Mission Impossible

“The magic you are looking for is in the work you’re avoiding.”

34 photosBirds, mammals, reptiles & amphibiansLebanon & UAE

Al Hermel · Bekaa · Lebanon

The photos I almost didn’t get. Endangered species, first records, birds that turn up once in years, and animals that took weeks of waiting to see. Each one comes with its story.

Rare matingLebanon
Black-winged Kite
A pair mating and building their nest together. Black-winged Kites are very rarely photographed mating in Lebanon, so I stayed with them and followed the whole story, from courtship to nest.
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VagrantUAE
Lesser NoddyAnous tenuirostris
A rare visitor to the UAE. Until recently it had been recorded only about ten times, though small groups have lately turned up off Ra's Dibba.
Species page
VagrantUAE
Red-footed BoobySula sula
A vagrant to the UAE, with no resident or wintering birds. By 2023 it had been seen here only seven times in 45 years, far from its tropical ocean waters.
Species page
Hard to getLebanon
Rock Hyrax
They live among the rocks on steep cliffs, in terrain that is hard to reach and harder to move through quietly. Only about one trip in four to photograph them ends in success.
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Hard to getLebanon
Great Spotted Cuckoo
I saw it on three separate occasions, and each time it got away. Then, after a long wait, it landed exactly where I wanted. It stayed for three seconds, and three seconds were enough.
Species page
Hard to getLebanon
Tawny Owl
An owl in flight, at night, with almost no light to work with. It took weeks of trial and error, failed attempts and late nights before everything finally came together for this shot.
Species page
Hard to getLebanon
European Badger
Badgers see poorly but have a powerful sense of smell, so one wrong move and they are gone. Getting this close means sitting completely still, unnoticed, for as long as it takes.
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Hard to getLebanon
White-throated Kingfisher
A full-body close-up after months of trying. It never sat on the spot I wanted, and never close enough, until one day it finally did and stayed there for a few whole minutes.
Species page
Hard to getLebanon
Little Bittern
One second, three shots. The Little Bittern is a small, secretive heron that hides in the reeds and gives you almost no time, so everything has to be ready before it appears.
Species page
Hard to getLebanon
Barn Owl
In attack mode, flying at night. It took 40 hours of waiting in the dark and every trick in the book to get the perfect shot of this silent night hunter.
Species page
First RecordLebanon
Three-banded Plover
A migrant from Africa and, in March 2023, the first record of this species in Lebanon, credited to Michel Sawan. Getting this photo was an adventure of its own: I almost got robbed.
Species page
Hard to getLebanon
Long-eared Owl
Landing at night. I was sitting in the dark waiting for the Barn Owl when this beauty showed up instead, a complete surprise, and I could not have been happier.
Species page
Near ThreatenedLebanon
Ferruginous Duck
I photographed this one without knowing how threatened it is. Only later did I learn it is listed as Near Threatened, which turned an ordinary day at the water into a special record.
Species page
Rare to seeLebanon
Pied Kingfisher
Very few in Lebanon. My first encounter: ten minutes, a perfect spot and a good distance, so I took as many photos as I could. This one completed Lebanon's three kingfishers for me.
Species page
RareLebanon
Diadem Snake
First recorded in Lebanon in June 2021. This one, found on 25 February 2024, is only the sixth record in the country, which makes every new sighting count.
Species page
Rare to seeLebanon
Syrian SpadefootPelobates syriacus
One of the least widespread amphibians in Lebanon. It spends most of its life buried underground and only comes out on wet nights, which makes finding one a rare event.
Species page
VulnerableLebanon
Gunther’s Cylindrical SkinkChalcides guentheri
A small, secretive skink listed as Vulnerable. It spends most of its time hidden under stones and leaf litter and slips out of sight in seconds, so sightings are few.
Species page
EndangeredLebanon
Lebanese Thin-toed Gecko
Endangered and found only on high rocky ground in the Mount Lebanon range and Mount Hermon, where its habitat keeps shrinking. Photographed on 13 March 2024.
Species page
EndangeredLebanon
Lebanon Mountain ViperMontivipera bornmuelleri
Endangered and found only on rocky mountain slopes, roughly between 1,000 and 2,200 m. Coming across one takes long climbs, patience and a lot of luck.
Species page
Rare to seeLebanon
Schokari Sand RacerPsammophis schokari
Small, fast and very rarely encountered. This snake is usually gone before you have time to lift the camera, so a clear, sharp photo of one is a real reward.
Species page
ElusiveLebanon
Stone Marten
I have thousands of photos from the Lebanese wilderness and many, many encounters behind me, yet this was my first real chance to catch a Stone Marten on camera.
Species page
Hard to getLebanon
Least Weasel
Common, but very hard to find. A tip about a nest meant an 8-hour round trip and 2 hours of waiting, all for ten minutes of photos. Worth every minute of that crazy trip.
Species page
Rare to seeLebanon
Citrine Wagtail
A scarce passage migrant in Lebanon, stopping only briefly on its way through. Birdwatchers and photographers here treat every sighting as a notable event.
Species page
EndangeredUAE
Arabian Collared KingfisherTodiramphus chloris kalbaensis
Photographed at the Khor Kalba mangroves, almost the only place this kingfisher lives. Around 55 pairs or fewer remain, and it is listed as Endangered in the UAE.
Species page
Rare MigrantUAE
Black Drongo
A vagrant or very rare migrant, with only 16 UAE sightings between 1986 and 2021. Then in 2022, a pair was even seen breeding in Dubai's Mushrif Park.
Species page
Rare MigrantUAE
Bay-backed Shrike
A rare migrant to the UAE, mostly in spring, with the odd bird staying for the winter and a single breeding record. Every sighting still draws birders out.
Species page
Hard to getUAE
Pallid SwiftApus pallidus
Swifts can top 110 km/h, with darting, high-speed turns that make them incredibly hard to photograph. This shot was all about timing, patience and a bit of luck.
Species page
Vagrant MigrantUAE
White-crowned WheatearOenanthe leucopyga
A vagrant in the UAE, with fewer than twenty records so far. Its visits are rare and not part of any regular migration, so there is no telling when the next one will appear.
Species page
RareUAE
Indian Paradise FlycatcherTerpsiphone paradisi
A female, and only the 3rd record for the UAE, found in Ras Al Khaimah by Luke Johnson on 29 March 2025. A bird of South and Central Asia, rarely seen this far west.
1st RecordUAE
Short-tailed ShearwaterArdenna tenuirostris
The 1st record for the UAE, found by Khalifa Al Dhaheri, Nasir Almehrzi and Huw Roberts on 26 April 2025. A Pacific seabird, thousands of kilometres from home.
Species page
Critically EndangeredUAE
Keyserling's Wonder GeckoTeratoscincus keyserlingii
Critically Endangered in the UAE. It lives in scattered patches of sandy desert from Abu Dhabi to Ras Al Khaimah, and new development and roads keep breaking up what is left.
Species page
Near ThreatenedUAE
Eurasian OystercatcherHaematopus ostralegus
Near Threatened worldwide due to habitat loss, human disturbance and climate change. A winter visitor to UAE shores, wary and very hard to get close to.
Species page
Rarely SeenUAE
Desert HedgehogParaechinus aethiopicus
Listed as Least Concern worldwide, yet rarely seen in the wild because of its secretive, night-time habits. Spotting one means long nights out in the desert, and some luck.
Species page
Critically EndangeredUAE
Sociable LapwingVanellus gregarius
Critically Endangered after a steep decline across its Central Asian breeding range. Illegal hunting along its migration route is one of the biggest threats it faces.
Species page