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Yemen, December 1997 and January 1998

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Yemen, December 1997 and January 1998 breeding summer visitor. melanura. From Marib the itinerary talked of "crossing the Empty Clamorous reed warbler Acroeepholus stentoreus; migrant and Quarter". This is a bit of an exaggeration as the Ramlat as localised breeding resident. Sabatayn is a very tiny tongue of the Empty Quarter and is in fact a smooth easy drive across firm sand. The crossing did include a For the time being ABBA will continue to use fhe eXlstmg nights camp in the sands where an early morning half hour census nomenclature and taxonomy however this wiII inevitably change as found 16 Dunn's lark Eremolaudo dllnni. Near by were black­ the new suggested grouping makes sound sense. crowned finchlark Erel710pterix nigrieeps, hoopoe lark Alaemon alalldipes and three bar-tailed desert larks Ammomanes cineturlls. Yemen, December 1997 and January 1998 I counted ten kestrel Falco finfluncllius in this area before lunch which suggests the region is quite an important wintering area. In the Wadi Hadramaut desert lark Al1lmomanes deserti were quite Over Christmas and the New Year 1997/8 I made an unusual visit numerous, they are much scarcer in the western highlands. Arabian to Arabia. I became a tourist on a cultural trip around Yemen. My waxbill E\·trilda mfibarha are at their easternmost range in Tarim partner Carol and I joined a group of 13 people on a trip that took (PA09), African silver bill Eltodice cantans and black bush chat us from Sanaa to the Wadi Hadramaut. via the Ramlat as Sabatayn. Cercotrichas podobe were also quite numerous there. thence to the Red Sea via Mukalla and Yashbum, and back to Sanaa by Manakhah and Kawkaban. We travelled in four Toyota Moving south to Mukalla we had a couple of Arabian warbler land cruisers and camped for six nights. This was the first time I Sylvia leucomelaena on the jol (rocky plateaux) one of the few had been a pure tourist anywhere in Arabia. Not being in control birds to be found in that arid upland region. Mukalla has house of the itinerary or the vehicle was frustrating. and not surprisingly crows Corvus splendens which were much more common now the tour did not visit a single sewage lagoon. rubbish tip or wetland. than noted during my last visit in 1989 (ABBA Survey No 8). However. against all the odds. I did see some good birds including They are not found regularly elsewhere on the Indian ocean coast most of the endemics and collected quite a lot of infonnation for until near to Aden. There was a little green heron Blttorides the ABBA database. Any trip to eastern Yemen yields new striatus on a wreck offshore and along the coast were numerous records for the database but it was still surprising to find new osprey Pandion haliaetus and sooty gull Larus hemprichii. Going squares on the tourist route for such common species as yellow­ west to Yashbum I saw the unmistakable nests of the Arahian vented bulbul PrcnOllofllS XQllthopygos, graceful warbler Prinia golden sparrow Passer euch/orlls in a roadside acacia bush. This gracilis. fan-tailed raven Corvus rhipidurus and RUppell's weaver record in NB05 turned out to equal the easternmost brceding Plocells galbllla. Obviously you will see a lot more birds on an record of the species in Arabia. Lichtenstein's's sandgrouse organised bird tour. especially as these tend to concentrate their Pterocles lichtensteinii were heard on the plateau above Yashbum activities in the highlands and the bird rich Red Sea coastlands. (MB05) on 28 December. We had an excellent camp site near The following is a summary of some of the breeding or resident Bayda (LB04) at 2060 m, just behind the top of the escarpment at birds seen. Mukayras. I had dusky turtle dove Streptopelia lllgens here which is a considerable range extension for the species from the western The route we took is a standard one for cultural tourists. Marib highlands. It was not so unexpected however as were other high was my first experience of the frustration of not bcing in control, altitude birds such as rcd-breasted wheatear Oenanthe boftae (also and short stops at numerous sites before "everyone back on the at it easternmost). South Arabian wheatear Oenanfhe lltgentoides, coach" typitied the rest of the trip. There are plenty of wet sites at long-billed pipit Anthus similis and a flock of 60 'short-toed lark' Marib which would have been great to explore at leisure. As it was which were not seen quite well enough to put them down as the I had to be content with the stock birds which including hamerkop red-capped lark Calandrella cinerea that I suspected they were. Scopus ul11hrefta. little green bee-eater Merops orientalis, Nile Also present here were long-legged buzzard Buteo rufinlls, little Valley sunbird Anthreptes metallicus and blackstart Cercomela Fig 8. The hoopoe lark Alaemon aiaudipes is perhaps the only species resident throughout the Empty Quarter. ,,,~, - ~ :.:~' 0:,.. ,', :­ ~ ~. ':,: ",:',,' '/~,:: :. • ". "~ , ~ 0 .' . ',,' , :', ~:",'" ,'.: 0.':'.:' " --.' . ,,:; :". ~: '.'