bird watching............

photo 2008 gerard lenting: common mynah.


A BRAND new club has been launched in Qatar, dedicated to the recording and study of one important aspect of its natural history.
Yesterday evening well over 100 members of the Qatar Bird Club (QBC) flocked to the Friends of the Environment Centre to attend the inaugural meeting.
Membership right from the start is international, with keen Qatari and expatriate birdwatchers all sharing the same hobby. The only requirement for joining the club, said the director Dr Elsadig Bashir, is a genuine interest in bird watching and bird conservation.
Dr Bashir is a consultant ornithologist and executive director of the Qatar Bird Project, in association with the Friends of the Environment Centre.
At the meeting a range of topics was discussed relating to the objectives of the new club.
“Our vision,” said Dr Bashir, “is to concentrate on promoting bird conservation and the protection of the environment. We aim to increase conservation awareness through education programmes, especially among school children.”
There will be field trips, birding tours, lectures and films. The new club will be affiliated to the Qatar Bird Project of the Friends of the Environment Centre, and will also have cordial relations with the Qatar Natural History Group whose members have been conducting bird surveys in Qatar over the last 30 years. Many keen birders among the members of the QNHG have joined the QBC.
Saif al-Hajri, chairman of the Friends Environment Centre and vice-chairperson of Qatar Foundation gave the welcome speech. He announced that the club would issue a new publication entitled Qatar Bird News four times a year.
At the meeting an executive committee was set up, and plans for the future are for smaller subcommittees to be responsible for such aspects as awareness and education, surveying and reporting, and conservation.
With its long coastline, its large stretches of open grey water and dense reed beds inland and its key position on migratory routes, there are plenty of interesting and rewarding places for keen birders to go at weekends. The selection of birds seen in Qatar ranges from impressive eagles and the world’s largest owls, colourful kingfishers, rollers and bee-eaters, down to tiny warblers and silverbills