Army Birding

I visited Runway's End Marsh yesterday at exactly 24 hours after the last visit. I walked in the same direction, dodging sludge and waste water and flushed yet another Hoopoe which showed its crest and wing markings as it flew. Heading south at the halfway point I again stumpled over the bolders an...

I visited Runway's End Marsh yesterday at exactly 24 hours after the last visit. I walked in the same direction, dodging sludge and waste water and flushed yet another Hoopoe which showed its crest and wing markings as it flew. Heading south at the halfway point I again stumpled over the bolders and...

Due to the paucity of birds I wasn’t going to write anything until Sunday. The day had started with two Laughing Doves opposite the Dental Centre; I had lost a filling and was off to meet the dreaded drill. Plans for a delayed report have changed though after I visited my new site which I have chris...

I think I have found the extention to my old patch which, two years ago, would have been outside the wire but now well and truly inside. It is now at the southern end of the runway, has running, albeit, grey, water and a reed bed. I walked over and found a flock of some 200+ Starlings roosting. This...

I was sat in front of RLI reading my blogs from HERRICK XI whilst drinking a strong Americano and wondering why I wasn't seeing the birds I did two years previous. Pondering this I walked out of the JOC and was immediately overflown by a lone, yet stunning Hoopoe . There is someone up there and perh...

Sunday is always a quiet day in Bastion with most units starting work at midday. Subsequently I have an easy time with no telephone calls or emails. It had rained considerably last night, much more so than on Friday, so today most of the camp is under water. I took the opportunity to drive to Leath...

Sunday is always a quiet day in Bastion with most units starting work at midday. Subsequently I have an easy time with no telephone calls or emails. It had rained considerably last night, much more so than on Friday, so today most of the camp is under water. I took the opportunity to drive to Leathe...

We were due a year's worth of rain in 2 days but luckily this has been downgraded to month's worth so slighly less. However is it is still rather blustery with Tree Sparrows and Crested Larks grounded for the day. It's my birthday today so I headed over to the PX for a quick coffee. On the way back...

We were due a year's worth of rain in 2 days but luckily this has been downgraded to month's worth so slighly less. However is it is still rather blustery with Tree Sparrows and Crested Larks grounded for the day. It's my birthday today so I headed over to the PX for a quick coffee. On the way back ...

There really isn't much about at the moment. This time two years ago I was inundated with birds at the Waste Water site but that area is now under the runway. I have run here and there looking for suitable sites but have found nothing obvious as yet. I guess I'll have to bump into something soon and...

SA 80 Rifle 150 rounds of 5.56mm ammunition Mark 7 Combat Helmet First Aid Kit (in two pouches) Webbing Osprey Body Armour Pelvic Protection Day sack (incl sleeping bag, 24 hour rations, spare kit) Old Bausch and Lomb Binoculars Birds of the Middle East Field Guide Note Book 3 armoured vehicles with...

I have spent the last couple of days visiting MOB Price following a vehicle move up through the desert. The MOB is very much a small Bastion with a coffee shop, fresh rations and air conditioned tents. There is also a tip outside which attracts hundreds of Black Kites , Common Myna and Starlings . A...

The offer of Afghan citizenship is in the bag and I now find myself back in the same place I left some 21 months ago. Bastion has changed considerably; there is a runway on my old patch and the perimiter is now larger than Reading! As such, I am still trying to find an area to bird and will look at ...

Visited Stubb Mill Norfolk Wildlife Trust Reserve yesterday. This reserve is adjacent to Hickling Broad and a place I haven't visited since I was a teenager. The site is a real gem and is renowned for Common Crane of which I saw two although I heard possibly a further two more. 41 Cranes had been se...

What an exercise! Great Northern Diver Pied-billed Grebe Red-necked Grebe Horned Grebe Black-necked Grebe Western Grebe American White Pelican Double-crested Cormorant Great Blue Heron Black-crowned Night Heron American Bittern Turkey Vulture Trumpeter Swan Cackling Goose Canada Goose Lesser Canada ...