Picture of the Day: One of the World’s Rarest Birds Was Just Spotted in Abu Dhabi
The UAE never fails to have something interesting going on at any given time. It was reported by the state news agency, WAM, that one of the rarest birds in the world has been spotted in Abu Dhabi by two members of the Emirates Bird Records Committee (EBRC).
The bird is called the Steppe Whimbrel, and it’s estimated to have a global population of only around 100! The rare bird was seen by Oscar Campbell and Simon Lloyd at the Saadiyat Beach Golf Course; it’s believed that the bird has travelled in time for the autumn bird migration. The Steppe Whimbrel is a rare sub-species of the widespread Whimbrel that usually pass through the Emirates during spring and autumn.
What’s even more exciting about this finding, is that the bird is believed to be born this year; this makes it the first time a juvenile Steppe Whimbrel has been spotted anywhere in the world. Campbell and Lloyd shared their photographs with the world’s top expert on Steppe Whimbrels, Gary Allport, who confirmed their findings.
“On August 29, we were studying around 20 whimbrels on the Saadiyat Beach golf course. We were stunned when one flew off showing the distinctive white wings, clearly different from the other birds. We immediately realized the potential significance of this so we concentrated on observing the bird and obtaining photographs, allowing us to check the key identification features” said Campbell and Lloyd told WAM.
