Green Island to Jahra

Week 32, 07 August 2015 - Green Island and Jahra Pools

After a few games of tennis starting at 6:30 (yes, were mad enough to play all through the year!), I headed to Green Island around 9am to check the gardens for migrants and butterflies.

Even by this time, it was brutally hot and very draining - so I didnt stay long. In the short time, I did see what is probably a single 1st year Black-headed Bunting. Although when there is only one bird on it's own - there is a possibility to consider other options; it didn't stay long enough though to see any other salient features.

Probable 1st year Black-headed Bunting (Emberiza melanocephala)

Following up on a distinctive call, I eventually got onto a 1st year Rose-coloured Starling 'panting' in the shade

1st year Rose-coloured Starling (Pastor roseus)

Green Island is also the site of the 2nd localised population of Western Pygmy Blue butterflies, of which there were quite a few

Western Pygmy Blue (Brephidium exilis)

By now I was wilting badly and in desperate need of a cold drink, so took refuge in an Asian restaurant to re-hydrate.

Later in the afternoon Neil Tovey and I agreed to meet at Jahra Pools. Why you ask? I asked myself the same thing on the way...but really it was to try and find Nightjars at dusk; no luck with that either!

Pretty much the usual suspects on the drive around the pools; Grey-headed Swamphen - this a portrait of a bird that was too close for my prime lens!

Grey-headed Swamphen (Porphyrio  p. poliocephalus)

Numbers of Little Stint

Little Stint (Calidris minuta)

A few more Isabelline Wheatear

Isabelline Wheatear (Oenanthe isabellina)

A mix of adult and 1st year Little Grebe's

Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis)

However, the most entertainment was given watching an unbelievably patient Squacco Heron successfully hunting - whilst I sweated profusely in a car with the engine turned off to reduce vibration whilst taking this sequence below.

A sequence of a stunning Squacco Heron (Ardeola ralloides) catching and eating a small fish

Job done and time to head home Nightjar less!

The birds and the butterflies

Week 31, 01 August 2015 - Mutla'a Ranch and Jahra Pools Reserve

I was on a mission to look for butterflies in the early morning, so was at the Ranch just after sunrise when butterflies are a little less active in the cooler temperatures.

I initially avoided the Alfalfa fields and searched in other habitat types, but eventually only found butterflies associating with the Syrian Mesquite shrubs.

Here I found a single Asian Grass Blue, which seemed unusual as they are most commonly found in the Alfalfa fields

Asian Grass Blue (Zizeeria karsandra karsandra)

I was pleased to see that a few Lederer's Cupid were still present

Lederer's Cupid (Chilades galba)

as was a single worn Mediterranean Pierrot

Mediterranean Pierrot (Tarucus rosaceus)

Other invertebrates included another Wasp sp

Wasp sp.

and a Dragonfly sp, whose ID's I still need to confirm

Dragonfly sp.

Whilst walking the farm, I disturbed a Little Crake in some thick habitat and that was a surprise. But, on migration you need to be prepared to find migrants in unusual places

Little Crake (Porzana parva)

I had a look at the Alfalfa fields, finding a Moth sp for which I have no literature to ID the species

Moth sp.

I headed down the ridge to Jahra Pools where I also caught up with Neil. I found a distant Black-winged Kite roosting on the boundary fence. It is no longer considered for a rarity report, but still a good bird to find.

Distant Black-winged Kite (Elanus caeruleus vociferus)

The first Isabelline Wheatears of this autumn had arrived

Isabelline Wheatear (Oenanthe isabellina)

Along the coast, Caspian Terns were patrolling the shoreline

Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia)

And a few 1st year Collared Pratincole's were roosting amongst the mixed shorebirds.

1st year Collared Pratincole (Glareola pratincola)

The number of Broad-billed Sandpipers had diminished, but also good to see a few Lesser Sand Plovers in breeding plumage

Lesser Sand Plover (Charadrius atrifrons) and Broad-billed Sandpiper (Limicola falcinellus)

Kentish Plover were quite numerous

Kentish Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus)

Around the pools both White-winged and Whiskered Terns were seen

Whiskered Tern (Chlidonias hybrida)

As well as a few more Lesser Emperor's

Lesser Emperor (Anax parthenope)

Again, the rising summer temperature kept the birding outing capped to mid-morning before it was time to retreat to a cooler place.

Another Mega and 1st for Kuwait

Week 31, 31 July 2015 - Al Abraq, Jahra Pools and a Pelagic

Unfortunately, Markus Craig could not join Neil Tovey and I today, as he was sick and man down. So just the two of us headed off to the farm in the west and arrived just after first light.

