Birding Babylon

2010-12-06T11:31:00.003-05:00

eBird now available for Iraq sightings

I have a lot of observations written in my notebooks from my last deployment to Iraq (October 2009 to July 2010). Now I have an outlet where I can put them all. My lists on this blog are not too useful since they are static and the data cannot be manipulated.

eBird is a project of the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology that was launched in 2001 to automate the collection of bird observation data. It includes maps, checklists and statistics. The aggregate data is available on the web.

In June of 2010 global eBird was launched which allows entry of observations from around the world. The interface worked very well with my Iraqi observations. If a species is rare or numbers are large the interface asks you to confirm the data before submitting. I was asked to confirm for Barn Swallows in February and for an observation of 150 Wood Pigeons, both routine occurances, so its not perfect.

There was almost no data for Iraq, so I'll be entering mine. I encourage everyone with Iraq bird observations to enter the data in this system, it will be very valuable for those studying Iraqi Avifauna since the system can do such things as generate maps and create checklists and frequency data.

eBird Website

2010-11-22T13:05:00.002-05:00

Nature Documentary featuring Iraq

A couple of weeks ago the PBS program Nature featured the work of Azzam Alwash and the staff of Nature Iraq. I made a point of watching it with my kids. Like Azzam, I am optimistic that one day ecotourism will flourish in Iraq. Save the violence, which decreased exponetially between my 1st tour in 2004 and my second in 2009/2010, the country has the right combination for successful ecotourism. I can imagine visiting the ruins of Ur and Babylon then birding Marshlands National Park looking for Sacred Ibis and African Darter to add to my life list. Perhaps my third trip to Iraq will be the one where I can leave my weapons behind.

Again I cannot give enough accolades to Azzam and his staff at Nature Iraq for their tireless and critical work protecting and understanding Iraq's Natural treasures. A special hello goes to my friend Mudhafar Salim, a tireless ornithologist who I saw in action with Azzam in the documentary.

Full Episode - Braving Iraq

2010-06-24T13:47:00.004-05:00

In March when we still had a significant amount of green around our building, with lots of small orange flowers we had a lot of butterflies visiting including two types of Blues (the one pictured and a tiny species with a wingspan perhaps half an inch across). Also we had a good number of Cabbage Whites and Painted Ladies. In April, as the Eucalyptus trees flowered, we had massive numbers of Painted Ladies on base. I counted over 300 in a short walk to the gym and back. For a week or so they were everywhere, including getting in the buildings. I had the same experience with a sudden explosion of painted lady numbers at the same time as the Eucalyptus flowering. Recently I have been seeing some more blues and this butterfly (some type of Nymphalid) with dark wings and orange spots.

2010-06-23T10:05:00.002-05:00

Today we are having a nice dust storm. The White-cheeked Bulbuls around the building were very active today dispite the dismal weather. This one was singing its heart out in our mulberry tree and chasing house sparrows around.

2010-06-23T09:41:00.004-05:00

In the past week or so I have been hearing extremly loud clicking sounds coming out of the trees around base. I thought they were either katydids or cicadas. It has been incredibly hot, hitting around 117 degrees F for several days in a row. The critters making the sounds didn't seem to mind the scorching temperatures.

Several days ago I was walking back to my trailer at about 2 AM, the temperature was still in the nineties. In one Eucalyptus tree next to a portable construction light had what sounded like dozens of the clicking critters. After a second of searching I found the culprit, small green cicadas with blue eyes! The color was incredible and contrasted dramatically with the dust covered leaves. I caught a few and went back to my building to get my camera. The cicadas buzzed angrily like little toy noisemakers in my hands. Two soldiers smoking outside didn't know what to make of the noise when I walked up.

When I went back to the tree there were cicadas buzzing around the construction light and bats circling catching insects. I have not seen or heard any large aggregation of cicadas since. I'm wondering if there was simply a large emergence and then dispersion.

2010-06-17T16:20:00.003-05:00

Treefrog

One of our soldiers found this tree frog in a portolet and brought it to me. I let it go in the reeds of the north retention pond. I think it is Hyla savignyi

2010-06-15T14:38:00.006-05:00

JBB Laundry Pond

In May my birding partner and I drove up to the laundry pond and found a small group of little terns resting in the road. Its a little hard to believe but I've seen 4 species of tern here on base since last fall. Two are marsh terns and seem to be fairly common during the summer here, the white-winged and whiskered terns. I saw the fourth species just two days ago at the north retention pond with a Common Tern joining in with the Stilts that were mobbing me as I walked along the shore.

Here's the lists for 2 days in May. I was surprised to see a female white-headed duck staying around so late in the season. Up to 9 White-headed ducks have been present on JBB since October. The several acre laundry pond seemed to be to their liking, though I also saw them at the smaller north retention pond. Here's a picture from earlier in the season.

19 May 2010
0530-0645 Laundry Pond
Little Grebe – 20
Ferruginous Duck – 10
Kestrel -1
Coot – 1
Moorhen – 2
Purple Swamphen – 1
Collared Pratincole – 4
Spur-winged Plover - 3
Little Tern – 10
Crested Lark – 2
Blue-cheeked Bee-eater - 6

23 May 2010 -
0530 – 0830 South Laundry Pond and North Retention Pond, JBB Iraq
Observed small fish in Laundry pond – singles and small schools 2 inches or less
Little Grebe – 20
Pygmy Cormorant – 1
White-headed Duck – 1 female
Ferruginous Duck – 10
Marbled Teal - 2
Kestrel -1
Coot – 2
Moorhen – 6
Purple Swamphen – 1
Little Bittern – 2
Black-crowned Night Heron - 3
Collared Pratincole – 1
Stilt - 10
Spur-winged Plover - 6
Little Tern – 3
Whiskered Tern - 1
Crested Lark – 10
Barn Swallow - 35
Wood Pigeon – 8
Rock Pigeon – 12
Collared Dove - 4
Blue-cheeked Bee-eater – 6
Grey Hypocolius – 1
Lesser Grey Shrike - 1
Graceful Prinia - 5
House Sparrow – 20
Hooded Crow - 4

2010-06-10T13:27:00.003-05:00

I was up at the north pond checking out the wildlife. The Black-winged Stilts were making a racket and flying around. A few days before I thought I had seen some chicks running into the reeds. I found this little fuzzball under a big rock by the water when I was looking for frogs (there was also a frog under the same rock). The stilt chick didn't move a muscle for a minute or so then ran down to the water and surprised me by swimming away, paddling along with its ridiculously long legs. The adults really went wild when the chick belted out its alarm call and started trying to crap on me and the other sergeant with me. Later in the day I saw 2 more chicks feeding out on the mudflats.

Making a getaway

2010-01-29T13:24:00.000-05:00

For a month or more we have had butterflies visiting the small flowers
around the building. Sometimes I go outside in the middle of the day
and I'll see 20 or more butterflies flitting around and feeding on the
little orange and yellow flowers. I've only seen Cabbage Whites and
Painted Ladies. This past week I have started finding spiny painted
lady caterpillars in little silk shelters on the Mallow plants growing
in an open area near us. Since there are holes in the leaves
surrounding the shelter, I'm assuming that the caterpillars come out
at night to feed.

The Painted Lady is one of the most widespread butterflies in the
world. It is found on every continent except Antarctica and South
America. In 2004 I saw hundreds of these butterflies when our
Eucalyptus trees started flowering. Last week, our large Eucalyptus
had the first of its little puffball flowers open, so I may be seeing
a lot more butterflies soon.

Some other insects are visiting the flowers also including large
hoverflies that look like the Drone Fly (Eristalis tenax).

On the bird front I watched a group of White-cheeked Bulbuls feeding
on the ground with a few house sparrows. I've heard from others that
the Bulbuls will eat such things as cookies that people put out for
the birds.

2010-01-25T14:11:00.002-05:00

Yesterday we went back out to the Laundry Pond. The sun rising behind us provided great lighting on the ducks and coots that were floating in loose groups out in the pond. The weather was fairly cool at about 45 degrees F. As we walked through the Phragmites, the coots were making crazy noises out on the pond. The White-headed Ducks moved out to the middle of the pond in a small group of 7 birds. They ride very low in the water, almost like they are in the process of sinking. We had some great views as they stretched and flapped their wings. The males white heads stood out among all the dark plumaged coots. About a dozen Mallards were swimming around and later flew back and forth from one side of the pond to the other. The Ferruginous Ducks seemed to be venturing more into the open water than usual. Mostly they stick to the shoreline and the reeds. The contrasting light and dark pattern of the Male Shovelers made them easy to pick out on the far side.

There is a section of the pond where the reeds have been cut back and a noisy water pump has been installed. The opening is a good vantage point to count the birds in the middle of the pond and to get a closer look at the reedy edges. There were more Common Teal than last week, probably 20 or more. In a muddy area near the reeds we found 4 Black-winged Stilts resting. Later they flew over the pond trailing their long, elegant red legs behind them.

There are large patches of greenery in areas around the pond that were bare a few months ago. The winter rains prompt furious growth of small herbaceous plants in the ditches and open fields around the base. Many are familiar roadside weeds such as dandelion and mustards. There are also quite a few small orange and yellow daisy-like composites and areas of grass. We stopped and found some ladybugs in a patch of low growing compositae. I also saw quite a few small striped hoverflies on the flowers. Other plants, such as the thistles, seem to be just getting going with small prickly rosettes appearing here and there. We can expect a few month more with occasional rain, so I expect at least some greenery to remain into April. After the heat gets going all these plants will be baked into oblivion, until the rains come again in late Autumn. It amazes me how hardy the seeds are, surviving ground temperatures that have to exceed 150 degrees Fahrenheit for month and months.

Since it was getting late we picked up the pace to get back to the truck. In the corner of the pond we found a White-throated Kingfisher hunched up, resting in the Phragmites. It's brilliant blue back and large, bright red bill contrasted with the dull brown reeds.

We found a small group of European Goldfinch in the same bushes as last week.

Out on the airfield, we saw hundreds of Wood Pigeons and Rooks. Large flocks of hundreds more Wood Pigeons were flying around the perimeter fence. A flock of about a hundred small brown birds wheeled around and landed near us. After a good bit of deliberation we decided that they were most likely Short-toed Larks.

2010-01-19T13:28:00.004-05:00

This past Sunday we got back out to the laundry pond again. As usual, the pond was loaded with waterbirds. I counted 525 Eurasian Coots swimming around in the middle of the pond and feeding in the reeds. The group of White-headed Ducks that have been present since October were still at the pond with 7 birds, both males and females. We watched a female from very close range coming out of the reeds on the east side of the pond. A good number of Shovelers were present in the pond when we arrived, then started flying around in small flocks when the F-16s roared off the runway behind us on afterburner.

A few other ducks species including Common Pochard, Gadwall, Common Teal and Ferruginous Ducks were present in smaller numbers along with a handful of Little Grebes.

We completely circled the pond for the first time. Usually, we park on one side and remain there. On our way back we saw some activity in a patch of vegetation near the entrance road. It turned out to be a flock of several dozen European Goldfinch. We got some great closeup looks at these beautiful birds as they appeared to be feeding on thistle seeds. As we were moving back to the truck we found a group of Spanish Sparrows with their bold chestnut, black and white plumage.

The highlight of our visit to the pond was watching two Jackals running back and forth on the edge of the pond, chasing and being chased by a Red-wattled Plover. The bird dive bombed them, while they charged around. After about five minutes, they noticed us and stopped to stare, then trotted off into the open area toward the west side of the base.

Around Sunset I returned to the area and I saw the pair of Jackals again yelping and chasing eachother around.

After the sun went down, I heard large numbers of Green Toads calling in the irrigation ditches near the west side of the base. It reminded me of the spring choruses of various frogs and toads in Connecticut. I guess Spring comes to Iraq in Mid-January.

2009-12-18T12:31:00.002-05:00

Christmas Bird Count - JBB, Iraq

I've been here in Iraq since the beginning of October. I am currently at Joint Base Balad, formerly LSA Anaconda along the Tigris River north of Baghdad. I usually have been able to go birding for a few hours most Sundays early in the morning with a Sergeant from another unit. Together we are the only current members of the JB3 or Joint Base Balad Birders.Much has changed since I was here 5 years ago. One good change is there are more ponds and lakes to look for birds in. Another benefit is that the mortar and rocket attacks are much more infrequent.

The Laundry Pond where I saw so many birds in my previous still is the most productive area for birds on base. The first time we went there in October there were so many waterbirds, it reminded me of the Everglades. The comical Purple Swamphens clambered over the reeds, while dozens of Little Egrets fed in the shallows. The little grebes dive and pop up everywhere, while the coots and moorhens exercise their full vocal range from the reeds. Among the large rafts of coot and Northern Shovelers, we have found smaller numbers of Common Teal and up to three White-headed Ducks, threatened relatives of the Ruddy Duck of North America. These distinctive small ducks were a surprise for me and my first lifer for this trip to Iraq. Another duck that we see frequently are the spectacular chestnut colored Ferruginous Ducks, which seem to prefer the edges of the pond, near the reeds. When they fly they show large white patches on the wings and are very striking. One morning we saw some Common Pochards, another new species for me. The Common Pochard looks very much like a Redhead or Canvasback from back in the US.

When I went down to Baghdad, I saw a brilliant Common Kingfisher. This bird has iconic status for me, being such a striking species and one that I heard my father describe from his boyhood in southern England, hunting along shallow streams. When I was in England I had hoped to see it, despite scoping out some of the very same streams as my father, I never saw one. My first Kingfisher appeared to me, like a flashing blue diamond, cutting through the brown surrounding the pond I was checking out as it flew past me. I think its known as Bass Pond at Victory Base. I was amazed at the kingfisher's speed, how small it was and its otherworldly colors. Various shades of electric blues with a chestnut breast. The Kingfisher landed on a cement block next to the pond, which already had a Pygmy cormorant and a Little Egret. For ten minutes I watched this little blue sprite preen itself, then dive into the water to retrieve a fish, consume it then go back to flitting around.

Right now, I'm planning a Christmas Bird Count here at JBB. The Hartford CBC is always something I look forward to and I plan to be back to next year. I have found our local Rook roost, so perhaps we'll start there counting the thousands of playful, mischievous bare-faced rooks, mixed with hundreds of jackdaws and some Hooded Crows.

2009-10-04T10:26:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I went for a walk to the far side of base early in the morning. For some reason there was a concentration of birds in a work area near the softball field and the big berms that surround the camp. Perhaps someone feeds them there or there is a source of water. I saw crested larks, laughing doves and house sparrows. As I was looking at the doves roosting on the concertina wire I heard a familiar churring call above me. The call was from a blue-cheeked bee-eater gliding around above me. This electric green colored species was a familiar sight when I was at LSA Anaconda 5 years ago. After a few minutes it flew off over the airfield.
Walking back along the perimeter near the airfield, I found the only green plants I've seen so far growing in a ditch that looks like it recently had water in it. The last two times I was in Kuwait was during the winter months when the winter rains had provided enough water for a good number of plants to grow. Now at the end of the prolonged heat of summer there is not a plant to be seen other these few. Down near the coast there are hardy trees and some irrigated farmland, but up here there's nothing.

Walking back through one of the housing trailer areas a medium sized bird flew out in front of me and up on to a light pole. It turned out to be a Rock Thrush, my first life bird for this deployment. The back was a dark blue color and the breast was a brick red with dark scalloping.

2009-10-03T13:42:00.003-05:00

Northern Kuwait

I'm now in Kuwait waiting to go north to my base in Iraq. I'm at a very busy camp living in a big tent and officially known as a Transient. Its still blazing hot and the desert dust gets into everything. Still, I've managed to find a few birds and other wildlife around camp as I walk around our tent area or to the chow hall.

The land scape in Northern Kuwait is largly an expanse of flat brown ground of stones and sand. Not unlike a gigantic beach with no water. Since we arrived there has been a persistent pall of airborne dust hugging the ground. Many of the stones have all their edges smoothed by the ever-blowing sand.

Thanks to Major Dallas Hewett, who left me a copy of the Field Guide to the Birds of the Middle East. Today I made it over to see the officer from the Medical Brigade who has been keeping the book for me.

Though the camp is located in an very barren and dry area, especially after being baked in the intense heat of the Kuwaiti summer for months, a number of birds still manage to make a living here. Because of the human activity, there is also water available in the form of spillage from shower trailers or water dripping from the many air conditioning units. The shade underneath trailers or in the shadow of tents or buildings provides welcome rest to migrants passing through. Indeed, during his time here Major Hewett compiled an impressive list of visiting birds.
A few days ago I saw a Hoopoe winging through the tent area, flashing its broad zebra-striped wings. The most abundant birds on the camp appear to be the house sparrows, who seem to particularly like hanging out near the chow hall and the camp Burger King. Also very common are the Crested Larks who can be seen running around on the barren ground and whistling to each other in the middle of the day, apparently unfazed by the heat.

On the way back from the dining facility this evening I saw a small nondescript brownish-gray bird catching flying insects at one of the many construction light sets that illuminate the base. Closer inspection proved it to be a Spotted Flycatcher making a pit stop on its migration south.

As I'm typing here in the MWR tent among soldiers playing poker, xbox and watching various movies, I just noticed an Old World warbler of some sort flitting around in the rafters. I just talked to one of the Indian guys who works here. He said the bird has been in the building several weeks. They tried to shoo it out but it wouldn't leave. He said they like it because it eats the spiders and flies. The fact that the bird would rather be in an air conditioned tent rather than poking around outside when its over 100 degrees doesn't seem too surprising, I'll be back tomorrow to try and ID it or at least get a photo.

2009-08-21T20:11:00.002-05:00

I've been at mob station for a little while in Sunny Central Texas. I've seen a few birds and other wildlife.

A family of Eastern Bluebirds shows up in the afternoon behind our admin building. Each evening flocks of Great-tailed Grackles and cowbirds fly over our area and look like they are roosting nearby. Down at the main post there were several scissor-tailed flycatchers catching insects near the main gate.

2009-04-28T00:44:00.002-05:00

Nature Iraq completes fifth season of Winter Biodiversity Surveys

It is amazing to me all that Nature Iraq and their partners have accomplished in the past 5 years. They are witnesses to the incredible resilience of the natural world and are an inspiration to me that even when things are darkest there are people with the vision to see beyond the present to a better tomorrow and work towards that future.

There is something heroic and inspiring in their work, often struggling against obstacles that would dishearten most. We often derive hope from those whom transcend a difficult situation and carry their vision forward. War, politics, crime and pessimism have all provided ample excuses to limit their vision, but despite this they have prospered and moved forward, even at great personal cost.

I am a big believer in Providence. To me, and I know to many in Nature Iraq, to reveal the secrets of nature is to reveal the hand of God working among us. To be outside in nature should remind us that God is always near. Nature Iraq's mission is one of science and discovery but at the same time one of hope and restoration.

Article from Birdlife International

Nature Iraq Website

2009-04-19T03:41:00.004-05:00

Return to Babylon

It's official. I will be back in Iraq in a matter of months for a year long command performance. Another year in Mesopotamia. I am not looking forward to being away from my family and friends for so long. I am looking forward to my medical mission as well as getting more familiar with the flora and fauna of Iraq.

Perhaps, I'll get a chance to meet, and maybe work with, some of the Iraqi Environmental NGOs who are doing such great work in the country.

Though, I can't hope to match Mudhafar Salim's Iraq bird list I hope to at least reach 160 species. I think a trip to Kurdistan and my usual movement around the country should make that attainable. I think just identifying some of the Old World warblers that went in the unidentified category last time will put me well on the path.

Since last year Major Randall Rogers has been putting out a great natural history newsletter from Al Asad Airbase in Al Anbar Province called Al Asad au Natural. He's a longtime member of Columbus Audubon Society in Ohio and did a good bit of birding while in Iraq. He is soon returning from deployment. Reading through the archives of Al Asad au Natural gives a great education into the natural world of Iraq both past and present. The entire archive is on the Columbus Audubon website.

I love the format of Al Asad au Natural. Maybe I can try something similar when I'm deployed. Time will tell.

Time to pack up the Binos and get a better camera.

2008-12-09T22:41:00.004-05:00

Birding in Tallil

I've been remiss in not writing about this sooner. The November/December 2008 Birding magazine, published by the American Birding Association, has a fantastic photo essay of birds observed and photographed by Colonel Thomas Dove, a physician who served at Tallil Airbase near Nasiriyah in Southern Iraq. The ruins of ancient Ur are just next door to the base.

Colonel Dove served in Iraq from October 2007 to June 2008. He accumulated an impressive list of species and photographed over 100 species. I laughed reading his account of a particular "No Swimming" sign popular with a group of Pied Kingfishers. When I visited the base in December 2004 one of the kingfishers was beating a small fish against the sign to emphasize the point!

The photos are spectacular and the essay echoes the sentiments of many people who have found beauty and inspiration in Iraq's avian residents. I'm particularly jealous of his sightings of Greater Flamingos, which I never saw. A picture of 2 of the flying flamingos is featured in the article.

Thanks Col. Dove for your first rate pictures and article.

Online version of Birding in Iraq - A photo Essay by Col. Thomas Dove

Additional Web Content - Hard to Identify Old World Warblers from Tallil

2008-07-10T05:49:00.002-05:00

Birding the VBC

I think the future "Where to find birds in Iraq" will have to include the cluster of bases near Baghdad International Airport (Victory Base Complex). These include Victory, Liberty and Slayer. I would guess that the aggregate list could be approaching 200 species between all the folks who have been watching birds there in the last 5 years. Some of these include White-headed Duck, Great White Pelican and Darter. The ponds, reedbeds and trees make it a nice migrant trap for waterfowl, shorebirds and passerines. For a while, there were even articles in the local base paper on the common birds seen around the area.

Matt Pike took some great pictures of many species while there. He has a gallery of around 120 species with fantastic photos. He saw species such as Darter and Basra Reed Warbler.

Many of the messages and photos on the Operation Iraqi Birds forum started by John Duresky relate to observations at VBC.

There are also recent photos and posting from LTC Bob from his second tour at VBC. His entire archive can be found here.

