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management, 7.30 for 8.00pm

Sep 13 Michael Creamer - Early Ships, Navigation and Trade Round the World

Oct 4 Steve James - Wildlife of the Extreme North-east of India

Nov 1 Jane Budd (Sharjah Breeding Centre) - 'The Arabian Leopard'

Dec 6 Members’ Night

Field Trips (Members only, please.)

Late Sep Proposed Birding Trip

Oct 9 (TBC) Al Ain Oasis Tour and Flint Knapping Workshop with Gary Feulner

Field trips for this and the coming month will be announced / confirmed by e-mail circular.

From: DNHG, PO Box 9234, Dubai, UAE