Flamingos

The UAE sits in the migratory path of flamingos as they are traveling from Iran & Iraq toward East Africa. Prior to the massive expansion seen in Dubai, there used to be a bird sanctuary (Ras al Khor) that sat on the outskirts of town. Now, the sanctuary is still there, but it's no longer on the outskirts of town. It's in the middle of town.

On a clear day (which today is NOT) I can see from my office over to the sactuary that is on the horizon. Today, the horizon is a beigey haze of dust (have I ever mentioned how dusty this place gets?) As Dubai has expanded, the limits of the sanctuary have been redrawn (smaller of course). Now they're planning some housing development called Flamingos. And wouldn't you know it will border right onto the water. But still - a fairly generous plot of mud and salt flats have been set aside for them.

We regularly travel past the bird sanctuary. There are a few byways where you can pull off to stop and then go out to these "hides" that have been built out into the mud flats. We've always said, "next time we'll need to stop and see." And finally - a few weeks ago - we did! It was lovely. We were able to get quite close to the birds as they were standing there eating. Every once in a while a small group would head off and with their long spindly legs it looked very much like they were marching in unison. A few would take off or soar by our hide and then land nearby. The feathers on their underwings have really stunning colors.

The hides that were built use a traditional Arabic building style called wind tunnels. In the days before A/C, these were built to help cool the houses and buildings. They look like super fat chimneys sticking up above the rooftop levels. As winds go by, they have cross-walls that catch the breeze and direct it down into the building. We were amazed to find how effective they were at keeping the bird observation buildings a super comfortable temperature on a hot day. We're anxious to go back now that the super sweltering days of summer have set in to see what it's like on a 40 degree day.