2007-02-16T10:39:00.000-05:00

Lesser White-fronted Goose at Samarra Dam

On Feb 4, the Russian group tracking the remaining two Lesser White Fronted Geese that are transmitting signals from their tags showed the bird that has spent much of the winter in Syria moving to the large wetland at Samarra in Iraq. The Samarra Dam Area on the Tigris River is a designated important bird area (IBA). The Samarra Barrage is composed of two dams, a flood control dam (also called the Tharthar dam locally) and a Hydroelectric generation dam. Samarra has great cultural significance and unfortunately was where the golden dome of the Al-Askari Mosque was severely damaged last year, precipitating a wave of violence. Samarra also has the famous Great Mosque with a unique spiral minaret. In a future more peaceful Iraq, Samarra would make a good place for a field station/ecotourism site.

Seeing that this goose had made its way to a area that has been a focus of violence was very symbolic for me. In the midst of violence something magical, a bird that has travelled over 3000 miles from Siberia and the fact we can see where its been.

The Tigris was dammed at Samarra in the early 1950's to control the flooding of Baghdad. A large wetland was created behind the dam. A canal diverts floodwaters to Lake Tharthar, a large artificial lake that was once a depression between Samarra on the Tigris River and Hit on the Euphrates.

According to Birdlife International 146 species have been recorded in the vicinity of the Samarra Dam including the globally endangered Sociable Lapwing and many species of waders and waterfowl. Breeding at the site is the near endemic Grey Hypocolius, the bird illustrated on the cover of the new Field Guide to the Birds of Iraq.

Waterfowl hunting was once common in the marshes near Samarra so hopefully the tagged LWFG will continue on his journey. If not, we may see a signal coming from a house in Samarra as was the case with one of the other tagged geese when it was taken by a hunter in Russia.

2007-01-28T01:54:00.001-05:00

Field Guide to the Birds of Iraq - An important Milestone in Iraqi Conservation

Birdlife International and Nature Iraq announced the publication of the first Arabic language field guide to the country's 387 recorded bird species. In fact the Field Guide to the Birds of Iraq is the first comprehensive, fully illustrated guide to any Arabic speaking country. The book has been a collaborative effort by Nature Iraq (I know Mudhafar Salim worked hard on it as well as other biologists and field workers), Richard Porter, author of the Field Guide to the Birds of the Middle East (recently released in Arabic) and Birdlife International. Funding for the project was provided by The Canada-Iraq Marshlands Initiative, the Ornithological Society of the Middle-East, Avifauna and The World Bank.

Since I first heard of the project from my friend Mudhafar, I have felt that this would be an important and exciting step in increasing the Iraqi public's awareness of their natural treasures and giving added visibility to the country's environmental movement. With a field guide it becomes possible for large numbers of people to participate in studying the country's birds as the knowledge of identification is spread. Now we need an Iraqi eBird for large scale collection of observation data.

I naturally thought of my experience as a child looking through field guides and the spark it provided to my interest in nature. I also thought of my experience with children in Iraq when I visited schools to bring books and supplies. At the very least each school in Iraq should have a copy of this book. I imagine in the next few months and years, a child will crack open the Field Guide to the Birds of Iraq for the first time. First they will look for the familiar birds, the Laklak (White Stork), the Hudhud (Hoopoe) or the Wood Pigeon. They will come back to the book and see birds they never knew existed. For a few, the spark of curiosity will become a flame of a lifelong passion, perhaps when they realize these exotic creatures live, not in some far-off place, but in their own country. I fully expect that some of Iraq's next generation of naturalists and scientists will have started their journey when they discovered the world was larger and more wonderful than they had imagined when they opened this book.

I've discussed the idea of raising money to enable the widest distribution of this important book with a few people both here and in Iraq. I think it is a very important project and I'll follow up with some details as they are worked out.

Again, congratulations to all involved in the publication. I pray you reap a hundred-fold for your efforts.

2007-01-05T21:51:00.000-05:00

Another Lesser White-Fronted Goose tracked from Siberia to Iraq

In 2004 a satellite tagged Lesser White-fronted Goose was tracked from its nesting grounds in Siberia to its wintering grounds in Iraq. For the first time the entire round trip migration of a single bird of this species was documented.

The LWFG is a globally threatened species that has experienced a significant population decline and is assessed to be a moderate to high risk of extinction due to habitat fragmentation and hunting pressures. Almost nothing is known about the population wintering in Iraq. Populations in Azerbaijan and Iran have seen dramatic decreases according to to waterfowl biologists.

In July of this year in the Putorana Plateau in the Ural Mountains of Russia, another group of this threatened species were tagged with satellite transmitters. The birds were captured by netting them from a boat on open water during the post-breeding moult, when they cannot fly for a number of weeks (see photo above) . Of the six birds, only 2 were still transmitting data as of December 2006.

Both birds had arrived at a reservoir on the Iran/Azerbaijan border near the Azerbaijani city of Nakhichevan in Early November. One bird had made its way to the Euphrates Valley in Syria by early December, just over the Iraq/Syria border. Currently this bird is spending its time in a wetland area about 50 km north of Al Qaim in Al Anbar Province. The bird has been tracked as close as 5 miles from the Iraqi border.

The second bird was still in Azerbaijan on December 25th. On December 29th the bird had moved 650 km south to Maysan province in Iraq very close or in the Birdlife International IBA of Haur Al Sa'adiyah. Much of the area appears to be agricultural land now. Surveys of the area in the 1960's and again in 1979 recorded large numbers of wintering waterfowl and shorebirds including Ruddy Shelduck, Pintail, Gadwall, Wigeon, Shoveler, Teal, Mallard, Greylag Goose and Greater Flamingo. In 1979 up to 2500 Common Cranes were wintering in the area.

On January 5th, 2007 the bird had moved about 60 km northwest to a rich agricultural area approximately 25 km east of the city of Kut in Wasit Province. It would be interesting to find out where this bird is feeding since Wasit Province reported a bumper crop of both Wheat and Barley this year. In some other countries, the government has paid farmers to leave some grain in the field for waterfowl.

This bird is visiting some of the same areas as the bird tracked from Siberia in 2004/2005. The surveys of the southern Marshes of the last several years have demonstrated that these wetlands remain an important wintering area for Eurasian waterfowl.

2006-10-05T17:05:00.000-05:00

Speaking in New York City on October 10th

I'll be giving a talk for the Linnaean Society of New York at 7:30 pm on October 10th at the American Museum of Natural History. Admission is free. Please enter at West 77th street between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue. The talk will be held in the Lindner Theater.

I'm looking forward to sharing some good things happening in Iraq. In the talks I've done before, I always meet some great like-minded people.

2006-08-20T00:17:00.000-05:00

Iraqi Hunters and Conservation

I came across the website of the Iraqi Hunters Association . The gallery has a few photos from hunts in Iraq showing Black Francolin, Ruddy Shelducks and Greylag Geese. There is also a wildlife page with some interesting commentary on different species of Iraqi game and non-game wildlife. According to the site the Houbara Bustard has declined significantly and methods such as using nets and lights (jacklighting) are used to hunt them. They suggest all methods be banned except for the traditional use of trained falcons.

The website got me thinking about hunting and conservation. Among the goals of the association are setting bag limits for species that have populations that can support hunting and banning the taking of species that are threatened. They also espouse the conservation of habitat and better land management.

Prior to the war, hunting was popular in Iraq. One of our clinics near Baghdad was Saddam Hussein's hunting lodge. In the winter, good numbers of waterfowl come to the surrounding lakes. These days walking around with a shotgun or hunting rifle just might get you killed.

In the US there are many hunting organizations that have a large conservation component such as Ducks Unlimited and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. Hunters are often natural partners in conservation and have a deep appreciation for nature. Some organizations and governments have conducted auctions of big game hunting permits to fund conservation programs. The US Fish and Wildlife Service issues Federal Duck stamps to fund the National Wildlife Refuge program. Every US hunter must purchase a stamp annually if they want to hunt migratory waterfowl. The money is used to buy or lease wetland habitat.

I think its a good sign that there are people in Iraq thinking about sustainable hunting. There may be opportunities for international groups to get involved. Perhaps correct management of some big game animals such as gazelle or Ibex could allow limited hunting where licenses could fund local conservation programs. The verdict is still out on the cost-benefit of these type of programs, but it could be an option. In Pakistan limited trophy hunting of Markhor, Ibex and Blue Sheep have shown some success. License fees have allowed game wardens to be hired and significantly reduced poaching since it cuts into the local communities potential revenues. Hunting permits for the endangered Markhor are auctioned and went for 25,000 to 55,000 US dollars last year.

2006-08-13T23:44:00.000-05:00

More Birding from the Victory Base Complex

John and Marc have some great pictures up on the Yahoo group Operation Iraqi Birds. Both are serving on the Victory Base Complex in Baghdad and seeing some good birds.

Among recent sightings have been Little Grebe, Pygmy Cormorant, 3 species of Kingfishers (Pied, Common and White-breasted), Wattled, Spur-winged and White-tailed Plovers, Black-winged Stilt, Common and Iraq Babblers, Squacco Heron, Little Egret, Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, Black Francolin, Wood Pigeon, Collared Dove, Rufous Bush Robin, Magpie and Graceful Prinia. There are many nice photos in the gallery on the OIBirds site.

One of the recent pictures showed at least 3 additional species of smaller shorebirds (One was most likely a redshank). Now is the time to start looking for the migrants coming from the far north.

2006-07-30T12:57:00.000-05:00

Iraq records a critically endangered bird

One of the rarest birds in the world, the Northern Bald Ibis has been satellite tracked to extreme western Iraq during its migration south from the breeding grounds of the tiny remenant population of 13 birds in Syria (discovered in 2002) to Yemen. The name of the male bird tracked through Iraq is Salam (Peace). Hopefully, this name will be prophetic for both the birds and Iraq.

The bird was recorded in Iraq on the morning of July 18th having flown 207 km from its breeding grounds in Palmyra, Syria since the day before. The bird is currently in Western Yemen along with two other tagged birds.

The fact that there are more Northern Bald Ibis in capitivity than in the wild highlights their tenuous hold. Another small wild population exists in Morocco.

The bird once found throughout Europe and the Middle East has experience a spectacular decline. A colony in Turkey dropped from 600-800 pairs in 1954 to 6 pairs in 1980. It was last wild birds nested in 1989, when the remaining few birds were captured for a captive breeding program.

I previously had the Northern Bald Ibis listed as extirpated on the Iraqi list. I've happily changed the Bald Ibis status on the Iraqi checklist from extirpated to rare visitor. Historically there were a few colonies in Iraq. I couldn't find any references, save a map in the IUEP Action Plan for the Northern Bald Ibis.

After going undiscovered for so long in Syria, perhaps there is a chance that other relict colonies exist in Syria and maybe even remote areas of Iraq.

2006-07-27T07:08:00.001-05:00

Good News for the Endangered Basra Reed Warbler

Birdlife International has announced the discovery of breeding Basrah Reed Warblers far out of the known breeding areas of Iraq and Iran. 4 birds including a recently fledged juvenile were found in Israel's Hula Valley in June 2006. A newly discovered disjunct population would be great news for this ICUN Red-listed species. The revegetation of the southern marshes of Iraq also bode well for this small songbird whose population may have dropped up to 80% since the early 1970's. In Iraq the bird has been found in reed-filled marshes and riverbanks from Baghdad to the Shatt Al-Arab marshes in the south. In 1981 a survey reported breeding birds in the Jadriyah section of Baghdad right across the river from the Green Zone. The birds might survive in small patches in greater Baghdad, though the original site now has been significantly degraded. The stronghold remains the lower Mesopotamian marshes.

2006-07-11T16:16:00.000-05:00

Iraq Natural History References and Iraq Fauna Wiki

I wish I knew what was happening at my other site Iraqfauna.wikispaces.com. The unique visitors are going through the roof! My hope is that it will be used primarily by Iraqis to share information on the country's animal biodiversity. So far I've been the only editor, so its not living up to its potential as a collaborative site. I have been working on the Iraq bird list and slowly adding Arabic names and links to both species photos and range maps, where available.

I've also added more links for people to explore. I'll copy them here to give them a wider audience. Remember anyone can edit the Iraqfauna wiki and add to it. All previous versions are saved so don't worry about wrecking anything.
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Iraq Natural History Links from iraqfauna.wikispaces.com
INVERTEBRATES
Longhorn Beetles (Cerambycidae) of the Western Palearctic - Michal Hoskovek and Martin Rejzek of the Czech Republic have compiled an illustrated list of the hundreds of species of this large and economically important group of beetles. Their site also has field trip reports from Iran, Syria and Turkey. A very impressive site.

The Sphingidae of the Western Palearctic - Tony Pittaway's comprehensive site covering all the Hawkmoths of the region. Detailed species pages have photos of adults, caterpillars and sometimes parasitoids. An excellent resource.

Scorpions of Iraq - A pictorial introduction to the species of scorpions in Iraq by Norwegian scorpion researcher Jan Ove Rein.

FISH
FISHBASE - List of Fish of Iraq This incredible resource has over 1000 collaborators and has a huge amount of info on Iraqi Fish derived from their database. Info includes pictures, bibliography, collection data.

Freshwater Fishes of Iraq - A project of Brian W. Coad, a scientist at the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa. In addition to a great picture of a large Tigris Salmon (Barbus esocinus), this site has the most authoritative species list, a list of Arabic fish names and a huge bibliography of over 1500 entries.

BIRDS
Laura Erikson's Birderblog - Iraq Species Gallery - A selection of bird photos taken in Iraq by US military and civilians sent to Laura Erikson who runs Birderblog.

Birding Babylon - Natural history notes from Iraq. Started in March 2004 when Jonathan Trouern-Trend deployed to Iraq with the US Army.

Birdlife International's Important Bird Areas in Iraq - Link to descriptions and map pages of areas identified as IBAs in Iraq.

Birds of the Western Palearctic - Maps for all the birds on the Western Palearctic list. Iraq is on the far eastern border of the region.

Birds of Kuwait - Part of Abdul-Rahman Al-Sirhan's fantastic site on the wildlife of Kuwait. He has spent the last few years photographing and documenting the fauna of Kuwait and has a large number of great photos. Most bird species found in Kuwait can also be found in parts of Iraq. Google's Arabic-English translation tool can be used read the Arabic parts of the website.

Environmental Organizations working in Iraq
Birdlife International

Canada-Iraq Marshlands Initiative

Eden Again/Iraq Nature

Iraq Nature Conservation Association

UN Environmental Program - Marshlands Project

Iraqi Marshlands Observation System - a collaborative project that uses satellite imagery and landcover analysis to document the restoration of the Mesopotamian Marshes in Southern Iraq. Includes weekly imagery. April 2006 - Marsh Vegetation at 58% of pre-drainage levels - In March 2003 the marshes were down to approximately 7% of historic levels.

Academic and Governmental Organizations
Ministry of Environment - English language website for the Iraqi Ministry of Environment in Baghdad.

University of Basrah Marine Science Center - An institution devoted to studying the study of the biology and environment of the southern Iraqi Marshes, the Shatt Al-Arab and the Arabian Gulf. Publishes a newsletter and the Journals Marina Mesopotamica and the Journal of Aquaculture.

2006-06-25T22:55:00.000-05:00

Here's another critter people don't expect to see in Iraq, a Crested Porcupine (Hystrix indica). This large rodent can weigh up to 40 pounds. The photo was taken by Rocco Moschetti, a vector control specialist who worked in Iraq for 2 years. This porcupine wandered into a trap set for feral dogs at Al Asad Airbase in Al Anbar province. Other interesting animals he caught included jungle cat and striped hyena.

Another birder is now active at the Camp Victory complex near the Baghdad International Airport. John is an Air Force Officer on a 4 month rotation, which should get him into the best times for fall shorebirds, landbirds and waterfowl. John has written about some of the birds he's seen at his blog and he's started a yahoo group called Operation Iraq Birds where he'll be posting some of his pictures. He's at least the fifth resident of the base complex who has been a serious birder. I was only a visitor, but I did see some great birds on base.

Two of his predecessors LTC Bob and Joe H from Alaska both compiled impressive lists within the confines of the few interconnected bases. The variety of habitats from large lakes, reed-lined canals, scrub and mudflats add to the bird diversity.

Laura Erickson at Birderblog is still getting photos of birds from people stationed in Iraq. She's accumulated quite a gallery that is worth checking out.

2006-06-03T23:06:00.000-05:00

Today I found an announcement of the designation of the first wildlife refuge that I've heard of in Iraq. The Assafia Wildlife Sanctuary is located in the Al-Hawizah Marsh between Basrah and Amara near the Iranian border in the south of the country. This marsh was essentially the only part of the mesopotamian marshes that survived the draining in the 1980's and 90's. The fact that the marsh also received water from a river in Iran probably saved it from the fate of the central marshlands. By 2000 Al-Hawizah was reduced to 35% of its 1970's levels. Since 2003, the marsh has started to expand again because of reflooding. A dike being built on the Iranian side of the marsh will probably have a negative impact on the marsh by diverting water coming from the Karkeh and Karun Rivers.

The Al-Hawizah Marsh was said to have one of the largest concentrations of wintering waterbirds in the world. It unknown the status today, but the marsh once held large numbers ofwintering Greylag Goose, Mallard, Gadwall, Eurasian Wigeon, Common Teal, Pintail, Northern Shoveler, Red-crested Pochard, Pochard, Tufted Duck, Greater Flamingo and Coot. Breeding birds include the Endangered Basra Reed Warbler, Grey Hypocolius and Iraq Babbler. Historically Goliath Heron, African Darter and Sacred Ibis were found in the marsh.

In February a meeting between the Basrah Marine Science Center and local government officials established a plan to manage the sanctuary including conducting a biological inventory and provide environmental education of people living near the sanctuary.

This is a big step. Iraq under the former regime had no real conservation infrastructure. The few conservation laws, such as countrywide bans on hunting, were ignored.

A recent paper entitled "Restoring the Garden of Eden: An ecological assessment of the marshes of Iraq" was published this past week in the Journal Bioscience. The paper documents the revival of some of the Mesopotamian marshes since the fall of the former regime in March of 2003.

2006-05-04T01:39:00.000-05:00

You may notice some format changes. Its the result of blogger crapping out when I was making a minor change to the template. I was left with no template and the backup was not too useful.

The book seems to be getting a lot of press, which is nice. Emily Gertz wrote a nice story about my time in Iraq and my ongoing interest in the region. The story is running in the current edition of Grist Magazine. I was interviewed today by the Baltimore Sun. On Saturday I am scheduled to be on CNN around 12:30.

I was very excited to see that google has a new Arabic/English translation program in Beta. The one I've used before was somewhat limited. Like the other translation programs that Google has, it will do a machine translation of a website on the fly. Depending on the language, you can often get a passable translation. I tried it on this site as well as the Iraq Fauna Wiki. I'm planning to use it to create an Arabic mirror. Like all Machine Translations the result will need work, but its a start. If nothing else it could produce some amusing reading for Arabic speakers. Currently it seems to work best for news and would not be recommended for poetry.

2006-04-28T23:20:00.000-05:00

Iraq Fauna Wiki and Fly Fishing in Iraq

I thought I'd elaborate a bit more on the new site I recently set up called Iraq Fauna. Its a wiki format, so like wikipedia where anyone can edit the entries this new site is meant to develop as an aggregation of information and ideas about animal life and the environment in Iraq. Please email me if you have any trouble using the site. To edit a page all you need to do is press the edit button and start typing. Don't worry about screwing anything up, all previous versions are saved and can be recovered.

I'd like to emphasize the collaborative part of this, and invite everyone to contribute to the extent they can, even if it is reformatting the text on a page. I think, relatively rapidly we can build a site that can be a valuable resource. For those who have been in Iraq or are currently in the country please add your observations and photos. I'll be adding all my wildlife and habitat photos to the gallery.

I've set up the skeleton of the site and I'm currently working on. I also have put up a list for the Birds of Iraq, which is a starting point for developing a definitive list based on well documented sightings and specimen records. I'm hoping to have a significant amount of Arabic language content and welcome anyone who wants to start working on it. I'll be adding Arabic names on the Checklist of the Birds of Iraq page.

On another note I found a great website written by Joel, a US Navy officer, devoted to fishing in the lakes around the Camp Victory Complex near Baghdad International Airport. This guy even started a Fly Fishing Course for military personnel! Also some nice fish pictures.

2006-04-20T05:46:00.000-05:00

Environmental NGOs in Iraq

Nature Iraq has it's latest newsletter up on the Eden Again Website. Many positive developments are reported including the release of an Interim master plan for restoration and management of the southern marshes by the New Eden Group (A collaboration of Nature Iraq and the Italian Ministry of Environment and Territory). This document is the culmination of years of work studying every salient aspect of the marshes from Biodiversity to Hydrology and Economic impacts. The document will be presented to the Iraqi government to inform future decisions on the marshes. As the management and responsibility for the marshes and water resources transition to the Iraqi government there is a need to keep the benefits of marsh restoration in the forefront.

Also reported was an Regional Environmental Roundtable which brought together NGOs from Iraq, Syria, Jordan and Lebanon in September. They discussed the need for training in a number of areas to build their capacity to carry out their respective projects. This is where I think more International Environmental Groups and Educational Institutions can have a real positive impact. I perceive some prominent groups only want to support development in Iraq in the theoretical, not practical sense. Perhaps there is an attitude that participating in Iraq would somehow add legitimacy to the military/political conflict which they opposed so strenuously. If this is true, it is morally bankrupt thinking. Making positive change and building civil society should take primacy over political posturing. I encourage both individuals and organizations to contribute as they can. Iraq Nature counts 35 environmental NGOs in Iraq!

The areas of need are:
1. Strategic Planning
2. Administrative and Management Skills
3. Capacity building for environmental impact assessments/evaluations
4. Advocacy Skills

Ideally, training should happen locally, since it allows the greatest number of people to participate. Several workshops have been held regionally, such as in Jordan or Syria.

Finally a field report from the Canada-Iraq Marshland Initiative is written up in the Nature Iraq Newsletter. Ecological surveys of major reflooded areas have been conducted by 6 teams, comprising 44 students and technical advisors from Central and Southern Iraq. Major groups surveyed include phytoplankton, zooplankton, benthic invertebrates, plants, fish and birds. Early indications are that some reflooded areas are showing signs of full recovery. Nearly all the rare and endangered birds have been found and some have been found breeding. I've heard through other channels that African Darter, Sacred Ibis, Goliath Heron and Basra Reed Warbler have all been seen.

