Well, preparations are all but complete for the 5-week tour of Syria. Flying out to Damascus next Wednesday with Mel Kemp and Mark Nowers to work with the Syrian Society for the Conservation of Wildlife (SSCW) and the Desert Commission. The first three weeks will be surveying for Sociable Plovers mainly, hoping to connect with their passage through north-east Syria back to the breeding grounds. We will then be looking at an unsurveyed area of southern Syria, which hopefully will turn up a few surprises. Along the way, we aim to meet up with Dutch and Finnish groups, the latter looking for Lesser White-fronted Geese. One rabies jab to go and a few loose ends to tie up, then off to the Euphrates we go!
