British, Irish & WP Birding

DAILY DIARY

13^th January 2008

After an overnight flight from London we arrived in Kuwait City just as it was getting light. Getting the visas was hassle free compared to last time and probably took no more than half an hour. So, with our 4x4 hire cars collected us and the Danish team were on the road within an hour of touching down.

SUBIYAH

With a new Western Palearctic species found the week before we arrived, it was an easy choice as to where we were headed first. And so it was that in cold conditions (and you would have described it as cold even if you were in Britain) we arrived in a scattered area of tamarisks (29”33’99N, 48”08’20E) near the Subiyah Power Station entrance. Driving through the area we quickly found our target – Purple Sunbird – and we spent the next hour or so watching at least 2 eclipse males of this species feeding on tiny flowers in this exposed area. A couple of Desert Wheatears also appeared here whilst a long dead sub-adult male Pallid Harrier was a reminder of the shooting from our previous trip.

SUBIYAH FARM

A little bit of blind optimism never hurts and at this time of year in 2007 an Eversmann’s Redstart was found here. No such luck on our visit with a Black Redstart, a dozen Tawny Pipits, a Sparrowhawk, a Willow Warbler and an abundance of Chiffchaffs being our haul. An aviary here held at least 3 Grey Hypocolius and a couple of Ortolans along with a few other less noteworthy species.

JAHRA WEST

From the comfort of our car we scanned the area of bushes at 29”21’09N, 47”39’22E where Kris De Rouck and Dirk Colin had seen 2 Indian Rollers on 1^st January but it was to no avail – this species seems to be relatively short staying even in midwinter and the birds had moved on. We did see a Long-legged Buzzard here but it offered little compensation as the tiredness from the flight started to kick in for some of us. And on this note we headed the short distance to Jahra Farms where, in spring, it was alive with migrants being particularly good for some reason for Semi-collared Flycatchers.

JAHRA FARMS

We parked in the mosque car park and accessed the area at 29”21’04N, 47”40’27E. It’s an area of extensive subsistence farming and it was good to see the locals were as friendly as they were in the spring. This visit started off with a bang as a male Shikra was quickly found flying through the area and then seemed to ditch in a distant palm – quality! So all the troops were assembled and we headed round but, whether it was tiredness or ineptitude, we were on top of the bird all too quickly and it flew off again to the far side of the area. A distant accipter later on was the closest we came to seeing it again whilst a female Sparrowhawk glided over as well. It was good to reacquaint ourselves with the common species of Kuwait City – White-eared Bulbuls, Common Mynas and Cattle Egrets. White Wagtail, Song Thrush, Chiffchaffs and a few Water Pipits were also present along with some noisy Ring-necked Parakeets. A Daurian Shrike allowed a couple of the Danes a new WP tick and a couple of White-breasted Kingfishers added a bit of colour to proceedings. And, finally, the notorious Bank Mynas were easily found with their numbers seemingly augmented from our spring trip to at least twenty birds.

Above. Bank Myna, Jahra Farms 13th January 2008

And that was that – a good end to our first day where, after checking into our accommodation at Arinza Towers, we walked the short way to Pizza Hut and got amongst it. The waitresses there seemed a little too interested in whether we were single or not whilst our minds were on the task in hand – where were we going to find that elusive Indian Roller?

14^th January 2008

After a fitful night’s sleep another day dawned and the temperature seemed even colder than the day before. With reports from the local birders of snow in nearby Baghdad we were certainly experiencing some abnormally cold weather.

JAHRA WEST

Another visit to the site where the Belgians had seen a couple of Indian Rollers on 1^st January drew another blank and little else was seen to write home about. So it was back to Jahra Farms – not to see the Bank Mynas as we’d seen them the previous day but to try and get perched views of Shikra and also if we were extremely lucky we may even find an Indian Roller.

JAHRA FARMS

We revisited this site for a couple of hours mid morning but we could not re-find yesterday’s Shikra – a female Sparrowhawk was as close as we got! It was very much status quo compared to the previous day and walking around the many subsistence farms provided us with a Graceful Prinia in addition to what we had seen yesterday whilst close views of another Daurian Shrike were appreciated. We’d arranged via SMS to meet AbdulRahman at the Pivot Fields late morning and, having not been to the site in spring and with recent news of a Little Whimbrel there, we were keen to get amongst and so we left Jahra Farms.