I put up a new page on the Iraq Fauna Wiki to brainstorm on ideas to support Iraqi organizations working on environmental issues.

2006-04-15T10:29:00.000-05:00

Don't wait for the Movie

I want to let people know that I have a small book coming out May 1st based on some of my in-country entries from Iraq and Kuwait. The book is called Birding Babylon - A soldiers journal from Iraq. Its a collection of entries from this blog as well as a systematic list at the end. While not my magnum opus, it is nice to have something that might encourage a bit more interest in Iraq's natural history. The book is published by the Sierra Club and the University of California Press and is available online from the publishers and most major book sites. I'd like to thank Diana Landau and Orli Cotel from Sierra club who have worked hard on this project. I'd also like to thank Flemming Ulrich, a Danish Soldier and birder who allowed the use of his Blue-cheeked Bee-eater photo from Camp Eden, Iraq to be used on the cover.

About a week ago I went down to the Hackensack River in the Meadowlands of New Jersey. I met John Seabrook from the New Yorker magazine, who is writing a story on the book and my time in Iraq. We paddled around the marshes with a couple folks from Hackensack Riverkeeper, an environmental organization dedicated to protecting the river. We saw a few birds that I also saw in Iraq including a Moorhen, flying off into the marsh. The article should be out in Monday's edition of the New Yorker.

Last weekend I gave a talk at an Army Medical conference about human-wildlife interactions in Iraq from the Paleolithic domestication of the dog in northern Iraq to the bounceback of the southern Marshes today. It was a bit on the rough side but I'll be working on the brief to smooth it out a bit. I recently stumbled on the UNEP Iraqi Marshland Observation System. Each week they take imagery of the southern Marshes to chart the progress of reflooding and vegetation growth. Last week they measured the vegetation at 58% of historical levels. In March 2003 the Marshes were only 7% of their historical size.

Finally, I've started a new project called IraqFauna. It uses the collaborative Wiki model which allows anyone to edit and (hopefully) add to the contents. I have a number of goals for the site. One is to aggregate information on Iraq's animal biodiversity and stimulate interest for people inside and outside Iraq. I've posted my systematic list of birds I saw in Iraq and will start expanding the list with other people's sightings as soon as I'm done formating mine. I also put a page up on the Iraq Bioblitz Project, which I hope can move forward.

2006-03-03T22:38:00.000-05:00

Bird Observations in Camp Victory/Baghdad Airport Area Oct 2005-February 2006

I've mentioned Joe H, an American birder who arrived in Iraq in October to work with the military. He's done a great service by providing monthly updates of his sightings while working at the large base complex near the Baghdad International Airport. If you are a military birder, its a good place to be stationed with a mix of several large lakes, scrub areas, some palm and eucalyptus trees, and reed-lined canals. I saw several great birds at Camp Victory, Camp Liberty and some of the smaller camps close-by including one of my favorites, the blue-cheeked bee-eaters which were fledging young next to one of Saddam's unfinished palaces - humorously named - Victory over America Palace.

Joe's tour came to an end at the end of February. He reports that during his stay he listed 64 species, of which 48 were lifers. Reading his posts will give you an excellent list of what to look out for during the late fall and winter. There are a few differences with what I saw a year earlier at LSA Anaconda around 50 miles north. Joe saw a better variety of ducks than I did including several species that I didn't see including Common Pochard, Red-crested Pochard and Gadwall. Like at Anaconda Northern Shovelers were sometimes seen in large flocks. I also had the impression while I was there that Anaconda had more rooks and jackdaws during the winter. Our nightly, noisy invasion of rooks with some jackdaws mixed in may have been because we were within a few hundred meters of a good size date palm grove where the birds would roost. Joe also saw a Blue Rock Thrush and some other birds I would have liked to see such as common kingfisher, skylark, marsh warbler and little bittern.

Read all his updates over at BirdForum.

To Joe - Thanks for your service and thanks for sharing your sightings.

2006-02-08T23:21:00.000-05:00

Bird Flu Outbreak - Iraq

I've meant to write about bird flu for some time now. When the outbreak in Turkey started in January I had a renewed impetus however my schedule has been all enveloping since the beginning of the year. Because of it's importance both in terms of human health as well as potential impacts on wild bird populations I will devote some time to this topic. This is a significant departure to my usual posts on Iraqi natural history.

With two confirmed deaths, several more reported including one from outside of the Kurdish region there is sufficient evidence that certain precautionary measures should be taken including the slaughter of flocks in areas where bird or human infections have been confirmed and people changing behaviors to limit contact with domestic or wild birds such as the use of a mask when tending flocks in areas where no cull has been ordered and stopping all activities like hunting where a person might handle dead birds.

The large scale cull of poultry will cause significant hardship for those who rely on small subsistence flocks of poultry for food. It will also put a strain on the commercial poultry and egg producers.

The main message is to avoid close contact with domestic or wild birds. Most cases to date of Avian Influenza H5N1 have been associated with this risk factor, especially handling birds that are sick or dead. I'll pull together as much useful information as I can for those on the ground. Worldwide there has been no evidence of widespread person-to-person contact. In January the human disease broke out of East and Southeast Asia when human cases started to be reported from Turkey. Several viral mutations noted in the Turkish outbreak are cause for concern and might make the virus more adapted to humans.

I don't claim to be a world expert on bird flu, however my civilian job involves keeping an eye on emerging infectious diseases and how they could potentially affect human health. I write this only to note that keeping an eye on these types of diseases are part of my job and I have closely followed the sporadic outbreaks since 1997 when the first cases of Avian flu were identified in Hong Kong. I wrote my first threat assessment 8 years ago. All opinions expressed are mine not those of the the Department of Defense or any other agency and are base solely on open source material.

If H5N1 were to remain static as it exists today, most people would have little or no reason to be concerned about a virus that spreads from bird to people less than 200 times in the last 9 years out of tens of millions of potential contacts during that period. If it remains the same, bird flu will be a rare disease in humans that causes huge agricultural losses and has a significant impact on some wild bird species. We can pray that this happens, however we cannot afford to assume it. Bird Flu today is simply a potential source of the next Influenza pandemic that is currently causing massive problems among poultry.

Background
Avian Influenza Viruses are common pathogens in a variety of bird species including domestic birds. Humans with close contact with infected birds very rarely were infected and the result was often a mild disease like conjunctivitis.

In 1997 something alarming happened that told the world there was a potential problem with global implications. Avian Influenza viruses in the H5 subgroup (named after a surface protein) were known to cause mild disease in poultry (ruffled feathers, decreased egg production). In March 1997, in Hong Kong, one particular strain designated H5N1 broke out in a new and lethal form in several farms involving several thousand birds. The first H5N1 Avian Flu Virus actually was first isolated in Scotland in 1959, the first Asian isolate was in Guangdong Province, China in 1996. Chickens with the new Highly Pathogenic H5N1 had a mortality rate approaching 100%. More alarming was that 18 people were infected with this highly pathogenic form, of whom 6 patients died.

All the dots were not connected until August of 1997 after labs subtyped the virus from a human case and found it closely related to those from the bird outbreak. The Hong Kong government considered the single case in May as an isolated case because no other H5N1 cases in humans had been reported during the summer. As a precaution the government increased influenza surveillence and began testing suspected Influenza cases.

In November, after a 6 month hiatus, H5N1 reappeared with a single case. The first two weeks of December brought 6 confirmed cases, then 7 more in the next few weeks. There was a fear that because the normal Hong Kong Flu season was starting there was a potential for the bird flu virus to recombine with a human flu virus in a patient with both infections to produce a more transmissible version of bird flu. A serious concern was that most patients died of a primary viral pneumonia and had no underlying condition or disease that should make them more susceptible to a respiratory virus. Most cases of pneumonia in Influenza patients are caused by a secondary infection caused by bacteria. The secondary infection can often be treated with antibiotics, a primary viral infection cannot be treated with antibiotics. The few children who were infected had mortality rate of around 20% while those over 17 years of age approached 60%. Most cases reported close contact, at farm or market, with poultry in the 24 hours prior to the onset of symptoms.

This set off alarm bells in the places like the World Health Organization and The Centers for Disease Control. In the last century the emergence of a novel Influenza virus has caused several pandemics of varying power. The one that everyone was thinking about was the Influenza Pandemic of 1918 to 1920. Worldwide an estimated 20 to 40 million people died, no one really knows for sure but it may have been much higher with many cases in the developing world. In the US a new contagious disease with a high case fatality rate is of concern, when it is Influenza there is a potential for a global epidemic or pandemic. The good news was that there was little evidence of the nightmare scenario, namely that the disease was spreading person to person through microscopic droplets containing the virus that get suspended in the air when a person coughs or sneezes. The bad news is that Influenza can rapidly mutate and there was a potential for a mutation that allowed efficient person to person spread.

In December 1997 someone in Hong Kong was thinking clearly and ordered something drastic and apparently effective. In 3 days all of Hong Kong's domestic poultry (chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys) were slaughtered. It ended up being 1.6 million birds. The outbreak was contained with no further infections of H5N1. Many believed the world dodged a bullet because there was evidence that the virus was mutating. Hong Kong may have been the best place for the outbreak to have happened. It combined a limited geographic area with access to modern medicine and perhaps most importantly a government that jumped on the problem once it was identified and acted rationally and decisively. The warning of Hong Kong 1997 was that it took a long time to identify what was happening.

I remember attending the International Conference on Emerging Infectious Disease in Atlanta in 1998. At this inaugural meeting of physicians, researchers, and government officials concerned with emerging diseases I heard about the H5N1 outbreak from some scientists from Hong Kong. The mass cull of all of Hong Kong's birds had happened three months earlier. It appeared that the outbreak had been stopped. There was more movement on preparing for an Influenza pandemic including better surveillance mechanisms to try to cut the gap seen in Hong Kong because their labs couldn't type the virus. I think in many people's mind was the idea that somewhere in East Asia H5N1 or some other virus circulating at low levels would break out and start another human epidemic. Next time, I thought, we might not be so lucky, the government might not be so quick or eager to act. I thought interior China would be a good place to demonstrate the statement "How bad can it get before anyone notices". A local government might have a number of reasons to conceal the beginning of an epidemic, the national government might also have their reasons.

H5N1 disappeared from the scene only to emerge again in Hong Kong in 2003 in a family that had recently travelled to southern China. Everyone suspected H5N1 was still circulating somewhere on the mainland. In 2004 cases began to pop up in Vietnam. A gigantic epidemic was in progress among domestic birds with hundreds of outbreaks in the country. During 2004 and 2004 outbreaks of H5N1 showed up in Cambodia, Thailand, China and Indonesia.

Migratory birds have been implicated in the spread of the virus. Most species that have been infected either breed near water or farmland close to human habitation, scavenge near farms like magpies and crows or are kept in captivity like falcons and some songbirds. Some people argue that wild birds are a small part of the story with movements of domestic poultry as the biggest culprit. High amounts of the virus are shed in the feces and may be a mechanism that domestic birds are infected by wild ones and perhaps, more likely, vice versa. There is some evidence that H5N1 is primarily an infection of the gastrointestinal tract in birds. There has been at least 1 human case where there were no respiratory symptoms, only severe diarrhea.

Until January of 2006, Human cases of Bird Flu were confined to East and Southeast Asia. That changed with an outbreak in Turkey that started in January 2006. A widespread epidemic among poultry that had been brewing for several months led to over 20 reported human cases in the space of 2 weeks with 4 deaths. Only 12 cases have been confirmed by the WHO lab. Turkey apparently arrested the epidemic in humans with a massive cull of over 10 million domestic birds. An outbreak of another strain of Avian Influenza in the Netherlands in 2003 resulted in a monster cull of 30 million birds. All but 1 of 53 reported outbreaks in Turkey were in backyard flocks. There was a single outbreak in a commercial flock. The lessons of both Hong Kong and Turkey should be clear. The way to control bird flu is to take the extreme measure of killing all poultry in the outbreak area.

Current Situation in Iraq
In January the first human case of Avian Influenza H5N1 appeared in the Kurdish area of northern Iraq near the city of Suleimaniyah. This was the first instance of bird flu appearing in humans before disease had been reported in birds. Usually birds are the sentinels. In Hong Kong flocks of hundreds of birds suddenly died. Some confusion followed as the government announced that the death was not caused by bird flu. They may have just been buying time. The doctors thought otherwise and sent a sample to the US Naval Medical Research Unit in Cairo. The lab came up with a positive test result for H5N1 and a WHO affiliated lab later confirmed the result. The initial case's 39 year old uncle was later confirmed as the second case. He died on January 27th, 9 days after falling ill. Both cases lived in the same house and were exposed to sick birds. Two outbreaks were officially reported from the area involving 450 dead birds in one flock and 200 in another. Another 2500 birds were reported destroyed in the two flocks with H5 Avian Influenza. The report also speaks of "huge numbers of birds" killed in the area near the Turkish border after Turkey reported bird flu in their border area. Iran reportedly also culled flocks within 15km of the Turkish border. In Iraq there are innumerable backyard flocks of chickens, Turkeys, Ducks and Geese - all which have been affected in other outbreaks and could transmit the disease to humans under the right conditions.

Soon after, there were reports of bird cases in the southern province of Missan near Amara. Amara is near the southern marshes and several hundred miles south of Suleimaniyah. Some have theorized that the birds may have aquired the infection from migrating birds wintering in the marshes. Two pigeons tested for an H5 subtype avian influenza which initiated a cull of almost 1000 birds. There was a report of a death of a young pigeon seller, however, as far as I am aware all human samples from this area have tested negative for H5N1.

Turkey had complained for almost a month that countries surrounding them were ignoring bird flu, even while it raged mere miles from its international borders with countries like Iraq, Iran, Syria and Azerbaijan. The outbreak in Iraq proved their point.

After the first cases were announced a large cull started in the villages surrounding the human cases. As of February 19th the Iraqi Ministry of health reported that 1.5 million poultry have been killed in 2 provinces with over 500 people involve in the effort to contain bird flu. There are over 20 suspected human cases, though only two have been confirmed.

In the last three weeks over a dozen additional countries have reported H5N1 cases in birds. In Nigeria it has been in Chickens, in Europe and Iran it has been in wild waterfowl. As cases proliferate the danger of further human cases also increases. The real danger is that the virus mutates into a form that makes it more transmissible to humans and, more importantly, between humans.

Here's some suggestions based on what we know about the spread of the disease.

1. Limit poultry/wild bird contact
In Iraq and around the world, those most at risk for human disease are owners of poultry flocks that can interact with wild birds. In the case of ducks and geese, it is common for wild ducks to visit outdoor flocks. Other birds like crows and sparrows frequently enter poultry enclosures to eat the domestic bird's food. Several European countries have recognised this particular risk and ordered flocks moved indoors. In England the Ravens at the Tower of London have been moved inside as a protective measure. Even though there have been a number of outbreaks in large intensive poultry farms, the workers at these farms don't seem to be at high risk for infection.

For the average urban Iraqi in Mosul, Baghdad or Basra the risk of bird flu in its current form is negligible and should not be high on their priority list of risks. The same is true for most foreign military and civilian personnel who generally are not exposed to or eat local poultry. Should bird flu mutate into a highly transmissible disease among people (like the standard Influenza A) all bets are off as a pandemic develops worldwide.

For those most at risk, recognizing that a dead bird could be a risk to their health will go a long way. Quick treatment for H5N1 infection is also important. It is generally true that the quicker the patient is treated the better the outcome. Getting appropriate antivirals like Tamiflu within 48 hours of symptoms is very important. In human disease if left too long the damage cannot be undone with drugs.

If I had a flock outside the outbreak area, I would keep a close eye out for symptoms in the birds like plumetting egg production or edema in the face and comb. If something happened like in other outbreaks such as dozens or hundreds of my birds are dead one morning, I would be very concerned and would not go poking around the remaining birds. I would report the incident as soon as I could. If I started feeling ill with respiratory or flu like illness I would go to the nearest significant size hospital and let them know my recent history.

I know in each step there are many barriers, however this is an idealized case.

2. Recognize sick birds/don't handle sick or dead birds.
Educating people about watching out for sick birds and properly disposing of them is an important step. Most cases of bird flu in humans came in contact with a sick bird either in a bird market or at home. A more insidious problem is when sick birds are slaughtered and sold in the market. These carcasses could be sources of infection. A good step, which could involve coalition military resources, would to be to produce a simple 1 page factsheet that describes what to look for and what to do if a person suspects their birds are dying of bird flu. Put it on the internet, print it in the papers, put it on TV, send people around to the villages. Stress that people will be compensated and that they have an important role to play in fighting the disease. Also stress that by employing culls, nearby Turkey has controlled the disease for now. Reports of people hiding birds or slaughtering and eating them before the cull need to be addressed with proper education and appropriate compensation.

3. If possible - leave the culling of flocks to appropriately equipped workers.
There is some evidence that improper culling of infected flocks has led to human cases. The messy physical nature of the cull, coupled with close contact is a recipe for disaster. Workers need protective gear, at a minimum respiratory protection, gloves and impermeable coveralls. Here again, perhaps coalition military personnel could assist in transportation of teams to remote areas or provide some other logistic help like the aquisition of protective gear.

A useful document is available on the OIE website
Guidelines for the Killing of Animals for Disease Control Purposes - Appendix 3.7.6. of the OIE Terrestrial Animal Health Code 2005

The WHO has suggested a few other things for people involved in the cull of infected birds. They recommend that they be vaccinated with the current influenza vaccine. The purpose of this is to minimize the risk that they be infected with a human Influenza A virus and bird flu at the same time. This might allow the reassortment of genes creating a more dangerous bird flu. The current vaccine does not protect against H5N1. These workers should also be screened and monitored for flu-like illness or conjunctivitis and blood tests should be taken to test for exposure to H5N1 virus.

4. Limit close contact with wild birds
I have read reports that the Iraqi government has banned bird hunting throughout the country. This is easier said than done. Bird hunting is sometimes a subsistence level activity and waterfowl as well as shorebirds and gamebirds such as quail and francolin are hunted throughout the country. I have no data on this but I would rank migratory waterbirds higher on the risk scale than resident landbirds such as francolins. There are no clearcut human cases associated with wild birds, but it remains a possibility.

5. Ban movement of poultry over international borders and within the country
The movement of poultry, especially Chickens has played a major part in the global spread of H5N1. It is interesting that both Japan and South Korea have not experienced additional H5N1 outbreaks since instituting strict bans on the import of poultry. Someone recently said that globalization had made the chicken the world's #1 migratory bird. This is not an understatement. China alone has over 9 billion chickens. Chickens move in huge numbers all around the world through trade. We don't know but this may have played a role in both the Turkish and Nigerian outbreaks. Chickens bred in China were sold in Turkey and apparently Nigeria gets many of its commercial chickens from Turkey. It is possible that bird flu has spread more by chickens and that wild birds were infected by domestic poultry.

6. Begin active surveillance for H5N1 in poultry, wild birds and people.
Active surveillance means trying to find the disease by looking for and testing sick birds, more testing of people with respiratory symptoms, random testing of waterfowl, etc. It serves two purposes. First you get a better handle on the extent of the outbreak and can make more informed statements about risk. The second is that it makes the public more confident that the people in charge are actively doing something instead of just reacting to uncontrollable events. A specific application might be intensive testing of commercial egg laying flocks. An active surveillance program might preserve the viability of parts of the poultry industry by ensuring the flocks are safe and the products they produce won't harm the public.

7. Consider vaccination for village and backyard flocks
This option was previously discounted because in some cases a bird can still shed virus, even though they might not show symptoms. The thinking is evolving and some have advocated vaccination because culling is sometimes impractical because chickens are the main source of protein in some areas. The Dutch are now requesting to vaccinate their flocks because of their experience in 2003 with a gigantic cull of 30 million birds and the attending economic fallout. Application of such a plan would be in the realm of the poultry experts.

Here's some online resources on Avian Influenza
Centers for Disease Control
World Health Organization
OIE (World Animal Health Organization)

Ok, that's all I'm going to write for now. I'll update this post as warranted and cross-post on the bird flu site. My next post on Birding Babylon will be on a cheerier note.

2006-01-15T21:24:00.000-05:00

Falconry in Iraq

Dave, who has a relative serving in Iraq sent me a picture of a falcon from the Mosul area. An Army unit bought this falcon for a local man. He came and gave a demonstration for some of the soldiers. I think it's a Lanner Falcon (Falco biarmicus) but its hard to tell from the angle. The other possibility with those breast markings is a Saker Falcon (Falco cherrug). Let me know if you can give a more definitive ID. (Click on the picture to enlarge.)

Falconry is a very popular sport, especially in the Emirates and some of the other gulf states. It is associated with the traditional Arab way of life. According to Arabian tradition the birds would be released into the wild at the end of hunting season. This tradition has been continued for the last 11 years in Pakistan where birds from the Gulf States are released. In modern times people kept the best falcons year after year. In northern Iraq the sport is said to have been practiced for 2000 years. Some studies put the origins of falconry in the remote past. Each winter, wealthy Arabs travel places like Kazhakstan and Pakistan to fly their birds. This year, because of bird flu the hunters are sticking closer to home and hunting in Iran and North Africa. One of the favorite prey is the Houbara Bustard, a bird that is actually bred in the Emirates to try to replentish falling populations.

Many species of Falcons such as the Saker, Perigrine and Gyrfalcon are protected species and a black market has developed. A wealthy hunter may pay incredibe amounts (up to $40,000 dollars) for a bird that might have been trapped in Russia or hatched from eggs taken from the wild. Because of their investment owners spend lots of money taking care of the bird's health. Bahrain and Dubai even have Falcon hospitals.

In the past some falcons in Iraq were captured in the Sinjar Hills in northern Iraq. Many are also caught in China and Pakistan and sent to the Gulf Region. To try to deter the illegal trade the UAE has started a passport program for Falcons to try to track the legitimate birds entering the country. Now with bird flu there is concern that infected birds may come from the affected countries.

