Wilting at the Pivots

Week 21; 25 May 2019 - Pivot Fields

As we head toward summer, an early start is important, so by 6am Paul Scott and I were going through the gate at the Pivot Fields.

We did a quick circuit of the farm and realised that the best spot were the two large pools; one which is quite open and the other which has expanding reed beds and more cover. This is where we spent the 2-hours before the heat had us wilting.

Black-winged Stilt's were the most abundant species.

Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus)

Suddenly there was some commotion and many of the birds flushed and we discovered a pack of stray dog's coming through the shallow pan - trying to catch some food. This was a 'bonus' for us, as they flushed around 5-7 Little Bittern's that were hiding in the reeds. We suspect that since conditions are ideal at this pool, this species will probably breed or is already breeding here

Little Bittern (Ixobrychus minutus)

Overhead, numbers of Pallid Swift were feeding and these are always a challenge to photograph in flight

Pallid Swift (Apus pallidus)

Sadly, Common Myna numbers seem to be increasing when a small flock of 5 flew by

Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis)

There were still quite a few Sedge Warbler's present, but certainly not as many as 2-weeks back

Sedge Warbler (Acrocephalus schoenobaenus)

We did also have a few Great Reed Warblers

Great Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus arundinaceus)

A distant bird flying quickly above the reeds turned out to be a female Common Cuckoo

Female Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus)

Another surprise was a single Little Tern that suddenly appeared and hunted for 10-15 minutes on the bigger pool before continuing on it's way

Little Tern (Sternula albifrons)

There were several 1st year White-tailed Lapwing's, so it seems there was breeding success in Kuwait this year for this species

White-tailed Lapwing (Vanellus leucurus)

Most Yellow Wags have long since departed, but we saw a single and late Black-headed Wagtail feeding along the water's edge

Black-headed Wagtail (Motacilla f. feldegg)

Again, we found one of the Cat E Yellow-crowned Bishops, but now transitioning to non-breeding plumage.

Yellow-crowned Bishop (Euplectes afer)

Squacco Heron's are starting to show their breeding plumage

Squacco Heron (Ardeola ralloides)

By now, we were starting to melt ourselves, so a last drive around one of the fields produced a Spiny-tailed Lizard in the same area we had previously seen them

Arabian Spiny-tailed Lizard (Uromastyx aegyptia microlepis)

A Maculatus Quest

Week 20; 18 May 2019 - Southern Kuwait

Paul Scott and I were on another quest, this time to the south of Kuwait in search of the rare Spotted Toad-headed Agama. A species I had seen about 5-years ago but had recently been found again at another location by Pierre-Andre Crochet in April.

On the way to the area, we stopped to check some reeds along a trench and found quite a few delicate Evan's Bluetails - a species that I have only ever seen once before in Kuwait, surprisingly at the same location

Evans' Bluethail (Ischnura evansi)

We spent almost 3-hours searching a 800 x 200m grid for the 10cm long Agama - talk about a 'needle in a haystack'.

Whilst searching (driving-walking-driving), we did pick up a couple of migrants, the first was a Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush

Female Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush (Monticola saxatilis)

Followed by two Shrike species; Lesser Grey and Red-backed. Here this female devouring one of the many big Grasshoppers we had seen

Red-backed Shrike (Lanius collurio)

Here one of the 'live' Grasshoppers in question

Grasshopper sp.

After 2.5 hours with the temperature rapidly increasing and still no luck with the Agama, we decided on one last drive around the location and as it often turns out, this time we were in luck when some slight movement caught my eye and in front of the car was a single Spotted Toad-headed Agama.

Spotted Toad-headed Agama (Phrynocephalus maculatus)

We stopped the car and slowly crept toward it. It didn't stay static and I tell you, this little guy went from zero to flat out across the desert, in a blink of an eye and due to it's cryptic pale colouring it was well camouflaged on the same colour stony and sandy desert. 

We re-located it and spent almost 30-minutes enjoying this rare coastal reptile that probably should be re-classified as critically endangered

Spotted Toad-headed Agama (Phrynocephalus maculatus)

Late Spring migrants

Week 20; 17 May 2019 - Pivot Fields

I had a morning at the Pivot Fields with Neil Tovey and Matt Nottingham enjoying the few late spring migrants that were still about.

We spent some time at one of the standing pans (still remnant from the winter rains) which has turned into a really good and compact wetland habitat. Black-winged Stilt's were pretty abundant

Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus)

Along with a number of other wader species, including a few Ruff

Ruff (Philomachus pugnax)

Overhead, Pallid Swifts were quite vocal as they were feeding

Pallid Swift (Apus pallidus)

Sedge Warbler's had arrived in numbers and we were literally flushing them everywhere we walked

Sedge Warbler (Acrocephalus schoenobaenus)

Red-backed Shrikes which are generally late spring arrivals were also seen in numbers

Red-backed Shrike (Lanius collurio)

After Neil and Matt had left, I had one last drive around the farm, finding Eastern Nightingale

Eastern Nightingale (Luscinia m. golzii)

And my first Whinchat of the spring

Male Whinchat (Saxicola rubetra)

As the temperatures have increased quite quickly, now Spiny-tailed Lizards are also more easily seen as they sun themselves near the burrows

Arabian Spiny-tailed Lizard (Uromastyx aegyptia microlepis)

After leaving the Farm, I decided to go and check out the new 36km Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah Causeway from Free Trade Zone across Kuwait Bay to northern Subiyah which had recently been opened to the public. I must say, it is an impressive bit of engineering and will also be really good for the occasional sea watch in adverse weather conditions and when any pelagic species may be migrating

Sheikh Jabar Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah Causeway

Wader'less in Abu Fatira

Week 20; 17 May 2019 - Abu Fatira

Late afternoon and the tide was going out, so I decided to check out the Abu Fatira beach close to where I live, hoping for some foraging waders.

