Make another plan

Week 22, 02 June 2012 - Jahra Pools Reserve (JPR) (Click on images to enlarge)

This weekend we had planned a long time in advance to visit the southern islands of Kuwait, islands I had not yet visited. Unfortunately the weather man didnt get the memo and most maritime activities were cancelled due to high winds and of course dust - what would Kuwait be without dust?

The bad weather was not a deterrent for me very early Saturday morning - in fact it was clear blue sky, but still with very strong winds. I hadnt been to JPR for sometime and also wanted to see the progress on the new roads within the reserve.

There was much construction activity within the reserve, but the new roads are taking shape. Water pipes have also been provided, so that water for JPR can now be better controlled and more areas within the reserve can also now receive water, so good for birds and birders all round.

I was quite suprised to find an adult European Roller on one of the quieter roads, out of the gusting wind

Adult European Roller (Coracias garrulus)

The most common species in the pools were Black-winged Stilts - also staying near the reeds for shelter

Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus)

One of the larger pans near the fence had a few 'marsh' terns who seemed to enjoy the blowing wind as they hawked insects off the surface. Almost all were White-winged Terns in full breeding plumage

Breeding plumage White-winged Tern (Chlidonias leucopterus)

But I did pick up a single Whiskered Tern amongst the White-winged Terns.

Breeding plumage Whiskered Tern (Chlidonias hybrida)

I was fortunate to get in a little birding, despite the challenging conditions when suddenly the blue sky disappeared and the dust came rolling in, all the way from Syria according to Satellite images and stayed this way for 3-days!

To the Islands in the North

Week 20, 18 May 2012 - Boubyan and Warba Islands

We were fortunate to be able to visit Boubyan Island courtesy of the Kuwait Coastguard, to conduct a census on the birds that breed on this large island in the summer. What makes this fantastic, is that access to the island is restricted as it is a military area and in general the birds themselves appear to have no visible predators at this time of year. In general, attrition of young would be attributed to the harsh and overbearing summer temperatures.

After driving to the coastguard station, where we were made very welcome, we departed on the boat and headed in a northerly direction on a channel between the island and the mainland. A distant Osprey was observed sitting on a bouy, but more interestingly a lone Socotra Cormorant was also seen. I'm not aware of any records of this species this close to Iraq. It is known that there are two sub-populations, with the northern population breeding on the islands of the Gulf coasts of Bahrain, UAE, KSA and possibly Iran (but breeding has not been confirmed since 1972)

Socotra Cormorant (Phalacrocorax nigrogularis)

When we reached the bigger channel between Warba and Boubyan a few Lesser-crested Terns made an appearance

Lesser-crested Tern (Sterna bengalensis)

On route we did see a few areas where birds were breeding, but due to the tide we could not get close enough. Finally though, we found a mixed breeding colony and spent an hour enjoying the amazing spectacle of this mixed breeding colony and marvelled how these species shared the same stretch of beach in what seem harmony.

On the beach itself, almost all the Slender-billed Gulls had young and only a few were still sitting on eggs in between the sabkha. We estimated 2000+ birds in this area

Slender-billed Gull (Chroicocephalus genei)

In amongst the mass of Slender-billed Gulls, we picked up a few Gull-billed Terns, also with young

Gull-billed Tern (Gelochelidon nilotica)

A few Caspian Terns which also breed on the island were seen flying by overhead

Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia)

Just off the beach the available sabkha habitat was shared by the larger Herons who all had raised nests built on top of the sabkha. There were a few Grey Heron with young

Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea)

Slightly more Eurasian Spoonbills, also with young

Eurasian Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia)

But the majority were Indian Reef Herons of both forms....here some dark forms with dark young

Dark form Indian Reef Heron (Egretta g. schistacea)

and some light forms with light young. We found it quite interesting to see an adult regurgitating food to its brood of 3 demanding chicks.

