Final Report on Pashto Birding

[Pashto Twitterings]

Unfortunately I was not able to publish any further posts while on Herrick and I was a little disheartened that I got no feedback on the one post that Roger kindly published for me. Oh well - I am back in UK now so just to round off this report, this is the final tally of what I think I saw while based in FOB Delhi (Garmsir) and travelling through Bastion/KAF:

Black-winged stilts (KAF)
Tree sparrow
Coot (KAF)
Buzzard
Shikra
Common Mynah
Crested Lark
Grey or Purple Heron
Black Francolin
Red-wattled Plover (possibly)
Blue-cheeked Bee-eater
Barn Swallow
Wagtail (not sure which)
Pied Stonechat
Warbler (not sure which)
Spotted Flycatcher
Trumpeter Finch (possibly)
European Roller

Things that I was really less sure about were:

Outside Bastion - a flock of 5/6 birds staying tightly in a group and acting like starlings - sweeping up into the air and then swooping down close to the ground and changing direction as a group very fast.

A solitary large raptor circling overhead the FOB which had the exact markings as shown in the Helm guide of a juvenile Golden Eagle - but I cannot believe that it could have been one of those!

A tern-like bird which came over the FOB quite often either singly or in a pair making a lot of noise (calling out constantly)!

An unidentified duck on the pond at KAF.

A flock of 26 birds seen in early March flying N in tight formation (rather like the pattern of geese) high over the FOB. They circled round rising progressively higher on a thermal and then continued N in formation.

In early/mid March, a flock of 20 large birds in formation flying S just above the Helmand River (and following it) which looked remarkably like flamingoes with flashes of bright pink - but again I cannot believe that this is what they were, although I have nothing else that I can identify them as!

Well, that's it. I was certainly more aware this tour (being so close to the River and having the Helm guide with me) of the bird life around me than during the first tour when I was just in Lashkar Gah. My only wish is that I could have just wandered freely out of the FOB and spent more time on the banks of the River! Oh well, maybe one day .....

If anyone can help me out with any of the weird sightings I made, then I would be very grateful indeed.

Thanks - Lynne

[Wandering Tattler]

Chris,

You saw some great birds, hopefully it helped to pass the weeks more quickly.

Great to hear that you are back, safe and sound!

All the very best,

Tim