Birding Islamabad

Today, Saturday 11 January 2014, is the first day that I, RMK,   woke up late as I was tired due to   my last few weeks of hectic and busy work. I did call SVZ, one of our team members, for morning photography and birding but due to the extreme cold he wasn’t feeling well. So, I pick up my gear and started driving towards Rawal lake. The moment I started driving along the Express Way, the absence of the sweet company and memories of ISLBIRDER hit me badly , as he had left for UK permanently. I visited the marsh area to try and find some new birds, as it had been a while since I had visited the site. Sadly I couldn’t see anything but there was a WHITE-THROATED KINGFISHER, some INDIAN SILVERBILL and few RED-VENTED BULBUL.   The reeds, a habitat for the scarce Yellow-bellied Prinia and the White-breasted Waterhen had been cut back by the farmers. Walking by myself in the area , I felt sort of lonely and I decided go to the eastern side Rawal lake. By the time I had rea

It is with great regret that I have had to leave Pakistan as my three-year posting, to what is an amazing country, has come to an end. Whilst the areas I have been able to visit have been necessarily limited, my birding companions and I have made the most of what was possible. I recorded 366 species in Pakistan that included three Firsts for the country: BAR-WINGED FLYCATCHER SHRIKE, EASTERN MARSH HARRIER and LITTLE GULL. The good news is that the two most important members of our team of three, the photographers, remain in Pakistan. I will, remotely, keep this Blog going as long as they supply the dazzling photographs that have made this Blog so popular amongst birders. My last few birds in Pakistan were impressive. Three years ago I had brought to Islamabad a water provider for birds that was supposed to hang in a tree so that our avian friends could call in for a drink. I had filled it with a sugar solution that should have attracted Sunbirds. My wife had purchased so