After the disappointing 2-days with respect to migrants, I opted to sleep in on the last day of the holiday's and enjoy some leisurely sea-watching from Ras Salmiya. Of course today had no wind, but it was blue sky and really pleasant temperatures.
I found a good spot in the shade, chilled and enjoyed what was passing by or floating on the sea. The Common Black-headed Gull's are still here, but some now sporting breeding plumage in preparation for the journey back north
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| Common Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) |
Continental Great Cormorants were roosting on the bollards near the harbour entrance and every now and then flew out to sea, returning later
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| Continental Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax sinensis) |
A few ended up foraging below me and with the water quite clear, I could see them for some time after they submerged
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| Continental Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax sinensis) |
Two Pallid Swift made a brief appearance overhead before disappearing
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| Pallid Swift (Apus pallidus) |
Slender-billed Gulls, our resident Gull, were much more inconspicuous and only this 1st-year bird remained close to shore
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| Slender-billed Gull (Chroicocephalus genei) |
There were some larger Gulls present, here a Steppe being harassed by a Heuglin's. The Caspian disappeared
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| Steppe (Larus f. barabensis) and Heuglin's Gull (Larus f. heuglini) |
But the Heuglin's gave a victory fly by
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| Heuglin's Gull (Larus f. heuglini) |
There were also younger Gull's present, but ID is tricky (at least for me)
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| Gull sp |
There was some fun interaction and piracy with a Heuglin's Gull chasing and stealing a small fish away from a smaller Common Black-headed Gull; Arabian Gulf bully!
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| Gull piracy |
Later I watched as the Slender-billed Gull competed for and lost a fish to a Continental Great Cormorant which was quite amusing. If you look closely in the 2nd image, you can see the fish trying to make it's getaway
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| Hit and miss |
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| There it is... |
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| Damn! |
Of course being Kuwait, some of the Jet Skiers are now out and showing off for those watching from the Corniche
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| Jet Ski |
And some impressive boats cruise by, this one with a fishing Dhow in the background
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| Luxury |
All in all quite a pleasant and unstressed 'summers' morning on the coast.
I will leave you with this creative view of Kuwait City Skyline from Ras Salmiya
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| Kuwait City |
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