Subiya Desert (travel)

September 20, 2013

Friday Bird Hunt

Rainy days are coming! And so my Friday group photo buddies decided to visit Subiya desert area to check for migratory birds. It's a bit early to check as most of the migratory birds are only expected to show up once rainy season has started (probably late part of October). 

It was a long Journey from Salmiya to Subiya desert area, but this trip has been very enjoyable and a memorable one :) Route map Here
 

We reached a desert near the Bubiyan island and met a Kuwaiti family who hunts birds for their hobby.

A hunter kid

Kuwaiti Family hunters :P

In the beginning, we were hesitant in approaching them as they are all carrying guns and they might not like strangers and photographers talking to them! Luckily, the group we met are good people and they had welcomed and showed us all their bird hunting stuffs (guns, bird caller gadget, etc..). They own 2 falcons with them and they gave us chance to capture some images of the falcons.

During the photo shoot, they have offered us tea and showed us the meal of the day :P Yummy? :D

Lunch under process :P


 Ready to eat! :D

They were really friendly and they gave us their stuffs to play too. It was an awesome day and we had loads of fun other than photography. They also gave us some tips and information about birds (specifically about falcons). We were informed that falcons would normally appear before sunrise (at dawn) and will hide once the sun is up in the horizon.

It is amazing how the kids are so trained in loading guns and shooting birds. I have seen a young 6-8 year old kid loads a gun and shoots a target in no time :P
 

We bid our goodbye to the family and thank them for the warm welcome. Leaving the area, i was happy but then sad at the same time as I 'm not sure if it has really occur to them that they are posing a threat to different species of birds of which can lead to their extinction because of their hobby.

Walking back to our cars, I saw a nicely-shaped dead tree from the area as well (I'm calling it The Dragon tree :P). 

Fixing my car before leaving. Gas tank almost empty :P

Another day on October 11 2013

We did one more expedition to check for birds.

This time we went really early following the Kuwaiti hunter's advice. We left Salmiya at around 3:30am to reach the area in time with full of hopes to see even just one bird to shoot.

But as usual.. it was an empty trip for birds. :P We couldn't find any hunters or birds that day and so we decided to just stay there till the sunrise and have some sun rise shoots in the desert. (The weather was freezingggg that day by the way! :P)

Although we are not lucky enough to  find any birds, I was happy and satisfied with my lonely tree images and my friend's silhouettes.

Special Thanks to Manoj, Sandeep, Kiran and Karen for this wonderful trip. ;)