Birding Islamabad

Today, Saturday 11 January 2014, is the first day that I, RMK,   woke up late as I was tired due to   my last few weeks of hectic and busy work. I did call SVZ, one of our team members, for morning photography and birding but due to the extreme cold he wasn’t feeling well. So, I pick up my gear and started driving towards Rawal lake. The moment I started driving along the Express Way, the absence of the sweet company and memories of ISLBIRDER hit me badly , as he had left for UK permanently. I visited the marsh area to try and find some new birds, as it had been a while since I had visited the site. Sadly I couldn’t see anything but there was a WHITE-THROATED KINGFISHER, some INDIAN SILVERBILL and few RED-VENTED BULBUL.   The reeds, a habitat for the scarce Yellow-bellied Prinia and the White-breasted Waterhen had been cut back by the farmers. Walking by myself in the area , I felt sort of lonely and I decided go to the eastern side Rawal lake. By the ...

It is with great regret that I have had to leave Pakistan as my three-year posting, to what is an amazing country, has come to an end. Whilst the areas I have been able to visit have been necessarily limited, my birding companions and I have made the most of what was possible. I recorded 366 species in Pakistan that included three Firsts for the country: BAR-WINGED FLYCATCHER SHRIKE, EASTERN MARSH HARRIER and LITTLE GULL. The good news is that the two most important members of our team of three, the photographers, remain in Pakistan. I will, remotely, keep this Blog going as long as they supply the dazzling photographs that have made this Blog so popular amongst birders. My last few birds in Pakistan were impressive. Three years ago I had brought to Islamabad a water provider for birds that was supposed to hang in a tree so that our avian friends could call in for a drink. I had filled it with a sugar solution that should have attracted Sunbirds. My wife had purchased so...

On Saturday 23 November 2013, RMK and I made our way to Uchchalali Lake deep into the Salt Range of the Punjab. The lake, in years gone by, had been famous, from an ornithological perspective, for a wintering population of the globally threatened White-headed Duck. Although I was lucky enough to have seen this species in Southern Spain we could not find any amongst the wildfowl at Uchchali. We had arrived, as planned, before dawn and as the first hint of light appeared in the eastern sky we were already on a boat making our way across the water. Uchchali Lake Riaz Sunrise at Uchchali Uchchali is also known for the GREATER FLAMINGO flock that frequents the area. We counted 50 birds in total that are a remarkable sight when they take to the air; which they occasionally did when hassled by one of the many WESTERN MARSH HARRIER. Greater Flamingos Riaz On the surface of the lake was a good variety of waterfowl and the...

After three years of trying GREY-HEADED CANARY FLYCATCHER has finally made its way on to the Islbirder Pakistan List at Number 362. Today, Sunday 17 November 2013 was a special day in our birding calendar. It was the the day that the Islbirder Team delivered on its pledge to the Zabardast Charity Auction for Pakistan charities to provide a memorable days birding for the highest bidder. The Team had promised a great day for the lucky winner including at least 70 species in the seven hours birding. At the end of the trip the Team had found 78 species and the winning bid of PKR 45,000 will go to a good cause in Pakistan as will the rest of the PKR 581,250 raised by Zabardast Charity Shop at the auction. During our last few birding trips we had been reconnoitering sites in preparation for the Islamabad Big Day. We started before dawn at the eastern shoreline of Rawal Lake. First bird of the day was a LITTLE EGRET. There followed two Raptors; a WESTERN MARSH HARRIER and a BLACK-SHOULDE...

Ask any birder; check your local patch often enough and you will turn up all sorts of birds of interest. If your local patch is Rawal Lake on the outskirts of Islamabad you may be luckier than most. Trouble is, living in Islamabad, Pakistan's capital city, having a local patch creates a dilemma. You want to keep going back there to find those great birds but there are so many other superb sites to visit nearby and only so much free time. So, yesterday, The Islbirder Team was back at the lakeside at dawn on Friday 15 November 2013. The temperature struggled just above freezing in the gloom of pre-dawn until the sun broke through and warmed to a maximum to 24 degrees. As soon as the sun peeped over the nearby hills and bathed the reedbeds in a beautiful light; where there had been none there were a dozen SIBERIAN STONECHAT at the top of stems. In the pink light of dawn a Little Egret goes fishing Riaz Whilst to some of our readers daytime highs of 24 degrees might not sound m...