We are delighted to invite you to an upcoming nature exploration at Al Qudra area, renowned for its rich biodiversity. Our plan is to explore this unique ecosystem on Friday evening, preferably one hour before sunset. Together, we will venture away from the picnic spots and discover a secluded location brimming with abundant natural life. Prepare to observe and familiarize yourselves with the remarkable diversity of species inhabiting this area, including spiders, dragonflies, beetles, and antlions. Here is the outline of our nature walk: 📍 Location : Al Qudra Area ( Exact location will be shared later ) 🌅 Plan: Exploration, Observation, and Documentation 💡 Highlights of the Nature Walk: 1️⃣ Roam around the area, familiarizing ourselves with the natural surroundings and observing the diverse wildlife. 2️⃣ Discover water bodies and dense bushes that serve as habitats for various fascinating species. 3️⃣ Observe and document different species, such as spiders, dragonflies, beetles, and antlions, as they go about their natural behaviors. 4️⃣ Appreciate the intricate dynamics of nature as the day shift seamlessly transitions into the night shift. 🌛 Evening Activities: 1️⃣ Set up a Moth Screen illuminated by a strong light source to attract moths and other nocturnal insects. 2️⃣ Observe the captivating transformation of the environment as darkness falls and nocturnal creatures become active. 3️⃣ Utilize headlamps and UV lights to explore the area and spot hidden nocturnal species. 🌃 Nighttime Exploration: 1️⃣ Stay until midnight to witness the bustling activity around the moth screen as various moths and insects visit. 2️⃣ Engage in detailed observations, photography, and documentation of the intriguing moths and insects. 🦟 Important Note: Please be aware that the area is home to horse-flies, which can cause allergic reactions. To ensure your comfort and protection, we recommend wearing long sleeves or using insect repellents. 🚩 Logistics: In order to enhance our observation experience, we kindly request someone to bring strong lights and poles for the moth screen setup. I will provide the white screen required for our activities. Your contribution will greatly facilitate our scientific exploration. Let us approach this nature walk with enthusiasm, scientific rigor, and a collaborative spirit. Each one of us plays a crucial role in planning and contributing to the success of this event. Feel free to share your expertise, suggestions, and ideas to make this a truly enriching experience for all participants. Our trip leaders will be Kiran and Biju, who know the area well.  The trip has limited spaces and places will be given on a first-come served basis. Please inform us if you secure a place and then cannot attend as this give a fair chance for others who missed out on getting a place. More information regarding our adventure will be sent out once places have been secured. Warm regards, The ENHG team      

  Dear members! We are excited to invite you on a trip out to an area close to Abu Dhabi to look for spiders and other insects to observe behavior and see if we can identify the species. We will continue our search as darkness descends and it becomes easier to spot some species with our head torches reflecting light off the many spider eyes glistening in the foliage and small burrows. Joining our trip will be some biologists and local wildlife enthusiasts who are passionate about sharing their knowledge of the area and the insects,animals and plants that inhabit it. The trip has limited spaces and places will be given on a first-come served basis. Please inform us if you secure a place and then cannot attend as this give a fair chance for others who missed out on getting a place. More information regarding our adventure will be sent out once places have been secured. We are looking forward to seeing you there! Warm Regards The ENHG Team

We will meet at 2.30 pm at the Visitor Center of the Al Wathba Wetland Reserve. During a 6 km walk through the reserve, experienced ornithologist Oscar Campbell will help to find and identify resident and migratory bird species.   Oscar Campbell, originally from Ireland, has been living in the UAE since 2006. He is a keen natural historian with a particular interest in birds. He is currently chairman of the Emirates Bird Record Committee and co-authored Butterflies of the United Arab Emirates including Northern Oman (Motivate, 2021). His current major project is working on the third edition of Field Guide to the Birds of the Middle East (Bloomsbury, to be published 2023).   On our way through the reserve, we will also have a look at plants and insects and different geomorphological structures. On our way back we will try to observe, from a non-disturbing distance, Western Marsh Harries (latest count was 50+ ) arriving for communal night-time roosting.   Special Instructions: Keep your mobiles on silent! We recommend wearing brown, beige or clothes with long sleeves and trousers, sports shoes and a hat. Try to avoid bright colours. Bring binoculars, insect repellent, sun protection, snacks and water.  Please be prepared for possibly dusty or windy winter weather; as long as the weather conditions allow driving, the tour will not be cancelled and we will adjust the programme if necessary.   The number of participants that can join the trip is limited. If you got a spot and cannot make it, please cancel early enough, to give someone else the chance to come.      

