28th February. Abu Kasheb and on to Palmyra.

A couple of days of wet weather. On the first we covered the area north of Deir Ezzor known as Abu Kasheb. This is an extensive area of steppe which unfortunately was covered in low cloud and drizzle. We managed a fly-over flock of 8 Sociables, seemingly moving north with some purpose. It appears that spring is late this year and movement is only just beginning. As usual, birds on the stepppe were sparse but the tally included a few Isabelline Wheatears, a Pallid Harrier and 400 Desert Finches.
We arrived at Muhaymidah, an ox-bow lake by the Euphates in the late afternoon. After tea in a locals house we were mobbed by kids as we watched the lake. Marbled Teal, White-tailed Plover, Iraq Babbler and Garganey were all seen but the highlight was a brief view of a Jackal.

We set off from Deir Ezzor towards Palmyra and our first stop produced 17 Sociables feeding alongside the road at Al Fedha We wandered through the empty, pre-tourist season ruins in the afternoon, with the views from the hil top fortress being truly spectactular. Birds included Blue Rock Thrush, Mourning Chat, Isabelline and Finsch's Wheatear, many Lesser Short-toed Larks and a pair of Brown-necked Ravens.

26th February. Sociable Plover workshop.

A Sociable Plover workshop had been arranged in Deir Ezzor with key government, police, army, local authority and hunters in attentance. The key issues in the breeding areas: a decline in native ungulate grazing but intensified,domestic grazing close to villages. There has also been a change in agricultural practices. Nest trampling and predation by foxes are important issues. SPs require short vegetation (but taller vegetation for the chicks). They feed on invertebrates.
Virtually all SPs nest in Kazakstan. Nest survival is variable between years but overall is good at around 50 percent. Fledging rate is also good.
Satellite tagging of SPs has shown that the birds move west through Kazakstan in August, then SW through Turkey and Syria in September/October, then south to winter in Sudan. They return through Syria in February and March.

Before the workshop we had a look around Deir Ezzor; White-cheeked Bulbul, Iraq Babbler, Bluethroat, Quail and Siberian Chiffchaff provided some highlights.

25th February. Birding on the edge.

We pick up Yaseen, our guide, from the centre of a small village, creating quite an attraction in the process, and then speed towards Al Rawda on the Iraqi border. The landscape is flat, dotted with oil wells and Bedouin tending sheep. Yaseen is a Saker hunter and has a picture of Saddam Hussein as his mobile phone 'wallpaper'. He caught only one Saker in 2009 but sold it for 700,000 Syrian pounds. Sakers are present at Al Rawda in autumn from October to December. We passed some Bedouin with a herd of 150 Dromedaries and stopped briefly for a drink of camel's milk from a communal silver bowl. Driving on across the desert, we skirted along the Iraqi border close to the watch towers. A meeting with a Syrian army border patrol passed uneventfully.
We reached a cliff edge; below us lay a huge crater with a shrinking shallow lake with muddy edges stretching in all directons. An estimated 40,000 - 50,000 waterbirds were before us. We drove down into the crater to get closer. A courtesy call on a group of hunters in a tent resulted in a fragrant glass of camomile tea and a look at a dead White-fronted Goose. As we continued on, our guide had clearly got us lost. An hour of to-ing and fro-ing ensued, culminating in us having to push our vehicle out of the mud. Stuck in mud with no phone signal on the Iraqi border. Not ideal!

Eventually we come to a viewpoint over the lake. The sheer numbers of birds was mindboggling. Counting individual species was near impossible. However, at least 9000 Ruddy Shelduck were nearest. Flamingo, Pintail, Teal, Shoveler and White-fronted Geese were all numerous. Pin-tailed Sandgrouse, Gull-billed Tern, Imperial Eagle, Siberian Chiffchaff, Tawny Pipit, Pallid and Hen Harriers and many waders added to the tally. What a place! Never surveyed and probably never visited by westerners before.

Yaseen invited us to dinner but we respectfully declined. After some persuasion he let us go, stating, as he pulled a hand gun from his bag "next time I will insist".

24th February. Sociable at last.

Lapwings Lapwings Stop Stop. After several hours of searching with no luck we were travelling south to Deir Ezzor. Staring out of the window, I suddenly saw 3 Sociable Lapwings coming in to land. I shout, Mark shouts, Ghazi jumps from his slumber and Hussein performs a perfect emergency stop. Two males and a female, at last we find some SPs.
We had started the day at the Lower Khaber reservoir with a selection of waterbirds including 5 Pallas' Gulls, 25 Slender-billed Gulls, 30 Armenian Gulls and 500 Pochard. As we travelled south we looked at several areas of steppe and desert. Bird highlights included a superb Steppe Grey Shrike and 10+ Isabelline Wheatears, Northern Wheatears, Hen Harriers, Merlins, ‘desert’ Little Owl and 30+ Lesser Short-toed Larks.

