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by Dave Farrow dave@shortwing.co.uk Norwich UK Following the revelations about Iraq Babbler being discovered on the Syrian Euphrates, together with Dave Showler I decided to make a trip in order to see it, and to sample some of the other birding available in Syria. We flew with British Airways to Damascus from London Heathrow, and returned from Aleppo with their twice-weekly direct flight to London. This was £128.00 each way plus taxes making £288.40 total. We chose to visit now, to get in before the Americans unleashed their second oil-war on the region and avoid all the attendant problems that would follow. In this respect we had nothing but kindness and hospitality from the Syrian people, who just want to get on with their lives in peace - in fact it was a great place to escape the media-driven war drums that seemed to drown out all rational thought on the home front! We visited four main areas: 1. The Euphrates riverside at Deir ez-Zor, plus two places nearby; the marsh and lake at Mheimidah some 15km north of town, and As'saawah village area some 30km upstream from Deir. 2. The Palmyra region, with a two-day 300km 'safari' into the deserts known as the 'Hamad' south of there almost to the Iraqi border, with Mr Adib Assaad, and a morning in the rocky hills 20-30km north of Palmyra in the company of Gianluca Serra. 3. The Krak de Chevaliers/Qalaat al Hosn. We overnighted here and spent a morning watching raptor migration and migrant passerines. 4. Slunfeh and the Jebel Ansariyeh. The town is a kind of a hill station for the wealthy but on the ridge top at 1500m we found relatively undisturbed mixed forest and many birds including the first Long-tailed Tits recorded in Syria If you would like sketch-maps of Deir ez-Zor and Slunfeh areas, I can e-mail them to you. 25th September 2002 Norwich - Damascus Departed LHR at 14:45, arrived Damascus (after a short stop in Beirut) at 10:30 local time. We changed money in the airport, at 51.7sp to 1 US $. Took a cab into the Martyrs Square area (500sp) and found a small hotel (the 'Al Sayeed') for the night (600sp) 26th September Damascus - Deir ez Zor After some breakfast in a nearby café we took a cab to the Harasta bus station (100sp), and found a bus going to Deir ez-Zor at 11:15 am, ticket cost 175sp each. Good fast new bus, with a lunch stop in Palmyra for 30mins, arrived at Deir ez-Zor at 16:30hrs. Taxi to the Hotel Raghdan (a fairly scrappy place for the $19 a night) and then walked the short distance to the river and the famous suspension foot-bridge. Birded the riverside and from the bridge from 1700 - 1830hrs. It took just half an hour to locate the Iraq Babblers, which were feeding in the poplar tress lining the north bank of the river, up to 8m up! Quite a lot of other bird activity around, with 150+ Common Buzzards passing overhead in a south-easterly direction, plus many Black Kites and a few Eurasian Sparrowhawks. Little Bitterns were present around the reedy margins, as were Black-crowned Night Heron and many Grey Herons. Common Woodpigeons were numerous, plus many Pied Kingfishers, Blue-cheeked Beeeaters and Cetti's Warblers. On the south (town) side of the river is a well-appointed restaurant that overlooks the suspension bridge. While celebrating with a couple of beers we were treated to two European Nightjars hawking overhead. 27th September Deir ez Zor & As'saaweh Early morning, and we repeated our birding of the previous evening before it got too hot. Fewer birds, but we found Iraq Babblers foraging in the reeds at the town-end of the bridge, along with a very confiding Little Crake that fed fearlessly on matted vegetation. We also saw Slender-billed Gulls, Booted Eagle, Whiskered Tern and White-cheeked Bulbuls. After a long siesta (it got very hot here!) we engaged a minibus driver to take us to 'somewhere with birds and water', hoping to be taken to Mheimidah, a place whose locality was vague from previous trip reports. We were taken to the riverside in a cultivated area some 30km upstream near the village of As'saaweh, and we birded the banks for a couple of hours. We found more Iraq Babblers, our only Dead Sea Sparrows, Blue-cheeked Beeeaters, Cetti's Warbler and DAS saw a female Merlin drinking at the river. When we left here it was after sundown, yet we managed to locate Mheimidah on our return journey, and saw a lot of good