Tracking the migration of Bar-tailed Godwits worldwide About the talk: The Bar-tailed Godwit is an iconic migratory shorebird that can be found in almost all continents. Several subspecies are distinguished, each of them has distinct migratory routes and timing of migration. Recently the status of the population of Bar-tailed Godwits Limosa lapponica wintering along the Middle East and eastern seaboard of the Indian Ocean has been resolved, showing that these birds belong to a separate subspecies, named L.l yamalensis. These birds use previously staging areas in the northwest corner of the Caspian Sea in Kazakhstan, and migrated to breeding areas in north-central Russia. Global tracking showed showed that the populations of different subspecies are more connected than hitherto thought and also show that these shorebirds are threatened in many ways   About the speaker: Roeland Bom is a senior scientist at the Royal NIOZ Netherlands Institute for Sea Research. His office is at the NIOZ, Texel (The Netherlands), but his prime area of interest are the intertidal mudflats of the Wadden Sea, West Africa and the Middle East. Particularly his research adventures have led him many times to the (still) pristine mudflats of Barr Al Hikman in the Sultanate of Oman. In my recent work I focus on the migratory routine of Bar-tailed Godwits wintering in West Africa and Oman and see how they cope with a rapidly changing world.  

About the speaker: Oscar Campbell, originally from Ireland, has been living in the UAE since 2006. He is a keen natural historian with a particular interest in birds. Although travelling widely across the Middle East and beyond, he returns to Ireland every year and when there, spends much of that time in Donegal. He is currently chairman of the Emirates Bird Record Committee and co-authored Butterflies of the United Arab Emirates including Northern Oman (Motivate, 2021). His current major project is working on the third edition of Field Guide to the Birds of the Middle East (Bloomsbury, to be published 2023). About the talk: Donegal is the north-westernmost county of Ireland and an area of not inconsiderable beauty, grandeur and natural history interest. This talk will introduce the natural history of Donegal, touching on aspects of its geology, climate and plant communities, with discussions of selected invertebrates and birds as well. The wonderful landscapes will be showcased and the talk concludes with a visit to Tory Island, one of the county’s most special places and, exposed 13km offshore in the north west Atlantic, Ireland’s most remote inhabited island.    

About the speaker: Mike Searle was bought up in Oman in the 1970s and started working on the geology of the Oman mountains for his PhD (1980). He continued working first with consulting groups in UAE, Musandam and across the Oman Mountains and since 1990 has had research projects throughout the Oman - UAE mountains with students and coleagues form Oxford University and elsewhere including teh Petroleum Instiute Abu Dhabi. He continues to travel to Oman every year and regards it as his second home.   About the talk: The Oman – UAE Mountains contain many spectacular geological sites, many of which are of World Heritage status. A few of these sites include the World’s largest, best exposed ophiolite complex, a thrust slice of Tethyan oceanic crust and upper mantle emplaced onto the Arabian continental margin, the Musandam peninsula where the Arabian and Iranian plates first collided, the Jebel al-Akhdar massif where numerous deeply incised wadis cuts through the entire Permian – Cenomanian shelf carbonates are superbly exposed. Other notable sites include the Worlds’ largest sheath fold beautifully exposed in 3D along Wadi Mayh, the As Sifah eclogites where the leading edge of the Arabian crust has been subducted to ca 100 km and exhumed. Spectacular fold and thrust structures occur throughout the mountains and a unique thrust slice of high-temperature granulite facies rocks in exposed in Madhah and Fujairah. Many beautifully preserved fossil sites are present throughout the mountains. With the increasing development in Oman and especially in UAE now make it imperative to preserve these geological sites and preserve them for future generations. A major programme of setting up GeoPark sites throughout Oman is now in action. This talk will cover the geology of the Oman – UAE mountains with photographic coverage covering the last 45 years.    

