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Nick Bray @zootherabirding.bsky.social · 11h

Senegal Thick-knees are relatively common along the Nile River in #Egypt And you’ve got to come here to get them on your Western Palearctic list. #BirdsSeenin2026 #birds #birding #zootherabirding #nikon

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Nick Bray @zootherabirding.bsky.social · 11h

Another view of the rare Reed Cormorant during our ongoing #Egypt tour. #birds #birding #Zootherabirding #nikon #tourleading

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Nick Bray @zootherabirding.bsky.social · 11h

Seen plenty of Crimson-rumped Waxbills at Abu Simbel these past couple of days. Grossly lightened this pic to get the detail and what a stunner! Only officially discovered in May 2025 in this far flung corner of the Western Palearctic. #birds #BirdsSeenIn2026 #birding

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Nick Bray @zootherabirding.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

In the Western Palearctic you can only find Reed Cormorant in the far south of #Egypt and Mauritania. So today we did a boat trip along the Nile River near Aswan and found 14 of them! They seem to be expanding their range north by following the Nile. #birds #birding #BirdsSeenIn2026 #nikon

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Nick Bray @zootherabirding.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Crab-Plover was easy to see at Hamata Mangroves along the Red Sea coast during our current #Egypt tour. #birds #zootherabirding #nikon

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Nick Bray @zootherabirding.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Lappet-faced Vulture is already a contender for bird of the trip after only 3 days! We made it through 3 police checkpoints to Shalateen near the border with Sudan & despite no eBird reports since May 2025….. we saw 7 of them!! Western Palearctic gold right there!! #Egypt #BirdsSeenIn2026 #birds

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Nick Bray @zootherabirding.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Stunning views of Sooty Falcon on an island in the Red Sea during our current #Egypt tour. #birds #birding #zootherabirding #nikon #westernpalearctic

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Nick Bray @zootherabirding.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Really enjoyed watching a small colony of Lesser Kestrels during a short visit to #Azerbaijan back in June. My best views ever #birds #nikon #birding #BirdsSeenIn2026

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Nick Bray @zootherabirding.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

It took some searching but after 6 hours driving across the #Kazakhstan steppe we finally nailed Caspian Plover. Another mega Western Palearctic tick! #birds #BirdsSeenIn2026 #zootherabirding #nikon

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Nick Bray @zootherabirding.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

Black-winged Pratincole proved to be a relatively common sighting during our recent West #Kazakhstan tour. What a great bird! #birds #BirdsSeenIn2026 #birding #zootherabirding #nikon #nature

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Nick Bray @zootherabirding.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

After 3 attempts I finally managed to find Turkish Brown Fish Owl at Oymapinar Reservoir, #Turkiye What a beast of a bird and a real mega Western Palearctic ✅ #birds #BirdsSeenIn2026 #nature #nikon #birding #natgeo #naturephotography

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Nick Bray @zootherabirding.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

Been seeing quite a few Bearded Vultures lately. This one was in #Azerbaijan recently - what a stunner! #birds #birding #BirdsSeenIn2026 #nikon #naturephotography

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Nick Bray @zootherabirding.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

Tricky light conditions in the #Azerbaijan mountains, but we did see a few Lesser Spotted Eagles. Not a species I see much of at all. #birds #BirdsSeenIn2026 #nikon #birding

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Nick Bray @zootherabirding.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

It’s just an Eurasian Hobby but so very, very cool. This photo was taken in #Kazakhstan on our recent tour. The almost Eurasian Wryneck contact call has fooled me quite a bit lately. Durrrrrr… 🤪 #birds #nikon #birdphotography #BirdsSeenIn2026

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Nick Bray @zootherabirding.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

Jumping back a bit to my #Kazakhstan tour, I think this was my best view ever of White-tailed Lapwing. Although I’ve seen it in UK, Oman, India, Azerbaijan & maybe somewhere else…. 🤔 #birds #birding #BirdsSeenIn2026 #nikon

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Nick Bray @zootherabirding.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

Stunning views of this Ring Ouzel whilst looking for Caucasian Grouse in #Azerbaijan a few days ago #birds #BirdsSeenIn2026 #nikon #tourleading

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Nick Bray @zootherabirding.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

Banded Martin | Neophedina cincta 2nd for Oman and 5th(?) for the Greater Western Palearctic. At the mouth of the creek in Raysut, Oman. 25th of June, 2026. By Magnus Robb/The Sound Approach and Vilhelm Fagerström.