birds in the brief dusk spell. The area of pools and reed-lined lake that make this superb wetland is located roughly 15km from Deir ez-Zor, on the north bank beside and to the north of the main road that leads to Ar Raqqah, just past the village sign for Mheimidah, which follows the sign for the previous village of Sfeira Tahtani (as you come from Deir) 28th September Deir ez Zor & Mheimidah Up at 5am, we quickly found a cab to take us to Mheimidah (300sp) and birded the place from 0530 till 0830 when activity was dropping off noticeably. The area itself is right by the main road, and is composed of a small reed-fringed lake, with c1 km sq of shallow pools interspersed with sandy hummocks. It is seething with good birds! Iraq Babblers were vocal in the reedbeds, the lake was fringed with skulking ducks, and we counted 35 Marbled Teal, 22 White-headed Ducks and 12 Ferruginous Ducks. Around the pools were numerous migrant waders and a stunning concentration of White-tailed Lapwings, along with a few Spur-winged Plovers, all three Marsh Terns and Little Tern. A rather poorly Spotted Crake stood out in the open and almost tame enough to catch! We returned for brunch of falafels in the souk, and returned by taxi to Mheimidah at 4pm till dusk, coming back by minibus (cost 10sp each!) We never found anywhere else to eat in Deir ez-Zor except for the riverfront restaurant, however the Nightjar spectacle was not repeated. 29th September Deir ez Zor - Palmyra Early morning birding around the suspension bridge, then back to pack and leave at midday for Palmyra. (The tame Little Crake was still there, and more Iraq Babblers and White-cheeked Bulbuls were seen.) I phoned Gianluca Serra in Palmyra to alert him to our immenent arrival, and took a cab to the bus station. We bought tickets for the 12.30 bus to Palmyra which left at 12.50, and arrived on the outskirts of Palmyra two hours later. Another taxi ride, then we checked into the Citadel Hotel, a nice room with fan and en-suite for 750sp. An afternoon walk around the famous ruins provided Mourning Wheatear and Little Owl, and a surprise scattering of migrants in a wadi that included Tawny Pipit, Wryneck, Whinchat and Northern Wheatear. Gianluca came by in the evening so we ate and drank beer together, and made an arrangement for the morning to go out on a desert safari with Mr Adib Assaad. 30th September Palmyra - Mahowbia (Hamad) We met Adib just outside our hotel by the museum at 0600, and set off (in a battered 1975 Datsun pickup) southwards into the desert on rough tracks and open stony desert. Our first three stops were at small Bedouin cultivations where they pump water to the surface for irrigation. These were full of migrant Spotted Flycatchers and Red-backed Shrikes. We found flocks of larks that included Greater and Lesser Short-toed, Calandra and Bimaculated Larks, a single Isabelline Shrike, Masked Shrike, Desert Finch, a flock of ten Red-footed Falcons and some Red-throated Pipits. In the open desert itself we saw Isabelline, Desert, Pied, Black-eared and a single Red-tailed Wheatear, plus freshly plumaged Hoopoe Larks. There are several small reservoirs dug into the desert out here, around one we saw two Northern Lapwing, numerous Steppe and a single Greater Spotted Eagle, and many Pallid Harriers perched and flying around the ponds. We reached the shallow line of hills that mark the edge of the Hamad plateau, and drove up onto it. The desert at this time of year is full of hunters, all trying to catch large Falcons. They seem to have just a small chance of success in doing so, which is reflected in the price for a Saker - $75,000! Many of the Falcons caught go to Sheikh Ziyad of Abu Dhabi who apparently releases them after two years. Once on the top we found Bar-tailed and Temminck's Horned Larks, Imperial and Lesser Spotted Eagles. We reached our night stop at dusk, a small water tower and pump station some 30km from the Iraq border called Mahowbia, which supplies the Bedouin in this area with water. It consisted of two concrete huts and a few small bushes and a water-melon field. We found a few small migrants around the bushes just before it got dark. A convivial evening was spent with numerous hunters and Bedouin coming by, a large 'Mansaf' was prepared and we ate well, while the hunters pored over the pictures of raptors in our field guides. We were given a concrete hut to sleep in, on