Common Kingfisher

The base where I work contains several canals, ponds and lakes which attract several species of birds during their migration or stay as year-round residents. This past year proves to be another indicator of the improved conditions here in Iraq where the populations of several bird species increased in numbers. One can only hope that all of Iraq will follow their lead in creating a peaceful co-existence between all Iraqis. Then again, the Cormorant and Gull seem to be arguing over the same space in a large lake.


I finally captured the colorful Common Kingfisher in the midst of meal time. This very colorful bird, not sure why it is referred to as “Common”, is one of the smallest kingfishers approximately six inches in length. The brilliant blue colors on its back contrasted by the reddish colors underneath makes this the most colorful bird I have photographed in Iraq. The early afternoon sun highlights the bird’s colors against the drab green of the shallow pond waters.Perched on abandoned rebar, the kingfisher’s keen eyes search the pond for a tasty morsel. Suddenly the bird soars into the air, hovers and then dives into the water emerging with a morsel of food. Notice the camera’s shutter speed freezes the kingfisher’s wings while hovering but the same shutter speed is not fast enough to freeze the fluttering of its wings shedding the water after exiting the pond. Until next time.

St Elia Monastery

On the southern outskirts of Mosul City, Iraq in the area of ancient Nineveh lies the Forward Operating Base Marez. Within the FOB’s boundaries is St. Elia monastery, which was originally built in the 6th century by Mar Elia. I first visited the monastery in early 2005 while assigned as a contractor to the Army. Then the monastery was open for visitation by the base’s personnel at anytime and as near as I could tell everyone respected the monastery’s mystic and history as an archeological site. Now in 2008 there is a chain link fence surrounding the site for the primary purpose of safety due to the amount of unexploded ordnance (UXO) being found. While I was walking in and around the walls years prior the thought of UXO’s were in the back of my mind but were shoved aside by my concentration on photographing the monastery’s character along with the birds and animals seen nearby. Birds that I’ve seen nearby include the Little Owl, pictured in this post, Magpies, Francosian Pheasants, hard to photograph when they continually hide in the tall grass, Kestrels as described in my previous post, hawks, which I have little talent in identifying one from another, multitude of buntings and a few wild dogs. Future posts to include images of the above.
The monastery’s crumbling red mud walls have seen and felt periods of strive between humans for nearly 1,500 years. The original Christian inhabitants enjoyed the lush green valley supplied by a mineral stream that provided ample resources for the monks to raise crops and livestock. During my previous tour my friends and I would park our vehicle at the monastery and then run the winding roads and wind swept flowered hills. Cresting the hills presented a beautiful view of Mosul City and the snow capped mountains to the north along the border of Iraq and Turkey. Now, for the same reason of clearing UXOs, foot traffic and especially running is not allowed in the area.
Throughout the centuries monks and the monastery’s patrons continued to hold services there. During the last century the monastery was cared for by the Assyrian/Chaldean Catholic Church until during the later part of the 1940’s the Iraqi army constructed a military base in this area and sealed off the access to the monastery’s flock.
Iraq, considered the center of human civilization, has several archeological sites that are over thousands of years old. Efforts by Iraqis with assistance from other governments and the U.S. military are preserving the sites as the operational tempo allows. Until the Iraqi Government becomes a cohesive entity to support its own people and resources there remains a long road ahead for preserving these historical sites as well as the critical recovery of the southern marshes that Saddam had drained years ago.




Below are links to two different articles providing two different perspectives of the history of the monastery. NPR: Chaplains Struggle to Protect Monastery in Iraq http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16493810 Zinda Magazine: St. Elia Monastery, Dair Mar Elia (scroll towards the bottom of the page for the article) http://www.zindamagazine.com/html/archives/2006/03.25.06/index_sat.php

Kestrels

Recently I made a trip back to Mosul, Iraq. I had worked there for awhile and enjoyed the countryside view from where I worked. The base offered areas of open ground complete with grass, flowers, brush and trees, a natural attraction for birds among other critters. The area offered a great place to run with roads rolling through the hills. The surrounding snow covered mountains, the flowing Tigris River nearby and our flower gardens were all a visual distraction from the unavoidable events that were occurring on a daily basis. I was able to photographically document several varieties of birds. There were several kestrels in the area, flying, hovering and standing watch on the weathered electric poles. I've always enjoyed watching raptors soaring gracefully above, their keen eye searching for the ground for their next meal. The sight was always a sign of freedom to me. Hopefully the sight of freedom is close at hand for all.