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Nick Bray @zootherabirding.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

Well, you’ve got to go to southern #Azerbaijan to get Caspian Tit, as visiting northern Iran is not possible. So I did… A mega Western Palearctic tick and a bird with such a limited range. Get in..! #BirdsSeenIn2026 #birding #nikon #tourleading #birding

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Nick Bray @zootherabirding.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

Here’s a moment I will always treasure… despite seeing this species numerous times, I think this was the closest encounter I’ve ever had with a Bearded Vulture. #Azerbaijan #birds #BirdsSeenIn2026 #nikon #zootherabirding

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Nick Bray @zootherabirding.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

Best I could do in the low cloud, mist, drizzle & high winds… But here in northern #Azerbaijan on the border with Russia I had my Caucasian Snowcock lifer ✅ Over the moon tbh! #BirdsSeenIn2026 #birds #nikon

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Nick Bray @zootherabirding.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

Eventually we enjoyed great views of Shikra after missing it at a few sites we’d checked earlier in the day. Another great Western Palearctic species! #birds #BirdsseenIn2026 #nikon

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Nick Bray @zootherabirding.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

Getting eye-level views of Golden Eagle as it left its nest with 2 almost fully grown chicks was pretty cool. Currently in #Azerbaijan on the way to hopefully getting a long overdue lifer soon…. Keeping fingers crossed. #birds #BirdsSeenIn2026 #nikon

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Nick Bray @zootherabirding.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

Seeing Black Lark inside the Western Palearctic means a trip to west #Kazakhstan and boy it’s some cool bird! Unless you saw the Anglesey bird 25+ years ago? #birds #BirdsSeenIn2026 #birding #mega #nikon #zootherabirding #natgeo #nature #birdwatching

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Nick Bray @zootherabirding.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

Not sure what is going on here, but this male shrike is some sort of hybrid, poss Long-tailed x Red-backed. The female definitely has a lot of Turkestan Shrike about her. Any ideas? #Kazakhstan #birds #birding #naturephotography

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Nick Bray @zootherabirding.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

Our next major target was Red-headed Bunting and what a stunner it is! This bird just creeps inside the boundary of the #WesternPalearctic here in west #Kazakhstan #birds #BirdsSeenIn2026 #birding #nikon #zootherabirding

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Nick Bray @zootherabirding.bsky.social · 14/06/2026

It took some searching but after 6 hours driving across the #Kazakhstan steppe we finally nailed Caspian Plover. Another mega Western Palearctic tick! #birds #BirdsSeenIn2026 #zootherabirding #nikon

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Nick Bray @zootherabirding.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

To be honest, some gulls don’t ’float my boat’…. But Pallas’s Gull positively reeks of class. It’s just one sexy bird! #Kazakhstan #BirdsSeenIn2026 #birds #birding #nikon #zootherabirding

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Nick Bray @zootherabirding.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

I’m now in #Kazakhstan at Atyrau, just inside the eastern boundary of the Western Palearctic. This is the Caspius subspecies of Eurasian Penduline Tit and looks very different to birds in Europe. #birds #BirdsSeenIn2026 #birding #zootherabirding #nikon

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Nick Bray @zootherabirding.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

How stunning is this Ruppell’s Warbler? I simply love ‘em…! #birds #Turkiye #BirdsSeenIn2026 #nikon #zootherabirding

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Nick Bray @zootherabirding.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

Really nice views of several Eurasian Penduline Tits on our last morning in #Turkiye #birds #birding #Nikon #BirdsSeenIn2026 #zootherabirding

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Nick Bray @zootherabirding.bsky.social · 07/06/2026