mattresses, Adib providing all our supplies and kit for the two-day trip. 1st October Mahowbia (Hamad) - Palmyra Woke pre-dawn and stepped out to see what migrants were dropping in. There weren't many at first, but birds kept arriving until we left at 0900hrs. There were Red-backed Shrikes and Spotted Flycatchers, Blackcaps and Lesser Whitethroats, Reed Warbler and Common Redstart, but nothing very unusual. We had some nice views of Temminck's Horned Lark coming to drink at the camp, the first of a high count of 136 for the day! We headed west for a while, coming to within 12km of the border with a small hill visible inside Iraq. We were close to where the three countries borders join. We carried on with our loop, (breaking down once), we found Desert Larks in the rocky desert at the edge of the Hamad and another Bar-tailed Lark in the lowlands, Long-legged Buzzards, and three Black-necked Grebes on one of the reservoirs. We arrived back at Palmyra just after dusk, returning to the Citadel Hotel. We all met up later at Gianluca's flat for a splendid meal. Adib is a splendid chap: he is now onboard with the nascent conservation awareness that Gianluca has done so well to foster here, and is a former hunter. He knows the desert like the back of his hand and is familiar with most of the birds and what birders want from the trip. He charged us $200 which did seem a little steep, but he really is the best! Also he was directly responsible for finding the colony of Bald Ibis near Palmyra in March 2002! 2nd October Palmyra We decided to remain in Palmyra another day, and at dawn we took a walk into the oasis of mud-walled olive and date groves. There were few migrants so we returned for a siesta through the hottest part of the day. In the afternoon we walked out towards the ruins until a dust storm blew up. Gianluca came by and we arranged to join him tomorrow morning for a search of more Bald Ibis nest cliffs in the rocky hills to the north of Palmyra. 3rd October Palmyra - Qalaat Al Hosn (Krak de Chevaliers) It seems impossible find any breakfast at 0630 in this sleepy town! Gianluca picked us up at 0700, with his two colleagues Mahmood and Ahmed (who fortunately had brought tea and rolls!) We drove northwards and passed across flat desert, stopping briefly at a Bedouin farm surrounded by bushes. The most interesting bird here was Desert Finch, and in the surrounding desert were three Cream-coloured Coursers, plus Lesser Short-toed, Desert and Temminck's Horned Larks. We parked at the foot of an escarpment and climbed up so that we could 'scope across to some nests on the opposite cliff. None were obviously belonging to Ibises, but there were many feathers lying around the foot of the cliff. At least twelve niches looked suitable, all with whitewash around them, and three nests had some kind of structure and odd items of foriegn material lining the nests. We couldn't discount the fact that Egyptian Vultures might nest here. Also here were Scrub Warblers, Mourning Wheatears and Desert Larks. DAS walked round to another nearby cliff and gripped me off with Red-billed Chough! We headed back to Palmyra and said goodbye to Gianluca & co, bought a bus ticket for 1430hrs to Homs, ate lunch, then took the Karnak bus that arrived in Homs at 1630hrs. We found the minibus station (in what is a horrid grim place!) where were told that there was no service to Qalaat al Hosn until the next day, but once we started talking about getting a taxi one minibus driver decided to secure our trade by diverting his bus load through there for our benefit. As usual people were very friendly and helpful, and we reached the castle at 1730hrs, sitting high on a ridge at 650m in the middle of a blasted cultivated landscape with the mountains of Lebanon visible to the south. The only place to stay was 'La Table Ronde' that was pretty dismal and we took an overpriced room for 500sp. A quick walk around the trees and bushes here revealed very little, so we walked around and found a place to eat, which was excellent. 