Raptor fest

Week 40; 30 September 2020 - Al Abraq

I was up early this morning and headed west to Abraq as there was favourable raptor movement reported earlier in the week. It seems the raptors are now favouring the west of Kuwait which is closer to the topographical landmark of Wadi Batin, as they head south to their summer wintering grounds.

At the farm I met up with Khaled Alghanem and Abdulrahman Al-Sirhan where we had a most enjoyable morning. There were lower numbers, but this was made up with quality and we recorded an impressive 14 Raptor species, in 4-hours from this site.

I had a clean sweep of all the Accipiter's which was a first for me, for all the time I have been in Kuwait; 

Asian Shikra

Asian Shikra (Accipiter b. cenchroides)

the uncommon Levant Sparrowhawk

Levant Sparrowhawk (Accipiter brevipes)

the even scarcer Northern Goshawk

Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis)

and plenty European Sparrowhawk's - perched in the early morning

Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus)

and in flight later in the morning

Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus)

Of course there were also Buzzards, the predominant being Steppe, as is expected

Steppe Buzzard (Buteo b. vulpinus)

They were supplemented with Honey

European Honey Buzzard (Pernis apivorus)

and a single Crested (just missing Long-legged to make this family a clean sweep)

Crested Honey Buzzard (Pernis ptilorhynchus)

In the mix, both Black-eared and Black Kite

Black-eared Kite (Milvus m. lineatus)

Black Kite (Milvus migrans)

Pallid Harrier

Pallid Harrier (Circus macrourus)

and Marsh Harrier's

Western Marsh Harrier (Circus aeruginosus)

A couple of Eurasian Hobby's

Eurasian Hobby (Falco subbuteo)

With respect to the larger raptors, there was Booted Eagle

Booted Eagle (Hieraaetus pennatus)

and a couple of Steppe Eagles that passed by high overhead

Steppe Eagle (Aquila nipalensis)

I didn't pay much attention to any passerines, as the raptors were just too enchanting to watch. But, I put in quite some effort for my first Red-breasted Flycatcher of this autumn

Red-breasted Flycatcher (Ficedula parva)

This was certainly one of the better Raptor days by Kuwait standards that we all thoroughly enjoyed