The day started as had the week, with a fleeting glimpse of a small bird of prey shooting over the rooftops.  The most common falcon is the Common Kestrel but I have yet to see one and I cannot definately say that this bird was this species. Yet another that got away.
Towards the evening walking back from dinner i noticed a larger than usual amount of swallows, I grabbed my bins and spent some time at one of my view points.  Eventually I watched swallows in there hundreds moving from a general North to South, maybe slightly Southeast. I cannot explain this and will check tonight to see if a similar event occurs.  I check all the birds I could and they all seemed to be Barn Swallows.

A week has passed and very little has happened.  In the middle of the week I thought I heard a Warbler, I was on the way to a meeting and couldn't stop, on my return the bird had gone.  My initial thoughts were a type of Sylvia Warbler, something akin to Whitethroat but less scratchy. Another one thats got away.
I did see my second Collared Dove this morning as it flew into the trees at the back of the Football pitch.
Doris' second brood has hatched, I could see two small bundles of feathers as I peeked into the nest, when Doris was away on a foray, here's crossing fingers for more succes.

Yesterday I spent a few hours on the football field that I can often see but I can't usually visit.  Swallows were a constant and I managed to see at least one Red-rumped.  A stroll arond the edge and I chanced across the Long-tailed Shrike. He/she began to utter a "tac" contact call and it was soon joined by another. This leads me to believe that they are definately breeding in this area.  Anybody's thoughts on nest construction, position etc would be much appreciated.
I managed to see yet another new butterfly,this had the colouration of a Brimstone with black wing edge markings. 

Lately it has been extrememly quiet with no new birds and indeed no sightings of the less frequent species.  Sparrows and Mynas are still breeding and today I noticed that Doris was back on her nest.  On inspection I found two small white eggs.  Hopefully she will succeed in raising these as she did her last brood.

Yesterday evening I was talking outside our offices at dusk. Although not completely dark the sun was well down, gradually I registered the call of a bee-eater as it approached, passed overhead and moved off.  To me this seemed unusual but bee-eater is not a frequent visitor to my home shores so I am not that aware of their nocturnal habits.
One definate night flyer was this moth that I found in our building in the morning.  Up close it has a very strange marking on its back. I will keep my eye out for any other species of moth.

The last few days have been relatively quiet birdwise with just the regular species. Breeding is still going on full swing with Mynas, Doves and Sparrows still nesting.  I did see the Shrike this morning on his favourite tree, I quickly grabbed my camera and he gave me 15 seconds on a nearby branch as he moved around the tree firstly flushing a sparrow and then a Myna, it is obviousy very protective of this ideal view point.  I have attached a photo but it is by no means ideal.  I will as usual endeavour to get a better image.
I saw a new butterfly yesterday, another white but very similar to the british Marbled  White, anyone out there who knows their Afghanistan butterfllies, any advice or help is much appreciated.

All the birds this morning were the usual fair, the mynas were chasing the mynas, the sparrows were chasing the sparrows, a magpie was rasping near the top of a tree and a Long-tailed Shrike was using a football goalpost as a vantage point from which to spy prey in the grass.  The swallows are constantly in the air but all seem to be Barn, I have only seen a few Red-rumped in one area.
I have seen a few more butterflies but they all seem to be a kind of white.

Yesterday morning Doris' second chick had left the nest.  Once again I didn't see the bird fly but I have seen quite a few Palm Doves around our building today so I just hope it fledged Ok.
I have been confined to the office so no real birding opportunities in the last couple of days.

I have been particularly busy the last couple of days, but I did manage to get out for an hour yesterday morning.  I wandered up to the vantage point I talked about earlier, which looks across an area of scrubland, after a few minutes, I saw a bird flying towards me that I immediately recognised as my favourite european bird, a Hoopoe Upupa epops, unfortunately I couldn't see where the bird landed as a high wall seperated us. Soon a second bird joined the first in the same position.  I watched both birds fly off in different directions and return with food.  This happened repeatedly over the next 30 minutes.  I can only assume that on the other side of the wall was a nest with a fairly well grown chick or chicks.  I will check again in a few days.
One of Doris' chicks has gone missing, as they are fairly well developed I am hoping that it has fledged and that the second chick is just a little bit lazier.  I can find no evidence of any misfortune, so my fingers are crossed.
Late last night I was walking back to my room and could see a few bats flying in the street lamps, once again I have no idea what species.