As usual we walked the farm first, finding 1st year Black-headed Buntings in the reeds around the pond near the house

1st year Black-headed Bunting (Emberiza melanocephala)

Also in the reeds, a single Red-backed Shrike

Red-backed Shrike (Lanius collurio)

Lurking in the tree's around the pond I found an Upcher's Warbler

Upcher's Warbler (Hippolais languida)

and Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin foraging in the leaf litter

Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin (Cercotrichas galactotes)

We were lucky enough to see a Long-eared Hedgehog as it quickly scurried down the bank probably heading to the pond to drink, or escape the cat that flushed it? It was a little too close for my camera to focus sharply, but still a good record of these uncommon mammals

Long-eared Hedgehog (Hemiechinus auritus)

Not much else to be seen, so we headed east for Jahra Pools reserve and arrived around 11am when it was already too hot for much to be expected - little did we know!

A quick drive around the reserve produced a Temminck’s Stint

Temminck’s Stint (Calidris temminckii)

and a female Common Pochard

Female Common Pochard (Aythya ferina)

We then headed to the shoreline parking area for the high tide where there was an impressive mixed flock of shorebirds with Broad-billed Sandpipers making up almost half the numbers - this is a really smart Sandpiper.

Broad-billed Sandpiper (Limicola falcinellus) with Kentish Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus) and Greater Sand Plover (Charadrius leschenaultii)

Broad-billed Sandpiper (Limicola falcinellus)

By now it was way too hot to be out, so we called it a day. Just as we were driving up the access road from the parking site at the coast, a Gull with a black head bathing and preening at the base of some reeds some distance from the road caught my eye. Black-headed Gull, I shouted to Neil as he hit the brakes - No, its not a Black-headed Gull he shouted, it is a Gull with a black head I responded, just as the Gull took off - I lept out of the car and thankfully, my 1DM4 tracked the Gull as it flew and disappeared over the reeds. What was it - Little, Franklin's - we couldn't be sure? A Gull in full breeding plumage and a black head in summer, it had to be something different! Unfortunately my images didn't help too much as the bird was flying away, but it looked like it had white trailing edges to the primaries and secondaries. 

We put the news out to the group immediately with one of the images and set out trying to relocate it. We drove to where we thought it may have flown - but it wasn't there; crap! Back to the coast to where we had first seen it - not there either. There was a large flock of Slender-billed Gulls roosting on the sea, so Neil got his scope out and I got my bins and together we scanned through the flock. I've got it shouted Neil as I also got it in my bins. But, it was a way off, floating on the sea in amongst the Slender-bills. Although a long way off, through the scope we could make out the extent of the black hood, white tips on the primaries and also noticed a yellow tip to the bill. However, when it flew back to roost on the beach, we could see the white wedge in the upper wing pattern and finally clinched it as Kuwait's first Sabine's Gull - a real mega of an arctic species in a desert!

Sabine's Gull (Xema sabini), a 1st for Kuwait and a Mega

This is probably the only image of it's kind where you find the arctic Sabine's together with Slender-billed Gull, Crab-plover and Oystercatcher in the same image. We were pretty stoked to say the least and fortunately it seemed to stay for the day, so that those that did come, did connect with it.

Sabine's Gull with Crab-plover, Slender-billed Tern and Oystercatcher - where else in the world could you see this combination?

Later in the afternoon, we joined some of our birding friends for a Pelagic trip out into Jahra Bay, as a few weeks back a good number of Skua's were present. Unfortunately today, we only had a distant view of a single Pomarine Skua in quite rough conditions.

The sunset on the way back, was fitting, for what turned out to be an epic day!

What a day!

Wilting in the sun

Week 30, 25 July 2015 - Sabah Al Ahmad Sea City

Today was a scorcher and was tough for both the birder and the birds.

After my obligatory McDonald's breakfast stop, I spent a little time at the degraded reed habitat which the desert is slowly reclaiming. No birds at all in the reeds, but there were a few Slender Skimmers

Slender Skimmer (Orthetrum sabina)

A single Arabian Spiny-tailed Lizard was seen in the desert area

Arabian Spiny-tailed Lizard (Uromastyx aegyptia microlepis)

as was a few juvenile Laughing Doves

Juvenile Laughing Dove (Spilopelia senegalensis)

A trip off-shore on the boat produced just a Bridled Tern

Bridled Tern (Onychoprion anaethetus)

and a single Socotra Cormorant

1st year Socotra Cormorant (Phalacrocorax nigrogularis)

In the inter-tidal zone on the coast, I found a few Mud Dweller crabs 

Mud Dweller (Macropthalmus Depressus)

And a Common Greenshank that came past at speed

Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia)

I explored a few other areas with some habitat, White-eared Bulbul's were seen sheltering deep inside cover to keep out of the direct sun and probably a little cooler.

White-eared Bulbul (Pycnonotus l. leucotis)

I think this is probably Upcher's Warbler, but I didn't get to see all the features to be 100% sure.

Probable Upcher's Warbler (Hippolais languida)

Driving through some exposed desert area, I flushed a small flock of Cream-coloured Coursers that were standing in the shade of a very small bush. Once I had driven past, they all came back (as there was very little shade to be found anywhere)

Cream-coloured Courser (Cursorius cursor)