Kuwait Birding

17 February 2015

A mega still in Sulaibikhat

Week 04, 23 January 2015 - Sulaibikhat Bay

I was guiding Rob Tovey from Oman (http://birdingforalark.blogspot.com/) for the afternoon during his weekend in Kuwait.

As we didnt have too much time, we started at the outfall in Sulaibikhat where there were large numbers of Gulls, predominantly all Common Black-headed which seem to like 'dirty' water

Wintering Common Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus)

and a number of other large white-headed Gulls, of whose ID I'm unsure of

The primary mirror suggests possible Steppe, but bill a possible Armenian?

Gull sp

There was a huge flock of Greater Flamingo's further out on the low tide and at one stage the flock took off and split in two - one group heading up the coast and the other down. A Lesser Flamingo was seen late last year in this flock and had been seen periodically since then - but this was going to be a long shot.

A small part of the Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus) flock

We went a little further up the coast, as that was our best chance to see Crab-plover's, which we did. Imagine my surprise when standing right in the middle and front of the flock of Flamingo was the Lesser, this the 3rd record for Kuwait and a lifer for Rob

Lesser Flamingo (Phoeniconaias minor), 3rd record for Kuwait

Winter sunrise at the Towers

Week 03, 17 January 2015 - Kuwait Towers

Earlier in the week on the way to work, I saw that the sun was rising directly behind the Salmiya point looking East from Kuwait Towers and it was pretty spectacular.

So, I was out and in place before sunrise, but today we had cloud cover and the crisp clean air from the previous few days was no longer there. Nevertheless I was here, so made the most of it and I also had the opportunity to put my new Canon EF 100-400f/4.5-5.6 L IS II USM lens through it's paces and it was very impressive to say the least.

This Common Black-headed Gull was taken before the sun peeped over the horizon and no issues with focus or tracking (lightened a little in PS)

Common Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus)

Another with the golden sunrise hue with an urban backdrop

Common Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) against a Salmiya backdrop

And this was the sunrise I had gotten up early to see, not as spectacular as in the week, but the cloud cutting through the sun gave it some drama

Dramatic Salmiya Sunrise

I then found a few obliging urban birds and the zoom took these in it's stride too; first up were House Sparrows warming up in the first rays

Male House Sparrow (Passer domesticus), not sure of the ssp

Followed by Common Myna that are common at the Towers..

Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis)

My overall impression of the performance was very satisfying and I look forward to using this great all-round lens in many other applications.

Scratching for birds in the South

Week 02, 10 January 2015 - Sabah Al Ahmad Sea City

This was my first trip to the south of the New Year and it turned out to be pretty unproductive for no real nor apparent reason. The birds were just not around..

Out on the water, small numbers of Slender-billed Gulls were present. This Gull has amazing eye's

Slender-billed Gull (Chroicocephalus genei)

and I also picked up one Socotra Cormorant on the beach near the Khiran marina

Over-wintering Socotra Cormorant (Phalacrocorax nigrogularis)

At the jetty, I found quite a large starfish - not sure of the species

Starfish sp.

In the desert it was even bleaker with just a single Daurian Shrike seen.

Daurian Shrike (Lanius isabellinus)

Despite the lack of winter rain, the Nowair flowers were starting to show in a few areas

Nowair Flower - soon there will be a carpet of yellow through Kuwait

and a few butterfly species were recorded; including Western Pygmy Blue

Western Pygmy Blue (Brephidium exilis)

and a Mediterranean Pierrot

Mediterranean Pierrot (Tarucus rosacea)

16 February 2015

Guiding to kick the year off

Week 01, 02 January 2015 - Al Abraq and Jahra Pools Reserve

We enjoyed and survived the festive season and a here's to a prosperous new year to us all.

Neil Tovey and I were guiding a keen Australian birder Jono Henshaw who was passing through Kuwait on route to Sweden.

It was an early pick-up as we had decided to first head west to Al Abraq to be at the farm just after sun-up. On route from the city to the farm, the temperature dropped 6 degree's, so we had a much colder than planned start. We picked up 2 Steppe Eagles that had roosted on the deck overnight. Once at the farm, we elected to walk first, but unfortunately not too much about - disappointing in fact, considering how the year ended off with many good birds found at the farm. Nevertheless, we did find the Hume's Leaf Warbler and a small Flycatcher that was more likely to be Taiga than Red-breasted at this time of year - unfortunately, it was Red-breasted (see poor record shot below).

Poor image of Red-breasted Flycatcher (Ficedula parva), enough to show it isn't Taiga

There was a small flock of Corn Buntings, but no sign of anything interesting amongst them.

Corn Bunting (Emberiza calandra)

Neil picked up the Goldcrest on call and after some time we finally got eye's on them (there were 2) - even more difficult to photograph

Goldcrest (Regulus regulus coatis)

As the farm was not producing, we cut our losses and headed back to Jahra. First stopping at Jahra Farm where we 'lucked' a single Hypocolius (a much wanted bird for Jono) and saved ourselves a trip to Green Island.