2006-01-07T21:07:00.002-05:00

Birds of Iraq: Pelicans

Many people think of Iraq as all desert. While true in parts of the south and Al Anbar province, Iraq is known for its water. The Tigris and Euphrates rivers have historically fed the large marshlands in the southern part of the country near Basra, Nasiriyah and Qurnah, the traditional site of the garden of Eden. Smaller marshes near Fallujah and Ramadi as well as lakes scattered around the country provide excellent habitat for wintering waterbirds.

Three species of Pelican are listed as being recorded in Iraq. Two are regular visitors and 1 is a vagrant.

Pink-backed Pelican - Apparently a rare visitor from its southern breeding grounds in the Red Sea and Africa. Even though this is one of the smallest pelican species it still has a wingspan of 8 feet.

Great White Pelican - A winter visitor to the marshes and lakes of Iraq. A high count of over 1200 birds was recorded at Haur Al Hammar Marsh near Amara in the southern part of Iraq in censuses in the late 1970's.

Dalmatian Pelican - A rare winter visitor to similar areas as the Great White Pelican. The high count at Haur Al Hammar was 81 birds, again in the 1970's.

2005-12-29T21:56:00.000-05:00

Pond at Tallil Airbase (Ali Base) December 2004. The Ziggurat of Ur is in the distance. I watched a pair of Pied Kingfishers, a Kentish (Snowy) Plover, a Grey Heron and a fine Male Black Redstart here. The city of Ur was the traditional home of the prophet Abraham.

Though this blog is focused on Iraqi wildlife I will make a little detour on this entry.

A reader soon to deploy to Afghanistan asked a few questions that I'll try to answer here.

The first is: what resources are there on Afghan birds? I've only found a few references since Afghanistan has been somewhat neglected since the 1979 Russian invasion. A few old British texts describe the wildlife of the region. Birdlife international has a review of the birdlife of Afghanistan which has a mix of palearctic and oriental species and 460 recorded species. There is one Afghan endemic, Afghan Snowfinch (Montifringila theresae). Happily we have one recent trip report of 82 species made by Anssi Kullberg combining the observation of 4 trips through Afghanistan in 2002. Some spectacular birds are to be seen. A birder from Iraq would recognise many of the familiar favorites: Magpies, Hoopoes, Crested Larks, Pied Kingfishers, Indian and European Roller plus many others. They would also be treated to birds of Indian origin like Brahminy Starling, Black Drongo and House Crow. Some truly exotic birds like the Himalayan Monal, a colorful and rare pheasant, are also on the Afghan list. A somewhat pricey two volume guide has been published this year by Lynx in Spain. The Birds of South Asia is the first guide to fully cover the birds of Afghanistan and at slightly less than $100 US is a good investment for someone spending a long time in Afghanistan.

Another question involved digiscoping and blogging from a forward deployed area. Others may want to add their 2 cents here. I did not have a great camera for birds, nor a scope. If I had to do it again I would try to bring both. I missed a lot of birds because they were out of binocular range.

I found that blogging anonymously is the way to go. It simplifies things considerably and makes the command much more comfortable with your blogging in general. My self imposed rules were very strict because of my role in battalion intelligence. I never revealed my name, my unit or my location in the country. We had many incidents that I never wrote about on my other blog because a relatively smart person could identify my location from the incident and perhaps use it for battle damage assessment. When it came to my wildlife watching, any and all my writing was seen as universally innocuous and not an operational security issue.

I've started posting again on HomeRange, my general natural history blog. It started out as my nature observations but I let it slide in back in May. I recently changed the focus to whatever I feel like writing about, from my observations to interesting news items.

2005-12-21T22:29:00.000-05:00

Michael Yon, one of my favorite bloggers in Iraq, has a contemplative post with lots of bird pictures he's taken in the last year. These include White-cheeked Bulbuls, Mesopotamian Crow and Spur-winged and White-tailed Plovers. I'm always pleased when I find someone, especially a soldier or former soldier in Michael's case, is interested in birds. It is an indicator to me of a person who can get outside of their immediate personal concerns. I guess it reminds me of the archetypal gentleman soldiers, renaissance men like the some of the British soldiers in the Mesopotamian campaign who compiled their observations of birds, mammals, plants and archeology into reports published by the Bombay Natural History Society. Or General Sir Alan Brooke, Chief of the Imperial General staff, enjoying a short walk watching goldfinch and stonechats on the eve of the Normandy invasion. I'm not sure if its coincidence or not but many of these multidimensional characters that I've met have been Marines. I'm not sure if there is something about the Marines that draws the soldier-scholar. Several I have met have been incredible students of history and culture and impressive intellectuals.

On another note I bought a copy of A Systematic List of the Vertebrates of Iraq by Mahdi and Georg (1969). There are 385 species of birds listed. Its a start to a comprehensive Iraq list. Avibase lists 416 species. It will probably be a few years before there is an Iraq Rare Records Committee and an official Iraq list.

2005-11-24T23:00:00.000-05:00

Tigris Salmon or Pike Barb (Barbus esocinus) - Iraq's largest freshwater fish. Reputed to grow up to 6.5 feet long and weigh a few hundred pounds. This picture was taken at Camp Slayer near Baghdad International Airport. Note the palace in the background - Saddam called it Victory over America Palace. When I was at Slayer I saw some huge fish splashing around. I also saw announcements for a fishing contest. I think this would have won it at around 75 pounds.

The weather in Iraq has cooled down considerably. Many of the winter resident birds have returned to Iraq. The huge flocks of rooks, the most social of the crows, have come back as well as the ducks and shorebirds. The nightly spectacle of thousands upon thousands of rooks returning to their roosts after a day of foraging in the surrounding farmland will treat both the residents of the surrounding villages and towns and some of the new troops at LSA Anaconda. Sometimes the rooks would gather in large groups and form a tight spinning column as they rode a thermal.

Last year around this time I gave an interview on NPR about my birding in Iraq.

Mudhafar Salim, an Iraqi ornithologist with the Iraq Nature Conservation Society who has been working with Birdlife International on their surveys of the southern marshes has posted a series of great photographs from some of his fieldwork earlier this year. He has photos of 17 species including the endangered Basrah Reed Warbler, Little Crake, Marbled Teal, Slender-billed Gulls and European Scops Owl.

Included in Mudhafar's other marsh pictures is a shot of 4 fish caught in one of the marshes. I haven't been able to identify the catfish (Possibly an introduced Asian Stinging Catfish), but the other three fish are Mesopotamian Spiny Eels ( Mastacembelus mastacembelus). Other members of this interesting group of fish are kept as aquarium fish, some growing over 3 feet long. Captive fish have a habit of burrowing in the gravel to either hide or look for food. Wild fish most likely do the same hunting for food or hiding from predators.

Brian Coad, a Canadian scientist working with the Canada-Iraq wetlands Initiative is working on a document on the freshwater fish of Iraq. So far he has a checklist and bibliography up. It seems like he has done a lot of work separating out the valid records from records from erroneous reports. Its good to see someone working on a biodiversity project like this. This should be a great resource when completed. Iraq has a number of interesting species including blind cave fish and a large and diverse cyprinid (carp and minnow family) fauna. An added bonus is this document should be a boon to the many coalition troops who enjoy fishing on their off time and catch unusual fish that they can't ID. Perhaps one day there will be fishing outfitters on the Tigris and Euphrates ready to cater to tourists who are after that giant Tigris Salmon. Here's some pictures from a Navy guy in camp victory who brought his flyrod. He also caught a good sized Tigris Salmon as well as some large elongated cyprinids that almost look like a cross between a mullet and a carp. Other species that are being regularly caught is the Asp (Aspius sp.), big-head carp and a large catfish related to the giant wels of Europe and Asia. Some more pictures can be seen at this website. Just scroll down and look for the guys in desert camoflage.

The fourth rotation of US troops is well under way and there are more birders among them. LTC Bob at Camp Victory may be back stateside already. He recently had two more posts. One on the Indian Roller and another on Purple and Grey Herons. Out in Al-Anbar province one of the Marines, Michael Fay has been watching the birds in his spare moments, he also happens to be their artist in residence and has just returned from covering the heavy fighting near the Syrian border. A possible successor to LTC Bob in the Camp Victory Area is Joe H. who is about 1 month into his tour. He posted some of his sighting at birdforum.net

2005-10-29T22:06:00.000-05:00

Sunset over Laundry Pond - LSA Anaconda, September 2004

This several acre pond surrounded by reeds is a focus of bird activity on base.

I found that another birder has made it to Anaconda. His main interest is reptiles but he's looking out for the other critters too. His work area is near the other large pond on post. He's got a few photos on his blog of black-winged stilts. I'm looking forward to hearing about his observations.

Birdlife International has put Google Maps links on their IBA (Important Bird Area) pages. I was thinking of doing this myself, but I'm happy for someone else to do the work. What's needed now is all the IBA locations on one interactive map.

I've looked through some satellite photos of IBAs in Iraq using Google Map by typing in the coordinates. This new function on the IBA pages makes it much easier to explore.

Here's a few interesting ones to check out. To view the map click on the map link on the IBA page and then click on satellite View and zoom in.

Bahr al Milh - A large artificial lake created in the late 1970's as a flood control basin for the Euphrates. It has become an important area for waterbirds. In 1979 over 100,000 coot were reported to be wintering on the lake along with tens of thousands of ducks including Smew, Gadwal l, Shovelers, and Marbled Teal. Large concentrations of grebes were reported including 600 Great Crested Grebes and over a thousand black-necked grebes. Also present in the area are Dalmatian Pelicans and Greater Flamingos.

Samarra Dam - The Tigris River is dammed at Sammara creating a large wetland next to the city. Almost 150 species have been recorded here. Many raptors migrate through this area in the fall. In the marsh such species as Goliath Heron, Great Bittern, Common Pochard have been seen. Gray Hypocolius, See-See Partridge and Dead Sea Sparrow are breeders. In 1992 a pair of Sociable Plovers was reported from here.

Ser Amadiya - This is a mountain ridge that reaches elevations of up to 2000 meters near the Turkish border in Iraqi Kurdistan. The birdlife of the oak and juniper forests is unlike that of the rest of the country. Eurasian Nightjar, Syrian Woodp ecker, Eastern and Western Rock Nuthatch, Ortolan Bunting and the unusual corvids the chough and the alpine chough. 3 Species of vulture are resident in the higher elevations (Lammergier, Egyptian and Griffon). In early spring flocks of snow finch sometimes visit the snowfields.

Khawr al Zubair - A huge tidal mudflat area near the Persian Gulf, apparently never surveyed for birds but likely an important area for wintering waterbirds.

2005-09-27T20:32:00.000-05:00

Mesopotamian Crow Calling - LSA Anaconda, January 2005

LTC Bob near Baghdad has only a couple more months until he redeploys back home. He has a few more posts up on Silflay Hraka with some great pictures.

The picture of the male black francolin may actually be one of the 2 individuals I saw at Camp Victory last year. He also has some pictures of francolin chicks and a post on Spur-winged Plover with pictures of plover chicks and a black-winged stilt chick. His latest post is on the Collared Pratincole and an Indian Roller post is forthcoming. Last month LTC Bob wrote about the Golden Jackal.

In other birding news, The Field Guide to the Birds of the Middle East, the guide I used in Iraq is being published in Arabic in February of 2006. This is a very significant event in my opinion. Just as the Peterson Field Guides spawned a generation of birders in the US, I hope that this book will do the same in the Middle East. It would be a great thing if each school in Iraq could have a copy to inspire young naturalists.

On another subject, I've been reading the very interesting journal of Andrew Cote, a guy from Connecticut who just came back from a trip to Iraq in August. He was in Iraq to train farmers in modern techniques of beekeeping. Here's a story about him in a local paper.

Reading through the entries I learned that some of the beekeepers in the Kurdish north have problems with European Bee-eaters for a few weeks during migration when the birds gorge themselves on Honeybees. In one village one of the beekeepers even produced the carcass of a bee-eater. The picture is on the website in his gallery (I can't seem to link to it). There are also interesting pictures of the traditional beehives which are made of straw and mud. In the fall these hives are cracked open like a giant nut to get the honey out.

The whole site is fascinating. I learned that, as in the US, the dreaded Varroa Mite has decimated the honeybee population, decreasing it perhaps 90%. Other problems are the Oriental Hornets, gigantic orange and yellow beasts that can tear up a hive. I dispatched quite a few of them when I was in Iraq. Having an insect net came in handy when it was bug killing time. I just read a story this week about how honeybees sometimes kill one of this hornet's even larger relatives, the Asian Giant Hornet, by cooking it to death. The bees swarm over a hornet and form a ball around the insect. They beat their wings furiously creating enough heat to kill the hornet. They actually come only a few degrees from cooking themselves. Both Oriental and Giant Hornets can destroy a large hive. They crush the honeybees in their mandibles one after another until the bees are all dead. They then take away the juicy larvae in the combs.

After reading through all the entries and thinking about my Father's hive he had while we were growing up I felt like beekeeping might be something I might like to try when I have a little more free time.

Doing a bit of research I found that the clay and straw hives made excellent weapons in the past. A kind of ready-made bee grenade that could be dropped on the enemy. Here's an entry from a book called Robbing Bees: A biography of honey by Holley Bishop published earlier this year describing such a use in the battle of Hatra in Iraq.

Before sophisticated box hives were invented, bees kept in twig, straw or clay vessels of various sizes were adapted as weapons. Bee grenades could be hurled through the air or dropped on enemies. By the time they reached their target, the projected bees were
outraged, ready to explode in a fury of stings. In book III of his History
Herodian describes the second century seige of Hatra, in modern-day Iraq, and
the use of bees as weapons.

Every kind of seige engine was used against the walls (of the city) and no technique of seige operation was left untried. But the people of Hatra rigorously defended themselves by firing down missles and stones onto the army of Severus below and causing them a good deal of damage. They made clay containers filled with little flying insects that had poisonous
stings, which were then fired off. When the missiles fell onto Severus’ army, the insects crawled into the eyes and exposed parts of the skin of the soldiers and stung them causing severe injuries.

2005-09-21T23:44:00.000-05:00

Owls in Iraq

A few days ago I wrote an entry that was promptly launched into Blogger oblivion. This time I'll back it up.

Laura Erikson at Birderblog.com has been getting some more photos of Iraqi birds from people stationed there. She has 15 species in her gallery and all are worth looking at. She has a picture of a Scops Owl (possibly a Pallid Scops) taken in northern Iraq by Jim Lewis. I'm very jealous. I saw both Barn Owls and Little Owls at LSA Anaconda. Both seemed to be residents there, but no Scops Owls. Of all the birders in Iraq I've heard about in the last year Jim is the only one who has seen a Scops owl. Avibase lists 10 species of owls from Iraq of which 3 are familiar to North American birders (Barn, Long-eared and Short-eared). Since some of them are woodland species I suspect a few are only found in the mountain forests along the Turkish border. Here's the list with links to pictures and info.

Barn Owl (Picture, Info)
Pallid Scops-Owl (Picture, Info)
European Scops-Owl (Picture, Info)
Eurasian Eagle-Owl (Picture, Info)
Pharaoh Eagle-Owl (Picture, Info)
Brown Fish-Owl (Picture, Info)
Tawny Owl (Picture, Info)
Little Owl (Picture, Info)
Long-eared Owl (Picture, Info)
Short-eared Owl (Picture, Info)

For those stationed currently in Iraq here's a few links for nest box designs that could be erected either on your FOB or in a village to encourage nesting. I'm not sure about all species of owls, but some local farmers around LSA Anaconda considered Little owls or Booma bad luck. Apparently its a widely held superstition in the Arab world that to see an owl is bad luck to hear one is worse. Maybe they can be convinced that killing rodents around the village or farm is a good thing.

Boxes for Little Owls
Boxes for Barn Owls

These plans may have to be adapted for the high temperature in Iraq. Both species nested and roosted inside the large concrete bunkers at Anaconda, probably because they were cool during the summer.

2005-09-01T22:17:00.000-05:00

I'm back from a fantastic week in Wyoming and Montana. I saw one life bird, Trumpeter Swan and many, such as Clark's Nutcracker, that I've only seen once or twice before. We didn't see any Grizzlies at Yellowstone, apparently this has been a good year for pine nuts and they are busy up in the mountains fattening up on nuts and Army Cutworm caterpillars (Spodoptera sp.).

On the birding front in Iraq I found a piece written by Major Ed Lowsma to a local Audubon Society in Florida describing some of his birding experiences.

I've been making my way through the wonderful Emirates Natural History Group website. This very active club from the UAE takes frequent trips around the Emirates and Oman. Special interest groups cover all manner of creatures to archeology and local history. It would be fantastic to have a similar group devoted to the natural history of Iraq.

As in the US, the shorebird migration is underway again in Iraq. Sandpipers and plovers of many species will pass through or decide to stay in the ponds and wetlands that dot central and southern Iraq. Because jumping out of a heavily armed convoy to check out the shorebirds at the roadside ponds was not an option, I was frustrated, especially with the smaller sandpipers I saw running around in the mudflats, but couldn't get an ID on them. I was lucky that my base and a few that I visited had ponds where I could spend a bit more time. In the winter there are literally dozens of ponds by the side of the highway, most with at least a few birds all the way from just over the Kuwaiti border to Baghdad. A birder could probably spend a week slowly making his or her way up from Kuwait, stopping by the road, scanning the ponds. A spotting scope is definitely needed. I would even recommend one for the larger on base ponds. It would have been great for both shorebirds and waterfowl.

Even with my limited mobility I managed to see a good selection of shorebirds. For any readers in Iraq this is a good starting list of what to look for.

Pied Avocet
Black-winged Stilt
Ringed Plover
Kentish Plover
Spur-winged Plover
Red-wattled Plover
Sociable Plover **
White-tailed Plover
Common Snipe
Great Snipe
Black-tailed Godwit
Ruff
Spotted Redshank
Common Redshank
Green Sandpiper
Wood Sandpiper
Common Sandpiper

** Just a note on Sociable Plover - I saw a flock of about 20 birds I identified as this species in an agricultural area bordering the desert north of Balad in October of last year. Since this is a globally threatened species whose numbers have dropped dramatically it would be a significant sighting. I was traveling in a Blackhawk helicopter at high speed at the time so I didn't have time to study them. I think the chances are good that it was this species as I felt they were different from the numerous spur-winged and red-wattled plovers I saw on the same flight, however, given their rarity and my less than favorable view all I can say is I may have seen this species. Definitely something for others to look for.

Finally, I found a few pictures and maps of telemetry tagged vultures that passed through Iraq on their migration. The Georgian Center for the Conservation of Wildlife has tagged vultures as part of an ongoing study. One was a Griffon Vulture (picture of bird, map of migration route) that was captured in the Republic of Georgia and migrated to Saudi Arabia and back to Georgia passing first down the Zagros mountains of Iran then cutting across the southern desert of Iraq on its way south. On its northward journey it cut across Iraq south of Baghdad and followed the mountains north into Iraqi Kurdistan. The second tagged vulture was a Cinereous Vulture (picture of bird, map of migration route) that follows a very similar pathway south, cutting across the Iran/Iraq border in the same general area. Perhaps a good location to watch raptors.

2005-08-18T22:48:00.000-05:00

Hello to all my Finnish readers. For some reason I had over 300 hits from Finland today!

I didn't make it up to Montreal a few weeks ago for the ESA meeting. I was disappointed that the media covering the symposium only rewrote the press release. I'll make an effort in the next couple weeks to see if I can get some of the presentations. They deserve a wide audience. I'm especially interested to hear about what Mudhafar Salim from the Iraq Nature Conservation Society has been seeing in the bird surveys of the southern marshes.

I've been very, very busy lately. I have been studying for the the MCAT (Medical College Admissions Test). The test is on Saturday, so it is an understatement to say I'll have a little more time after that.

This coming Sunday I'll be going out to Yellowstone National Park with my three oldest children and one of my good friends who helped us out a lot when I was deployed. Another one of my friends owns a cabin just outside the park.

After I get back I have a good bit of work to do on this blog. First I have been negligent in keeping up with my emails. Many people have emailed me and I've been too swamped to reply. I also need to re-establish some contacts in Iraq which I have also let slip. The site also needs to cosmetic changes. Blogger messed with the code months ago and I haven't bothered to try and fix it.

Just a few new sites I've found recently. A soldier near Baghdad found an orphaned kestrel and fed the young bird lizards and mice until it was fledged. The story and a picture are here.

I found another Danish site with Iraqi wildlife. This time its snakes. Apparently Søe Pedersen and his wife Karin are reptile breeders. One or both of them spent time in northern Iraq and collected snakes. Their site has nice pictures of Large Whipsnake (Coluber jugularis) from Irbil, Dahl's Whipsnake (Coluber najadum), Caucasian Ratsnake (Zamenis hohenackeri) and Bulgarian Ratsnake (Elaphe sauromates). I especially liked his description of a Montpellier Snake (Malpolon monspessulanus) that he found when a large ratsnake barfed it up. He thought it was dead and brought it home to examine. The next morning he found the snake revived and hissing in his waste basket. Some of the species descriptions have pictures of the snake habitat in Iraq where they were caught.

Finally on the domestic animal side I found a site by Sir Terence Clark who lived in Iraq from 1985 to 1990. His article describes some of his investigations into the origins of the Saluki, a hunting dog related to the Afghan Hound. There is an amazing photo from the Royal Harthiya Hunt in 1946 Baghdad. The men are on horses in traditional English Foxhunting gear and are surrounded by a pack of Dorset Foxhounds.

2005-08-03T21:21:00.000-05:00

I put a donation button on the website today. I can spend a bit more time doing this if I have some money coming in. Ideally, I would like to spend 8 or so hours a week working on this and related projects. A short term project, which perhaps some people would consider financing is getting to the ESA meeting in Montreal next week to hear and hopefully meet some of the Iraqi biologists who have been doing research in the southern marshes. I've heard that the bird surveys in the Marshes yielded some amazing birds. I'll wait till the researchers themselves publicly release the info, but the news is very heartening.

Anyway, here's the expense breakdown for the ESA meeting. I promise to be the paragon of frugality. I'll even publish my expense report!

My plan is to leave Connecticut and drive (about 6 1/2 hours) to Montreal the night before the meeting (Tuesday). After the meeting I'll hop in the car, drink a few Red Bulls and drive back to Connecticut.

