Shirvan National Park, Azerbaijan

Most of our time looking for Omid was at Shirvan National Park, an area of semi-desert, steppe, lakes and coastal habitats. Famous not only for being a staging post for Western Siberian Crane but also hosting large numbers of wintering Little Bustards and a good population of rare mammals including Goitered Gazelles and Caspian Sea Wolves (last year we saw Marbled Polecat here too). 

Trip report including all our sightings from the park here.

A few photo highlights below. 

Little Bustards (above and below) 

The highlight of this whole trip was on 10th March at approximately 3pm when a flock of Little Bustards flew over the watch tower stretching from one end of the sky to the other taking 2 minutes to pass over head. We couldn't begin to know for sure how many birds were involved but we guessed anything between 50,000 to 100, 0000. As there are only 50,000 or so Little Bustards wintering in Azerbaijan these birds were presumably migrating from Iran. Without doubt the single best vis mig moment of my birding life. Absolutely mind blowing. 

Isabelline Wheatears- on some days we counted up to 20 birds

There were hundreds of Calandra Larks in the park this trip but last year at the same time we didn't see any at all. Presumably a nomadic and irruptive bird in the park. 

There were also good numbers of Turkestan Short-toed Lark this year too. 

Isabelline Shrike- the sandy/buff underparts and buffy supercilium suggests Isabelline rather than Turkestan and it looks like an adult bird with a dark mask. The lack of barring on the underparts indicates a male (females typically have barring and also have a less well defined 'bandit' mask) and the bird was also singing which supports a male verdict. Adult males generally have a complete black mask that includes the lores too but this feature is variable.  

Calandra Lark 

Male (above) and female (below) Black Francolin 

Caucasian 'Coutelli' Water Pipit . 

Immature Dalmatian Pelican- we had a few Dalmatian and White Pelicans migrating over the park 

2nd calendar year Imperial Eagle . We also had White-tailed and Great Spotted Eagles. 

Curlew- there was talk about these being orientalis with the very long bills and contrasting white underwings

White-tailed Lapwings , photo not at Shirvan but at nearby salt pans but we had migrating White-tailed and Sociable Lapwings at Shirvan 

2nd calendar year Hen Harrier (above) and Pallid Harrier (below) 

Ruddy Shelducks- a characteristic species of the park, We counted over 700 coming into roost. 

Marsh Harrier- up to 25 birds were frequenting the reed bed, a constant and delightful back drop to our stake out with displaying, fighting and plenty of vocalisations. 

There were plenty of Penduline Tits this year some were flying around, occasionally at height calling

Corn Buntings 

Hooded Crow

European Stonechat (?). We had a couple of Caspian Stonechats with typical Wheatear like tails and also a male that looked more like a Siberian Stonechat, with rich tones concentrated around the breast contrasting with paler underparts. However this bird showed warm saturated underparts more indicative of a European Stonechat, although it also had a distinctive pale and apparent unmarked rump. According to Ebird European Stonechat does occur in the region. 

One of the 'large-billed' or 'Southern'  Reed Buntings. Based on the pale underparts and thin necklace this is possibly Asian Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhuloides) (Photo by Vincent Legrand)

Mountain Chiffchaff (Photo by Vincent Legrand). 

White Wagtail, the extensive white in the greater coverts indicates Motacilla alba dukhunensis (Photo by Vincent Legrand) 

Caspian Sea Wolf, Canis lupus campestris we had an incredible 12 different animals including a pack of 7. One of the highlights of the trip. 

Golden Jackal, on one day we had a three canid day with Wolf, Golden Jackal and Red Fox (below)

Wild Boar (above and below) - several sightings included one group of 12 or so animals 

Goitered Gazelles 

We saw plenty of Jerboas on the drive back in the evening. This dead one was found near the watch tower. Presumably a William's Jerboa. 

Lizard sp. Still working on this. There were several of these on one of the warmer days. Also had a Levantine Viper which was so aggressive I failed to get a photo of it before it went underground. There's 29 species of lizard in Az. Wiki list here (thanks Zulfu). Also snake species of Az here. Just heard back from Pierre-Andre that it's a Snake-eyed Lizard (bonus lifer!) 

Spur-thighed Tortoise- they were common especially near the coast 

Something in the Marsh Frog complex I presume

European Tree Frog Update 260323- Zulfu informs me that European Tree Frog doesn't occur in Az so it's either Eastern Tree Frog, orientalis or Middle East Tree Frog , savignyi 

Winter Damselfly 

Plant Net has suggested Field Marigold for these. Many were flowering particularly along the coast. 