Enjoyed plenty more Barred Warbler action around Demirkazik during our second #Turkiye tour this Spring. Such a great bird! #birds #BirdsSeenIn2026 #nikon #tourleading

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Nick Bray @zootherabirding.bsky.social · 07/06/2026

It’s not the ‘dove from above’ but a Finsch’s Wheatear displaying right above me! #birds #Turkiye #BirdsSeenIn2026 #nikon #birding #zootherabirding

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Nick Bray @zootherabirding.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

Eastern Orphean Warbler is typically skulking deep in bushes or leafy trees…. Apart from this individual….! #Turkiye #BirdsSeenIn2026 #birds #nikon #zootherabirding

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Nick Bray @zootherabirding.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

Another Western Palearctic speciality from our #Turkiye tour is Iraq Babbler. It inhabits reedbeds along the Euphrates River #birds #BirdsSeenIn2026 #zootherabirding #birding #nikon

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Nick Bray @zootherabirding.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

Spent a while at a Blue-cheeked Bee-eater colony in #Türkiye where the nesting holes were on a small hill. This I presume is a male bringing a bee to his waiting partner…. #birds #nikon #BirdsSeenIn2026 #birding

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Nick Bray @zootherabirding.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

It’s been really special to see numerous White-throated Robins during the first of our 2 Türkiye tours. With a break of a few days before the next group arrives, I think I might just go #birding #Turkey #birds #nikon #birding #BirdsSeenIn2026 #tourleading

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Nick Bray @zootherabirding.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

Nemrut Dagi in SE #Turkey is the best site in the Western Palearctic for Kurdish Wheatear. We’ve seen at least 7 during our stay here. #birds #birding #BirdsSeenIn2026 #mega #zootherabirding #birdingtours

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Nick Bray @zootherabirding.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

We headed up to Aladaglar Mountain at 5am and fortunately the weather was ok. It had been raining for 4 days before we arrived! And we were so lucky to see Caspian Snowcock quite well. #birds #BirdsSeenIn3026 #nikon #zootherabirding #birding #nature

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Nick Bray @zootherabirding.bsky.social · 24/05/2026

Great views of Wallcreeper in Demirkazik village, actually first seen on the side of a house to start with!!! #birds #Turkey #BirdsSeenIn2026 #zootherabirding

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Nick Bray @zootherabirding.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

Another tour…. Another nuthatch. Now I’m in Turkey and this is Kruper’s Nuthatch. What a little beauty! #birds #BirdsSeenIn2026 #Turkey #birding

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Nick Bray @zootherabirding.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

Our 2 main targets for the Middle Atlas in #Morocco both proved easy to find- Atlas Flycatcher (left) & Atlas Wheatear (right) and we enjoyed repeated views over a couple of days. #birds #BirdsSeenIn2026

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Nick Bray @zootherabirding.bsky.social · 10/05/2026

Great to get the Western Palearctic #mega Marsh Owl flying around in the late afternoon at Merja Zerga #Morocco #birds #BirdsSeenIn2026 #birding #westernpalearctic

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Nick Bray @zootherabirding.bsky.social · 09/05/2026

A little bit of Firecrest action to start the day! Such a cool bird. #birds #birding #Corsica #nikon #BirdsSeenIn2026

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Nick Bray @zootherabirding.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

Moved on to #Morocco now and it’s taken around 12 hours but we’ve seen the Holy Grail of Western Palearctic birding. Yes Small Buttonquail (formerly Andalusian Hemipode) is on our WP lists!!! Totally crackers!!! #birds #zootherabirding #birding

Picture copyright The Collins Guide of Small Buttonquail

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Nick Bray @zootherabirding.bsky.social · 05/05/2026

Really enjoyed seeing a few Moltoni’s Warblers during our tour to #Corsica. A long overdue #lifer for me! #BirdsSeenIn2026 #birds #birding #nikon #westernpalearctic #zootherabirding #birds

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Nick Bray @zootherabirding.bsky.social · 03/05/2026

And now I’m in #Corsica watching the superb endemic Corsican Nuthatch. What a great bird! #BirdsSeenIn2026 #birds #birding #zootherabirding #nikon #westernpalearctic

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