Gasoline (710 mile round trip) - $80
1 day registration for meeting - $230 !
1 night at hotel - $80
Misc. (food, parking, etc.) - $120

I plan to write in depth about the research going on in Iraq when I return.

I've come across a few more soldiers accounts of wildlife sightings recently. I'm trying to track down some British Soldiers who have been birding in Iraq. Both the British Army and the RAF have ornithological societies composed of current and retired members of the services. The Army Ornithological Society takes trips all over Europe and sometimes further afield (like Malaysia). I know at least one of their members has just returned from Iraq.

I'm working (very slowly) on my systematic list. When I wrote all the birds down I had 116 species from Iraq plus two additional from Kuwait (Desert Warbler and Brown-necked Raven).

I found an email from BBC correspondent Frank Gardner on the OSME yahoo group (MEBirdNet) who reported what was probably the first westerner's report of Iraqi bird sightings in a decade from Basra in May 2003. Tragically in June 2004 Frank, the BBC security correspondent in the Middle East, was shot multiple times and partially paralyzed in Saudi Arabia in a terrorist associated attack that killed a BBC cameraman. Frank is back in England and gave an interview in June.

Date: Fri, 09 May 2003 19:11:03 +0100
From: Frank Gardner
Subject: FW: Salaams from Basra

Greetings from HQ 7th Armoured Brigade with just happens to be in a fabulous former palace of Saddam's. Moats, orchards and scrub, its a paradise for birds. The air is filled with a flock of Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters that have been here a week now. The European variety are still around in small numbers. First to wake up in the morning are the Red-Wattled Lapwings which are making a fearful racket. But there's also a pair of White-tailed Plovers here, beautiful birds with long, trailing yellow legs. Outside the cookhouse there's a Red-backed Shrike sharing the same tree as a Lesser-Grey Shrike and just behind the ammo dump there's a pair of Common Babblers (yes, black eye, not yellow!) hiding. A flock of Yellow-throated Sparrows is on the ground, mingling with the odd Whitethroat and I've seen a solitary Sedge Warbler. Fishing from the moat are 3 Pied Kingfishers and just across the Shatt Al-Arab Ive seen Squacco Heron and White-throated Kingfisher in the date palms. One surprise for me is to see Wood Pigeon here (they wake us up in London at weekends!) but the highlight has been a stunning male Red-necked Phalarope swimming round in circles on a lake out near the oil refinery. hope yr both well all the best
Frank G

2005-07-19T22:18:00.000-05:00

The desert monitor is a lizard I wanted to see. Getting over 4 feet long they are the largest of Iraq's lizards. They make quite an entrance when they happen to fall into your foxhole in the middle of the night as happened to several soldiers in both the Gulf War and the current war.

I recently found a nice picture from Tallil Airbase in the southern part of the country. I never came across one myself. The only monitor I've ever seen in the wild was a water monitor in Indonesia. Some of the desert monitor's relatives are giants. The Komodo Dragon from Indonesia is the largest living relative weighing several hundred pounds. An extinct Australian species (Megalania prisca) was even bigger at almost 20 feet long.

A juvenile Desert Monitor from Tallil Airbase near Ad Nasiriyah, Iraq.
The ruins of the ancient city of Ur, one of the world's first cities and the birthplace of the prophet Abraham are next to the base. Perhaps this lizard's ancestors were getting caught by the ancient Sumerians or a young Abraham.

The Rare and Elusive Iraqi Pineapple/Watermelon Crocodile as seen at DFAC 2, LSA Anaconda - Thanksgiving 2004.

2005-07-10T23:11:00.000-05:00

The World Wildlife Fund defines 8 distinct terrestrial ecoregions in Iraq ranging from the Eastern Mediterranean Conifer/Broadleaf forest in the north near Turkey to the Persian Gulf Desert in the South. Take a look at the Map on the National Geographic site.

Here's the 8 Regions and Links to their respective pages which contain lots of good information on the wildlife and vegetation of each area.

PA(Palearctic)0446 - Zagros Mountains Forest Steppe
PA0812 - Middle East Steppe
PA0906 - Tigris-Euphrates Alluvial Salt Marsh
PA1207 - Eastern Mediterranean Conifer/Sclerophyllous Broadleaf Forest
PA1303 - Arabian Desert and East Sahero-Arabian Xeric Shrubland
PA1320 - Mesopotamian Shrub Desert
PA1323 - Persian Gulf Desert and Semi-Desert
PA1328 - South Iran Nubo-Sindian Desert and Semi-Desert

I found a few more bird pictures from soldiers. These pictures are of a White-winged Black Tern on the Tigris River in Baghdad. These birds are a common sight on both the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers during the summer. They nest in marshes and wetlands along the river as do Whiskered Terns which were also common where I was near Balad.

Also here's a story about Barn Owls living at LSA Anaconda in one of the bunkers. I saw a pair of barn owls on Anaconda a number of times and I heard of reports from other bases. They seemed to be fairly common. The subspecies in the region is Tyto alba erlangeri. On Anaconda a little owl was also using a concrete bunker for a roosting site.

2005-07-07T22:23:00.000-05:00

The first migrating shorebirds start moving through Iraq this month making their way back from Siberia, Northern Russia and Northern Europe. Some will winter in the Iraqi wetlands, while others continue on to Africa.

Marsh Sandpiper - Qurnah, Iraq. Henrik Mikkelsen has graciously given me permission to use some of his photos of Iraqi birds.

The Lesser White-fronted Goose, that spent the winter visiting the marshes of central and southern Iraq has now returned to northern Russia less than 2 km from where it was fitted with a satellite transponder last year. Here's a satellite photo of the large marsh area where it was initially found about 85 km east of Baghdad called Haur Al Shubaicha. If you zoom out on the google map you can see that the wetland is fairly isolated in a dry area. This should translate into at least an important stopover point for migrating waterfowl and shorebirds, probably also good for wintering birds.

I've been reading several reports that have been generated out of the Canada-Iraq Marshlands Initiative. This collaboration between Waterloo University in Canada and various organizations and ministries operating in Iraq is working to restore the Mesopotamian marshes and to increase the Iraqi capacity to monitor the health of the marshes. Biodiversity surveys of key sites are a major objective. Here's a presentation about the aims of the program. Other reports worth reading are the proceedings of the workshop held in Jordan last year:

For four days June 19-22 of 2004, a team of Canadian, Iraqi and international
participants met together to discuss the future needs of marshlands management in
Iraq. In particular the group focused on the restoration of the southern marshlands of
Iraq, the area historically called Lower Mesopotamia and today referred to as the Al-
Ahwar region.
The participants in this meeting met at the invitation of the University of Waterloo, a
Canadian University leading a project sponsored by the Canadian International
Development Agency. Many interests are actively developing proposals for work in
cooperation with the Government of Iraq on the restoration of ecological and cultural
values of wetlands in Iraq, particularly the southern Mesopotamian marshlands of the
nation. Field programs or preliminary evaluations on wetland restoration, reflooding,
water monitoring and fisheries resources for example have already been implemented.
These are being done with the assistance of scientists from the many nations and in
cooperation with groups such as the Iraq Foundation and Iraq government ministries.

The program has sponsored two workshops in conjunction with Birdlife International for Iraqi biologists who will be carrying out the survey work. One was conducted in Jordan, the other in Syria.

Many of the participants will be attending a special session of the Ecological Society of America (ESA) meeting in Montreal next month. I'm thinking about going if I can swing it. It would be fantastic to meet some of the people involved, especially the Iraqi biologists who will be there.

2005-06-26T18:39:00.000-05:00

Two weeks ago, I came across a blog that proves its a small world. The soldier 1. Works for the American Red Cross Blood Services 2. Graduated from the same University as I 3. Is working on his MPH 4. Is blogging from Iraq 5. Notices the critters. He's not my doppelganger, but we do share a few things.

On his blog I noticed a few pictures of the local wildlife. He has a Uromastyx picture, posing like a prehistoric dinosaur. From what I've heard, they sometimes live in loose colonies and can be fairly abundant in some camps.

Also on his page are pictures of a large tenebrionid beetle and a camel spider.

His last picture is the first I've seen of a Fringe-toed lizard from Iraq (Acanthodactylus scutellatus). There are several species in this family found in the region. The toes have little projecting scales that help the lizard get traction while running on soft sand. There is actually an unrelated group of lizards in the US and Mexico (Uma sp.) that share the same common name and look superficially similar. The North American Fringe-toed Lizards are quite good at sand swimming and using their shovel nose and specialized toes to move beneath the sand like they are swimming in the water. Since the Iraq lizards have similar adaptations they probably exhibit similar behaviors.

One of the favorite escape techniques of some dune loving lizards is to dive under the sand just after cresting a dune. The predator sees the lizard run up to the top of the dune and gives chase. When the predator gets to the other side, the lizard is gone.

The king of the sand swimmers in Iraq has to be the Sandfish (Scincus scincus). Its really a lizard in the Skink family. The sandfish spends most of its time underground living in soft sand. It feels vibrations from insects and other invertebrates walking around on the surface. It ambushes the prey from below and pulls them under. It reminds me a little of the Sand Worms in the Dune Novels.

2005-06-06T05:34:00.000-05:00

This week I participated in a large Bioblitz in East Hartford, CT. In all over 1700 species of organisms were identified. The birders found around 90 species, botanists cataloged hundreds of vascular plants plus many lichen, fungi and algaes, mercury vapor and UV lights were run to catch insects with hundreds of species of moths and beetles and smaller numbers of other insect orders. The DEP ran their electroshock boat and found several dozen species of fish. The parasitologists also found interesting things like one frog with six species of parasites. The purpose of this exercise was to provide a quick snapshot of the local flora and fauna and to educate the public about biodiversity. Both these could be easily translated to Iraq.

I propose a string of bioblitzes in Iraq covering the major Biomes from North to South, including the Tigris and Euphrates valleys and the remanents of the Southern marshes. Using a small team, the results would be beamed live via satellite and through the internet to a wide audience, both Iraqi and International. The internet could also be used to involve experts from around the world, taxonomists, ecologists, etc who could provide commentary and background on the species of plants and animals being found. The Iraqi Bioblitz could serve several purposes. First, a biological inventory of key areas has important scientific value. Second it could contribute to efforts of groups like Eden Again, Nature-Iraq and Birdlife International who are pursuing conservation efforts in Iraq. Third specimens could be deposited in Iraqi Museums to replace reference collections that have been looted or destroyed. Fourth, participation by Iraqi Biologists would give them international visibility and encourage collaboration with collegues outside Iraq. I think the education potential for Iraqi schools is also very important, as it was in Connecticut - perhaps setting a few children on the path of Iraq's next generation of biologists and conservationists.

The security situation may seem a hinderance, but there are many areas of Iraq that I would gladly go today if given the opportunity. When I was in Iraq, 85% of all the violence occured within a 100 km radius of Baghdad. Even in the Baghdad area, violence is focal. I'm sure with proper coordination with the government, appropriate locations could be identified. I'm betting it wouldn't be hard to get sponsors. The first thing to do is write up a technical proposal for the project, which I'll give myself a month to start. Once I have a decent outline, I'll post the document on the web and anyone who wants to help collectively construct it can have a go, a la Wikipedia. We'll see where things go from there. My binoculars and bug net are ready.

For those who haven't been regular visitors to Bigwig at Silflay Hraka, go and check out LTC Bob's recent sightings at Camp Victory. He's up over 50 species now. Recent entries include the Rufous Bush Robin, a spry little bird that I used to see along the Tigris and jumping around in Mulberry bushes near the LSA Anaconda Medical Clinic. The Bush Robin's behavior always reminded me of a Carolina Wren, very active and inquisitive.

I'm a big fan of Bigwigs commentary that goes with the pictures. For example he informs us that the Blue-cheeked bee-eater actually eats more dragonflies and damselflies than anything else. That's a fact that I can confirm. Anaconda's resident bee-eaters spent all spring and summer hanging out at either the laundry pond or off base along the many canals that crisscrossed our area. Good dragonfly territory.

Speaking of Bee-eaters, James Lewis, working in Kirkuk has taken some great photos, among them a European Bee-eater, which I looked for when I was up near Mosul, but never saw. According to my Birds of the Middle East, this species breeds in the northern part of Iraq. It looks quite different from the Blue-cheeked and yes this sort does count bees as a major food source. On the bee menu I recommend a nice 2005 large black carpenter bee...very juicy. James has emailed some of his pictures to Laura Erickson at Birderblog.com where she's posted them with some info on the birds.

2005-05-22T21:22:00.000-05:00

I wasn't expecting Danish birders in Iraq, yet I've found the bird pictures of two of them (Henrick Mikkelsen and Flemming Ulrich), taken in 2003 and 2004 in Basrah and Qurnah in Southern Iraq. Qurnah is the headquarters of the Danish military forces in Iraq. I'm assuming both guys are Danish Soldiers. I found 30 pictures of 17 species of Iraqi birds on a Danish Birding Site called Netfugl.dk

Some of the species include Macqueen's (Houbara) Bustard, Indian Roller, Laughing Dove and Common Kingfisher.

Henrick also has some pictures from Kuwait and the UAE of regional species such as Crab Plover, Western Reef Heron, and Sacred Ibis.

2005-05-20T19:39:00.000-05:00

I found a fantastic picture of a soldier with an Arabian Sand Boa from Camp Bucca in the southern desert area of Iraq near the Kuwaiti Border. The colors on the snake are incredible.

Apparently there are two species of sand boa (genus Eryx) found in Iraq. The Arabian Sand Boa (Eryx jayakari) and the Spotted Sand Boa (Eryx jaculus).

The eyes of the Arabian Sand Boa are positioned on the top of their head so they can stick them out from underneath the sand without exposing their head. The body is stout and flattened to help it burrow in the sand. They are nocturnal animals and I imagine they hunt lizards and small rodents. Alsirhan.com has an interesting series of Arabian Sand Boa pictures (text is in Arabic) including one killing a lizard.

On the birding front I was checking out the Ornithological Society of the Middle East website. Sadly, there were no reports for Iraq in the seasonal notes. Iran especially seems to have an active birding community and I was very envious reading a trip report from a birding tour of Iran.

With many recent sightings by westerners working in Iraq and Iraqi biologists themselves, this should be the last time that Iraq is a blank space on the map in Middle Eastern Ornithology. I encourage everyone to submit their sighting to the editor of "Around the Region" at OSME (atr@osme.org) and lets start things out right. In a few years we should have the first of many Iraqi trip reports from a birding tour. When I was in Iraq and traveling around I always thought Iraq had great potential for both ecotourism and tourism to its archeological and historical sites.

Finally,
I did start my North American Nature Blog. Hopefully I'll have a little time to devote to it.

2005-05-13T23:33:00.002-05:00

I received a great picture from Mark, an Army contractor up in Mosul. The picture shows a water snake (probably Natrix tesselata) eating a fish in a small pond on his base. Also in the picture is a frog (I'd guess it is a Marsh Frog (Rana ridibunda) ) .

Another Marine serving in Iraq posted a picture of a small ratsnake (he thinks it is Coluber jugularis).

More interesting pictures of Iraqi herps can be found on the Armed Forces Pest Management Board Site .

One of the most interesting to me is the legless Zarudnyi's worm lizard (Diplometopon zarudnyi). These are fantastic purple and black looking beasts that burrow in the sand. This is one of a suborder of legless lizards called Amphisbaenia (one weird Mexican group (Genus Bipes) actually has two front legs).

I found an interesting account from an Air Force Sergeant near Um Qasr in southern Iraq.

The photos were taken May 28, 2004 around 11 pm in the vicinity of Umm Qasr in southern Iraq. Staff Sargent Fiddler described the behavior as follows:

"Last night I found two worm lizards while I was doing my rounds. I believe they were mating as you can see by the pictures. However I am not sure. ... When the larger of the two was done doing whatever it was it was doing, it released the smaller one. However they were facing each other 'head-to-toe' in the photos. Instead of them grasping each other by what I thought was there genitalia, the larger ones jaw was grasping the bottom portion of the smaller one. And on a few photos, you can see where the last few centimeters of the smaller lizard appeared to be sunken in a bit along the spine, almost like the larger one was sucking fluids from it." - here's a link to the series of pictures - you need to click on the ADDITIONAL IMAGES button to see the wrestling worm lizard pictures.

This particular species lives in several countries in the middle east including Iraq and burrows in the ground in areas including dunes and date palm groves.

Here's some other Iraqi critters found on the AFPMB site. (The links were too deep and weren't working so I copied them over. Larger images are available at the above site.

Description:
Spiny-tailed lizard (Uromastix microlepis) caught and released by MSgt Mike Hartsfield at an undisclosed location in support of Iraqi Freedom.

Description:
Spiny Tailed Lizard, photo taken in KuwaitPhotographer: Capt Mark Pomerinke

Description:
Pseudocerastes persicus persicus (Persian Sand Viper), This snake was caught in Freedom Air Force Base Kirkuk,Iraq. Identification was made by Dr. Chad McHugh entomologist (Brooks AFB). Picture taken by Lt. Col. Dwayne Knott.

Description:
Eirenus modestus (Dwarf Snake). This snake was caught in Freedom Air Force base Kirkuk,Iraq. Identification was made by Dr. Chad McHugh entomologist (Brooks AFB). Picture taken by Dr. (CAPT) Michael Hasler.

Description:
Vipera lebetina( blunt nose viper). This snake was caught in Freedom Air Force base Kirkuk,Iraq. Identification was made by Dr. Chad McHugh entomologist (Brooks AFB). Picture taken by Dr. (CAPT) Michael Hasler.

Description:
The snake is 3.5 feet long, weighs 3 lbs was found in Freedom AFB Kirkuk, Iraq by AF Security Forces. The snake was identified by Dr. Zuhair Amr as Macrovipera lebetina obtusa. The photographer was Dr. Michael Hasler.

Same snake (Macrovipera lebetina obtusa) as above.

Another image of same snake (Macrovipera lebetina obtusa).

Finally I came across a webpage of a British guy who has recorded some of his nature observations around Camp Victory. The most notable observation is a Goliath Heron he saw near the palace complex. These are gigantic birds (bigger than Great Blue or Grey Herons). I know that they used to be found in the southern marshes but perhaps this was a non-breeder or a post-breeding dispersal. You have to read through his letters home to find his observations, but I found the whole series of posts enjoyable. I especially liked the description of his finding a big fat (Green) Toad calling like a magpie (link to an audio of the male toad's advertisement call).

2005-04-26T23:08:00.000-05:00

Sorry to those who have emailed me lately and haven't received a response. We just had our 5th child and things are crazy. Most of my (other) work gets done after 9:30pm.

I promise I'll get back to the birds in my next post. Several folks have sent me their latest sightings and the general observation that many of the wintering birds have left and migrants continue to pass through. The summer residents are getting situated.

Bigwig has had a few posts about Geckos inspired by an email from LT Bill, who has also been birding. I thought it would be a good opportunity to review all the reptiles I saw in Iraq during the last year and give a bit of background on some of the common species.

The Dhub
Before I left for Iraq I researched as much of the wildlife as I could on the web. While looking into some of the lizards that I might come across I learned about a large lizard known to the Arabs as the Dhub or Dhub-Dhub. It is a member of the genus Uromastyx and some of the members collectively called Spiny-tailed lizards are commonly kept as pets. I've seen them many times in pet shops at home. I loved the name Dhub-Dhub and told my kids about this big fat desert lizard with a funny name. I told them the Bedouins sometimes catch and eat them and I also rashly told them I would catch one.

Fate was on my side and the Dhub-Dhub and I were destined to meet.

In Early February 2004 as part of our unit certification before we crossed the border we moved the battalion to a large range in the Kuwaiti Desert called Udari Range. It was flat and sandy with a few rocky rises, very desolate. On the CQM (Close Quarters Marksmanship) range we familiarized ourselves with shooting quickly at close range, firing while running, and generally walking around with a loaded weapon without shooting ourselves or others. We lined up to shoot at 25 meter targets in wooden frames. After our first set of shots we walked downrange to check our targets. I heard a commotion 2 targets down and saw people gathering around something. It turned out to be a huge fat Uromastyx. It reared up on its front legs, hissed and thrashed its spiky tail around looking very fearsome. No one got very close. I was very excited to see it, but we needed to get on with the shooting.

As we shot volley after volley, the Dhub-Dhub walked slowly around as bullets wizzed over its head. After a while I got concerned that some fool would shoot it. I put on my gloves walked over to it, pinned its head with my boot and picked up the big guy to everyones initial horror. Soon everyone started taking pictures and I was the hero of the moment. I let the lizard go at the edge of our range. Later when a sandstorm kicked up the lizard flattened out on the sand and let the blowing sand pile up around it. A few days later I called my kids and let them know that I had indeed caught a Dhub-Dhub and I'd only been in the desert 10 days.

The species I saw in Kuwait and others have seen in Southern Iraq is Uromastyx aegyptius microlepis .

Me and the Dhub, Udari Range, Kuwait

Geckos
Geckos were everywhere. In my building, they usually would hang out around the lights hunting for insects, quite a few made it inside. I saw my first geckos in February, very small ones that I think were Mediterranean House Geckos (Hemidactylus turcicus), they ranged in size from about 2 inches to maybe 4 inches long. I think I only saw one species at LSA Anaconda. On a trip to the International (Green) Zone in October I chased a large gecko around the guesthouse I stayed in. It may have been a Yellow-bellied Gecko (Hemidactylus flaviviridis). It was significantly larger than the others at about 8 or 9 inches.

Mediterranean House Gecko?, LSA Anaconda - March 2004

Mediterranean House Gecko? - This guy was running around in our
Tactical Operation Center - I had to kill it - It saw too much :)

Yellow-bellied Gecko? - International Zone, Baghdad - October 2004

Skink
I only saw one species of skink. They would scuttle around in the fallen Eucalyptus leaves near our building and sometimes hide under our airconditioner. I managed to catch the one pictured below, but it promptly dropped its tail. I think it may be one of the subspecies of Mabuya vittata - the Bridled or Striped Skink - a species found throughout the Mediterranean and Middle East.