  Dear ENHG Members and Guests,   A nature journal is a place for the visual expression of curiosity. It can be used as a tool at the beach as well as in the desert, the mountains or in your own garden!  While drawing is a skill that can help us describe our observations, the goal of nature journaling is not to create a “pretty picture” but instead to record your experience with the natural world.    Join us as we explore a section of Saadiyat island beach using a nature journal as a tool for sharpening our skills observation and attention.    While we have daylight, we will use words, pictures and numbers in our journal pages to describe what we find on the beach. After sunset, we will gather around some tables and chairs to practice techniques of sketching, and note-taking for observation.   Molly will share examples from her own journals and offer tools and suggestions for establishing or adding to your own practice of nature journaling.     Bring a notebook or sketchbook and any tools you like to use for writing, drawing. We will have some supplies available to borrow.    About Molly: Molly Torrey Molly is an educator and artist, born in the USA and living in Abu Dhabi for the past 10 years. Whether in the mangroves, Al Wathba Wetland or Umm Al Emarat park, you can find her connecting with the natural world through the time-tested practice of keeping a nature journal. By slowing down, retraining our attention, a nature journal becomes a tool to unleash learning, curiosity, creativity and conservation. Molly is passionate about introducing people to the practice of keeping a nature journal and she is actively working to build a community of nature journalers in Abu Dhabi.    

We are delighted to resume the nurdle hunt scheduled for Saturday November 5th from 9-10 a.m together with the Saadiyat Rotana Resort & Villas.  Nurdles are tiny around 3-4 mm in diameter pre-produced plastic pieces that are harmful for the marine environment,  and the marine and terrestrial wildlife as they might be mistaken for food. Estimate how many nurdles need to be melted and shaped to form a plastic bottle? A minimum of 600. Together with Saadiyat Rotana Resorts & Villas the Natural History Group wants to raise awareness about the impacts of plastic pollution along the coast. Lets see how many nurdles we can find during our 1hour long beach walk. We hope to fill a large container with the harmfull waste.        Please bring:    -a container to collect the nurdles -a reusable water bottle  -sun hat and suncreen    

About the speaker: Dr. Dareen Almojil is a post-doctoral associate at New York University – Abu Dhabi. She is currently working with the Evolutionary Genomics laboratory at NYU. Her research is focused on the population genomics of wild Xenopus laevis and its mysterious adaptation to challenging conditions in South Africa and Western France. She obtained her master’s from James Cook University in Australia, followed by a PhD from the University of Cambridge, UK where she investigated the population genetic structure and reproductive behavior of sharks to serve their conservation. During her Ph.D., she published her first book, titled: “Sharks and Rays of the Arabian/Persian Gulf”, and took part in a documentary called “Arabia’s Sharks: A journey of discovery” which was aired on Discovery channel in 2016. She is also the founder of Muthalath, a platform designed to connect STEM researchers in the region with science-related opportunities.   About the talk Scientific knowledge is lacking on marine species of economic and conservation importance, hindering their sustainable management. Local Ecological Knowledge (LEK) has the potential to provide valuable insights on large (spatial and temporal) scales, by drawing on the collective experiences of those who work closely with the taxa of interest. This study explored the status of the shark population over time in four countries across eastern and southern Arabia (i.e. Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, and Yemen). Results indicate strong declines, with highly experienced fishermen reporting greater perceived declines (80%) in the abundance of sharks (in general), with a mean year of perceived decline starting in the late 1990s to early 2000s. For three specific taxa investigated, hammerhead sharks (e.g. Sphyrna mokarran) had the greatest mean perceived decline (80%), while even the group with the least decline (small carcharhinids) had a mean perceived decline of 50%. Management measures are urgently required in the region to ensure sustainability of historic shark fisheries that provide food security and coastal livelihoods (e.g. Yemen and Oman), and to prevent regional extinctions (e.g. hammerhead sharks). Older and more experienced fishermen who are both; witness to the greatest declines and may have local standing and influence could be valuable resources in developing more community-based sustainable fisheries, especially given the apparent lack of success of formal management measures.        

