Heading west to Dana

From here we hit the road, west then south toward what proved my favourite site in Jordan, the Dana Biosphere Reserve. The journey brought spectacular views of desert and a brief stop to look over a magnificent dry, canyon-like gorge, brought my first Tristram’s Starling (or Tristram’s Grackle if, like me, you prefer the Old Skool naming). These social birds are black with chestnut wing patches and they whistle across the echoing rocks, reminding me very much of Alpine Choughs in high European mountains. Like the choughs, these are the guys which will come and clean up after you leave your picnic site! There were pale-race Desert Larks, a Brown-necked Raven flew by, as did a Griffon Vulture. Down the road, we picked up Great Spotted Cuckoo, Mourning Wheatear, and that classic Middle Eastern chat, the Blackstart (all ticks). The latter are somewhat like a wheatear and somewhat like a redstart; desert-loving