4th October Qalaat al Hosn - Slunfeh We got up at dawn to see what was around. One or two migrants had come in but little else, so we decided to find some breakfast and then split. We sat in the window of a small restaurant opposite the castle, and noticed a sudden increase in Blackcaps and saw a superb Wood Warbler, then as we walked back to our digs a flock of Alpine Swifts shot over followed by a Hobby, and a superb male Levant Sparrowhawk came soaring up the nearby hilside and gave us crippling view. We scuttled back and got our scopes, and sat behind our digs overlooking the castle. The moat had filled up with migrants; Blackcaps, Lesser Whitethroats, Sardinian Warblers, Common Redstarts, and the castle wall was covered with up to 20 Blue Rock Thrushes. It seems that passerine migrants here and in the desert seem to arrive after dawn, by as much as two hours. We soon had numbers of raptors passing south, including Common Buzzards, Lesser Spotted Eagles, Short-toed Eagles, more Levant Sparrowhawks plus some Black Storks. That was in just 90 minutes, and when it dried up we hit the road. We took a minibus to the main highway where had to hitch, eventually getting a Tartous-bound bus to stop. At Tartous we quickly got another bus to Latakia, then found there were no minibuses to Slunfeh, so we engaged a taxi to take us there, for 500sp which seemed reasonable. On arrival in Slunfeh the taxi driver picked up somebody else who then proceeded to take us round different rooms for rent, varying in price from 2000 to 4000! We smelled a rat and just took our bags and stalked off, then the cabbie wanted 500sp each and wouldnt take just 500 from us. It all got rather ugly and I eventually gave him an extra 300 to piss off and stop bothering us. He was the exception to the rule of Syrian people all being pleasant, but then he was a taxi-driver! We asked some folk in the street about finding a place to stay and they invited us to rent their house (several rooms plus bathroom and kitchen) for 1000 a night, which we did. Nice people, but our hosts' Arabic was inpenetrable! We went for a walk, up through town and looked out beyond to the hilltops, a few birds around such as Syrian Woodpecker, some Chiffchaffs calling strangely and a few common migrants. We ate in the village square then got lost trying to find our digs in the dark. 5th October Slunfeh Up at dawn, finding lots of these strange Chiffchaffs calling and singing around our digs. We walked into town and got some breakfast, before getting a minibus to take us for 175sp up to the radio masts, right on the top of the ridge. This was a fantastic place with views right along the mountain chain, with a steep drop to the east down to the Orontes valley plain. The ridge itself was covered with a creeping juniper giving the impression of an alpine habitat. The steep slope was covered in scrub to the base, and on the gentler west-facing side there were pockets of mixed woodland that included Cedrus libani, five species of oak, hornbeam, yew, and several other tree species, of acer, sorbus, and fir. The birding was good with a continual stream of Common Buzzards, Eurasian Sparrowhawks and a single Peregrine, and on the desolate tops we saw Rock Nuthatch, Rock Bunting and Woodlark, Common Blackbirds and Winter Wrens. In amongst the trees we saw European Nuthatch, Coal, Great and Blue Tits, and a flock of tephronotus race Long-tailed Tits, which turned out to be the first recorded in Syria. In among the rocks and trees were plenty of gorgeous crocuses, and we found a snake which DAS very skilfully caught so that we were able to photograph it extensively, and later identified as Vipera bornmuelleri. There are rumours that Leopard still persist in these hills, however they must be hyper-scretive to survive here. We did hear Roe Deer barking, and saw plenty of gorgeous Persian Squirrels. Back to town, we bought some food and coffee and DAS cooked a fine meal in our own kitchen. 6th October Slunfeh - Aleppo I went out early to get some sound-recordings of the local Chiffchaffs, then we had breakfast on the terrace overlooking the valley behind us before bidding our hosts farewell and walking into town. We took a minibus eastwards over the top and down into the 'Ghab' plain to the village of Jorin. Really good habitat from the pass at 1350m at least down to 1000m, and more scrubby habitat extends down to the foot of the slope. I'm sure that area would be very interesting to explore, particularly in spring. We waited a short while, took a minibus through bird-free agriculture to Jisr Ash'shughour (yuk!) and then onto another bus to Aleppo. As we found so often, public transport is plentiful, cheap and easy! We got to Aleppo, were taken by a taxi-driver to a very nice hotel - the 'Al Gawaher' where we got a room for 800sp. Later in the afternoon we ventured out into the famous souks, a spectacular concentration of narrow alleys lined with shops selling everything. We bought some souvenirs, later we went out to eat and then made the obligatory visit to the bar of the historic Baron Hotel.
