Muscat: Noted nature photographer Haitham Ghalib Al Shanfari has been regaling his followers on social media such as Twitter and Instagram with his brilliant candid bird shots. The life-like images are complimented with the Omani’s lucid narration that capture his unique relation with the birds and other creatures that he snaps.
He says 2020 has seen him crisscross the Dhofar region in search of the migratory and other unique birds of the region. “Twelve days of travel covering a distance of 95km to follow and photograph white-eyed Ethiopian bird, saw the bird come out, resulting in rare and different images of various stages of its growth,” notes Haitham about a series of amazing photographs of a white-eyed Ethiopian bird, feeding its chicks.
Haitham also captures his subjects in close-framed videos that are the results of long-hours of painstaking awaiting for the birds to come into frame. His video of the White Eye Abyssinian, which is one of the birds residing in Dhofar that breeds in the beginning of the autumn season and considered one of the smallest birds in the Sultanate, lapped many views, as the video showed the tiny cute bird hopping into the frame, for an appointment with Haitham at 9pm.
Another popular view shows an Arabian chameleon, camouflaged in green, shoot its long tongue out to catch its prey, and it is shown coming into the frame with a happy face. An equally interesting video shows a bird that goes still like a stone when it spots someone in the vicinity.
“As I spend a lot of time on my photographic tours from east to west of Dhofar to search for the nests of migratory and resident birds, I was able to monitor and photograph many nests and understand the behaviours of some nesting birds, including this beautiful bird Spotted Curlew,” adds Haitham as he introduces this lovely bird that is framed in all its cuteness and fine details.
