Foundations Newsletter

The United Arab Emirates is a great place to be if you are interested in birds. In the winter months many migratory birds arrive or are seen on passage. Despite it being a semi arid country, human intervention has meant that some areas of the desert are now very green and attract bird life.  Good examples of this are the large educational campuses found throughout the country. Heavy irrigation of these campuses means that they have become a haven for a wide variety of birds.

Having always been interested in birds, I take great pleasure in spotting and identifying the many birds I see at college. Once I got a half decent camera it seemed natural to combine the two. Knowing that I have colleagues both here in Sharjah and in other colleges who are also interested in ornithology and photography, I thought it might be a good idea to document the birds we have in campuses around the country.

To this end, we have created a website, with the aim of encouraging people – both staff and students – at these campuses to submit lists of birds identified and photographs. These we will post on the site. The hope is that this will have some scientific benefit as well as some educational value, or at the very least draw people’s attention to the wide variety of birds that surround them.

So, if you are interested in being involved in this project, please get in touch. Or if you know of anyone who has an interest in birds and/or photography that is studying or working in one of the many colleges or schools in the UAE, please pass on the link to the website.

Campus Birds UAE                http://www.uaecb.net/

Contact Nick Bates:     uaecb15@gmail.com