October 7th Aleppo - Norwich Up early, taxi to the airport and caught the British Airways flight to London at 0915, arriving at 12:30. Bird List Little Grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis: Present on the Euphrates and at Mheimidah Black-necked Grebe Podiceps nigricollis: Three on one of the desert reservoirs in the Hamad. Little Bittern Ixobrychus minutus: Common along the reed-lined parts of the Euphrates and at Mheimidah. Black-crowned Night Heron Nycticorax nycticorax: 30+ on the Euphrates at Deir ez Zor. Squacco Heron Ardeola ralloides: Eight seen at Mheimidah. Little Egret Egretta garzetta: Common at Mheimidah, and two in the desert. Great Egret Egretta alba: A few at Mheimidah. Grey Heron Ardea cinerea: Very numerous along the Euphrates plus 50 together on a desert reservoir - all migrants? Black Stork Ciconia nigra: Four seen at Qalaat al Hosn, plus two over the Slunfeh mountains. Glossy Ibis Plegadis falcinellus: Up to four seen at Mheimidah. Common Teal Anas crecca: A few at Mheimidah Northern Pintail Anas acuta: A few at Mheimidah, plus a single in the desert. Garganey Anas querquedula: Good numbers at Mheimidah. Northern Shoveler Anas clypeata: Odd singles on the Euphratesand in the desert, plus four at Mheimidah. Marbled Teal Marmaronetta angustirostris: A high count of 35 at Mheimidah. Common Pochard Aythya ferina: 8 at Mheimidah. Ferruginous Duck Aythya nyroca: 12 at Mheimidah Tufted Duck Aythya fuligula: One at Mheimidah. White-headed Duck Oxyura leucocephala: A maximum of 22 at Mheimidah. Black Kite Milvus migrans: Plenty along the Euphrates, plus a few in the desert. All seemed to be of the nominate race. Short-toed Eagle Circaetus gallicus: A single over Palmyra town, plus two migrating south at Qalaat al Hosn. Western Marsh Harrier Circus aeruginosus: Seen at As'saaweh, Mheimidah, Qalaat al Hosn, and several seen out in the Hamad. Pallid Harrier Circus macrourus: A couple at Mheimidah were overshadowed by the large numbers in the Hamad and adjacent lower-lying desert areas, where we recorded a minimum of 20 per day. Montagu's Harrier Circus pygargus: Just one seen, in the Hamad. Eurasian Sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus: Several seen around the Euphrates, a single in the desert and many in the mountains. At Qalaat al Hosn we saw three migrating south, and at Slunfeh there was a steady passage throughout the day passing south along the ridge, in ones and twos with at least fifty seen. Levant Sparrowhawk Accipiter brevipes: One male seen very closely at Qalaat al Hosn, with another 12 seen there, plus at least two passing Slunfeh. Common Buzzard Buteo buteo: We saw birds resembling both 'Steppe Buzzards' and the nominate race, but no effort has been made here to separate them. We noted c150 passing south-east at Deir ez-Zor on our first evening, c60 circling near Palmyra and another 50 loafing on the ground in the morning in desert north of Palmyra. We saw c25 passing Qalaat al Hosn, and 200+ passing Slunfeh. Long-legged Buzzard Buteo rufinus: We saw three in the deserts south of Palmyra. Lesser Spotted Eagle Aquila pomarina: We saw up to three in the deserts south of Palmyra, 21 passing Qalaat al Hosn, and another five at Slunfeh. Greater Spotted Eagle Aquila clanga: A single seen in the deserts south of Palmyra. Steppe Eagle Aquila nipalensis: We saw about 20 in the Palmyra deserts. Imperial Eagle Aquila heliaca: A single immature seen in the Hamad. Booted Eagle Hieraaetus pennatus: A single at Deir ez-Zor plus another in the Hamad. (Lesser Kestrel Falco naumanni: A flock of 24 in the desert were probably this species, however Red-footed Falcon could not be ruled out) Common Kestrel Falco tinnunculus: Odd singles seen in both the desert and mountains. Red-footed Falcon Falco vespertinus: A flock of 10 seen circling low over one of the Bedouin farms in the desert south of Palmyra, then a very smart male found perched in the middle of flat empty desert. Merlin Falco columbarius: DAS saw a female, probably of the pallidus race, drinking at the Euphrates at As'saaweh. Eurasian Hobby