Lockdown - Day 128

Week 29; 17 July 2020 - Pivot Fields and Abdullah Al Salem

I knew it was going to be an uncomfortable morning when I saw condensation on the outside of my apartment windows and so it was with 70% humidity which is irregular in Kuwait. Luckily the condensation on all my optics and glasses dissipated on the drive to the farm which is 30km inland.

Even at the farm it didn't take long for my shirt to be soaked after a brief walk at the marsh where there wasn't much about, although I did get a fleeting glimpse of the Black-winged Kite as it departed. I did find a very young Graceful Prinia though

Juvenile Graceful Prinia (Prinia gracilis)

And one of the three Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters that have decided to stay at the farm for the summer

Blue-cheeked Bee-eater (Merops persicus)

There was also a Dragonfly which I still need to get identified

Dragonfly sp

I then moved to the shallow pool with more open habitat around the pool and saw that wader numbers had increased since last week, including many more Ruff

Ruff (Philomachus pugnax)

Together with a single Black-winged Pratincole

Black-winged Pratincole (Glareola nordmanni)

and Spur-winged Lapwing

Spur-winged Lapwing (Vanellus spinosus)

It was too uncomfortable to be out of the car for a long period, so on a drive around the farm, I found Crested Lark together with Black-crowned Sparrow-Lark sitting together in the little shade provided by the telephone pole

Crested Lark (Galerida cristata) together with Black-crowned Sparrow-Lark (Eremopterix nigriceps)

This moulting or is it shedding Spiny-tailed Lizard was quite obliging for a change - perhaps also wilting in the humid conditions

Arabian Spiny-tailed Lizard (Uromastyx aegyptia microlepis)

Later in the afternoon I was in the garden where we found the Purple Sunbirds earlier in the year. A few Eurasian Blackcap's have been present here all summer, so we were hoping to locate a nest to prove breeding - but no luck. We will have to keep a lookout for any juveniles. I did photograph these two Dragonflies, which I also need to identify

Dragonfly sp.

Dragonfly sp.