Avian visitor draws UAE bird lovers

The bird is an Ashy Drongo Dicrurus leucophaeus longicaudatus, a member of the crow family, and breeds in Northeast Afghanistan, Northeast Pakistan and the western Himalayas. It usually spends its winters southern India and Sri Lanka but seems to have chosen the UAE this time.

The Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi (EAD) has welcomed the discovery of the drongo.

"Here in the UAE we are blessed with a rich and varied birdlife," said Majid Al Mansouri, Secretary General of EAD. "I am personally delighted by this new discovery. It shows that there is still much to learn about our environment - and that there is a continuing need for close collaboration between government agencies and keen members of the public."

"Much of the information we have about UAE birds has been collected by the Emirates Bird Records Committee and by other keen birdwatchers. This information is then shared with EAD for the building up of a national database. We closely work together to carry out our programme of monitoring birds for cases of Avian Influenza. Together we are working not only to record this country's wildlife but to conserve it for our children and grandchildren," added Al Mansouri.

The bird was first spotted in the Corniche gardens between the Hilton Hotel and Spinneys supermarket, by a biology teacher from Al Khubairat School. Being a member of the Emirates Bird Records Committee (EBRC), Nick Moran quickly realized its importance as not only a new bird species for the UAE but for the whole of the area covering Arabia, the Middle East, North Africa and Europe. Soon, other Abu Dhabi birdwatchers had rushed to see the drongo. By the next morning, visitors from Dubai began arriving, including two keen Norwegian birdwatchers who had taken a taxi at 3.30am in the morning so that they could see the bird.

"To find a species that has never been seen before in the Western Palaearctic before is something very few people are fortunate enough to achieve in a lifetime. Although stumbling across a one-off, out-of-range bird like this may turn out to have little or no long-term scientific significance, the thrill of discovering it is immense," said Moran.

"For me, it crowns an incredible autumn of rare birds in the UAE, with its first records of Red-footed Falcons in September and October, and several other rarely-recorded species being seen. It's an exciting time to be birding in the UAE!" Moran added.

The EBRC will now examine recent weather patterns to try to determine whether these might have been responsible for bringing the bird to the UAE. The drongo will then be added to the UAE bird checklist, which currently stands at 434 species.

The UAE's parks and gardens provide crucial 'refueling' stops for many species of migratory birds. Therefore, EAD and EBRC stress that such parks and gardens need to be preserved and urge the public to keep them litter-free.

Areas that are allowed to grow a little 'wild' are especially useful to a wide variety of wildlife because they often contain more native plant species and host more invertebrates, providing more food for larger species like birds. About two thirds of the 343 bird species recorded in the UAE so far in 2006 were non-breeding migrants, many of which were found in places with irrigated vegetation.