Falco subbuteo: Singles seen on the Euphrates, and five moving south at Qalaat al Hosn. Peregrine Falco peregrinus: A single bird migrating south at Slunfeh. [Chukar Alectoris chukar: Some feathers were found in the mountains north of Palmyra ] Black Francolin Francolinus francolinus: Heard at Mheimidah. Water Rail Rallus aquaticus: A couple seen and more heard at Mheimidah. Spotted Crake Porzana porzana: A very obliging individual performed for us at Mheimidah, plus we found a dead one at Palmyra. A bird flushed at dusk at Mahowbia was also probably this species. Little Crake Porzana parva: Another atypically obliging crake; a young male seen very well by the suspension bridge at Deir ez-Zor on two separate days. Common Moorhen Gallinula chloropus: Present along the Euphrates and at Mheimidah. Purple Gallinule Porphyrio porphyrio: At least five seen at Mheimidah. Eurasian Coot Fulica atra: Some 50 at Mheimidah, also seen along the Euphrates. Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus: 10 at Mheimidah. Cream-coloured Courser Cursorius cursor: Three seen in the desert north of Palmyra. Little Ringed Plover Charadrius dubius: One seen at As'saaweh. Common Ringed Plover Charadrius hiaticula: Two at Mheimidah and two on one of the desert reservoirs. Kentish Plover Charadrius alexandrinus: 15 + at Mheimidah. Spur-winged Lapwing Vanellus spinosus: About five at Mheimidah. White-tailed Lapwing Vanellus leucurus: One of the big surprises was the concentration of these at Mheimidah, where we saw 70 or more. Northern Lapwing Vanellus vanellus: Two seen on one of the Hamad reservoirs. Little Stint Calidris minuta: Five at Mheimidah and two groups of five and eight on desert reservoirs. Temminck's Stint Calidris temminckii: Five at Mheimidah. Dunlin Calidris alpina: Two at Mheimidah and two on one of the desert reservoirs. Ruff Philomachus pugnax: A couple at Mheimidah and one on a desert reservoir. Common Snipe Gallinago gallinago: Odd ones seen on the Euphrates and in the desert, and five at Mheimidah. Black-tailed Godwit Limosa limosa: A couple seen at Mheimidah. Spotted Redshank Tringa erythropus: Three at Mheimidah. Common Redshank Tringa totanus: 25+ at Mheimidah. Marsh Sandpiper Tringa stagnatilis: Five at Mheimidah. Common Greenshank Tringa nebularia: Three at Mheimidah. Green Sandpiper Tringa ochropus: Five at Mheimidah and other singles along the Euphrates. Wood Sandpiper Tringa glareola: Numerous at Mheimidah. Common Sandpiper Actitis macularia: Seen on the Euphrates and in the desert. Black-headed Gull Larus ridibundus: A single seen at Mheimidah Slender-billed Gull Larus genei: About twenty seen along the Euphrates and 60+ at Mheimidah. (Yellow-legged Gull Larus cachinnans: Three birds at Deir ez-Zor were presumably this species but armenicus couldn't be ruled out.) Little Tern Sterna albifrons: A single seen at Mheimidah. Whiskered Tern Chlidonias hybridus: Two at Mheimidah. Black Tern Chlidonias niger: Three at Mheimidah. White-winged Tern Chlidonias leucopterus: Twenty at Mheimidah. Rock Dove Columbia livia: uh! Common Woodpigeon Columba palumbus: Ten seen at Deir ez-Zor on our first evening, with fewer seen there on subsequent days. Eurasian Collared Dove Streptopelia decaocto: The commonest dove in low-lying areas. Laughing Dove Streptopelia senegalensis: A few seen around Deir ez-Zor and Palmyra. Eurasian Cuckoo Cuculus canorus: One perched on a telephone wire in the desert south of Palmyra. Little Owl Athene noctua: Several seen, at Mheimidah, Palmyra, and in the deserts. European Nightjar Caprimulgus europaeus: Two birds seen well flying along the riverside trees at Deir ez-Zor. Common Swift Apus apus: A single at Palmyra. Common Kingfisher Alcedo atthis: A few seen on the Euphrates and at Mheimidah. Pied Kingfisher Ceryle rudis: Very numerous along the Euphrates and at Mheimidah. Blue-cheeked Bee-eater Merops persicus: Quite common in the Deir ez-Zor area, but nowhere else. European Bee-eater Merops apiaster: Ten seen at Deir ez-Zor, and a single in the desert. Also heard over Palmyra and Qalaat al Hosn. European Roller Coracias garrulus: Two singles in the Mheimidah area. Eurasian Hoopoe Upupa epops: A couple seen in the desert. Eurasian Wryneck Jynx torquilla: One at Deir ez-Zor, and another at Palmyra. Syrian Woodpecker Dendrocopus syriacus: Poor views of two at Slunfeh. Bar-tailed Lark Ammomanes cincturus: A total of five