Dear members! We are excited to invite you on a trip out to the Wathba Desert to look for local flora and fauna and follow tracks in the sand and see if we can identify who or what made them. We will continue our search as darkness descends when the fringe-toed lizards hide and the Arabian geckos start their hunt for insects. Joining our trip will be some biologists and local wildlife enthusiasts who are passionate about sharing their knowledge of the area and the animals and plants that inhabit our beautiful local desert. We will end our excursion with a dinner at a local farm hosted by one of our most passionate and generous ENHG team members! The trip has limited spaces and places will be given on a first-come served basis.  More information regarding our adventure will be sent out once places have been secured. We are looking forward to seeing you there! Warm Regards The ENHG Team    

About the speaker: Dr.  Khosrow Rajabizadeh has 15 years of academic background in herpetology, leading to PhD in biology from Ghent University in Belgium, followed by a postdoc in functional morphology and applied computer science. He is the founder of AI.Nature start up studio in Paris.   About the talk: Snake envenomation is a public health challenge in many tropical and subtropical countries, mostly in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The WHO recently considered snake-bite envenomation as a neglected tropical disease, which is an important milestone in disease control. About 5.4 million snake bites occur each year, resulting in about 81.000 to 137.000 deaths and around three times as many permanent disabilities each year (www.who.int). This human-snake conflict partly results from the difficulty of snake identification that currently relies on expert knowledge. Snake identification help doctors to better plan the snakebite treatment. AI.Nature is a French startup project, incubated in INRIA, Paris, and tries to combine AI and zoological science to help doctors in the identification of snakes. AI.Nature produced a web application that provides AI-based services for 1) image-based snake auto-identification; 2) location-based snake identification. The web application is already launched for western Asia and northern Africa and is tested by doctors, even in real cases.  

About the speaker: Gerard Talavera is an evolutionary biologist and entomologist. He is a tenured scientist at the Spanish Council of Scientific Research (CSIC) currently developing his research at the Botanical Institute of Barcelona (IBB), where he leads the Insect Migration and Phylodiversity Lab. Gerard has a background in phylogenetics, ecology, and the evolution of butterflies and he has a particular interest in the evolution of migratory behavior, which is one of the main research lines in his lab. His research combines interdisciplinary tools to investigate questions related to movement ecology, population genetics, and genome evolution. As a National Geographic Explorer, he has been leading a challenging project since 2013: unraveling the worldwide migratory patterns of Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) butterflies. He has long experience in the laboratory as well as in exploration and has led numerous scientific expeditions in more than 30 countries on five continents. On a more personal side, he spends his free time climbing mountains and caving, a passion for exploration shared with the study of biodiversity.   About the talk:  Migration in butterflies is suspected to be an overlooked phenomenon, even its major ecological relevance. The real extent of the diversity, geographical ranges, and abundances of butterflies on the move is not well known, partly because of the lack of field data and the technical limitations associated with tracking small, short-lived, organisms. In this talk, he will take us on a journey about how it is studying migratory butterflies, from the field to the lab. He will show how a multidisciplinary approach can help in tracking migratory movements, including tools on genetics, isotope ecology, ecological niche modeling, pollen metabarcoding, field ecology, and citizen science. In particular, he will show the example of the Painted Lady butterfly (Vanessa cardui), the most cosmopolitan of all butterflies and the one exhibiting the widest distributional range of any insect performing large-scale migratory movements. With a particular focus on the Palearctic-African migratory range, he will describe the latest discoveries showing regular trans-Saharan migrations, that entail astonishing distances of >4000 km, similar to those of some birds. Overall, it will discuss about the scale and potential implications that insect migratory movements represent for ecosystems and nature conservation worldwide.  