Snakes
I only saw two species of snake in Iraq. One was the very interesting Thread Snake (Typhlops vermicularis) that people seemed to find when moving sandbags. These tiny burrowing snakes look like little earthworms. They apparently feed on ants, having the habit of breaking into a nest and eating the tasty larvae. The one picture was brought to me by one of our Sergeants wondering if it was poisonous.

The other snake I saw was a colubrid which I think was Coluber ventromaculatus. I've seen at least 3 common names - one is Gray's Desert Racer. The snake pictured was brought for identification by a soldier that had accidently squashed it with a sandbag. This one was only 7 inches long. I later saw a large adult that was around 2 1/2 feet long.

Please let me know if you can positively ID any of the above herps. I know other troops have seen some great herps. In a future post I'll link to as many of the pictures from Iraq as I can find.

2005-04-15T13:56:00.000-05:00

Captain Kate, a Marine Pilot and Birder has written a nice synopsis of her birding experiences in Iraq (this is her third tour). She has had some great species that I haven't heard of anyone else seeing yet. These include Greater Flamingo and the regional endemic Grey Hypocolius. I've added a few links in her text to pictures.

Captain Kate:
The first time I was in Iraq for OIF I (Jan-Jul '03), we were stationed in the southern portion of the country. While there I noticed a number of different birds, but did not have access to a field guide of any sort with which to identify them. The only species I could positively identify was the flock of flamingos (presumably greater) that I flew over on a flight to Najaf (I'm a CH-53E pilot). For the rest of the deployment, I tried to capture as many other birds as I could on video. I saw a ton of these little yellow sparrow-sized birds, an odd pair of bright green birds that seemed to be nesting on or in a dirt mound, and this odd bird that had this distinctive call that would end in this dramatic crescendo where he would fly straight up in the air and fall back down as his call descended as well. Any ideas as to what those birds may have been would be extremely appreciated. I would have had a chance to identify them by video, but unfortunately my camera was subsequently destroyed in a helicopter crash. Following my return to the U. S., my parents bought me the (apparently) only book on the subject of Iraqi birds; Field Guide to Birds of the Middle East by R. F. Porter, S. Christensen, and P. Schiermacker-Hansen, first published in 1996 by T&AD Poyser Ltd. The origin of the book itself seems a little sketchy as a Princeton University Press sticker was pasted over the T&AD Poyser Ltd. stamp on the back. And now, it seems Princeton Field Guides has re-published the book as of 2004. Either way, it has proven to be invaluable, although I am sure that the information is in serious need of an update now that the country of Iraq is more accessible.

I'm currently on my third tour in Iraq and stationed at [A base in Al Anbar Province] (for the second time in a year). When I arrived here in February of 2004, I was armed with my new field guide and some binoculars, ready to identify as many birds as I could. At first I thought it was rather an unfortunate spot in which to be situated as the base has very little water in the immediate vicinity. It does have an oasis on base as well as a date palm grove and a seasonally marshy area. Other than that, however, it is bare earth with occasional pomegranate, olive, apricot and other trees found near the buildings. My first few trips walking around the base presented mostly rock doves, woodpigeons, collared doves and house sparrows. It seemed to be pretty banal stuff. However, as time went on (and as we headed through the mating season), I began to notice more and more species. Soon I was identifying a new species every few days.

On the 30-minute walk from the barracks to the workspaces, I logged a number of birds which turned out to be quite common on the base; white-cheeked bulbuls, crested larks, spanish sparrows, black-billed magpies, common ravens, common babblers and hooded crows (mesopotamian??). Forays off the beaten path led me to a common stonechat, a white wagtail, a plain leaf warbler, and a number of species in the shrike family; great grey shrike (aucheri), masked shrike, and red-backed shrike. I also spotted a pair of grey hypocolius and was able to snag a couple of pictures of the pair in flight. The entomologist on base told me he had seen a kingfisher of some sort at the oasis, so we trekked on over to see if we could catch a glimpse. After numerous trips and hours of staring at the water and surrounding reeds, I still had not seen the kingfisher. However I did log a woodchat shrike, numerous barn and red-rumped swallows, a veritable swarm of common swifts, and a common buzzard. The oasis was my only source for waterfowl, and I spotted a little bittern, a moorhen and a pair of red-wattled plovers (lapwings) with their distinctive -- if not extremely annoying -- voice.

I continued to study my guidebook with hopes of identifying new species more easily. One species in particular kept jumping off the page at me -- the hoopoe. I thought it was just the most striking bird and hoped I would be lucky enough to spot one. I was rewarded in April of 2004 with a short glimpse as a gorgeous hoopoe flew right past me and into our courtyard. By the time I could grab my binoculars, he was gone, but there was no mistaking him for any other species. That was the only time I saw a hoopoe in 2004, but I had another sighting just a couple of weeks ago.

I hit a lull in April 2004, but toward the end was lucky enough to see a couple of flocks of blue-cheeked bee-eaters passing through the area. It was shortly after this that I spotted a little owl who had taken up residence in a junkyard on base. I also began to see (but mostly hear) the see-see partridges on a regular basis. Their call is unmistakable. I also noticed a red-tailed wheatear that had taken up residence near our workspaces. During one flight into western Iraq, I nearly ended the life of a common kestrel who thought it would take on my helicopter one-on-one.

Returning to [The base in Al-Anbar] in early March of this year, I had little hopes of logging any new species. I thought I had pretty much exhausted my resources. Luckily, I was wrong and caught a little egret flying toward the marsh as well as a graceful prinia flitting about in the brush near our barracks. I've also noticed a black-eared wheatear that seems to favor the grassy area in front of our barracks. My favorite so far, however, has to be the egyptian nightjar that scared the daylights out of me when I flushed it from about a foot in front of me as I was walking home from work the other day. It only flew a short distance and I was able to sneak close enough to identify it. Luckily it happened to be the only species of nightjar that doesn't have the customary white patch on the wings, so it was easily identified.

Hopefully, the next six months promise more species to add to my list, but I think I may have to get stationed on another base before I can add too many more. I'll keep updating my list as it grows, though.

2005-04-05T08:31:00.000-05:00

I'm very excited to hear about some new sighting in Iraq. Between the emails I've received and lists I've seen published I've heard of at least 20 birds that I didn't see while I was in country.

To facilitate more firsthand accounts, I've decided to make Birding Babylon a group blog. I'll open it up to other birders and wildlife watchers that are in Iraq now or have been previously and want to share some of their experiences. Those interested will be able to post directly to the blog. I'm hoping at least a few people will be regulars and keep up the momentum. If you are interested please send me an email - jtrend@earthlink.net

Major Ed reports some fantastic birds.

"As I was walking past one of our bombed out palaces last night, a couple of screeching birds flew out and kept circling around me, coming within ten or so feet at times. One of those moments that you are not expecting but turns into an unexpected time of enjoyment. I can only imagine they were Barn Owls.."

I remember a similar experience when a pair of Barn Owls circled around our building screeching...while we were playing Bingo outside.

When I told some of our Iraqi workers about a sighting I had of a Little Owl...they call it Booma, they told me it was bad luck. It told them that it was good luck for me.

Major Ed also mentions that he has seen three species of Kingfisher on the Euphrates River. Myself and others have reported both the Pied Kingfisher and the White-breasted Kingfishers - both spectacular birds. Major Ed has added the diminutive and beautiful Common Kingfisher. I've heard it referred to as a tiny flying jewel with its blues and turquoise and cinnamon breast. A very good bird. I looked unsuccessfully for them in England. My Father remembers them well growing up as a boy in southern England being prone to wandering around the countryside.

Another bird I wish I'd seen that Major Ed reports is the Blue Rock Thrush.

Bigwig at Silflay Hraka has another Iraqi list from Captain Kate, another US Marine Corps officer. He also has been busy adding to the entries on his birds of Iraq series and the photo gallery featuring LTC Bob's and MAJ Ed's photos. Some recent entries are on the Rook, Pied Kingfisher, Collared Dove, Black-winged Stilt, White-breasted Kingfisher and Red-wattled Lapwing.

Among the interesting birds Captain Kate reports are See-See partridge a very handsome little gamebird, Little Bittern - a small heron that I missed and Egyptian Nightjar, a relative of the North American Whip-poor-will and Chuck-wills-Widow.

2005-03-31T00:01:00.000-05:00

The ranks of military birders in Iraq are expanding. I know of 6 currently on duty. Major Ed with the US Marines has some nice photos over at Silfay Hraka. He reports spending 10 minutes studying a Little Crake in his area. The Little Crake is a relative of our Sora Rail, the diminutive marsh bird much more often heard than seen. I think Major Ed will be some healthy competion for LTC Bob at Camp Victory who continues to supply great photos. I expect some great springtime bird photos of European and Indian Rollers, Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters and Hoopoes. Note to LTC Bob...the Black Francolins are in the scrubby area near the tunnel to Camp Slayer.

Another military blogger just up the road at Camp Liberty even posted his Iraqi birdlist. He's one of LTC Bob's very close neighbors.

Now for something completely different....truffles in Iraq! I think of truffles as the fungus that the Italians or French go to incredible lengths to gather using trained dogs or pigs and pay hundred to thousands of dollars a kilo. Apparently there are more humble desert truffles that are being harvested at this time of year in among other places, southern Iraq. This article from Saudi Aramco World magazine tells the story. The article talks about Kuwaitis sometimes boiling them in camel milk (recipe is included).

2005-03-24T23:02:00.000-05:00

I came across an interesting article (at least to me) on the molluscs (clams, snails, etc) of the lower Mesopotamian wetlands. This scientific paper was derived from unpublished material from a 1980 expedition just prior to the beginning of the Iran-Iraq War, when the area was in much better shape. There are quiet a few photos of various gastropods and bivalves as well as some very nice photos at the end of the paper of the houses of the Marsh Arabs.

On another note I've been reading about animals that once lived in Iraq but have now become extinct.

Until relatively recently the Ostrich roamed around southern Iraq and was hunted by the bedouin. In the ruins of Ur near Nasiriyah many Ostrich egg artifacts have been found. The Ostrich is one of a number of large animals that became extinct in Iraq in relatively recent times. Both the Lion and the Tiger were found in Iraq in ancient times. Images and statues of Lions are all over the archeological sites of Iraq. At Babylon there is a famous basalt statue of a man being mauled by a lion. The last Iraqi lion reported killed was in 1918 on the lower Tigris. In 1914 a Turkish governor killed two near Mosul. Also near Mosul at Caspian Tiger was killed in 1887. Another large animal, the Onager or Wild Ass was found in large herds in the southern desert. As with the Ostrich the advent of firearms probably led to their disappearance.

2005-03-18T21:14:00.000-05:00

I think many people who visit Iraq have been alarmed by a particularly large and nasty looking wasp. They are reddish brown and yellow and have a habit of buzzing around you ominously. Our PAs called them "the meat eaters" because on several occasions they saw them making off with large chunks of hotdog or hamburger that was left outside. Since I had a bug net I caught quite a few of these critters during my time there.

These were Oriental Hornets (Vespa orientalis). Some of them were 2 inches long with 3 inch wingspans. Pretty formidable when its flying around your tent. I was never stung but they can pack a wallop.

In the other stinging critter arena I found a nice poster put out by the army on Arachnids of Iraq. The pictures of the scorpions, spiders and camel spiders are great.

2005-03-12T20:50:00.000-05:00

LTC Bob at Victory Base continues to produce some nice photos of local birds. His latest offerings at Silflay Hraka are great pictures of Babblers and of White-breasted Kingfishers. The Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters should be arriving in a month or so. I expect he'll have some great shots of them too.

I found a nice old picture from 1922 of a White Stork nest. The caption says that the local belief was that good luck would rest on the family on whose house the storks build their huge nests. I'm told that in the north of the country its more common to see nesting storks than in the area where I spent most of my time.

I've been reading some reports from the last comprehensive waterbird surveys conducted in Iraq. I'll highlight a few of the areas and what they found there over my next few posts.

The first area is near the town of Kut southeast of Baghdad. On the arid plains about 10 km north of the Tigris River is a large isolated lake called Haur Al Shuwaija. The site was surveyed 3 times between 1968 and 1979. Large numbers of birds both wintered and bred there. Its unknown what state the lake and its surrounding area is in now. From the numbers and varieties of waterbirds listed below, the place must have been spectacular, hopefully it still is. It is in this general area that a Lesser White-fronted Goose is being tracked via satellite.

Reported peak counts of selected species
Great White Pelican - 71
Dalmatian Pelican - 3
Gray Heron - 130
Greater Flamingo - 600
White-fronted Goose - 325
Lesser White-fronted Goose - 70
graylag Goose - 460
Ruddy Shelduck - 1280
Common Shelduck - 250
Eurasian Wigeon - 2700
Gadwall - 435
Common Teal - 3450
Mallard - 2630
Pintail - 2800
Northern Shoveler - 3000
Common Crane - 70
Eurasian Coot - 510
Pied Avocet - 373
Kentish (Snowy) Plover - 725
White-tailed Lapwing - 37
Little Stint - 130
Ruff - 2000
Black-headed Gull - 650
Yellow-legged Gull - 645
Gull-billed Tern - 6
Caspian Tern - 11
Whiskered Tern - 110

2005-03-04T21:14:00.000-05:00

Amphibians in Iraq

Iraq has only 7 species of amphibian, of these I only saw 1, the Green Toad. In late March in Balad I started hearing the toads calling in the ditches, which at the time still had some water. About a month later I found one under a piece of cardboard in some wet mud. In April and again in May I found individual toads hopping around our building at night after it rained. The toads must aestivate during the summer, burrowing down into the soil to survive the heat.

My home state of Connecticut has 22 native species of amphibians. Iraq is relatively poor in species because of the arid nature of much of the country. All the frogs and toads are widespread species but two newt species, especially the Kurdistan Newt have very restricted ranges.

In addition to the Green Toad, Iraq is also home to 3 other species of frogs. One of the frogs is the very handsome looking Mediterranean Tree Frog (Hyla Savignyi), It looks a bit like our Pine Barrens Tree Frog. Two other standard type frogs are the Marsh Frog (Rana ridibunda) and the Edible Frog (Rana esculenta).

In the north of Iraq three species of Newts are found. Two in the Yellow-spotted Newt complex (Neurergus)The Azerbaijan Newt (N. crocatus) and the Kurdistan Newt (N. microspilotus). If you look at the link for the Kurdistan Newt, its amazing how similar the color is to our Spotted Salamander.

The last amphibian species listed for Iraq is the Banded Newt (Triturus vittatus). This last species may occur in N. Iraq near the Turkish border but I haven't found any definitive documentation. It is found in Syria, Turkey and Iran as well as further afield.

Frogs and Toads
Green Toad
Mediterranean Tree Frog
Marsh Frog
Edible Frog

Salamanders
Azerbaijan Newt
Kurdistan Newt
?Banded Newt

Green Toad captured April 2004, LSA Anaconda, near Balad, Iraq

2005-02-24T14:30:00.000-05:00

I've been a bit slow starting my new North American blog. I'll have a link off this site when I do.
I'm still on leave and haven't returned to the American Red Cross yet. This week my kids have vacation so we've been out and about a bit.

Yesterday I went to Simsbury and visited my parents. My father, 5 kids and I took a walk around Nod Brook Wildlife Management Area, my old birding haunt.

Most of the ponds were iced up but in the open patches we saw a lone Mute Swan, a few mallards and some Canada Geese. We saw some American Robins perched in the trees and I saw three Red-winged Blackbirds, though none on their territories yet. At the Farmington River we found several trees that were gnawed on by the beavers. One large tree was well on its way to being girdled.

We saw quite a few signs of spring on our walk. The catkins are coming out on the birches and the alders, one large pussywillow was covered with downy gray buds, and on our way home we examined a Chinese Witch-Hazel that was in full flower. A few days before, the kids and I found the first Skunk Cabbages coming out of our local swamp.

On the Iraqi wildlife front, I again direct you to the adventures of LTC Bob at Camp Victory. He has sent Bigwig at Silflay Hraka a picture of a large Cyprinid (Minnow and Carp Family) that a soldier caught in one of the lakes around Camp Victory. Aspius Vorax is a good sized fish as this picture illustrates. Some of our soldiers had the opportunity to fish where they were stationed. I saw several pictures of large Aspius from our subordinate Companies. I observed fishing soldiers at Camp Liberty, Camp Victory, Camp Slayer and Tallil Airbase. At Tallil the pond is fed from a canal linked by some miles to the Euphrates. The soldiers said they caught several species of fish including carp amd a large catfish.

I also found this picture of a White Wagtail that landed on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman at the start of the war.

2005-02-20T23:10:00.000-05:00

Birdlife International is commencing a 6 month study of the birds of the wetlands in Southern Iraq. Their website has a story about training Iraqi biologists for the survey. The story says a Lesser White Fronted Goose was satellite-tagged in Siberia and showed up this fall in an area east of Baghdad.

So it looks like Iraqi birds will be getting a lot more attention in 2005.

The marshes of S. Iraq were the size of Lake Ontario and were reduced by about 90% by Saddam Hussein's drainage program. These marshes held such great birds as Goliath Heron and the African Darter. A report that came out today says that about half the marsh area has been reflooded and some of the plants and birds are coming back. Other parts have severe salt damage and may not recover.

I came across a few posts by Bigwig on the blog Silflay Hraka. He has been in touch with a birding lieutenant Colonel based at Victory Base near Baghdad Airport. Bigwig wrote 3 posts so far on the birds that LTC Bob has been seeing. He has a post on the Mesopotamian Crow, the White-Cheeked Bulbul and the White-tailed Plover. LTC Bob seems to have a much better camera than I so perhaps some more good pictures are forthcoming. When I was at Victory Base I saw among other birds Black Francolin, Graceful Prinia, Common Babblers, Pied Kingfishers, Pygmy Cormorant and Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters.

If any soldiers or others have Iraqi wildlife observations or pictures that they would like to share, please email me at jtrend@earthlink.net and I'll post them here.

2005-02-12T21:21:00.000-05:00

Today was my last day of active duty. We left Fort Drum on Thursday and came back to Connecticut. We spent two days at a Camp Rell in Niantic for demobilization briefings.

In my last post I said that I thought I had seen my last lifer in Kuwait. I was wrong. I had one more the day we left Kuwait.

On our departure day I walked to a remote corner of the camp where the desert vegetation wasn't disturbed. On my way there I turned over a board and found a termite colony with a few big soldiers in with the rank and file. All over the dunes I had noticed tiny little mounds that looked like anthills with no hole. They turned out to be places where the termites were pushing the sand out of their tunnels. Looking at the desert landscape, the last thing I though of was termites but there's plenty of cellulose around for them and they turned out to be abundant.

In the scrub areas I once again saw both Desert and Isabelline wheatears. I also had a glimpse of a small sandy colored bird. It took half and hour of searching and I finally found a group of 3 Desert Warblers running around the base of a spiny little bush and once in a while hopping up on the top of the bush to get a better view. These birds were hyperactive.

On our trip back home we made a stop in Shannon, Ireland where I saw a few rooks hanging around the terminal.

In Fort Drum I took a few walks and saw both White-breasted and Red-breasted Nuthatches, Black-capped Chickadees, and a Downy Woodpecker. During the week I was there I had quite a few sightings of Wild Turkeys. One night the temperature was in the 30's and I saw a reddish brown moth flying around. I think it might have been a Eupsilia species perhaps E. vinulenta one of the common winter flying moths I sometimes see at this time of year.

During my two days at the Connecticut shore I saw a few more familiar birds; Bufflehead, Red-breasted Merganser, Mute Swan and my first Turkey Vulture of the year.

My plans for this blog are to continue posting about Iraqi plants and wildlife. Post some of my photos and hopefully get some first hand observations from people on the ground. I know I'm not the only birder who was over there. I'll probably also start another blog for my North American observations next week.

2005-02-01T12:37:00.000-05:00

This will be my last entry from the Middle East. We are about to leave and make our way back home via snowy Fort Drum, New York. My next entry may be about Wild Turkeys and White-tailed Deer, both plentiful in Fort Drum.

The last few days have been fairly good for wildlife watching.

A couple days ago I saw what might be my last lifer of this deployment, a Brown-necked Raven I saw soaring around over Camp Doha when I went in to go to the PX and Starbucks. I found an overgrown running track with interesting succulent plants and dwarf tamarisk bushes. I turned over a few boards and found some were fat brown cutworms of some sort, these noctuid moth caterpillars were brown with lateral stripes. I also found quite a few woodlice and some tenebrionid beetles. I have a few pictures of the beetles which I'll post when I have a better connection. In the library I found a book on Kuwaiti wildlife and identified two of the Tenebrionid genera I saw.

Today I spent about an hour watching Libyan Jirds, a type of large gerbil that live in the dunes. Their body is about 6 inches long and their tail looks like another 6 or 7 inches more. For a couple days I've been looking in the large holes in the dunes hoping to see one. One of our sergeants took a picture of a hole, when he brought it up on the computer there was the face of a Jird staring out at him. I made an abortive attempt to excavate a burrow today and catch one. After 45 minutes of digging a burrow 10 feet long I quit after my hole was 4 feet deep and in danger of collapsing on me. I decided that I'd go out about an hour before sunset and just sit in the dunes and wait for the gerbils to come out to feed. Within 5 minute they were hopping around, eating seeds, running into one hole and coming out another 20 feet away. Their tails are incredibly long, reddish at the base and tipped with a black tuft. When they run they stick the tail straight up in the air. Very cool little beasts.

While I was watching the Jirds a Desert Wheatear was flitting around and singing in the bushes near me.

As I walked over to the Jird dunes I saw a pure white dove circle over the camp. I'll take it as a good omen.

2005-01-28T12:55:00.000-05:00

I've taken a few walks around the perimeter here at my camp. There's still a few puddles around and the sand is still moist and looks like brown sugar.

This morning I saw a white wagtail feeding in the pebbles behind our shower. There were also a couple of house sparrows and a pair of rock doves.

Most of the camp is flat and sandy. Big sand berms surround the camp with little spiny bushes growing here and there. In some areas near the edge of the berm, new grass has sprouted up along with some small semisucculent plants.

