A Full House

Week 41, 09 October 2015 - Jahra Pools

I spent a quick 2-hours in Jahra Pools in the late afternoon and came away with a full house; trip Kings and a pair of raptors..

White-throated Kingfisher is a breeding resident and the most common Kingfisher in Kuwait

White-throated Kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis) checking out a Marsh Harrier passing by over the reeds

Common Kingfisher is a scarce passage migrant

Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis)

As is Pied Kingfisher, although this year Kuwait, together with the rest of the Region has had an 'eruption of sorts' for this species. I converted one image to B+W - which do you prefer?

Pied Kingfisher (Ceryle rudis)

The 'pair' of raptors included the more common Steppe Buzzard

Steppe Buzzard (Buteo b. vulpinus)

as well as the now annual Black-winged Kite which had come in to roost for the night

Black-winged Kite (Elanus caeruleus vociferus)

I guess, the last image is the Joker - but I love the reflection, serenity and dark tones of this Little Grebe image

Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis)

Autumn passerines

Week 40, 03 October 2015 - Sabah Al Ahmad Sea City

After my obligatory McDonald's breakfast, I stopped on route to the Sea City project to check out some desert habitat that has some ground water.

In amongst a few Western Yellow Wagtails was a single Citrine - my first record for the south of Kuwait

Citrine Wagtail (Motacilla citreola)

A pair of Common Kestrel's had stopped for a drink in the same area, but didn't stay long

Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus)

Wheatear's were represented by Isabelline

Isabelline Wheatear (Oenanthe isabellina)

and Northern

Female Northern Wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe)

Out on the boat, I checked a few off-shore buoys and found roosting Lesser Crested Terns

Lesser Crested Tern (Sterna bengalensis)

A number of Socotra Cormorants

1cy Socotra Cormorant (Phalacrocorax nigrogularis)

And a single 1cy White-cheeked Tern

1cy White-cheeked Tern (Chlidonias leucopterus)

with a Purple Heron enjoying the warm sun on the beach

Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea)

Exploring some other desert habitat, I came across a few late passerine migrants; a skulking Eurasian Blackcap

Female Eurasian Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla)

Garden Warbler

Garden Warbler (Sylvia borin)

And undoubtedly the best bird of the day - Hume's Whitethroat

Hume's Whitethroat (Sylvia althaea)

Although a male Byzantine/South Caspian Stonechat wasn't too be discounted either

Male South Caspian Stonechat (Saxicola m. variegatus)

However, a few Tree Pipit's

Tree Pipit (Anthus trivialis) in a Tree......

and Spotted Fly's rounded off the day..

Spotted Flycatcher (Muscicapa striata)

Raptor Route

Week 39, 26 September 2015 - Mutla'a to Jahra

I was hoping to catch-up with the raptor migration that had started earlier in the week and made my first stop at the site on the coast where large numbers of Steppe Buzzards roost overnight.....

The thought, you should have been here yesterday sprung to mind - as there was not a single Buzzard to be seen - at all! Just a solitary Pallid Harrier and that was it.....

Pallid Harrier (Circus macrourus)

I cut my losses and headed north to Mutla'a Ranch, finding another Pallid Harrier flying adjacent to the freeway.

Pallid Harrier (Circus macrourus)

Once at Mutla'a it was also pretty quiet, from a raptor perspective, other than a some Greater Short-toed Larks

Greater Short-toed Lark (Calandrella brachydactyla)

A few Tree Pipits

Tree Pipit (Anthus trivialis)

and a single Ortolan Bunting.

Ortolan Bunting (Emberiza hortulana)

A final drive around the farm before I moved on, did produce a few raptors, as by now it had warmed a little and there were thermals to assist. First up was a Steppe Buzzard

Steppe Buzzard (Buteo b. vulpinus)

Followed shortly by a dark phase Booted Eagle

Booted Eagle (Hieraaetus pennatus)

Birds eye view

And a young Egyptian Vulture, which is always great to see

Egyptian Vulture (Caprimulgus aegyptius)

From the farm, I headed to lower elevation near the coast and stopped by Jahra Pools where a Long-legged Buzzard cruised by overhead

Long-legged Buzzard (Buteo rufinus)

But a few 1cy Black-eared Kites had dropped in to drink and were just leaving the pool as I came down the road. A few of these birds over-winter in Kuwait

Black-eared Kite (Milvus m. lineatus)

Other birds of interest was a group of Little Egrets hunting in the same pool.

Little Egret stand-off (Egretta garzetta)

A trio of Little Egret (Egretta garzetta)

There was a good number of young Purple Herons about to - here a portrait of one

Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea) portrait

A couple of Grey Herons also dropped in to feed in the shallow pools.

Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea)

A winter plumage Citrine Wagtail on the other side of the pool, was of interest.

A distant Citrine Wagtail (Motacilla citreola)

On the invertebrate side, I recorded a number of butterfly species today;

Asian Grass Blue

Asian Grass Blue (Zizeeria karsandra karsandra)

Mediterranean Pierrot

Mediterranean Pierrot (Tarucus rosaceus)

Quite a few Pea or Long-tailed Blues

A pair of Pea Blue's (Lampides boeticus) in cop

Pea Blue (Lampides boeticus)

and a good number of Salmon Arabs which added a splash of colour to the desert flora

Salmon Arab (Madais fausta fausta)

So, after a slow start, it turned out to be a fairly good morning..

Owling the night away

Week 39, 25 September 2015 - Desert area in the west

Earlier in the week, there had been confirmed reports of Barn Owl, a species I had not yet connected with in Kuwait (although I had seen two deceased birds that had been hit by cars on the freeways).

We suspect it may be a resident species, but it is considered scarce in Kuwait.

We arrived in the general area around 8pm at night and this is a special time to be in the desert; it is quiet and takes some time to get your orientation. A few of my local birding friends were already there and had briefly seen the bird.

We tried in a different area and after some time, my son picked up a flying Nightjar in the spotlight, followed shortly by a much bigger and paler bird; the Barn Owl. There was no opportunity to get a picture, as it flew over us, quartered and then disappeared back into the night.

We waited around for some time and then agreed it wasn't going to return, so we focused on some of the Nightjars we had seen hunting on the wing. All the birds we saw were Egyptian, but it took some patience to eventually get close to one that was roosting on the ground. Flash as the primary source of light, isn't always the most flattering - but I'm happy that these are not too 'artificial'. It will take a few more images to get the optimum exposure, but the subject doesn't always give you the opportunity to practice

Egyptian Nightjar (Caprimulgus aegyptius)

Near some water we also found an unexpected Green Toad. According to the IUCN Red Data List, the status of Green Toads in Israel, Jordan, Sinai (Egypt) and of the isolated, relict population in the southern Hadramaut in southwestern Saudi Arabia is currently unclear and it is possible these populations should be included within either Bufotes variabilis or Bufotes boulengeri pending further review

Green Toad (Bufotes variabilis or boulengeri)

We will plan to get out there again, as I need to improve the images and also to see if we have better luck with the Ghost of the Night