Phil Roberts went to the percolation pond in the morning of 12th July and saw a Western Osprey perched in the large dead tree to the side of the pond. There are a number of breeding pairs of Black-winged Stilts on the pond and as I have said previously they make great parents and chase away anything they feel is a threat. I have seen about fifteen of them gang up on an Arabian Red Fox that was getting too close to a nest last year and these photos show how they took on the much larger Western Osprey. I thank Phil for kindly allowing me to use his excellent photos.
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| Western Osprey & Black-winged Stilt (photo kind permission of Phil Roberts) |
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| Western Osprey & Black-winged Stilt (photo kind permission of Phil Roberts) |
Other birds seen on the patch in the last few days include Clamorous Reed Warblers, Caspian Reed Warblers, five Little/Saunder's Terns, two Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters, 10+ Barn Swallows and 10+ Sand Martins.