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Nick Bray @zootherabirding.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

White-throated Kingfisher was seen daily on our #Egypt tour. It might be common but still a stunning looking bird. #birds #BirdsSeenIn2026 #nikon #stunner #birding #zootherabirding

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Nick Bray @zootherabirding.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

This immature Purple Heron was really too close for my lens, as we sailed along the Nile near Aswan during our recent #Egypt tour. #birds #BirdsSeenIn2026 #nikon #birding

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Nick Bray @zootherabirding.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Best I could do with Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse during our recent #Egypt tour. But this is literally the only place to see them in the Western Palearctic. #mega #birds #birding

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

I can see you…..!!!! This female Greater Painted Snipe thought she was being clever..! Around Abassa Fishponds near Cairo we found at least 5 of them. Great birds. #birds #birding #Egypt

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Nick Bray @zootherabirding.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Masked Shrike is pretty common right now in #Egypt and plenty of immatures passing through. #birds #birding #BirdsSeenIn2026 #nikon

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Nick Bray @zootherabirding.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

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 · 30/09/2026

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 · 30/09/2026

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

Thank you. It most certainly was worth the time & effort.

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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

Yeah I bet. The Dalmatian Pelicans seem to be doing very well…

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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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