Male Hypocolius (Hypocolius ampelinus)

We then headed across the 80 highway to Jahra Pools where we spent a productive afternoon picking up a few good birds for Jono. We got the hat-trick of Stonechat's;

European

Female European Stonechat (Saxicola rubicola)

Male European Stonechat (Saxicola rubicola)

Caspian

Female Caspian Stonechat (Saxicola m. hemprichii)

And Byzantine

Male Byzantine Stonechat (Saxicola m. variegatus) showing it's distinctive tail pattern

Male Byzantine Stonechat (Saxicola m. variegatus)

A number of Greater Spotted Eagles

Greater Spotted Eagle (Clanga clanga)

The impressive talon's of a Greater Spotted Eagle (Clanga clanga)

In one area, we found around 10 Jack Snipes and I was able to catch-on in flight as it whizzed past - no mean feat with a heavy piece of glass - again a testament to the 1DM4 AI Server and good follow focus technique!

Jack Snipe (Lymnocryptes minimus) at speed

Grey Herons and Western Great Egrets were down on the sea side

Departing Western Great Egret (Ardea alba)

As was an Isabelline Wheatear which Jono was happy to twitch

Isabelline Wheatear (Oenanthe isabellina)

White-winged Terns were in full breeding plumage and had us scratching our heads as to their timing

White-winged Tern (Chlidonias leucopterus) in breeding plumage

The pools had a number of duck species, all but these Mallards were quite some distance away

Flock of Mallard's (Anas platyrhynchos)

At one of the pools, Neil picked up and called a Ruddy Shelduck - a bird I have been wanting to see for a good many years. Later on I reported the sighting to the manager of the reserve only to discover that it had been released into the reserve after been donated from a private collection, so that was disappointing but also encouraging, I guess.

False Alarm - Ruddy Shelduck (Tadorna ferruginea)

As the day wound down, I picked up a 'murder' of Starlings in the distance trying to figure out where to roost for the night. But in doing so, the flock created some unusual shapes in the sky as they wheeled and turned in unison

Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)

2014 Birding Highlights

As I did last year, I think it is useful to publish a list of notable sightings seen through the year as well as new additions to the checklist.

Compared to the previous year, 2014 was down on 2013 in that only 3 new species were added to the Kuwait Checklist, as compared to double that in 2013 - an impressive 6 species!

The monthly account below will give an idea of the vagrants and rarities recorded and accepted by KORC for 2014.

JANUARY
9th Pallid Scops Owl
20th White-crowned Wheatear

FEBRUARY
7th Sociable Lapwing

MARCH
18th, 19th Dead Sea Sparrow
21st, 22nd White-crowned Wheatear
5th Barbary Falcon
1st Variable Wheatear (this took some time to review and finally accept and was the 1st new addition of the year)

APRIL
2nd Streak-throated Swallow
23rd Crested Honey Buzzard (these are now considered annual passage migrants and also recorded in winter)
21st Black Stork (another annual passage migrants)
9th Golden Eagle
4th, 5th, 6th , 7th Eastern Nightingale
3rd Striolated Bunting
23rd White-crowned Wheatear
3rd Rustic Bunting (a deceased bird)

MAY
2nd Sooty Shearwater
24th Crested Honey Buzzard

JUNE
13th Black Tern
1st Hooded Crow (2nd addition to the checklist for the year)
22nd Black Stork
8th Dalmatian Pelican
24th White-crowned Wheatear

JULY
2nd Striated Heron
19th Black-winged Kite
14th Black Tern

AUGUST
3rd Red Knot
7th Thick-billed Lark
3rd Paddyfield Warbler
25th White-crowned Wheatear

SEPTEMBER
20th Black-winged Kite
7th Grey Phalarope
25th Crested Honey Buzzard
4th Paddyfield Warbler
9th Demoiselle Crane (shot and killed on Gulf Road)
23rd Black Stork

OCTOBER
12th Rufous Turtle Dove
3rd Striated Heron
10th Pallid Scops Owl
3rd Greater White-fronted Goose

NOVEMBER
20th Dead Sea Sparrow
1st Hawfinch (3rd addition to the checklist for the year)
8th Sociable Lapwing
3rd Lesser Flamingo
21st Dead Sea Sparrow
12th Desert Finch
2nd Purple Sunbird
21st Black-winged Kite
2nd European Greenfinch

DECEMBER
2nd Goldcrest
4th Rock Bunting
6th Hume's Leaf Warbler
8th Ring Ouzel
5th, 6th Long-eared Owl
11th Pallid Scops Owl
8th Olive-backed Pipit
2nd White-tailed Eagle

As the sun sets and the birds come home to roost on another year, lets keep the fond memories and look forward and hope that 2015 has more good news than bad and exceeds our expectations in all respects.

Goodnight to 2014

Last outing of 2014

Week 51, 20 December 2014 - Sabah Al Ahmad Sea City

My last birding outing for this year, heading south and picking up breakfast on route.

Checking out the reed beds just after sunrise produced a few birds including a large flock of House Sparrows that had roosted in the reeds overnight.

Male House Sparrow's (Passer domesticus)

A Isabelline Wheatear was singing it's heart out as it warmed in the early morning sun

Isabelline Wheatear (Oenanthe isabellina)

A duck that had roosted in an area of reeds with water exploded out, but I managed one image of it departing (the 1DM4 focus speed still surprises me) which allowed for later identification - Mallard

Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)

A small flock of Eurasian Penduline Tit's was an unexpected surprise but remained deep inside the reeds - so I was fortunate to get a few clear images as they gleaned their way through the reeds.