About the speaker: Jacky Judas is a naturalist, interested in all biodiversity and nature conservation related topics, but more specifically on birds and mammals. He was born in the North of France, where he grew up, quickly became interested in natural history, and started studying biology. After a master in Land planning and environment management in Lille, he spent the year 1991 on Amsterdam Island, part of the French Antarctic and subantarctic territories in the middle of the Indian Ocean, studying penguins and albatross. From 1993 to 1998, he studied the ecology of Collared Peccaries in the tropical forest of French Guiana for his PhD, and moved to Saudi Arabia in 1998, working at the National Research Center of Taif on the reintroduction of the Houbara Bustard up to 2003. He moved to UAE in 2004, where he continued working on the Asian Houbara Bustard for the National Avian Research Center of Abu Dhabi, travelling through Kazakhstan, China, and Yemen to study the species ecology and assess population status. In 2012, he joined Emirates Nature-WWF, working as Research manager on the implementation of Wadi Wurayah National Park in Fujairah Emirate, conducting surveys on Odonata, Owls, and bats through the Hajar Mountains, and implementing different conservation projects throughout the country, in Wadi Shis and Al Bithnah in particular. He left UAE in 2021 to move back to Saudi Arabia, where he is now working as Wildlife conservation manager for Soudah Development Company in the Asir region.   About the talk: Despite being in an arid environment, UAE holds a relatively diverse terrestrial mammal fauna, with 51 species, distributed among 8 orders and 21 families. Rodents and bats are the 2 orders that present the largest species diversity but have so far been poorly investigated. Bats are important players in the ecosystems functioning and have recently focused the attention of the media due to their possible involvement in the origin of the Covid-19 pandemic. The UAE mammal fauna is also characterized by an important number of introduced and/or invasive species, some of them becoming established. During this talk, we will review the diversity of mammals that have been recorded in UAE, briefly going through the different species, their status, and distribution, and discussing the ecological implications of the introduced populations. We will then explore the world of bats more deeply, with some generalities on this order, the state of knowledge and threats on their populations in UAE, and how to study them.  

About the talk: The surfaces of planets and moons battered with craters prove that hypervelocity collisions of celestial bodies are among the most fundamental geological phenomena in our solar system. The Earth is also exposed to this cosmic bombardment. But what exactly happens during such an impact? What consequences can be expected and how high is the risk of an impact? In the talk different crater forms are presented and the highly dynamic formation of an impact is explained. The effects on the environment will be discussed as well as modern strategies to defend against asteroids that are on a collision course with the Earth.   About the speaker: Thomas Kenkmann studied geology and paleontology at the University of Cologne and completed his dissertation in 1997 at Free University Berlin. Since 2010 he has been Professor of Geology and Structural Geology at the University of Freiburg, Germany. Thomas Kenkmann and his working group are investigating the structure and deformation inventory of impact craters on Earth and other planetary bodies at scales ranging from satellite imagery to micrometers. Thomas is a passionate field geologist, who has studied more than 40 terrestrial impact craters worldwide, and mapped many of them geologically. He is responsible for a number of crater discoveries and confirmations Thomas Kenkmann is also experimentalist and initiated and coordinated a multidisciplinary consortium to understand meteorite impact into various rock types by conducting shock and cratering experiments. He has published 125 refereed scientific articles in journals and books and edited several special issues and a book on impact craters. In 2012, Thomas Kenkmann won the State Teaching Award of the Ministry of Education, Research and Art of the Federal State of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Thomas Kenkmann received the Barringer Medal and Award of the Meteoritical Society in 2018 for his key contributions to the areas of impact crater research.

About the talk Mangroves are a key coastal habitat that have been forgotten in many cases, leaving them to fall to the wayside. However, the past few years have seen some recognition and revival of Mangroves in the UAE. Mangroves are an important tool in the fight against climate change, as they are blue carbon ecosystems, storing great amounts of carbon in comparison to other forested habitats. Many countries, including the UAE, have begun to recognize the role mangroves play in regard to climate change, by supporting large afforestation projects. Aside from the contributions to climate change mangroves are a stunning and unique ecosystem hosting a large variety of wildlife. They play an important role in supporting the fish stocks of the Gulf. This presentation provides a summary of the information gathered through research and observations at the Jubail Mangrove Park over the last few years, to bring the wonder of mangroves to people and stress the importance of their conservation.   About the Speaker Eleanor Vander Byl is the Education Coordinator for Quest for Adventure, an Education and Adventure company in the UAE that has been based in the Ajman Mangroves for 7 years. Eleanor grew up in the UAE before undertaking her Bachelors in Geology and a Masters in Oceanography in the UK before returning to the UAE to join Quest.  Quest has been running programs across The Emirates, notably at Jubail Mangrove Park, Abu Dhabi, and Al Zorah nature reserve in Ajman. Al Zorah, where the company is based, is a RAMSAR site spanning 195 hectares that has been established in 2016. Eleanor has been working with Quest since 2020 creating the educational and scientific content across the sites with a focus on Jubail’s Mangroves, collecting information and observations over time.