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17 January 2015

Interaction between Asian Desert Warbler & Desert Wheatear – Hanidh

It is common knowledge that interactions happen between various types of Wheatear and Asian Desert Warblers, with the most common being with Isabelline Wheatears. The birds follow each other around the same habit never straying too far from each other. This was the case at a large pivot irrigation field near Hanidh. We have stopped at this field a few times in the past and it has always proved good for birds and have met the farmer to allow us permission to enter. When walking towards the main green area of the field we crossed some scrubby areas that had both Desert Wheatear and Isabelline Wheatear in them when Phil located an Asian Desert Warbler. The bird seemed to be actively feeding close to the wheatears and moved around with the Desert Wheatears for some time. Also in this area were about six Stonechats and in the pivot field were around 50 Eurasian Skylarks. A smaller bird with a different call kept us busy for some time but we never managed to locate the bird on the ground although saw it briefly in flight on two occasions. There was a possibility it may have been a Small Skylark but unfortunately we did not get enough on the bird for positive identification.
Desert Wheatear - male
Desert Wheatear - male
Asian Desert Warbler
Isabelline Wheatear