seen in the deserts south of Palmyra. Desert Lark Ammomanes deserti: Eight birds seen on the rocky fringe of the Hamad, and 15 or more seen north of Palmyra. Greater Hoopoe Lark Alaemon alaudipes: 17 seen in the desert, with 14 counted on the second day of our desert safari. Calandra Lark Melanocorypha calandra: Two birds with a lark-flock around a Bedouin farm south of Palmyra. Bimaculated Lark Melanocorypha bimaculata: One seen with the above species. Greater Short-toed Lark Calandrella brachydactyla: Up to 50 seen with the same flock as the above. Lesser Short-toed Lark Calandrella rufescens: Four around the Bedouin farms, and another eight seen in the desert north of Palmyra. Crested Lark Galerida cristata: Found throughout, with concentrations around the Bedouin farms in the desert. Woodlark Lullula arborea: At least six on the ridgetop at Slunfeh. Temminck's Horned Lark Eremophila bilopha: 12 on the first day of our desert trip, and 136+ on the second, with another 25 seen north of Palmyra! Sand Martin Riparia riparia: Quite a few along the Euphrates, also seen in the desert. Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica: Seen throughout. Tawny Pipit Anthus campestris: One at Palmyra plus a few in the desert. Tree Pipit Anthus trivialis: Migrants seen at Mahowbia and Qalaat al Hosn. Red-throated Pipit Anthus cervinus: Six seen in desert 'migrant traps.' Yellow Wagtail Motacilla flava: Plenty of migrants along the Euphrates and in the desert around Bedouin cultivations, none identified to race. Citrine Wagtail Motacilla citreola: A couple seen at Mheimidah. Grey Wagtail Motacilla cinerea: A few by the Euphrates, and heard at Slunfeh. White Wagtail Motacilla alba: A single seen by a desert reservoir. White-cheeked Bulbul Pycnonotus leucotis: Two pairs seen around the suspension bridge at Deir ez-Zor. Winter Wren Troglodytes troglodytes: Very common at Slunfeh, between 1000 and 1500m. Thrush Nightingale Luscinia luscinia: A single migrant seen badly at Mahowbia. Black Redstart Phoenicurus ochruros: One at a Bedouin farm near Palmyra. Common Redstart Phoenicurus phoenicurus: Migrant birds seen at most places we visited. Whinchat Saxicola rubetra: A few seen at Palmyra and in the deserts south of there. Isabelline Wheatear Oenanthe isabellina: Fairly common in the deserts, also seen en-route between Deir and Palmyra. Northern Wheatear Oenanthe oenanthe: Odd singles encountered, in the desert, at Qalaat al Hosn and on the ridge at Slunfeh. Pied Wheatear Oenanthe pleschanka: Three or four seen around desert cultivations. Black-eared Wheatear Oenanthe hispanica: A few seen in the desert. Desert Wheatear Oenanthe deserti: Common in the desert areas. Red-tailed Wheatear Oenanthe xanthoprymna: A single bird of the chrysopygia form seen in the desert. Mourning Wheatear Oenanthe lugens: Only found in the rocky areas such as around the Palmyra ruins and in the hills north of there. Blue Rock Thrush Monticola solitarius: A spectacular concentration of 20 on the walls of Qalaat al Hosn. Common Blackbird Turdus merula: Common in the Slunfeh mountains. Cetti's Warbler Cettia cetti: Quite numerous along the Euphrates. Graceful Prinia Prinia gracilis: Present along the Euphrates and at Mheimidah, also recorded at Qalaat al Hosn. Scrub Warbler Scotocerca inquieta: Two pairs in a rocky wadi north of Palmyra, in very bright plumage. European Reed Warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus: Several migrants seen in desert oases, plus a few in the Euphrates reedbeds. Sardinian Warbler Sylvia melanocephala: Four birds, presumably migrants, at Qalaat al Hosn, plus another at Slunfeh. Lesser Whitethroat Sylvia curruca: A fairly widespread migrant. Common Whitethroat Sylvia communis: A couple at Qalaat al Hosn. Garden Warbler Sylvia borin: Several seen in the desert oases, plus another at Deir ez-Zor. Blackcap Sylvia atricapilla: A fairly widespread migrant. Wood Warbler Phylloscopus sibilatrix: A single at Qalaat al Hosn. Chiffchaff Phylloscopus collybita: A few migrants (assumed to be the nominate race, the few calls heard would confirm this) in the desert and at Qalaat al Hosn. Mountain Chiffchaff Phylloscopus sindianus lorenzii: One of the surprises at Slunfeh, with many of these common throughout. This is a tentative identification based on calls. They were calling loudly, a single piping 'puuh' slightly downflected. The birds were also