A smattering of migrants

Week 19, 10 May 2014 - Sabah Al Ahmad Sea City

The spring migration starts tapering off in May, so any migrants seen are still a bonus.

I was back down in the south at the impressive Sea City Project and spent some time on the water and walking the islands.

Today the islands were the most productive and I enjoyed picking up some of the tail-end migrants.

Shrikes are still passing through and I had Lesser Grey

Lesser Grey Shrike (Lanius minor)

Red-backed

Red-backed Shrike (Lanius collurio)

and Turkestan (this species was more prevalent this migration than Daurian)

Turkestan Shrike (Lanius phoenicuroides)

A few Spotted Flycatchers were also present where the habitat was a little more dense. This is my favourite image of the day

Spotted Flycatcher (Muscicapa striata)

A shadow moving quickly on the ground alerted me to look up - Eurasian Hobby, a first for the project checklist and also made me appreciate the AI focus of the 1DM4 even with a 1,4 extender on the big glass!

Eurasian Hobby (Falco subbuteo) having just plucked some prey; see the feathers on it's bill

Common Whitethroat

Common Whitethroat (Sylvia communis)

and Lesser Whitethroat were seen

Lesser Whitethroat (Sylvia curruca)

A male Common Rock Thrush was an unexpected surprise and a bird that I just sat an enjoyed as it fed on a beetle.

Male Common Rock Thrush (Monticola saxatilis)

The tiny Western Pygmy Blue butterflies were still present, this is a new species of butterfly that I have discovered for Kuwait.

Western Pygmy Blue (Brephidium exilis)

Heading back to the mainland, a Western Osprey was another surprise this late in the year. This bird was feeding on a fish on the beach and took flight even though we kept our distance.

Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)