PIVOT FIELDS

Thankfully the Swedes who had visited Kuwait the week before us had sorted us out with some decent GPS coordinates which made life much easier when finding this place. It is only possible to drive around the fields to the south of the road here (the fields to the north are private) – the entrance gate is at 29”15’57N, 47”45’17E and you need to leave the motorway at 29”16’11N, 47”49’26E to get onto the road that leads to the pivot fields.

So we started driving around the area and what was immediately apparent were the numbers of raptors present – a couple of Pallid Harriers, a Spotted Eagle, four Eastern Imperial Eagles and at least a handful of Long-legged Buzzards. If anyone has visited the Bet She’an Valley in northern Israel in winter then there are certainly similarities. We hunted around for the Little Whimbrel but were told by AbdulRahman that numbers of Lapwings were down and the Ruff it were with had disappeared. There were still about fifty Lapwing present and scanning through the Skylarks and Water Pipits failed to produce a japonicus Buff-bellied Pipit. A Caspian Stonechat was a bonus while other birds seen at the site included twenty Woodpigeons, Desert and Isabelline Wheatears, four Namaqua Doves, a handful of Red-throated Pipits, a Daurian Shrike with Swallows and Pallid Swifts overhead.

AbdulRahman told us that this was probably the worst he had seen the Pivot Fields this winter and suggested that we go elsewhere. He suggested with the tide being high, heading to Sulaibhikat Bay wouldn’t be a bad idea. We made it rather clear to him that Indian Roller was our main target species and he said he would have a think about the best spots to perhaps look for this species…

KUWAIT UNIVERSITY

As we headed closer to Sulaibhikat something didn’t feel right. Having our GPS with us whilst following AbdulRahman, he’d evidently decided to take us to the university where an Indian Roller had been seen a week or so ago – though subsequent searches had apparently proved fruitless.

Above. Indian Roller, Kuwait University 14th January 2008

We got out of the car by some tennis courts, stuck our head through the fence and there right in front of us was a rather sedate Indian Roller chilling out on the fence posts running away from us at 29”20’15N, 47”54’39E – quality! We really had not expected it to be quite this easy and after following it for an hour or so, as it sallied from the goalposts in the stadium, we filled our boots with a gorgeous Masked Shrike and headed towards the reserve at Sulaibhikat.

SULAIBHIKAT

The main prize here did not take long to find – the returning adult Long-tailed Shrike was present pretty much in the same area we had seen it in the spring – the bushes near the small pool a couple of hundred yards in from the entrance gate. In the warm afternoon light it looked absolutely cracking and, despite having seen it previously, was certainly one of the birds of the trip. A Daurian Shrike, several Spanish Sparrows and White-cheeked Bulbuls also showed well but the odd Bluethroat proved far more elusive.

Above. Long-tailed Shrike, Sulaibhikat 14th January 2008

After doing the passerine thing here, we met up with Brian Foster and drove the short distance west to the shore at 29”19’09N, 47”51’40E. Highlight here, especially for Brian as it was a new Kuwaiti bird for him, was a first-winter Common Gull! 130 or so Crab Plovers pleased us visitors and the evening light made them look quality whilst a dozen or so Steppe Gulls (barabensis) provided us larophiles with some interest. The place was also packed full of birds feeding by the sewage outlet and these included Whiskered Terns, Gull-billed Terns along with lots of Black-headed and Slender-billed Gulls. Wader wise species included Lesser Sand Plover in good numbers amongst commoner species while Western Reef Herons and Greater Flamingos roosted on the mudflats.

Above. 1st-winter Common Gull, Sulaibhikat 14th January 2008

Another quality day in freezing temperatures and after chilling out in our accommodation for an hour or two, we and the Danes headed over to an American Diner nearby and enjoyed some good food and banter.

15^th January 2008

For those of who hadn’t visited the country last spring, a trip up to Abdaly Farms in the north of the country by the Iraqi border was necessary if they wanted to see the group of Common Babblers that had now been present for a year or so. The drive up was uneventful, probably taking no longer than an hour and a half so putting into perspective how good the roads are and how small the country is.

ABDALY FARMS

Always trust technology is the moral of the story. We had the GPS coordinate 29”57’58N, 47”48’41E from the Swedes and this was almost identical to the place we had seen them last spring. When we got there however it didn’t look like the same place so we thought that we/the Swedes had messed up the GPS reading and so we drove around a bit to find a more likely spot to fit our memory. To cut a long story short, we’d come in on a different track and the GPS was right – as soon as we stepped out of the car we found the group of Common Babblers and watched them for the next half hour as they moved busily through the low scrub. At least five, probably nine, birds were present. The odd White-cheeked Bulbul and Graceful Prinia were also here but our attention was distracted when a group of eight Red-wattled Lapwings flew over. We soon found them on the deck in an adjacent plot and found a total of thirteen birds – one of the largest counts for Kuwait.