heard (and recorded) singing. Although morphological differences were difficult to ascertain, with most of the birds being in fresh plumage and therefore fairly bright, analysis of the calls by Diego Gil of Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (CSIC) Madrid, seems to indicate that the birds have calls that fit lorenzii. Perhaps this is an important wintering area for them? Willow Warbler Phylloscopus trochilus: Plenty in the desert cultivations. Spotted Flycatcher Muscicapa striata: One of the most universal migrant species. Iraq Babbler Turdoides altirostris: This was our excuse for going, and having reached Deir ez-Zor we found them within half an hour! We found at least five in the area of Deir ez-Zor suspension bridge, eight at Mheimidah where they kept to the reedbeds, and another two at As'saaweh which is probably the furthest north and the furthest upstream that they have been recorded. If you think it looks rather dull in the field guide, then you are in for a nice surprise, as it is quite different! Long-tailed Tit Aegithalos caudatus: Two small flocks of three or four birds each were encountered in the Slunfeh area, one group at 1400m in mixed forest, the other in the a grove of trees in the village of Slunfeh at 1100m. They were of the attractive tephronotus form which has its range in Turkey, and would appear to be the first records from Syria. Coal Tit Parus ater: At least eight birds seen at 1400 - 1500m in mixed forest above Slunfeh. It seems unclear as to what their status is here, with possibly only one previous record. Blue Tit Parus caeruleus: Six birds seen around Slunfeh between 1050m and 1500m. Great Tit Parus major: Common around Slunfeh, also at Qalaat al Hosn. Eurasian Nuthatch Sitta europaea: A single bird in mixed forest on the ridge at Slunfeh. Rock Nuthatch Sitta neumayer: In close proximity to the above species, one seen and another three heard in typical rocky habitat on the ridge at Slunfeh. Eurasian Golden Oriole Oriolus oriolus: Single migrants seen at Deir ez-Zor and Palmyra. Red-backed Shrike Lanius collurio: A fairly common migrant throughout. Isabelline Shrike Lanius isabellinus: A single bird at a Bedouin farm near Palmyra. Masked Shrike Lanius nubicus: Two seen in desert cultivations, plus another probable seen poorly at Qalaat al Hosn. Eurasian Jay Garrulus glandarius: Several encountered at Slunfeh, though very shy. Common Magpie Pica pica: Common in the Euphrates area. Red-billed Chough Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax: Two seen by DAS north of Palmyra. Hooded Crow Corvus corone cornix: Quite a few seen, even in the middle of Aleppo. (Common Raven Corvus corax: Several birds seen around Palmyra were not conclusively identified, but appeared to fit this species) House Sparrow Passer domesticus: Common in typical habitats. Spanish Sparrow Passer hispaniolensis: At least one at a Bedouin farm south of Palmyra. Dead Sea Sparrow Passer moabiticus: Only seen at As'saaweh where there were at least 30. Common Chaffinch Fringilla coelebs: Fairly common in the hills of Slunfeh. European Greenfinch Carduelis chloris: A few seen around Slunfeh, and a flock of 30 at Qalaat al Hosn. European Goldfinch Carduelis carduelis: A few seen around Slunfeh, and a flock of 40 at Qalaat al Hosn. Common Linnet Carduelis cannabina: A few seen around Qalaat al Hosn, and a flock of 50+ on the ridge at Slunfeh. Desert Finch Rhodospiza obsoleta: Eleven seen at Bedouin farms around Palmyra. Rock Bunting Emberiza cia: Two seen on the ridgetop at Slunfeh. MAMMALS Persian Squirrel Sciurus anomalus: Common around Slunfeh. Roe Deer: Capreolus capreolus: One heard barking at Slunfeh. (Sand Fox: Vulpes ruepelli: One flushed from its hole in the desert was probably this species) Red Fox: Vulpes vulpes: One seen near Aleppo airport. REPTILES AND AMPHIBIANS Green Toad: Bufo viridis: One at Qalaat al Hosn. Marsh frog - Rana ridibunda: - several along the banks of Euphrates at Deir es-Zor Dice Snake: Natrix tesselata: One seen at As'saaweh on the Euphrates. Viper species: Vipera bornmuelleri: Caught and photographed extensively before release, at Slunfeh (1500m) Hooded Malpolon - Malpolon moilensis: A young one in the desert, that flared its neck like a cobra as it made its escape. Desert Black Snake Walterinissia aegyptia: A dead one in the desert. Spiny-footed lizard Acanthodactylus sp -desert south of Palmyra |