Today I saw three butterflies, the first I have seen since I got here. One was fritillary like and the other two were a type of white.  Later I went exploring and found an elevated part of our area looking out over a grassy field.  This proved to be very popular with hirundines and resulted in a new species for this trip and indeed a lifer, amongst the swooping birds were three Red-rumped Swallows Hirundo daurica. I will be visiting this area again, hopefully for some photos and anything else that may turn up. 
Later I had another piece of luck, I was walking back from my dinner when I noticed a bird circling above, I immeditely recognised it as a Bee-eater, a few seconds later it called and confirmed my ID.  This was a European Bee-eater Merops apiaster but by the time I had grabbed my camera it had drifted off and I could hear it calling in the distance.

An early morning visit to Doris' nest, had me panicking at first, as the two young weren't on the nest.  A few seconds later I was relieved to find them a few metres along the pipe sleeping side by side. This didn't last long as mother retuned and a feeding frenzy took place. Only one young seemed to get all the food, but I sure this will even out as both young seem to be healthy.

I once again went looking for the Golden oriole and sure enough heard him straight away.  I finally found him high in the top of the tree that he seems too favour.  For such a colourful bird he can be extremely hard to find in the treetop canopy.  I have attached a photo but in the long run I would hope to get a much better image of this beautiful bird.  The highlight of the day was not a bird but an amazing hail storm, after suddenly going dark, a deluge of hail hit our area and lasted for about 10 minutes. The local workers tell me that this is not unusual.

This morning turned out very well, The Golden Oriole was calling and whilst trying to find it, I located the Shrike out on the end of a limb. From the distant photos I managed to get, I am sure that is a Lond-tailed Shrike Larius schach erythronotus.  Hopefully it will behalf and I will get better shots another day. There were two Magpies in the garden area too.
I am sure now that all the sparrows that I am seeing are montanus, I will keep searching for any variations.
I checked on Doris today, the resident nesting Palm Dove, and her two chicks seem to be doing well, although it would seem that they will soon outgrow the nest.

One of our resident Sparrows.

Two palm Dove chicks near the door to our building

I visted the Garden early this morning but could neither see nor hear the Golden Oriole.  I did however briefly see ashrike that i had seen yesterday, but as yet I haven't had a good enough view to identify the species.

I noticed the sparrows were taking nestig material into the holes under the small pavilions (see pic below) and I also saw one pair displaying.  Another pair are utilising a crack in the garden wall.

I was talking to a local and he asked if I had seen the parrots! I know they do get Rose-ringed here, so I should catch up with them eventually.  More time in the field is the answer.  Attached is my first pic of an obliging Common Myna.

Not far from my base are some Gardens, these are generally used for relaxing having a coffee etc. Though not very big, they are interspersed with trees and have a water feature at the centre.  I knew this would probably be my best bet for new species and will endeavour to visit this site regularly early morning, now that I am over my jetlag and the initial onslaught of a new job.  This morning, an early morning visit was rewarded with the sight of a beautiful yellow bird, a Golden Oriole Oriolus oriolus.  I had heard the distinctive call for a few days so was determined to get a good view, I was helped by a gentleman who watched the same bird every morning and pointed out the various trees which the bird frequented. I told him I would be back tomorrow with my camera.  On the way back I had another surprise two Black-billed Magpies Pica pica. These were in a tree not far from my work so I probably had been unlucky not to see them earlier.  Another couple of species, lets hope the trend continues.

Firstly an apology, I didn't get too right in my blog the next day as promised, I was just far too busy.  Excuses made, a bit about my new home. As stated I am in Kabul and my location has quite a lot of trees and bushes but very little variation in habitat.  My first bird here was a Common Myna, these are numerous and relatively tame. Sparrows are also common but these have all proved to be European Tree Sparrow Passer montanus.  I will continue searching through them but I have yet to find a House or Spanish.  The only other species seen so far is Palm or Laughing Dove Streptopelia senegalensis.  This I have seen in courtship display and so far have found three nests, one of which is just outside the door to my building. The female seems to be constantly present with no sign of a partner, she has two quite young chicks, that I would estimate are one to two weeks old and seem to be doing well.  My colleagues have named her "Doris" and are all keen to see the youngsters fledge.  I will try to get a few images over the next couple of days. 

This is my first entry and you find me preparing myself for the trip ahead. So far I have Camera and Binoculars ready and enough Compact Flash cards to keep me going.  My laptop has Canon Zoom Browser loaded and I have been doing some homework.  Books wise I have Collins, Birds of Britain and Europe, Birds of the Middle East by Helm and A Fieldguide to the Birds of the Indian Subcontinent by Kris Kazmierczak et al. Hopefully this should cover all the birds I am likely to see.  Obviously my movements will be limited, so my first target is 30 species, a small number compared to some lists I have seen from this area, but work, circumstances and weather will be against me. Lets just wait and see what comes along.