Above. Common Babbler, Abdaly Farms 15th January 2008

We moved on but still in the Abdaly Farms area to an enclosed farm at 29”22’08N, 46”57’41E – George Gregory had told us in spring that this was a good winter site for Shikra. So the two groups of birders plied out of our 4x4s and set about exploring on foot. It was not long before we’d seen the second Shikra of the trip as it flew around the large area of trees – it proved extremely frustrating to get decent views and fleeting glimpses were all that we got despite spending almost a couple of hours here. A Daurian Shrike, an ochruros Black Redstart and three Robins were the other highlights here.

SABAH-AL-AHMAD NATURAL RESERVE

After refueling at the Iraqi border and getting a look at the Iraqi border crossing, we headed back south and stopped off at SAANR. As our visit wasn’t planned, getting through the gate required a couple of phone calls but, once that was done, we drove the kilometre or so to the first ridge and parked the car at 29”31’46N, 47”48’48E. We walked to the right of the road and in the first small wadi quickly found a Persian Wheatear sheltering from the strong wind. All the troops were assembled and we obtained good views of this lone bird – a regular winter visitor to the area in small numbers – as well as an Eastern Mourning Wheatear. Fed up with the wind battering us we decided to head back towards Kuwait City and spend the remaining hours of daylight at the high tide roost at Doha Spit.

DOHA SPIT

This site (29”22’39N, 47”50’17E) was one of our favourites from the spring trip and once again good numbers of birds were present at high tide – just make sure you view from the car as the birds are rather skittish. Anyway, the highlight was ten Great Black-headed Gulls including one adult in full breeding kit. Other large white-headed gulls provided us to test what we thought we knew – fortunately we didn’t come out too badly with most birds being Steppe Gulls (barabensis) with smaller numbers of Caspian Gulls. Waders were packed in roosting and amongst the commoner species we found fifty Broad-billed Sandpipers, half a dozen Terek Sandpipers and at least 500 Lesser Sand Plovers.

The evening was rounded off again with a Pizza Hut; the waitresses once again being rather over-friendly.

16^th January 2008

The last few days had been much colder than we’d anticipated and today was no exception. So, after a little bit of a lie in considering the first site was just around the corner from our accommodation, we headed to the sports ground at Salmiya for some real rough birding.

SALMIYA SPORTS GROUND

Fortunately the target was quickly seen – Crested Myna – three birds as they sat on the streetlights and amenities within the sports ground at 29”20’23N, 48”05’19E. These birds had been reported previously as White-vented Mynas but, after a little bit of research, we correctly identified them for what it’s worth as Crested Mynas. They are currently not on the Kuwaiti list but do seem to be present within the city – we saw another individual at the University.

GREEN ISLAND

This site juts out along the sea front in Kuwait City and is covered in trees and is constantly watered thus attracting a few birds – again we quite enjoyed this place when we visited in April. It is the place to see Red-vented Bulbul and again we found this species easy to find, particularly in the trees just beyond the entrance gate where we found at least half a dozen birds. It is also one of the best sites to see the enigmatic and highly prized Grey Hypocolius; presumably the many fruiting trees attract this species to the area. Though this species had been seen here in the last couple of weeks we failed to find it – in fact, a couple of the team decided to stake the site out all day as this was the species they most wanted to see. Unfortunately their valiant effort ended in failure and near hypothermia with only a Barred Warbler as sparse consolation! Wed did manage to see a really pallid looking first-winter Daurian Shrike, a White-breasted Kingfisher and lots of White-cheeked Bulbuls.

KUWAIT UNIVERSITY

A revisit to the Indian Roller provided us with further views of this vagrant bird – although we tried to approach it, it was extremely skittish and would move off before we could get close. Once again it was seen sallying from the goalposts and the nearby tennis courts and the Masked Shrike from a couple of days ago was still around. The bare ground opposite the tennis courts, adjacent to the water tower, provided us with some excellent views of a lone Red-wattled Lapwing.