The ants are plentiful. I saw at least 4 species. The smallest were tiny black ants perhaps a millimeter long. The nests were grouped together like little volcanoes 2 inches across. The largest were big black harvester ants coming out of mounds 10 inches across. Plenty of food for a fat lizard. Last year about this time I caught a large Dhub-Dhub or Spiny-tailed Lizard on a rifle range north of here.

I found some good sized holes near the base of some spiny bushes. One had fresh rodent droppings. A few types of gerbils are native to this area so it might have been one of them.

I turned over a few large boards looking for insects and scorpions. I found a colony of small white termites eating up the underside of a board. I also found a couple black tenebrionid beetles hiding under debris and the empty puparium of a fly.

In an area with a lot of bushes and new grass I found two species of Wheatear. A Desert Wheatear flew just in front of me as a walked through, perching on bushes and pumping its tail up and down. On one of the berms I saw an Isabelline Wheatear.

2005-01-27T07:12:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was my last day in Iraq for this deployment. The last few days I walked around base quite a bit. Seeing my familiar favorite birds that I'll always remember when I think of Iraq. The residents like the playful white-cheeked bulbuls, the Crested Larks with no fear of people and the hooded crows, plus the winter visitors like the rooks and the ducks in the laundry pond.
The Moustached Warbler turned out to be the last lifer in Iraq.

I have been blessed with the opportunity to be here, doing a mission that I believe in. Because of my job and the places that I ended up I had, perhaps, more opportunity to see and appreciate Iraq's natural world than some. One day I hope to return, with binoculars but without a weapon. I've been encouraged by the steady stream of kind words that reader have posted. Thanks to the people who have sent me books and to the American Birding Association for sending me encouragement and reading material. You've all made this deployment more enjoyable for me. Its been my pleasure to share it with you.

I took one last nostalgic walk during the long wait yesterday afternoon for our plane taking us to Kuwait. I walked up the road leading to the main gate, up past the burning dump. Several hundred Starlings were milling around the garbage as well as large flocks of house sparrows. Its funny I've only seen Starlings four times since being here. One the mounds of dirt around the burn pit had a few dozen collared doves roosting, including some very dark birds that look like they got quite a bit of soot on them. A pair of Kestrels patrolled the dump, using the light poles as lookouts.

Directly across from the dump there was a rain pool by the side of the road. 5 black-winged stilts were wading around feeding on something. They are another beautiful bird with their elegant black and white with long red legs that I'll remember well. I could find at least a few on any day of the year somewhere on our camp. In the summer they nested in one of the drainage ponds.

I continued my walk up to a large drainage pond. Walking around it I found a pair of magpies hopping around a large bush calling to eachother. I also saw a few coots and a purple swamphen near the edge of the reeds. A moorhen called from inside the reeds and then flew across the pond.

Night fell and I boarded the c-130 for a flight to Kuwait.

Today I'm in a camp in the Kuwaiti desert. I'll try to add to my pathetic Kuwaiti list of 5 species. Today I've seen quite a few Barn Swallows plus some House Sparrows and Rock Doves.

2005-01-20T14:05:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, I had the use of a vehicle for the first time in almost a month. Most of our vehicles got shipped south, leaving me to hoof it.

I spent some time driving around to the good birding spots on base, including a few I hadn't visited in a while that are too far to walk to.

The laundry pond was filled with hundreds of birds, most of the ducks were Northern Shovelers. There were also a good number of Common Teal and Coots and a few Mallards. No Ferruginous ducks, however I saw a small flock the day before at the same location. Two female Marsh Harriers were cruising the edge of the pond. A huge transport plane flew over taking off and put all the Shovelers to flight. They wheeled around the pond a few times and then came back for a landing on the water.

Out over the pond I saw the first Barn Swallow of the year, flying back and forth. Spring must be around the bend here. In the second week of February last year, in the middle of the desert in Kuwait, migrating Barn Swallows were some of the first birds I saw in the Middle East.

Among the scrubby dead Syrian Mesquite bushes near the pond about 25 red-wattled plovers were congregated. They were there the day before also, just standing around, some of them sleeping.

As I walked along the fence two Magpies flew in and landed near the water, flushing up some type of snipe which flew away too fast for me to ID.

At another drainage pond I found several Black-winged Stilts and a Common Redshank feeding in the shallow water.

Later in the day I took along another Sergeant who was interested in birding. We spent time at a third drainage pond and found more Shovelers, some Coot and a couple Moorhens. We also found a Purple Swamphen preening itself at the end of the reeds.

I made an abortive attempt to go down to the bushes near the pond to examine some large round nests. I think they might be from Dead Sea Sparrows, which are common in the summer. Instead of getting to the nests I sunk in the mud and got myself filthy. Each boot probably weighed 5 pounds with all the mud.

Down near the waters edge we saw a little chestnut bird with a dark cap and eyeline skulking around like a wren. It actually reminded me a little of a Marsh Wren back home. It turned out to be a Moustached Warbler, a lifer for me.

19 January 2005

Little Egret - 1
Common Teal - 20
Mallard - 8
Northern Shoveler - 200
Marsh Harrier - 2
Eurasian Kestrel - 3
Moorhen - 3
Purple Swamphen - 1
Coot - 35
Black-winged Stilt - 4
Red-wattled Plover - 25
Snipe sp. - 1
Common Redshank - 1
Black-headed Gull - 100
Lesser Black-backed Gull - 4
Rock Dove - 15
Wood Pigeon - 10
Collared Dove - 35
Barn Swallow - 1
White Wagtail - 6
White-cheeked Bulbul - 3
Black Redstart - 2
Stonechat - 1
Moustached Warbler - 1
Magpie - 2
Rook - 150
Hooded Crow - 3

2005-01-18T04:18:00.000-05:00

Here's a few pictures from a few days ago on base.

Hooded Crow, a distinct subspecies in the hooded/carrion crow complex sometimes known as the Mesopotamian Crow.

A hoverfly (Syrphidae) on a mustard flower.

Leaves of a thistle. This species has interesting variegated leaves. They come up in December and flower around the end of March. I've observed Eurasian Goldfinch feeding on the seeds in April as they are migrating north.

2005-01-16T13:21:00.000-05:00

Since the new unit has taken over, I've had a chance to get out of our unit area.

Two days ago I saw an Indian Roller flying over our building. I saw quite a few of these large colorful birds in the spring and summer last year, usually on the perimeter fence or sitting on telephone lines.

At the laundry pond a marsh harrier was harrassing the ducks and coots, flying low over them and flushing them out of the reeds and into open water. There were about 50 coots, 25 shovelers, and a handful each of mallards and ferruginous ducks. A little grebe was diving in the middle of the pond.

I ran into a small group of 7 chaffinches feeding by the side of the road. As I approached, they flew up into the Eucalyptus trees, then decided I was not a threat and came back to the roadside.

The weather during the day has been in the 60's. Other than Cabbage Whites I haven't seen any other species of butterfly lately. The dragonflies seem to have disappeared for the winter.

This evening a gigantic flock of rooks was flying back and forth over the base, I'd say 10,000 birds.

2005-01-10T08:47:00.000-05:00

All over the post, in ditches and in patches of dirt next to the road or sidewalk, plants are coming up, encouraged by the rain. They will sprout, flower, produce seeds and die all before the end of May. Its funny seeing patches of bright green where there has only been brown 7 months. By May the sun kills all but the hardiest plants. The plants sprouting now include grasses, clovers, dandelions, several types of thistle, mustards, and small composites. Its amazing the seeds survived the summer. The ground temperature can be over 150 degrees and everything turns to a dessicated dust. Also the first of the Eucalyptus trees have started flowering with their little white puffballs.

I took a short walk yesterday to the pond. On my way down I saw half a dozen cabbage butterflies feeding on the small white flowers in a patch of some type of mustard plants. Also at the flowers I found a honeybee and a few small hoverflies. On some of the thistle plants large orange ladybugs with black spots were crawling around, probably feeding on aphids.

I saw white wagtails and crested larks feeding in a patch of newly sprouted grass near the side of the road.

The reeds around the pond are now dead and brown. Out on the water were about 30 coots, some shovelers, a few mallards and a pair of ferruginous ducks. A Marsh Harrier was cruising around the perimeter of the pond and would sometimes drop down into the reeds. None of the waterfowl seemed to pay attention.

Walking back to my tent I came across a big nest of harvester ants. The mound was spread out over a radius of maybe 5 feet with multiple holes. The mound was made up of excavated dirt and pieces of seeds and plants they had collected.

Near a chow hall I found a large tree I hadn't noticed before. It was covered with little yellow fruit that looked like tiny apples. A group of white-cheeked bulbuls and some collared doves were busy eating the fruit.

This afternoon I took a walk in another direction and checked out the dump. Lots of gulls, hundreds of house sparrows, a few hooded crows and thousands of rooks. I saw a little egret standing near the perimeter fence, which seemed a bit out of place.

On my way back to the tent I had a male siskin fly down to a puddle just in front of me and later a flock of 8 Eurasian goldfinch landed in a Eucalyptus tree. I had great looks at these very pretty birds.

We had a warm night a few days ago and I saw my first bat of the year. Down near Nasiriyah a few weeks ago there were quite a few bats of a slightly larger variety.

2005-01-01T17:50:00.000-05:00

I came back from a mission down south near Nasiriyah a few days ago. The land around the base was rocky desert, much different from the fertile river valley around my home base. I was able to visit the ruins of the ancient Sumerian city of Ur. I have some photos on my other blog.

The base has a running track around a couple acre pond. I spent some time walking the perimeter of the track looking for birds. Several large desert bushes had started to flower with pretty small pink flowers. There were also some fine tamarisk trees growing near the pond.

Flowering Bush

Tamarisk Tree

I saw a nice male Black Redstart of the semirufus race.

I spent ten minutes watching a trio of Pied Kingfishers hunting for fish. One caught a fat six inch fish and spent a couple minutes beating the fish against a no-swimming sign trying to get it to stop struggling. It then gingerly flipped the fish around and swallowed it head first.

The White Wagtails and Crested Larks were everywhere on base the Crested Larks running around in the parking lots and the wagtails preferring the edge of the pond.

At the pond I found a male Snowy (Kentish) Plover. I've seen this species in the US and this bird looked much different with a rufous cap. It has to be a distinct subspecies.

Around the Ziggurat of Ur I saw a large Eagle (Aquila species) and a Pied Wheatear . The pied wheatear perched on a telephone line and would fly down to the ground to catch something then go back to its perch.

28/29 December - Near the Ruins of Ur, Iraq
Grey Heron - 1
Eagle (Aquila) sp. - 1
Black-winged Stilt - 3
Snowy (Kentish) Plover - 1
Red-wattled Plover - 1
Rock Dove - 25
Wood Pigeon - 1
Collared Dove - 40
Laughing Dove - 4
Pied Kingfisher - 3
Crested Lark - 20
White Wagtail - 35
White-cheeked Bulbul - 1
Black Redstart - 1 male semirufus
Pied Wheatear - 1
House Sparrow - 75

2004-12-27T21:03:00.000-05:00

My CBC was somewhat abreviated because several projects were sprung on some in the last few days. I only hit two spots, our laundry pond and the dump. I'm traveling again this week and I'll post after I get back. I'm hoping to do some birding while I'm away.

Here's my list:

Little Grebe - 2
Cattle Egret - 4
Grey Heron - 1
Mallard - 7
Shoveler - 4
Ferruginous Duck - 1
Marsh Harrier - 1
Moorhen - 3
Coot - 11
Black-headed Gull - 1500
Lesser Black-backed Gull - 2
Yellow-legged Gull - 3
Armenian Gull - 8
Rock Dove - 200
Collared Dove - 18
Crested Lark - 7
White Wagtail - 12
White-cheeked Bulbul - 3
Graceful Prinia - 6
Common Babbler - 1
Jackdaw - 12
Rook - 65
Hooded Crow - 9
House Sparrow - 35

2004-12-22T16:56:00.000-05:00

I haven't been for a good long walk for a few weeks. Tomorrow morning I'll have an opportunity. I'll consider it a Christmas Bird Count. Because of this deployment I've missed the last two counts with the local Audubon society that I have participated in since I was 14. The first CBC I went on I remember seeing a flock of Pine Grosbeaks in the snow. We also take our annual trip to the dump. At least I can replicate the dump trip here. At home I usually get to count the birds at a huge American Crow roost. Here I have my Rooks.

2004-12-15T16:04:00.000-05:00

This evening on another run to drop someone off at the helipad I saw a little Ruppell's Fox by the side of the road. As we passed it turned and ran off into the bushes flashing its very fine tail.

Our force protection guys are constantly cursing all the holes that the foxes and jackals dig under our perimeter fence. There's too much good stuff inside the wire, nothing is going to stop them coming in.

Even thought the temperature has got as low as 30 at night, the insects are still active during the day. In the last week I've seen dragonflies, mostly small reddish and gray Libellulids like the genus Sympetrum back at home, several species of ant, and a handful of Pierid butterflies that look like they are probably Cabbage Whites.

We have a little planter with flowers in it that we now take in at night. I was looking at the leaves of the marigolds and I found little leaf mines snaking through some of the leaves. By the looks of it I think its an Agromyzid Fly larva. Several insects including some microlepidoptera and some Chrysomelid beetles have this unusual habit of making a trail through the middle layers of a leaf as their larvae feed and grow. Some birds are fond of picking the larvae out of their mines before they can pupate.

I haven't been out much birding this last week. I have noticed an increase in white wagtails. These funny little birds seem to be everywhere on post in little groups of 3 or 4 birds. I've seen a Kestrel a few times flying around our building and a black redstart now seems to be a permanent resident hopping around our patio, flying up on one of the tents and making its circuit around our scap lumber pile.

2004-12-08T14:10:00.000-05:00

This morning I met our Battalion surgeon for a little early morning birding. I grabbed one of the humvees and we headed out to the laundry pond. There was more activity than the last time I was there. On the fenceline 3 red-wattled plovers ran on the ground in front of us. Down in the pond there were mallards, northern shovelers, coots and a few gallinules. A Marsh harrier flew up out of the reeds and cruised around the perimeter of the pond. This long winged raptor was a new bird for me. As we walked back to the truck we saw a great egret flying over. In the low Syrian Mesquite bushes we found a stonechat and a few white wagtails running around.

The next stop was the sewage pond on the other side of post. One black-winged stilt was feeding in the shallow water along with a green sandpiper. A pair of spur-winged plovers were hanging out on the bank.

We continue on to another of the storm water basins that are now covered with reeds. Several avocets flew around the pond and landed in the shallow water to feed. The only other time I saw these striking black and white birds was in the southern marshes on my first day in Iraq convoying up from Kuwait. We also saw a magpie flying around and a common redshank and
some more black-winged stilts near the waters edge.

Our final stop was the large flock of gulls near our dump. Like last time it was mostly black-headed gulls along with a single lesser black-backed and a couple Armenian gulls.

After dropping off our surgeon I spotted a nice male chaffinch on a fence while driving back to my building.

2004-12-02T13:26:00.000-05:00

This morning I walked out our back door and saw a few small birds hopping around in the top of a large Eucalyptus tree that grows next to our building. I climbed up on the roof to get a better look and found that it was a group of Eurasian Siskins feeding on the seeds in the Eucalyptus gum nuts. They are pretty little birds that look like our pine siskins with bright yellow wing bars, black caps and yellow streaked breasts.

I spent about 10 minutes watching the little group feeding, often hanging upside down. Even thought the Eucalyptus trees look like they have a bumper crop of gum nuts, these are the first birds I've seen feeding on them. Perhaps other birds can't get the seeds out of the small holes in the cone.

The only other birds of note I saw around my building today were a Magpie flying over and a Black Redstart hopping around the patio.

2004-11-28T14:37:00.000-05:00

A short drive around in the middle of the day. The laundry pond had a few coots and a couple of moorhens. There was a strong wind which seemed to keep a lot of the birds down.

In a field near the perimeter I saw a flock of about 50 small birds flying around, then landing, in a grassy area. If I was back home I wouldn't hesitate to call it a flock of American pipits. Here, there are many more choices and they were a little too far away to say anything other than they were probably some type of brown pipit with white outer tail feathers. It would have been nice to have a scope. Hopefully they'll stick around and next time they'll be on my side of the fence.

Near the dump I finally stopped and took a look at the flock of gulls which now number around a hundred birds. Like last winter, the majority were black-headed gulls, now all in their white winter plumage. Mixed in were a few lesser black-backed gulls and at least two Armenian gulls. I saw some large gulls flying around which were probably yellow-legged gulls, sometimes considered a subspecies of Herring Gull. I'll have to spend a little more time up at the dump.

2004-11-24T10:31:00.000-05:00

I was able to get out about half an hour before sunset. Near the clinic a pair of common babblers were running around near a pile of brush and a black redstart was hopping around near the base of a bush next to the building.

Driving around the perimeter I saw the now nightly sight of 10,000+ rooks, with a few jackdaws mixed in, moving from the fields to their roosts near the river. There were also hundreds of Wood Pigeons coming in to roost in a row of large Eucalyptus trees.

At the laundry pond a pair of Pied Kingfishers were getting in some last minute fishing, hovering over the water and diving down for the catch. The pond also had a few coots and moorhens swimming around. All the ducks were on the far side of the pond and were too far away to identify. I did see one ferruginous duck fly by.

At the sewage pond a dozen black winged stilts were feeding as well as a pair of spur-winged plovers.

I saw half a dozen stonechats scattered singly or in pairs along a mile stretch of the fenceline. I've seen this species in England, but not in Iraq before.

The temperature is much cooler than a month ago. Last night the low was 36 degrees F and the high today was 58. Clouds will be moving in with rain later in the week so it won't get so cool at night. I think some of the insects are taking advantage of the rain and new plant growth to emerge. Last night I found a beautiful white Arctiid moth with black and red checks on its forewings. It was very distinctive and a little searching among Arctiid pictures on the internet proved it to be Utetheisa pulchella - The Crimson-speckled Moth . Interestingly enough this moth has been introduced into the West Indies, probably from Africa. Even though it gets cool at night the bugs don't mind as long as we don't have a killing frost. Mosul up north has already had frost.

2004-11-21T11:48:00.000-05:00

I went out for a short walk at sunset yesterday. I had noticed large flocks of small birds flying into the trees across the road. It turned out to be a large roost of house sparrows all trying to jam themselves into two small trees making a racket. I'd estimate that there were about 500 birds. Last spring I saw huge flocks of house sparrows coming to roost in the reeds around one of the ponds. I spent ten minutes scanning the flock to see if something else like a Spanish Sparrow was mixed in. I only found house sparrows.

This afternoon a large brown falcon flew over our building, I didn't have my binoculars so I couldn't ID it. It might have been a Saker Falcon.

While I was walking around our building I noticed little mud tubes on the outside of a dead Eucalyptus tree. They were the covered runways of tiny white termites. The tunnels protect their bodies from the sun and from the view of predators.

2004-11-14T12:32:00.000-05:00

I made a quick trip down to the International (Green) Zone yesterday. On my flight down there were flocks of thousands of rooks moving around in the fields. The farmland is getting greener with the recent rains.

Our helicopter was dodging birds all the way to Baghdad. Flying over the Date Palm groves big flocks of wood pigeons and collared doves flew up from the trees into our path.

In the flooded fields there were some cattle egrets and small shorebirds.

Driving around the base today, I found that hundreds of gulls had returned to our burn pit/dump. I didn't have a chance to see what species they were but I'll have plenty of chances since they'll be here all winter. Last winter I regularly saw 500+ Black-headed gulls and the ocassional lesser black backed. The white wagtails are also all over the place poking around in the dirt.

2004-11-10T12:37:00.000-05:00

Thanks for all the positive comments everyone has been leaving. I appreciate your interest. It motivates me to get out and write more.

The last few days have been slow on observations because I injured my knee in a soccer tournament. I'll be back out probably in a week or so.

In the mean time, I've enjoyed watching the antics of the rooks. They are much more playful than the crows and jackdaws and much more acrobatic. One sat in our big Eucalyptus tree and made a racket while we were trying to hold a formation.

Though we had some wood pigeons here all summer, large flocks have returned to our base. When I flew up north I saw thousands of wood pigeons and collared doves.

We've had a lot of rain for the last week. I'm wondering if all the water will stimulate some new plants to come up. When I was in Kuwait last winter the rains created a green haze of grasses on the dunes, which the camels like to snack on.

I drove around our perimeter road one rainy night and saw lots of little rodents of some type running around. I also saw a golden jackal and a little owl flying across the road. The jackals and foxes are constantly tunneling under our fence to the bane of the security patrol, that doesn't appreciate any holes.

Though its been colder, down to the upper 40's at night, the bats are still active. I doubt if they ever truly hibernate here since I saw them flying around in February.

2004-11-05T12:07:00.000-05:00

I few days ago I traveled up north to a forward operating base near Mosul. Flying north through the lush green agricultural lands bordering the Tigris I watched hundred of egrets along with small flocks of rooks and hooded crows. A large flock of sociable plovers were flushed by our low flying helicopter. We then moved out over the desert.

The most exciting bird of the flight was a houbara bustard flying up from the dry desert scrub showing large white patches on its wings. These gamebirds are sometimes hunted using trained falcons in Arab countries. Some birds from central Asia spend the winter in Iraq, its current breeding status in Iraq is unknown according to my field guide which just has a big questionmark on the distribution map.

The base I visited was very remote with flat rocky desert as far as the eye could see in every direction. The trees growing on base were the only ones for miles. I thought they would make a good migrant trap. Walking around I saw a few small flocks of magpies carrying on loudly as they flew from tree to tree. In a bush near one of the buildings I found a redstart and a male European robin. The robin was very cooperative and jumped around on the steps of the building showing off its bright orange breast. In another group of bushes I found a chiffchaff hopping around.

On my way back to my home base we flew in and around Mosul. The Tigris river loops through the city. There were huge numbers of birds on the river, large flocks of gulls, ducks and egrets flying around and others swimming in the river. Unfortunately we were moving to fast to get a good look. The broad shallows and all the vegetation along the river and in the rocky hills surrounding Mosul look like it would be a very good place to spend some time birding.

