Berry good

Birds in the UAE have it tough as it is a desert country, but the parks, amusement gardens, farming areas and green road verges have solved some of their problems. These green covers provide shelter when temperatures shoot up in summer, while providing breeding places.

Food and water

Food and water are the most important constituents for survival in a desert country. The irrigation, accumulation of dew on leaves and bark and occasional rain provide the water. Most ornamental flower-bearing plants and fruit trees provide food to birds. Warblers and their cousins are basically insect-eaters, occasionally supplementing their food with spiders and larvae of insects. However, a few of them are known to eat fleshy fruit when these are available in their neighbourhood.

Mulberry bush

On a visit to Hatta, I was passing by an isolated farm when I heard an unfamiliar twitter. I parked a few metres away from a mulberry tree laden with fully ripened berries. Within an hour, I found two blackcap sylvia atricapilla come out and enjoy the berries dotting the topmost twigs.
The blackcap is a bird of northern and temperate Europe, migrating to southern Europe and Africa in winter. Some pass through the UAE during winter. Africa also has its own resident blackcap population.