23 March 2020

Lockdown - Day 8

Week 12; 19 March 2020 - Fnaitees and Abu Hassania

I literally am in self-isolation as my car is in the garage for some major surgery, so the only option I have is to walk around where I live and cross the freeway to the beach at Abu Hassania.

Late yesterday afternoon a walk around the suburb to minimise cabin fever I was struck that the footprints of the new houses going up leave no room at all for any garden or green on the plot which is quite sad. I noted a few Pallid Swifts overhead

Pallid Swoft (Apus pallidus)

And once the sun had set, a lone Northern Wheatear in some scrubby area with a lot of building litter

Northern Wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe)

Today I had an early morning walk across the Fahaheel Expressway to Abu Hassania beach with little to no people around. There were not many birds to be seen, so I focused on the few butterflies I came across; first up Mediterranean Pierrot

Mediterranean Pierrot (Tarucus rosaceus)

and then a gorgeous female Pea or Long-tailed Blue

Pea Blue (Lampides boeticus)

In one section of habitat just in from the beach there was a small alates eruption and a number of birds were taking advantage of the winged protein. Willow Warblers were the most numerous

Willow Warbler (Phylloscopus trochilus)

A single Lesser Whitethroat got into the mix

Central Asian Lesser Whitethroat (Sylvia c. halimodendri)

The CatE Oriental Magpie-Robin that I had found earlier this year was still present in the same area and also tucking in

Oriental Magpie-Robin (Copsychus saularis)

But I had the most fun with the aerial antics of the White-eared Bulbul's taking the small flying ants in the air

White-eared Bulbul (Pycnonotus leucotis)



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