Back at home base yesterday I met an Air Force nurse whose brother is an entomologist who studies Braconid wasps. She told me that her brother had corresponded with a roach expert at Harvard because his wasps are parasitoids of roaches. It happens that I visited the same guy to help identify my roaches that I collected in Indonesia. I was disappointed that one fine large reddish brown roach I caught in a village in Kalimantan (S. Borneo) was none other than an American Roach! I could have caught the same species in any city in the US. He did help me identify some interesting tropical roaches so it wasn't a total bust. As it happens I regularly dispatch American Roaches in our building here in Iraq. I would guess that they were here before us.

2004-11-01T14:38:00.000-05:00

I had a mission out in the western desert in the Marine's area. I flew out over Lake Tharthar. I was hoping to see large numbers of waterfowl, maybe even pelicans. I only managed to see a few ducks and some grey herons. The lake is huge, the largest of 3 large saline depressions turned into floodwater control reservoirs in central Iraq. Its about 60 miles long and 20 miles across. Apparently large numbers of ducks, coots and other waterbirds winter at the lake. Other birds like Common Crane, Great Cormorant and Sandgrouse also winter in the area. As late as 1989 Houbara Bustards were still breeding in the land around the lake.

Most of the land I flew over was dry rocky desert with small plateaus and wadis.

At my mission location I saw a few birds mostly near the small islands of vegetation near former Iraqi military buildings. One building was surrounded by tall tamarisk and Eucalyptus trees. Growing next to the building were several pomagranate trees and an large olive trees. The greenery attracted white-cheeked bulbuls, an orphean warbler, a willow warbler and a large flock of house sparrows. Behind the building, along a gravel road I found half a dozen crested larks running around and calling accompanied by 3 white wagtails. In a pile of brush two Magpies were resting. In the surounding area I saw a northern wheatear as well as a Black Redstart.

On the high walls of the wadi I observed a black kite cruising along. I also saw a small dark streaked falcon which may have been a Hobby.

We got some steady rain early in the morning. On my flight back I saw the wet sand where some of the small washes had flowing water hours before.

2004-10-28T16:38:00.000-05:00

This morning I spent an hour watching the lunar eclipse. We were fortunate in Iraq to see totality around 5:23AM when it was still dark. The moon turned a dark reddish orange which was better seen without my binoculars, which have a lens coating that block some red light. The eclipsed moon faded into the brightening morning sky while still a few degrees above the horizon.

The rooks have officially arrived in numbers. These very social crows will be spending the winter. At dawn for the past two mornings, great scraggly flocks of rooks mixed with a few jackdaws pour over our base moving from their roosts to the freshly plowed fields. Around noon I saw a huge kettle of several hundred Rooks circling upward in a thermal. For a few minutes it was a perfect cylinder of circling black birds 50 feet wide and a couple hundred feet high. A rook tornado.

I saw another butterfly that escaped my identification. I thought it would be easy because it was so distinctive, a large black and lime green spotted one. In the fleeting moment I saw it, it reminded me of Graphium agamemnon which I collected in New Guinea 14 years ago. I may still ID it, but I've been through the butterfly lists of Iraq, Iran and Turkey to no avail. Too bad I don't have a good field guide for butterflies. My method is to go through the list one by one in the appropriate families and type the Latin name into Google image search.

2004-10-24T09:23:00.000-05:00

Waiting at the starting line for the Army Ten Miler race to begin, I looked up and saw a flock of 6 Rooks slowly flying over. These are the first ones I've seen since this spring. Soon hundreds more will follow to spend their winter in the fields around our base and picking through our dumpsters looking for food.

My visit to the Laundry pond yielded only a few birds, a single little egret, a coot, a pair of little grebes, several ferruginous ducks and a small flock of mallards.

I saw 5 or 6 species of dragonfly. There were a couple of large blue Aeshnids the size of a Green Darner, smaller red dragonflies, and a tiny gray species with a wingspan of about 2 inches.

I saw a migrating Red Admiral flying near the pond. Like the Painted Ladies that I saw this spring they are found throughout the northern hemisphere in both Eurasia and North America.

Since the weather got colder a few days ago the geckos have not been out. Last night I did find more macro moths than usual at our lights. Small crambids, a small green noctuid and a large moth that looked like a catocaline noctuid.

2004-10-18T09:55:00.000-05:00

This morning I had to go to a meeting at one of the high security buildings. For the last two weeks I've seen a bunch of small hairstreak butterflies flying around one of the bushes outside. Because of the location I can't catch one to ID it and I can't bring in a camera to photograph it. The butterflies have tiger striped underwings and little black tails on their back wings.

A new bird I saw a couple of days ago was a male Redstart hopping around in the tamarisk trees near our building. It flew down to the ground and was running around under some old boards.

When we were out on our patio a few nights ago a barn owl flew in circles over us screeching. The noise flushed a couple of wood pigeons out of our Eucalyptus tree.

2004-10-15T13:49:00.000-05:00

I finally went out again after a weeks hiatus. On the other side of post at the sewage pond I saw the usual black-winged stilts plus a pair of spotted redshanks and an active green sandpiper bobbing its tail as it fed along the shoreline.

The laundry pond was very slow, probably because it was the middle of the day. I saw a coot and a few moorhens swimming among the reeds and a group of 4 little grebes loitering in the middle of the pond. The engineers will be pumping some of the water out to make room for the runoff when the rains begin. The laundry pond is one of three stormwater basins on post. The problem is our laundry also pumps 120,000 gallons a day into the pond. If things remain as they are, the pond will overflow and flood part of the road. It may be good for the birds because they will be creating another shallow lake in an open field area, which the birds might like.

I've been seeing some small light orange butterflies that seem to be migrating through. They look like they are pierids, relatives of the cabbage white. I also have been seeing some Plain Tiger butterflies (Danaus chrysippus) flying through.

2004-10-05T03:27:00.000-05:00

In the last week I've only got out a few times. This morning I rode one of the guy's bikes down to the laundry pond. Usually it takes me about half and hour each way if I walk so it was a big improvement.

Today was overcast in the morning. It even sprinkled for a minute or so. The temperature was very comfortable in the 80's.

The pond was very quiet today only 4 ducks. 2 Garganey and 2 Mallards. A single white-winged black tern was flying over the water feeding. A pair of coots, some moorhens, a little grebe and a single Little Egret rounded out the waterbirds.

I did see four fuzzy black moorhen chicks running around amongst the reeds. That was the high point.

I saw a few other birds perched on the fence surrounding the pond. About a dozen blue-cheeked bee-eaters, a common babbler and the ubiquitous white-cheeked bulbuls.

A few days ago I stopped at my new spot, the water treatment pond. I observed a pair of ringed plovers, a new species for me, a common redshank, two dozen black-winged stilts and a yellow wagtail.

The treatment pond should be good throughout the fall and winter because many shorebirds winter in Iraq. I remember coming north from Kuwait in February and seeing large numbers feeding in the little ponds by the side of the highway.

Now that it is getting cooler some of the plants are starting to flower. One large bush I passed the other day was covered with tiny green flowers. Hundreds of tiny moths were fluttering around the bush and feeding on the flowers.

2004-09-25T04:53:00.000-05:00

The migrants continue to come through. My Iraq list will soon be over 100 species.

On Thursday I had to drive a few soldiers to the helipad to get them on a flight. I took 45 minutes extra to check a few spots for birds.

On the far side of the base there is a small pond next to a modular water-treatment plant. The pond is about 1/2 an acre and was dug this spring. Now some reeds have grown up around it and I've started noticing some shorebirds, mostly stilts.

When I checked it out there was a nice selection of shorebirds including a life bird for me. There were a dozen black-winged stilts, two spur-winged plovers, a common sandpiper and my new life bird, a great snipe. All were very cooperative and I drove my humvee right up to the bank and watched the birds from 20 feet away.

At the laundry pond in addition to the usual species I saw another new species, a group of three ferruginous ducks. The males are all reddish brown with a white belly and white on their wings when they fly. I also saw some sand martins (Bank Swallows) for the first time in Iraq.

Driving around the perimeter I checked the flooded areas near the fence for more shorebirds. I turned up some red-wattled plovers and my third new bird of the day a white-tailed plover.

Some passerines were perched on the fence. I saw a flock of common babblers, a migrant spotted flycatcher and my final new bird of the day an isabelline wheatear.

September 23rd Birdlist 1230-1330

Little Grebe - 4
Great-crested Grebe - 1
Little Egret - 4
Mallard - 3
Northern Shoveler - 2
Marbled Teal - 4
Ferruginous Duck - 3
Moorhen - 2
Black-winged Stilt - 12
Spur-winged Plover - 3
Red-wattled Plover - 4
White-tailed Plover - 1
Great Snipe - 1
Common Sandpiper - 1
White-winged Black Tern - 10
Rock Dove - 15
Wood Pigeon - 4
Collared Dove - 6
Pied Kingfisher - 1
Blue-cheeked Bee-eater - 4
Crested Lark - 2
Bank Swallow - 10
White-cheeked Bulbul - 3
Isabelline Wheatear - 1
Spotted Flycatcher - 1
Common Babbler - 5
Hooded Crow - 3
House Sparrow - 30

2004-09-20T13:49:00.001-05:00

Today we had a nice wind out of the north. Around 10AM I saw the first of 4 species of migrating raptors, unfortunately I could only positively identify one of them, a Eurasian Kestrel. I saw an Eagle, most likely a Spotted Eagle, a buteo of some sort, and an accipiter, either a Eurasian Sparrowhawk or a Levant Sparrowhawk.

I sat on our roof for about an hour hoping to see some more raptors. Just as I was about to leave I looked up and saw a flock of 45 White Storks riding a thermal, never once flapping their wings as they spiraled up higher and higher.

I went down to the pond as the sun was going down. Two Ruppell's Foxes were walking near the reeds. They were sand colored with larger ears than a red fox and a white tip to their tail. This was the first good look I had of this species. I'd seen a few fleeting glimpses before when they crossed the road in the headlights of my truck. They continued walking until they disappeared behind the back edge of the pond, sniffing around looking for something to eat.

The migrant waterfowl have really started showing up in numbers, I've seen up to 100 on the pond. Mallards, Garganey, Shoveler, and Marbled Teal. Other birds I saw near the pond were coot, moorhen, purple swamphen and a few Gray Wagtails walking around near the water.

2004-09-14T13:39:00.000-05:00

I've been pretty busy in the last few days. I did manage to stop by the pond a few times. There seem to be less terns this week but the little egret numbers continue to increase. I counted 37 one day. I saw a small flock of Garganey, the first so far. All were either females or drakes in eclipse plumage. There also have been a few coot, some more mallards and marbled teal.

The large lakes in central Iraq have traditionally been the wintering grounds of large numbers of waterfowl. I read somewhere that 30,000 coot were sold one winter for food in the markets of Fallujah, which is nestled between two large lakes.

Recently I've had some fantastic views of Hoopoe, certainly one of the most unique birds I've seen in the area. When they fly they almost look like a broad-winged woodpecker with their striking black and white wings. Their body is a buff color and they have a crest that they can move up an down. One day a Hoopoe landed about 50 feet from me next to the edge of the pond and I spent 10 minutes watching it hop around in the mud. catching insects and every so often stopping, cocking its head to one side and erecting its crest in its full glory. Some of the local people believe that the hoopoe or Hudhud has magical powers, its bones are used in potions and magical charms.

Yesterday, while some of our soldiers were in one of the perimeter guard towers they saw a mongoose. It was a small brown one I'm not sure which species.

2004-09-03T13:43:00.000-05:00

The migrants have begun coming through in earnest. I'll try to get out as often as I can during the fall migration. You never know what might show up. This morning before I had to be at work I took a couple mile walk down to the usual laundry pond. I saw three different species of shrikes!

I found where the Little Owl has been roosting. When I approached, it flew into a tiny slot in one of the large cement fuel bunkers that we have on base. When I looked in the hole it was apparent by all the feathers that the owl spends a lot of time there. The Little owls are often out during the day and often perch in the same place day after day. I've seen this one a couple times in the exact same place, sitting on a light pole.

The water in the pond is lower than it has been in a while. The vegetation is overgrown and makes it difficult to see the shoreline. Still quite a few terns feeding in the pond. Almost twenty Little Egrets were feeding in the shallows along with a single Squacco Heron. For the first time I saw Mallards in the pond as well as a small group of Marbled Teal.

There were more bee-eaters than usual. Flying straight up in the air then diving down to their perches.

In the trees near the pond I saw a pair of Wood Warblers and a group of Common Babblers were running around amongst the Syrian Mesquite. They reminded me of some of the Desert Thrashers in the Western US.

So far since I've been in the Middle East I've seen 80 species of birds. Of that number 43 have been new ones for me. Most of the others I had seen in Europe before.

Yesterday I photographed a large Lycosid spider that one of the guys caught. I saw the same species in Kuwait. The body is about 1 inch long and sandy brown with dark chocolate markings. The one in Kuwait was very aggressive rearing up and waving its front legs. The one I had yesterday didn't show the same behavior, it just wanted to escape.

9/3/2004 0700-0930

Little Grebe - 3
Squacco Heron - 1
Little Egret - 18
Mallard - 7
Marbled Teal - 4
Moorhen - 5
Black-winged Stilt - 1
Red-wattled Plover - 1
White-winged Black Tern - 10
Whiskered Tern - 2
Rock Dove - 8
Wood Pigeon - 35
Collared Dove - 6
Laughing Dove - 1
Little Owl - 1
Blue-Cheeked Bee-eater - 15
Crested Lark - 3
White-cheeked Bulbul - 7
Graceful Prinia - 2
Acrocephalus sp - 1
Wood Warbler - 2
Common Babbler - 5
Isabelline Shrike - 1
Southern Gray Shrike - 1
Woodchat Shrike - 1
Hooded Crow - 2
House Sparrow - 30

2004-08-31T13:09:00.000-05:00

Birding the Real Babylon

My four day trip to some other bases was very productive for birding and other nature observations.

On the helicopter ride to Baghdad I saw dozens of cattle egrets flying over the fields and canals. There were also groups of Spur-winged and Red-wattled Plovers in the fields. We were flying below 100 feet most of the time so the sightseeing was fantastic.

I stayed the first day at a palace complex near Baghdad with a few large lakes. I stayed in a trailer, not in the palace.

Waking up on Friday morning I walked a three mile loop around the large lake. Unlike the salt ponds of my base these lakes were fresh and had fish in them. In the early morning fish were jumping out in the middle of the lake. In a small canal leading into the lake I watched a black and white Pied Kingfisher hover over the water, dive down and catch a small fish, then fly back to its perch over the water and flip the fish in its bill and down its throat. A couple white-cheeked bulbuls chased each other in the trees lining the lake.

My first new bird of my trip was a Pygmy Cormorant. I saw a few throughout the day flying back and forth over the lake.

On the far side of the lake there was an area of scrub with a canal running through it. I saw a moorhen walking near the water and a few Graceful Prinia hopping around in the bushes. A pair of Hooded Crows flew over me and landed on the perimeter fence making a croaking call.

A few large gulls flew over. They were probably Lesser Black-backed but I don't know for sure.

The same day we made the trek down to a base near the ruins of ancient Babylon. The trip down was frustrating from a birding perspective. I saw many shorebirds in the shallow ponds lining the highway, but none that I could ID. There were peeps, probably some types of stints, larger redshank sized birds and some Tringa species. The place I stayed was right next to the Euphrates river, which is significantly smaller than the Tigris. The camp was dotted with hundreds of date palms, each with huge bunches of ripening orange fruit. There were also Olive and Pomagranate Trees and thick reeds next to the river. In the garden I found Lantana flowering. We ate dinner on the river. The Polish soldiers threw pieces of bread into the river and big schools of fish, probably some type of cyprinid, made the water look like it was boiling as they all rushed to grab a piece.

As I ate, I watched Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters flying back and forth across the river, which was only about 50 meters wide. A few white-winged black terns picked food off the surface of the water as they flew up river.

After dinner I drove up to the top of an artificial hill where Saddam had built a large palace overlooking the ruins of Babylon. The sun was setting and I started noticing large bats pouring out of the upper floors. I made my way to the top floors and went into a large marble floored room. Out of a crack in the wall many of these large bats were scrurrying out, then taking flight inside the room. Eventually they would find a window and fly outside. Other bats were coming from a crack in the facade directly to the outside. I thought the bats looked like tomb bats. They may have been Naked-bellied Tomb Bats.

Because of the proximity to the river, the lights attracted more insects than at my base camp. I found tiny white caddisflies a few millimeters long and small white Mayflies the same color. Its been a long time since I found an insect that was an entirely new order for me. Among the lights at Babylon I found one. I small brown insect that I first thought might be some type of Plecoptera or Neuroptera quickly revealed itself to be a webspinner (Embioptera). Though some members of this order are found in the warmer parts of the US, I've never seen one. I brought it inside and made quite a fuss about it. The people left in the clinic thought I was crazy.

The next morning I birded in the ruins of Babylon proper. My first new bird at Babylon was an Iraq Babbler which sat obligingly on a fence for a few minutes before diving into the reeds. In the same area I saw a few young white-cheeked bulbuls that where just fledging. A pond near an amphitheater from Alexander the Great's time had a black-crowned night heron, a few little egrets, pied kingfishers and black-winged stilts.

Near the ruins I saw my first Laughing Dove walking around near the base of a date tree. I really enjoyed the combination of the lush surroundings, the birds and the history of Babylon, not to mention that the base is much safer than mine, almost never getting attacked.

I returned to the Baghdad area and took another walk to the scrubby area near the lake. I was treated to a great view of an immature Isabelline Shrike hunting insects along a dirt berm. I also saw two male Black Francolin, large chicken sized gamebirds, chasing each other around in the scrub. When I got too close to them they flew a short distance on their broad, short wings and scrurried away into the brush. The birds were spectacular with a black belly with large with spots on the side and a deep chestnut collar and a white cheekpatch.

Near one of the lakes I saw 8 pied kingfishers perched on the top of a date palm, it may have been the parent birds with their recently fledged young. In the same lake I saw a turtle, which I didn't see for long enough to identify and lots of large carp.

On the helicopter ride back to my base I passed over some fields I think may have been growing rice. I saw more cattle egrets and a not very satisfying view of a purple heron.

2004-08-23T15:06:00.000-05:00

Soon I'll be going to a couple of new locations for me so I hope to see some new birds and other wildlife. One has a couple lakes and the other is on the Euphrates River so they should be productive.

My time outside in the last week has been limited but I've seen a few interesting things around. There are still large numbers of terns in the laundry pond, but I was speeding past in my truck so I couldn't spend anytime looking for other birds. On my drive around I also saw a dozen black-winged stilts and a magpie.

Back at our building the gecko eggs must have hatched recently. We have quite a few tiny little lizards hanging around the lights hunting for small insects.

At the lights I'm still seeing antlions and owlflies along with an assortment of small carabid beetles, tiny homoptera, crickets, grasshoppers and occasionally a large dragonfly spends the night.

2004-08-15T23:13:00.000-05:00

I'm back in Iraq. I got out for a little while on Saturday and visited the usual places. One of the ponds had over 100 white-winged black terns all either happily feeding over the water or roosting on some little islands in the middle. No migrant shorebirds were seen but I did see the resident black-winged stilts as well as half a dozen Little Egrets. At one of the other ponds I saw a Turtle Dove, the first one I've seen in Iraq. It should be a common breeder in Central Iraq but I have a feeling there are a few common birds that I'm missing because of my limited mobility.

The Syrian Mesquite plants that were just green feathery sprouts in March are now one to two foot bushes with fat orange pods all over the top of them. In the spring I saw some old blackened pods and thought they were insect galls. I found out this is an invasive species on the federal government's watch list.

At one of the ponds I startled a Golden Jackal that was drinking at pipe draining into the sulfur smelling water. I was only about 20 feet away when it saw me. It ran about 50 feet and stopped, turning to get a good look at me. It was the first Jackal I have seen in the middle of the day.

Birdlist
8/14/2004 1500-1700

Little Grebe - 2
Cattle Egret - 5
Little Egret - 6
Moorhen - 3
Black-winged Stilt - 4
Spur-winged Plover - 1
White-winged Black Tern - Approx 100
Rock Dove - 200
Wood Pigeon - 5
Collared Dove - 4
Turtle Dove - 1
Blue-cheeked Bee-eater - 3
Crested Lark - 1
Barn Swallow - 4
White-cheeked Bulbul - 1
Magpie - 1
Hooded Crow - 1
House Sparrow - 10

2004-07-31T14:53:00.000-05:00

Just to let everyone know, I've taken a 6200 mile change in venue for a few weeks. I'm back in the northeast US for R+R.

My observations in the last week have been all North American in nature, I'll be back in Iraq soon enough.

Yesterday, I sat on my back deck listening to an Eastern Wood Pewee and a Red-eyed Vireo singing in the woods behind my house. A Ruby-throated Hummingbird has been frequenting the flowers. The feeder is playing host to White-breasted Nuthatches, Black-capped Chickadees, Chipping Sparrows, American Goldfinch, House Sparrows, Tufted Titmice and a Carolina Wren. I've seen a few Barn Swallows and Chimney Swifts flying above the house.

My kids and I took a drive yesterday and stopped by a large field and watched a Coyote padding around.

We also took a hike in the woods a few days ago and found flowering Indian Pipes. We also collected a big variety of mushrooms and brought them home to make spore prints. The goldenrod have started to flower, a sure sign that summer is half over.

2004-07-15T15:44:00.000-05:00

Another short visit to the laundry pond. A pickup truck was circling the pond, which flushed some birds out of the reeds and into the open water.

There was a group of about 20 little grebes congregated on one end of the pond. I haven't seen so many of these birds congregated before. Other birds that seemed to be flushed out by the truck were a few moorhens, a single purple swamphen, and a pair of marbled teals.

Also out in the open water I saw 16 white-winged black terns feeding. From what I've observed the terns are here mostly in the morning and evening. During the heat of the day I think they fly back to the Tigris river which is about 2 miles away.

On the far side of the pond two gulls were swimming in the water. Its been several months since I've seen any gulls. I think they were black-headed in their fall/winter plumage but they were too far away to be sure.

Near the edge of the pond I saw a beautiful butterfly that turned out to be a blue pansy (Junonia orithya). Several subspecies are found from the Middle-East through South Asia to Australia.