The Largest Unfinished Construction Site...

Since its been cool and blustery of late, and since I have nothing to tell at the moment I thought I'd go back to my recent trip to UAE and Ethiopia. We stopped in Dubai at both ends of the trip and spent four days at the end birding in and around Dubai. It has to said that it really is a strange place. There is some wonderful desert scenery in the interior but this is marred by the fact that much of the coastline has been ruined by what appears to be senseless construction projects, many of which, it would appear, will not be completed any time soon. Here are a few images from the region...

Above is the famous Burj Al Arab. It is actually quite impressive when up close to it. Is immaculate and looks like it is fashioned out of smooth white icing! One has to pay big bucks to get in for a look, so we stayed outside...


Fantastic orange sand dunes in the interior. No birds here, though if one finds a shrub or two there might be a Desert Warbler lurking.


Much of the interior looks like this though, paler, more rocky desert with scattered shrubbery. Great habitat for Desert Wheatears and, if you are lucky Greater Hoopoe Larks.


Some scruffy Brit birding dude we passed along the way...


The famous hotel at Ghantoot, sometimes the winter home for Grey Hypocolius - though for us there were none. Quite atmospheric at sunset.


Just a small part of the Dubai skyline. Many of these skyscrapers are unfinished and are most probably destined to remain so until the economy cheers up. Could be a long wait...


Sewage is a bit of a problem in Dubai and most of it is shipped out to the famous "Pivot Fields" on the outskirts of the city. Basically a huge sewage treatment plant the "fields" are always green and well watered and thus the whole area is a fantastic birding hotspot. Many of Dubai's vagrant birds are found here.

I'll post a few bird pix next time...