Like every mid-winter in recent years, we returned with a large team to ring at Hameishar Plains. Expectations were high (mainly for sentimental reasons) after the great success last winter and also in 2011. However this winter has been very dry, not a drop of rain there yet, and the effect on the productivity of the site is evident - it was virtually birdless this morning. To maximize the fun, pre-dawn temperatures were well below zero - ideal conditions for setting mistnets up.
By the end of the morning we had a very small catch, with only one Asian Desert Warbler (out of two present). In the field there wasn't much more, a couple of Desert Wheatears and few other common desert birds.
Asian Desert Warbler
Mourning Wheatear
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