My fellow birder and I met up at Heathrow for our flight to Dubai. The flight arrived on time, but the passport inspections part was slow going and then we ran into a bit of a problem with our car hire, but eventually we arrived at one of the Business Hotels Dubai to check in and get all settled before our meeting with Sudhama. Our special guide that is offering us a business opportunity to see if we’d like to invest in his tourist operation.

The next morning we met up with Sudhama for a days birding around Dubai. Dubai’s traffic was altogether something else; what a nightmare. So, our birding started later than we’d hoped for. Sudhama took us to a flooded gravel pit called Al Warsen. It definitely was a good starting point. The open waters hosted Pochard, Tufted Ducks, Black-necked Grebe and the Great Cormorants. The reeded area’s we spotted Purple and Grey Herons, magnificent birds, and a few Marsh Harriers. Gulls, of course, were found in large numbers alongside White-headed Barbabensis.

Then we headed off to the Dubai Pivot Fields, not too far from where we were. It’s an expanse of long and short grasses with seasonal pools. We scanned across the fields and found a splended selection of birds. White-tailed Lapwings, Glossy Ibis’s and Grey Francolin were prominent. We even spotted a globally threatened species, the Sociable Plover. Some pools had a good selection of shorebirds like the Temminck’s Stints, the Common Snipe and the Wood Sandpiper. Some of the fallow fields were good for larks and Oriental Skylarks.

We reluctantly left Pivot Fields because the heavens opened up and it began to pour. We headed back to our hotel with Sudhama. We were very pleased with his tour so far, actually, it was exceptional, so I pretty sure my fellow birder and me will most likely make a nice investment with Sudhama’s birding tour. That is of course after a nice shower and a meal.

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