Ducks

Ducks. I remember the first pet, a small black duckling, I took to my father’s company picnic for the best pet contest. I received a blue participant ribbon. Ducks are always fun to watch while feeding them bread at the local pond, listening to their quacking. The ducks here are the same, large flocks of shovelers numbering over a hundred with a sprinkling of Teals congregating in a pond on Victory Base Complex near Baghdad, Iraq. The shovelers with large flatten bills and colorful feathers fly over the pond in large waves weaving in and around the pond landing at one end or the other.

Teals with silvery feathers remind me of salmon with shiny silver scales. Pochard ducks with chestnut colored heads, bright red eyes and light silver bodies swimming from one end of the lake to the other in between the numerous coots surrounding them.

Mallards are common here also. A family of them stayed year round at a small pond within the walls of Abu Ghraib prison. I hope they moved on as we did.

Geese

So this is Christmas, And what have you done, Another year over, And a new one just begun....
It’s been awhile since I posted any new images to this blog I started. Not sure at that time if I would even continue posting, but as John Lennon’s words above, another year is about to begin, so I’ll try posting a few more. I’ve photographically recorded approximately 60 different bird species during my time in Iraq. Some with quite a few photos, some just a quick shot before they flew away. Posted are some images of Greylag Geese. The family with goslings was taken last Summer, cute little guys. The images of the geese flying over the lake were taken last Fall, beautiful in flight, power in numbers as they fly in formation. Their reflection doubles their numbers as they fly low over the still waters of the lake. So much for my attempt at prose. The image of the geese flying overhead was a lucky shot. They surprised me as I was setting up to take a telephoto shot of some herons on an island in the lake. Taken with my old trusted 500mm Nikon mirror lens with a 2X extender, manually focusing. I was surprised they were actually in focus. The doubler increased the contrast of the dimming light from the oncoming evening. Enjoy the photos and have a Happy New year.

Common Coot

Several canals intertwine on this base which attract various birds including the Common Coot, Fulica atra. Mostly black, red eyes, legs that are long with a green-grey color and a white bill with a frontal shield leading up from the bill. During the Fall season, when these pictures were taken, I usually counted 6-10 Coots looking for food together in the reeds along the canal banks. Coots are very territorial and will chase a competitor away from the group. Looking more like chickens on the water, they flap their short stubby wings and race their claw-like feet over the water chasing another leaving a trail of churning water.

Moving into early Spring the Coots are rarely seen and then in pairs swimming along in the smooth waters of the canals or the lakes among the reeds. Not as shy as the Common Moorhen, described in a future post, the Coots are a delight to watch whether swimming calmly in the smooth waters or chasing one another leaving a wake of surging water.

Pied Kingfishers

I currently work on Victory Base Complex near Baghdad, Iraq. I spend some of my off time photographing birds, flowers and other scenes of nature in the local area. Being restricted to the base limits the subject matter but the base does offer bodies of water which attracts migrating birds and the local varieties providing some subjects for my camera. I shoot with a Nikon D100, Nikon 70-300mm lens and occasionally with my trusted old Nikon 500mm mirror lens. As a reference I use a Princeton Field Guide, Birds of the Middle East, by Porter, Christensen and Schiermacker-Hansen.

The birds seen here are Pied Kingfishers one of which caught a fish during the early evening. The kingfisher will hover over water patiently waiting for a glimpse of a fish and then dive straight into the water hopefully surfacing with a meal. One kingfisher that made a successful catch watches another land on the branch seeking a share of the catch. After the two stare at each other for awhile, the second kingfisher flies away empty handed.
















The next sequence shows the kingfisher preparing to swallow the fish whole. After beating the fish's head against the branch a few times the bird positions the fish head first into its beak and within a minute swallows the entire fish leaving just a bit of tail still seen in its beak.