I was in luck, not a wader to be seen other than one resident Kentish Plover flying south down the beach.

Kentish Plover (Anarhynchus alexandrinus)

Since, I was here with my gear, I decided to try some creative and abstract seascapes and was quite pleased with the end final result.

Abstract Seascape

Abstract Seascape

Abstract Seascape

Starry, starry night

Week 19; 10 and 11th May - Al Abraq

Paul Scott and I had been wanting to try some astrophotography, but could never quite get the lunar cycle to coincide with the weekend. When Ramadan was called on the new moon, a few days later (not quite new moon), we had a break with the weather and headed out to Al Abraq in the late afternoon. So, we would have a sunset, a rising milky way and then with bleary eyes a sunrise - so a full outing with birds, stars and some arty creativity!

We stopped for some camels that were returning to their overnight camps.

Abraq Camel's

If you have ever wandered what the underside of a camels foot or toe looks like? - well, it is almost like a slipper

A genuine Camel's Toe

Tried something creative by shooting directly into the sun

Abraq camels heading home

We still had some daylight left, so at the farm we had a Spotted Flycatcher on the fence at the entrance gate

Spotted Flycatcher (Muscicapa striata) 

and then enjoyed seeing both European Bee-eaters

European Bee-eater (Merops apiaster)

followed by Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters coming in to roost (nice comparative images between the two species)

Blue-cheeked Bee-eater (Merops persicus)

A juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron flew in to roost on the railing of the pool

Juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax)

Driving around the farm, we found a number of these really large Wasps, feeding voraciously on one kind of spiky plant (don't know what this plant is called). Thanks to Prof. Razzaq Al-Zubaidy from Iraq who identified the Wasp as Prionyx macula. It is a Wasp that actively hunts crickets and grasshoppers

The monstrous Prionyx macula

In the same area, I flushed a Yellow-throated Sparrow whilst chasing after one of the Wasps

Yellow-throated Sparrow (Gymnoris xanthocollis)

We stopped to enjoy a Lesser Grey Shrike feeding on a large grasshopper against the setting sun, whilst getting a little creative

Lesser Grey Shrike (Lanius minor) against the setting sun

After which the sun slipped below the horizon of the western desert

Abraq Sunset

We then headed out of the farm to find a good spot with some foreground interest for the rising milky way at midnight. It was a long wait, but we tried some test shots, had something to eat and drink. 

When away from light pollution, it is amazing how bright even a small sliver of a crescent moon can be, so we needed to wait for it to set at midnight and then the core of the milky way started rising and was more visible. 

I was a little disappointed, as I expected it to be much more visible, but even in the west, it wasn't quite dark enough. 

This was my first attempt at astrophotography, so am relatively pleased with the results. Its the post processing that is the challenge - will need to practice...

Painting with light

The core rises

The best of the nights images

By 3am in the morning, we were finished and caught 40-winks in the car. It was surprisingly cold just before sunrise, when I creakily got up from the drivers seat to take a few images of our surroundings.

This is where we based ourselves for the night photography

We then drove into the desert to enjoy the sunrise and to warm up

Abraq sunrise

It gets light pretty quick in the summer, so back into the farm finding a Tree Pipit as we drove in

Tree Pipit (Anthus trivialis)

One area that had recently been flooded, but also had a lot of cover was an absolute magnet for a variety of Warblers. First up was a Basra!

Basra Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus griseldis)

Many Sedge Warblers

Sedge Warbler (Acrocephalus schoenobaenus)

Along with Caspian Reeds

Caspian Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus s. fuscus)

Marsh Warblers

Marsh Warbler (Acrocephalus palustris)

And a single Garden Warbler

Garden Warbler (Sylvia borin)

One very yellow Willow Warbler had us going for awhile, thinking we may have had an Icterine

Willow Warbler (Phylloscopus trochilus)

We then walked and drove around the farm finding numbers of Red-backed Shrike

Red-backed Shrike (Lanius collurio)

An Upcher's Warbler, my first for the spring

Upcher's Warbler (Hippolais languida)

We also played hiding-go-seek with a few Common Nightingale's, but only managed to see one, briefly

Common Nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos)

The same story with a male White-throated Robin - not easy to get on to or photograph

White-throated Robin (Irania gutturalis)

Whilst following the Robin, I saw a Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin drop in to one of the fields - so that diverted our attention.

Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin (Cercotrichas galactotes)

By now it was warming up as a few Barn Swallow's passed by overhead and our eyes were starting to get weary and heavy. So, it was a good time to call it a morning and head home for a well-deserved Ramadan siesta

Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)