Above. Red-wattled Lapwing, Kuwait University 16th January 2008

JAHRA EAST

A site we were rather familiar with from the last trip – probably the best place in spring to see Basra Reed Warbler. Anyway, we remembered our way there (the outfall and end of the track is at 29”21’22N, 47”43’44E) but unfortunately the way in was a little bit on the wet side and the Brits had to help push the Danes out of a little bit of trouble. Problem solved and we were on our way – a pristine male Citrine Wagtail in amongst the many White Wagtails by the outfall was found on arrival. The whole area was full of birdlife and it wasn’t long before we met another resident Kuwaiti birder Rashed – he showed us around, expertly driving across the soft marsh, while we thanked him for originally finding the Purple Sunbirds and the Indian Roller. Top bloke!

A couple of White-winged Black Terns in full summer plumage were a welcome surprise as was a Steppe Grey Shrike. An Eastern Imperial Eagle and four Spotted Eagles provided us with quality views side by side whilst Pallid Swifts, Swallows and House Martins were also flying around. A Squacco Heron was flushed at close range from the reedbed as were four Jack Snipe and over twenty Common Snipe while a large flock of Lesser Short-toed Larks were seen on the saltmarsh. Rashed then showed us an easier way out and we were off again to the Pivot Fields.

PIVOT FIELDS

We arrived here mid afternoon in the vain hope that the Little Whimbrel may have returned. It was not to be but we did manage to see a couple of Curlews in amongst the Lapwing flock. We met up with Brian Foster and he showed us a rather large crocodile in a reed fringed pool – obviously a Cattle Egret roost site with lots of this species present along with a couple of Great White Egrets and five or so Little Egrets. Driving around the fields we saw three Namaqua Doves, a couple of Eastern Imperial and Spotted Eagles and several Long-legged Buzzards whilst a Greenshank and three Green Sandpipers were new for the trip. As dusk descended on us, the distant wood was alive with hundreds of lineatus Black Kites coming in to roost; a fitting end to another good day in the field.

People’s tastes were split this evening, some preferring to go for the pure junk food option of KFC, others another Pizza Hut visit whilst those wanting something pseudo-healthy opted for a foot long Subway with extra mayonnaise and whatever else they decided to whack on.

17^th January 2008

The only species that we’d not seen that we expected to on this trip to date was Grey Hypocolius. Despite the complete failure yesterday we decided to give Green Island another dawn raid.

GREEN ISLAND

Arriving here slightly earlier than yesterday, we initially felt a sense of deja-vu looking forlornly at each bastard bulbul in the hope that it wouldn’t be one. After a little bit of walking around, we were in luck – a flock of twenty Grey Hypocolius had flown in ‘Waxwing-style’ to the bushes by the entrance gate and were gorging themselves on the fruiting trees. A quality site and certainly avenging the previous day’s failure. A couple of Red-vented Bulbuls were once again seen.

SABAH-AL-AHMAD NATURAL RESERVE

With all of our target species safely seen, the remainder of the trip was a little bit more relaxed. Considering the freezing conditions and the Purple Sunbirds that had presumably been pushed over from Iran, the numerous wadis within the ridge within the SAANR deserved some scrutiny in the remote hope of a Hume’s Wheatear. So for the rest of the day this is exactly what we did. By driving north and south of the main track along the ridge (either side of 29”31’46N, 47”48’48E), dropping people off at various points, we managed to cover a fair few kilometres but alas there were no Hume’s Wheatears!

Above. Persian Wheatear, SAANR 17th January 2008

We did see some good birds though including perhaps a peak Kuwaiti count of five Persian Wheatears, about thirty Eastern Mourning Wheatears, four Finsch’s Wheatears, a handful of Desert Wheatears, at least seven Asian Desert Warblers, a couple of Steppe Grey Shrikes and ten Trumpeter Finches – the latter at 29”31’24N, 47”47’43E and a rare species in Kuwait. Proceedings were interrupted mid afternoon as the Danes had managed to find a Macqueen’s Bustard at 29”33’25N, 47”45’11E. We managed to get some distant views of this bird before it headed off over the brow, later finding it again where we got some slightly better views. A Bonelli’s Eagle over this area was certainly noteworthy whilst a couple of Isabelline Wheatears and Bar-tailed Larks were also seen. Another good day in the field.

Above. Eastern Mourning Wheatear, SAANR 17th January 2008

18^th January 2008

Today was to be a day spent around Kuwait City satisfying the larophiles within the group and also revisiting sites to get better views of the species that we had come out here to see.