The stake out at the Watch Tower 

The Mountain Chiffchaff twitch 

Typical Steppe habitat of Shirvan 

NOMID

So despite the best efforts of over 35 participants over a 12 day stake out at Shirvan National Park and beyond in Azerbaijan we failed to locate Omid, the last wild 'Western Siberian Crane' in the world as it migrated from it's wintering ground in coastal Northern Iran to it's staging posts in Azerbaijan after which it would have migrated north to the Volga delta where it stages for several weeks before continuing into Russia to it's traditional breeding area. 

Historically there were two populations of Siberian Crane across Siberia, one population in the east that winters in China and the Western population that through a migratory divide partly wintered in India and partly in the Southern Caspian sea area (see Fig 1 below). The Eastern population numbers approximately 3000 birds and there are no genetic differences between the east and west populations. The Western population has been slowly decreasing and Omid has been surviving as the last individual of 'Western Siberian Crane' for 17 years, honouring the tradition of it's population by migrating to Russia every year, alone. 

(Zadegan et al 2009)  

   There have been numerous reintroduction projects in an attempt to conserve the Western population (see Zadegan et al 2009). This winter another attempt was made and a female (named Roya) from a Belgium zoo was introduced to Omid in Northern Iran. The birds quickly started displaying to each other (see below) and started bonding. Following a period of migratory restlessness (and various practise flights) the birds started migrating in the morning of 5th March. We (a team of European birders organised by Diedert Koppenel) received notice from our Iranian and Azeri contacts by 10am on 5th March and quickly scrambled to Azerbaijan in an attempt to see Omid and Roya as they migrated through a traditional staging post at Shirvan National Park (we can't get to Iran to see them due to access problems and also many people would like to see them in the Western Palearctic (sensu BWP). 

 

Omid and Roya bonding in mid-February 2023

In the past Omid has taken between 3 and 9 days to migrate from Northern Iran to Shirvan NP. The date of departure is between the last week of February and the first week of March. The journey duration is dependent on weather. Last year we made a similar attempt here and the bird took 6 days to reach Shirvan. Nearly all the European birders missed it last year as the bird was much later than average and most of us had gone home already. So this year we tried to time our visit more precisely by waiting for Omid to migrate and then going to Az and staying for the maximum time it could take him to arrive. It seemed like a flawless plan.

However there was a twist to the plot- Roya. 

News breaking of Roya being discovered alone approx 100 miles away from wintering area

On 10th March Roya was discovered alone about 100 miles west of the wintering area. Presumably she was not fit enough to complete the epic migration to Russia. Omid was nowhere to be seen and we didn't know how long he had stayed with her before he continued alone or whether any delay or disruption created by Roya would affect the journey route including any variation in stop over sites. A similar reintroduction attempt in the past had ended in a similar way with the female holding Omid back by 5 days. If Omid had waited 4 or 5 days (we only know he wasn't with her at some point on 10th March) it could mean he still had 8 or 9 days at most to reach Shirvan, although in good weather Omid could get to Shirvan in a minimum of 3 days.  We waited at Shirvan until Wednesday 15th March (the longest any of us could extend for) but there was no sign of Omid despite plenty of windows of good weather for migration. He could still be on his way to Shirvan now, theoretically he is still in the 9 day window from leaving Roya (until this Sunday) but he might have also used the good weather (there was ideal migrating weather for most days since 10th March) to make up for lost time and he could have overshot Shirvan and be north of the park. We simply don't know whether he is north or south of Shirvan still and unfortunately there is nobody now looking to find out. The next news we might get on Omid will be in late October/early November if and when he arrives back in Iran. 

Meanwhile Roya was re-captured and taken back into captivity. Overall it has been a twisted tale with a cliff hanger end- Omid has gone AWOL after deserting Roya and nobody knows where he is and if he is even still alive.  An Azeri film-making crew was also with us and it is hoped that the film will highlight the plight of Omid and create more awareness about the importance of wetland conservation along Omid's migration route (the Western Siberian Crane population is believed to have declined due to hunting pressure and habitat loss) and also support any future reintroduction programs (there are several hundred birds in captivity in Europe). So it's good to be a little part of that and hopefully justifies all the high cost, time and carbon from everyone involved. 