Pale form Indian Reef Heron (Egretta g. schistacea)

and a light and dark form juvenile together

Dark and pale form Indian Reef Heron (Egretta g. schistacea)

By now the temperatures had risen and we needed to move to get some relief from the heat, but not before checking the massive (2000+) Crab-plovers that didnt allow us to get too close. Only when editing my images, did I notice a juvenile Crab-plover in just one of the images - I'm guessing that other juveniles were still in their burrows which we also didnt see.

Crab-plover with juvenile (Dromas ardeola)

Crab-plover (Dromas ardeola)

 

We had hoped to see some Dolphin on this trip and were rewarded with a pair of Indo-pacific Humpback Dolphins on the way back to the Coastguard Station and a great sighting to end a rewarding day.

Pair of Indo-pacific Humpback Dolphins

Migration thinning out?

Week 18, 05 May 2012 - Sulaibikhat, Jahra Pools Reserve and SAANR

Another early morning start to beat the early on-set of summer heat. I decided to drive along the Bay at Sulaibikhat, not realising that it was low tide and the sea was a long, long way out. I noted the Red-backed and Lesser Grey Shrikes numbers had increased and many were seen.

At "Manchester Club" car park, a scan over the distant flocks produced a familiar and recognisable silhouette, in the form of a Black Stork (16th record). A poor record photograph was taken across the low tide flats

16th record of Black Stork (Ciconia nigra)

On the north side of the car park, a late departing Common Black-headed Gull was seen amongst many Slender-billed Gulls

Common Black-heaed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus)

Portrait of Slender-billed Gull (Chroicocephalus genei)

I watched with interest as this Slender-billed Gull swallowed without too much trouble a Mud Skipper that initially looked way to large for it to do so..

Slender-billed Gull (Chroicocephalus genei) swallowing a large Mud Skipper

I then made my way to Jahra Pools Reserve where there was a lot of activity in the form of construction. Some to fix and upgrade the current road system and others accessing the new pipeline on the seaside of the reserve. I didnt hold much hope of seeing anything interesting with all this traffic, dust and noise. However 4 White-tailed Lapwings were welcome. I found a small dead-end road into the reedbed that was a little protected and was rewarded with some really good birds in the form of Mountain Chiffchaff

Mountain Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus sindianus)

A singing Basra Reed Warbler that will be monitored for signs of breeding this summer, where it has done so before

Basra Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus griseldis)

And many active Willow Warblers

Willow Warbler (Phylloscopus trochilus)

A last look over the pools gave a juvenile Little Grebe, so successful breeding for this pair

Juvenile Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis)

Not much else was about due to the traffic of the trucks, so departed to SAANR as a last stop for today's outing.

The small pool on the top of the ridge after the entrance gate produced one of many Upchers Warblers seen today. This bird showing a characteristic spring white panel on the wing and swaying of the tail

Upchers Warbler (Hippolais languida)

A small detour on the way to Tuhla gave a few more obliging Red-backed Shrikes which are quite striking in the breeding plumage

Red-backed Shrike (Lanius collurio)

At Tuhla I found Mike and Sylvie Newey and later Graham Whitehead - by now the wind had picked up a bit, so birds werent too active, however I did find a Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin

Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin (Cercotrichas galactotes)

and missed photographing a small flock of 3 Black-headed Buntings, but got the 2 Yellow-throated Sparrows

Yellow-throated Sparrow (Gymnoris xanthocollis)

Just as I was leaving a Pallid Harrier came swooping in looking for a quiet place to land and have a drink. All in all, a relatively quiet Spring migration day, but it seems the bulk have moved through as the summer heat slowly intensifies.

Pallid Harrier (Circus macrourus)

The day before, while my family cycled around the new exercise track near Mesilla junction on 6th Ring Road, I walked with my camera (since I havent bought my mtb yet), a couple of migrants were seen in the surrounding habitat, including a few of Spotted Flycatchers

Spotted Flycatcher (Muscicapa striata)

and a number of distant Lesser Grey Shrikes that were all a little wary of the people excercising

Lesser Grey Shrike (Lanius minor)