22nd February. Houbara!!

We headed out at dawn towards the Kharabaga reserve. Three Pallid Harriers, Long-legged Buzzard and Raven livened up the early stops. After a couple of hours of driving through a vast area of desert we came across a couple of typical one-storey mud and block houses and some animal pens. Chickens wandered around. Little did they know. We were invited in for tea by the Bedouin. A typical Arab room with rugs and cushions on the floor around a wood burning stove. We sat cross-legged around the stove. Even before we could ask about SPs the talk was about Houbaras. Up to 17 seen since November and 3 just 10 days ago! However, we suddenly realised that Houbara was the Arab word for bustard and these were likely to be Great Bustard, but still a rare bird nowadays in Syria. We set off to look for them, with one of the guys on board, and a promise of food on our return. Sadly we found nothing in 2 hours but aim to return.

We returned for lunch, sat down and food was laid out before us. Spring onions, chillies, yogurt with cabbage, bread and a yogurt drink. And then the centrepiece; a large silver platter heaped with freshly cooked (and killed) chicken covering wheat stewed in the chicken broth. The head man pulled meat from the bones with his fingers and placed it in front of me.

The hospitality and kindness of these people continues to amaze me. These people are very poor yet their generosity is huge. A lesson to us all.

21st February. New friends.

Searching, searching and more searching for Sociable Plovers. Today we covered a vast area north of Ar-Raqqa. Yet again almost the first birds seen were 3 SPs north of Bir-Said village. Birding was hard today in this largely agricultural landscape. The remaining areas of steppe are dry and over-grazed and support very birds, at least in winter. Vast areas of land have been given over to arable cultivation, mainly cereals. The remaining areas of open steppe are very overgrazed and is a major conservation issue. Skylarks however, were everywhere, with 14,000 logged during the day. SPs were nowhere to be seen at the supposed hot spots of Eiwa and Ar Ruweira.

Again we lunched with Bedouin. We stopped to chat and out came the rugs, yogurt, tea and monstrous spring onions. A pleasant hour was passed.

As we travelled east to Al Hasakah, close to the Iraqi border, we picked up more and more 'new friends'. Either wearing leather jackets or smart suits, they took a sudden interest in birding and followed us to most of the sites today. They also decided to escort us to the hotel and hang around. They are clearly very interested in birds as they want to know where we are going tomorrow. We turn heads in Al Hasakah - westerners are clearly unusual here.
Bird highlights included Pallid Harriers, Long-legged Buzzards, Spur-winged Plovers, Lesser Short-toed Larks, 400 White-fronted Geese, 14 Black-bellied Sandgrouse, 3 Dead Sea Sparrows, 57 Calandra Larks, our first Isabelline and Finsch’s Wheatears, and 2 Bluethroats.

19th February. Lake Jubbal.

Having arrived at Jabbul after dark, we slept communally with the Syrian guys, on the floor, fully clothed, under rough blankets. It was still pitch black when we were woken by the call to prayer. A hot sweet glass of tea was followed by a communal cup of powerful Arabic coffee. Our team included Ghazi and Hussein from the Desert Commission and Hayan from SSCW. We were joined by Yaseen and Ahmed from Jubbal.
We birded around the lake all day. Eleven Sociable Plovers were almost the first birds seen. Calandra Larks were everywhere and the large flocks of White-fronted Geese included 2 Lesser White-fronts. The lake held huge numbers of wildfowl including 2450 Shoveler, a massive flock of 2300 White-headed Ducks and 50 Ferruginous Ducks. We counted just a small proportion of the Flamingos (320) and Great White Egrets (92). Other birds included 55 Whiskered Terns, 28 Spoonbills, 17 White Pelicans, 200 Little Stints and 102 Kentish Plovers. The reedbeds held Moustached Warblers, Bearded Tits, 2 Iraq Babblers and a couple of Grey-headed Swamphens.
We stopped for lunch near some Bedouin tents and they greeted us with coffee, then provided rugs to sit on, and fresh sheep’s yogurt and cheese. Finally they gave us hot tea. Our first taste of the amazing hospitality and friendliness of these people. A super experience.