\- ·t~ 14 I.,""" PHOENIX SUBSCRIPTION AND ABBA SALES ITEMS 1. Phoenix Subscription Please enrol me for the next five issues of Phoenix (Nos 16 - Sum enclosed 20) at a total cost of £20 (See notes over the page). 2. Phoenix back issues (Nos. 1-14) £2 each. State issues required) 3. Phoenix, set of issues 1-14, for £18. 4. ABBA Survey Reports (£12 each) a. Asir National Park Saudi Arabia (pp 76) b. Northern Saudi Arabia (pp 65) c. Northern Asir and southern Hedjaz Saudi Arabia (pp 65) d. Central and north-eastern Saudi Arabia (pp 82) e. Southern Yemen (pp 64) f. Central Saudi Arabia (pp 60) g. UAE, Oman and northern Saudi Arabia (pp 71) h. Birds of the Rub al Khali periphery (in press) 5. Atlasing Arabian Birds A collection of the summary reports on the 23 ABBA surveys to date. These have reached every corner of Arabia and include notes on birds seen, other wildlife, places, topography and sketch maps £20. (Cut out or photocopy and send to address overleaf) TOTAL ENCLOSED owl Athena IlOctlta and house bunting Emberiza striolata. At an Arabian accentor Prunella jagani at Zacateen near Kawkaban. least three hares Lepus capen sis were seen at the camp sitc indicating a good local population. Although I have been to Yemen twice before this was my tirst experience of the highlands. Compared to the highlands over the Back in the highlands the Dhamar, Ibb, Jibla to Taiz leg produced border in Saudi Arabia they were much more heavily populated, local specialities such as lammergeier Gypaetlls barbatus (at with more land under cultivation. It was disappointing to discover Kitab), red-eyed dove Sfreptopelia semitorquata, stonechat that in the places I visited there were no juniper trees at all. Saxico/a torqllata, Yemcn thrush Tun/lis menachensis, Yemen whereas forests might be expected in similar habitat in Saudi warbler Parisol/1a I)[{ryi. Arabian serin Serinlls rothschildi, Yemen Arabia. The modest species list for the trip was hardly half of what serin Serilllls lIIenacizensis, Yemen linnet Cardllelis yemenellsis, one might expect on an organised bird trip visiting the best habitats as well as more usual species like fan-tailed r\lven, white-breasted in spring or autumn. However, my experience does show that you white-eye Zosterops abyssillica. and Tristram's grackle can do a standard tourist trip, visit the cultural sites and still see Onyc!1ognathus fristramii. A huge !lock of 1500 rock doves most of the endemics. Choosing a trip that includes a few days Columba livia were feeding in the early morning at an Ibb chicken camping will greatly increase your enjoyment of the countryside farm on 31 Dec. but you will still need to maximise every opportunity to see birds. Birds seen on the Red Sea coast was disappointing, with only odd Michael Jennings Email <[email protected]>. records of such things as brown booby Sll/a lellcogaster, pink­ backed pelican PelecalH/s rujescells, palm swift C)psiurus parvus (entering nests in dourn palms), as well as Caspian, swift, lesser crested and Saunders' terns (Sterna caspia, bergii, henghalellsis and sallndersi) and a few other sea and shore birds. On the plains and in wadis of the foothills there were dark-chanting goshawk Melierax metabates, white-browed coucal Centropus sltperciliosl/s. Namaqua dove Oella capensis, grey hom bills Tock/(s Ilasllf/(s and African rock bunting Emberiza tahapisi. Back in the highland Arabian red-legged partridge Alectoris melallocephala were calling around Manakhah. griffon vultures Gyps filivus were seen in a few localities (only two Egyptian vultures Neophrnn perrnopterus were seen on the whole trip), brown woodland warbler Phylloscopus lImbrovirens, a pair of Bonelli's's eagle Hieraaetl/s jasciatlls were at Tawilah. (Another pair had been seen at the beginning of the trip in the mountains Fig 9. The desert lark Ammomanes deserti is much more common in the between Sanaa and Marib). The day before we came home I had Wadi Hadrarnaut, eastern Yemen than in the highlands. .
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