So another year another dip. This really is a mega-dip, 10,000 miles and nearly three weeks clocked up by myself alone in the last two years. Too deep in now to give up so we either try again next year or try and make arrangements to see Omid in Iran. Will see what happens next. 

Despite the mega-dip, Az is a great place to be in early Spring and also great to spend time with a great team. More on all that in the next few days on this blog. 

REFERENCE: https://www.osme.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/4-Zadegan_C_pp112-121_31_2_Sandgrouse.pdf

High Carbon Birding - Omid

Omid and Roya have started their migration north and we have scrambled into action and now on our way to Azerbaijan. This will be a 5000 mile round twitch or dip. 

Waiting for Omid

Currently basically sitting around waiting for Omid (the last wild Siberian Crane in the WP) to start migrating from Iran before a whole bunch of us head out to Azerbaijan to see if we can catch up with it in the WP. This winter Omid was paired up with a captive bred female (Roya) in a last ditch attempt to save this population from extinction. More from Birdguides HERE. We currently have contacts in the wintering grounds keeping us posted and at the moment despite lots of test flights the birds have not started migrating north yet. Some valentine video of the birds bonding here. 

Not much else happening round here. A return to cold nights means the moths have dropped off again, just Dotted Border added to the year list. The bird territorial behaviour is increasing in the garden with 4 fighting Great Spots this morning , a nice singing Mistle Thrush and a pair of Long-tailed Tits are building a nest in the front garden. Not a lot in the garden this winter- no wintering Blackcaps, Siskins and just a single Redwing lately. Ebird list from today here. There was an article in Birdwatch by Josh this month about how few winter specialities there seem to be in the country this winter which could be linked to the late and mild autumn of 2022 and basically not so many birds bothering to move into the UK as simply not cold enough to worth migrating. On the upside of that it seems to be quite a good early spring for moths with the local CMR team reporting record species counts by this time of year. 

Meanwhile in the mini-zoo we have added our first coral (zoanthids) and a couple more marine fish to the reef tank. Our Giant Atlas moth pupae have also arrived and gone into an emergence chamber in the paludarium. Now on 92 species across the paludarium, tropical fish tank, gecko tank and reef tank. The Pony was put down by a vet in the week (on advice from animal welfare consultants) so that's one species less but still slowly climbing to the 100 target. 

James has planted some broad bean seeds ready to be transplanted into the mini-farm. Otherwise not much happening there yet (also not sure we should bother this year as will be moving out at some point).  

Other than that I did another session at Otmoor yesterday with nothing to write home about and also slowly getting through the Azores winter work and reports. All a bit of a slog to be honest. Be nice to get some excitement. 

Mistle Thrush singing in garden 

Great Spots fighting for territory (above and below) in the garden 

Dotted Border 

Giant Atlas Moth cocoons

New additions to the developing reef tank included the first zoanthid corals, a Firefish Goby and a Blue Damsel (aka Blue Devil fish which I soon discovered why it was called that after it killed its partner by ramming and biting it to death) to add to the Red Scooter Blenny and the clean up crew of various snails and hermit crabs.  

Azores Pelagic 2023

There are still a few spaces remaining on the Azores Pelagic 2023. More details HERE and previous trip reports and species logs HERE.

Main target is Monteiro's and Grant's Storm Petrels with a good chance of Swinhoe's Storm Petrel. Other local specialities likely to be encountered include Barolo's Shearwater, Bulwer's Petrel, Wilson's Storm Petrel, Great and Cory's Shearwaters and Sooty Tern. 

Vagrant seabirds are also a target of this trip with South Polar Skua, Brown Booby, Zino's Petrel and Deserta's Petrels having been found on these trips and both Black-capped and Trindade Petrel have been recorded in the local area. Full species list HERE

In addition to the seabirds, twelve species of cetaceans have been recorded. Full species list HERE.

Furthermore an extension to this trip also targets the other Azores endemic species including the Azores Bullfinch and the recently split Azores Chaffinch plus other Azores endemic sub-species (potential future splits) including the distinctive Azores Gull. More details on local birds HERE . 

To book a place please email me on littleoakgroup@btinternet.com or follow booking link and info HERE.  Full cost of trip is £2170 pp (including the extension and international flights). Pelagic only (Terceira to Terceira) is £1488 pp. 

AZORES WILDLIFE

Monteiro's Storm Petrel

Swinhoe's Storm Petrel