An improvement
Posted: Sun Mar 25, 2012 5:47 am
The week had started off on a sombre note with a vigil for the six Yorkshire soldiers killed in the incident with the Warrior AFV. The vigil coincided with a massive sandstorm which minimised patrols, grounded helicopters and put much of the Middle East and Central Asia under a cloud of sand.
I had expected not see a bird that day and indeed all the local feral pigeons, Laughing Doves, Tree Sparrows and Crested Larks were keeping a low profile. However halfway through the vigil three passerines flew past me at head height making little headway in strong winds – it was immediately evident that three Trumpeter Finches had just struggled to get past; two were males and in full breeding plumage.
On Wednesday I started a three day Quad Bike course with hopes of seeing birds in the more inaccessible parts of Bastion. In the end I only managed to see a passage of Swallows, a single Variable Wheatear and on the final day we flushed a single male Rufous-tailed Bush Robin on the vehicle test track. All in all though I had a superb three days which I would have gladly paid money for.
On Saturday there was an obvious vis-mig over camp with plenty of Swallow, alba Wagtails, a lone flava Wagtail and a number of unidentified finches over. As I walked from breakfast I was overflown by two Steppe Buzzards which were followed by an unidentified accipiter. In the afternoon I headed for my tent and flushed a bird which, once at distance, was obviously a Quail; I hadn’t seen this species in Afghanistan since HERRICK 6.
This morning, after being stopped for speeding by the USMC MPs, I visited Runway’s End Marsh in the hope of picking up some migrants. I wasn’t to be disappointed with the first two waders of the trip, a Wood Sandpiper and a Little-ringed Plover swiftly followed by a Daurian Shrike, 4 chattering Bluethroats (1 magna and 3 svecica) and a lifer, a Paddyfield Warbler which I picked up after a pishing session. With a smile on my face I headed back to Bastion 2 and picked up a number of Turkestan Shrikes on barbed wire. I’ll try and get out again now that things are picking up.
I had expected not see a bird that day and indeed all the local feral pigeons, Laughing Doves, Tree Sparrows and Crested Larks were keeping a low profile. However halfway through the vigil three passerines flew past me at head height making little headway in strong winds – it was immediately evident that three Trumpeter Finches had just struggled to get past; two were males and in full breeding plumage.
On Wednesday I started a three day Quad Bike course with hopes of seeing birds in the more inaccessible parts of Bastion. In the end I only managed to see a passage of Swallows, a single Variable Wheatear and on the final day we flushed a single male Rufous-tailed Bush Robin on the vehicle test track. All in all though I had a superb three days which I would have gladly paid money for.
On Saturday there was an obvious vis-mig over camp with plenty of Swallow, alba Wagtails, a lone flava Wagtail and a number of unidentified finches over. As I walked from breakfast I was overflown by two Steppe Buzzards which were followed by an unidentified accipiter. In the afternoon I headed for my tent and flushed a bird which, once at distance, was obviously a Quail; I hadn’t seen this species in Afghanistan since HERRICK 6.
This morning, after being stopped for speeding by the USMC MPs, I visited Runway’s End Marsh in the hope of picking up some migrants. I wasn’t to be disappointed with the first two waders of the trip, a Wood Sandpiper and a Little-ringed Plover swiftly followed by a Daurian Shrike, 4 chattering Bluethroats (1 magna and 3 svecica) and a lifer, a Paddyfield Warbler which I picked up after a pishing session. With a smile on my face I headed back to Bastion 2 and picked up a number of Turkestan Shrikes on barbed wire. I’ll try and get out again now that things are picking up.