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100 members arid guests. The afternoon followed the usual sequence 
of three talks combined with official 'business' of the AGM proper. 
Water is one of the most important elements influencing the 
distribution of birds in the Middle East and all of the talks 
reflected this. Arthur Stagg started proceedings with a fascinating 
account of the effects of rural and urban development on the 
avifauna of the Riyadh region. All too often the word development 
is synonymous with habitat loss but here the exact opposite has been 
the case. From 1970 onwards, using the country's oil wealth, the 
region's vast underground water resources have been tapped to 
irrigate large areas of open desert. The resultant areas of 
cultivation are now oases for passage and wintering birds, some of 
which have completely changed their behaviour to make the most of 
the new abundance of food. Steppe Eagles, for example, have taken 
to perching on the slowly rotating arms of the irrigators, swooping 
down when prey items are disturbed by the machinery, or shuffling 
along behind the plough feeding on invertebrates! Coupled with the 
rural development has been the growth of Riyadh city which has led 
to the inevitable increase in commercial and domestic effluent. 
After a degree of purification this waste is pumped into a wadi bed 
and then naturally drains away into the desert. The result has been 
the creation of a manmade river c.45km long. Many species of wader 
which were formerly scarce migrants are now either regularly 
recorded or, as in the case of Black-winged Stilt, have become 
breeding species. The tremendous importance of the new river has 
been recognised by the authorities and the area declared a reserve 
by the National Commission for Wildlife Conservation and 
Development. Together these changes have led to an additional 201 
bird species being recorded in the region - currently 286 compared 
with the pre-19 70 figure of 85. 
The afternoon continued with a 'whistle-stop' tour of Egypt by 
David Merrie looking at the influence on birds of the country's five 
watery habitats - sea, precipitation, rivers, springs and effluent. 
Other than the internationally important populations of Little Tern 
and Kentish Plover, much of the 'news' from coastal areas is 
depressing with hunting widespread, and oil pollution along much of 
the Red Sea coast and offshore islands. Rainfall is limited but, 
because of the prevailing winds, on Jebel Elba a lush mist oasis has 
been. formed which allows many elements of the Ethiopian avifauna to 
extend northwards into Egypt. The Nile is well known for the large 
numbers of herons and wintering wildfowl it supports and the 
migration f Lyway it provides for birds of all types. Although often 
dry, wadis tend to have a more prolific growth of vegetation and 
provide habitat for many species of resident, wintering and passage 
passerines. The same can be said of Cairo, where the profusion of 
gardens and parks are of great importance to small birds. No visit 
to a country is complete without going to the local sewage farm and 
the development at Jebel Asfew, perhaps the largest in Egypt, is 
recommended. Here the settling ponds provide ideal feeding and 
breeding areas for ^ n v species of resident and passage waders and, 
