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 the area but work, circumstances and weather will be against me. Lets just wait and see what comes along.