Bulletin 22 - March 1984: Recorders' Reports

Recorders' Reports

All recorders present at the AGM gave short but informative reports on activities during 1983. Recording is not actively followed by most members but each recorder has a handful of interested individuals to help him or her. Among the highlights for 1983 were two new and so far unidentified snakes, a photograph of one of which is now under study in the British Museum. Other reptile 'firsts' were the Desert monitor and Jakayari's lacertid. Seven combs of the honeybee Apis florea were reported from Abu Dhabi buildings, though sadly five were destroyed by pest control. More mammal recordings were submitted than in previous years, particularly the Arabian red fox, the commonest carnivore of the region, and the desert hare. Far more bird records were received too, mostly from Abu Dhabi, but some from offshore. One significant pattern change was the late spring migration with fewer birds. Ten new plant species were recorded, mostly from the mountains, while a survey of the entire Gulf coast vegetation was also conducted. Flint sites in the Western Region were briefly surveyed and artefacts in the workroom marked and catalogued.