GREEN ISLAND

Our third early morning at this place and, like yesterday, we were in luck with Grey Hypocolius – not the spectacular flock like yesterday with just a single pair of birds today feasting on the fruiting trees. Wandering around the area we located the Daurian Shrike from a couple of days ago along with a handful of Red-vented Bulbuls while a walk along the shore between the island and the car park provided some close views of a couple of adult Heuglin’s Gulls along with half a dozen Steppe Gulls.

Above. adult Heuglin's Gull, Green Island 18th January 2008

SHUWAIKH PORT

Heading west from Green Island, this fishing port held a couple of small gulls but the lack of activity with it being a Friday (a weekend day in the Muslim week) meant our quest for large white-headed gulls here was a failure.

KUWAIT UNIVERSITY

A third trip to see the star bird, the Indian Roller, once again gave us some decent views of the bird but like the previous visits remained skittish and wary of close approach. The Red-wattled Lapwing showed well again on the bare ground by the water tower  and the Masked Shrike sallied from the adjacent line of trees by the tennis courts. A couple of House Crows were a new bird for the trip as they perched on the massive radio mast by the stadium. To illustrate that Kuwait is full of introduced species, walking around the University grounds gave us another Red-vented Bulbul – our first away from the Green Island stronghold – while a Crested Myna was a surprise in the trees by the tennis courts.

Above. Masked Shrike, Kuwait University 18th January 2008

SULAIBHIKAT BAY

We headed back to the area around the outfall (29”19’09N, 47”51’40E) that we’d last visited four days previously. The tide was well out on this visit but for some unknown reason large numbers of Crab Plovers were feeding on the mud right beside the car park and showing extremely well.

Above. Steppe Gulls (barabensis), Sulaibhikat 18th January 2008

Added to this about 150 large white-headed gulls were present with a 50/50 split between Heuglin’s and Steppe Gulls, a couple of adult Caspian Gulls and one first-winter fuscus Lesser Black-backed Gull. A hundred or so Lesser Sand Plovers were scanned for Greaters but with no luck while Western Reef Herons, Greater Flamingos, Gull-billed Terns and Avocets were present in decent numbers. After an extended stay here and chatting to Mike Pope, we headed off to spend the remainder of the afternoon at Jahra Farms.

Above. Crab Plover, Sulaibhikat 18th January 2008

JAHRA FARMS

Success at last! After half an hour or so of searching the area we managed to locate the male Shikra perched in a tree. Although views were partly obscured and it was back on for most of the time, very satisfactory views were had until it flew out of the tree and circled the area before we lost it behind some buildings. Whilst looking for the bird again, we saw a dozen Bank Mynas, three Daurian Shrikes along with commoner species such as Cattle Egrets, Water Pipits and Chiffchaffs. Having arranged to meet the Danes, Brian Foster and Pekka Fagel at Jahra East – they’d spent the day at Al Abraq where the highlight was a Ring Ouzel – we headed off in that direction.

Above. Daurian Shrike, Jahra Farms 18th January 2008

JAHRA EAST

We arrived at Jahra East slightly later than we’d anticipated by which time it was on the cusp of darkness. Nevertheless while chatting about the day’s events seven Great White Egrets flew in to roost and a couple of Marsh Harriers quartered the reedbed.

Brian and Pekka then drove us into Kuwait City to their favourite Indian restaurant – a quality meal, a lot of banter and a welcome change from the fast food outlets we’d been frequenting near our accommodation all the other evenings.

19^th January 2008

Today was to be our last day of birding in Kuwait so we wanted to make the most of it. With not everyone seeing the Shikra perched yesterday we all headed off first thing to Jahra Farms to see whether we could do any better than yesterday.

JAHRA FARMS
All of our previous Shikra sightings here had been in the afternoon and, after drawing a blank again this morning, we perhaps speculated that afternoons were best and it may spend the morning away from this site. Who knows in reality but we didn’t see it. A showy Bluethroat was some compensation as it fed in one of the cultivated plots while a Daurian Shrike once again proved that Kuwait is by far and away the best place to see this species within the Western Palearctic. Bank and Common Mynas were present again in good numbers while raucous Rose-ringed Parakeets made their presence in the area felt. Having felt like we were flogging a dead horse we headed out of the city and north the short distance to the SAANR.

SABAH-AL-AHMAD NATURAL RESERVE

Above. Typical dry wadi within the SAANR, 19th January 2008

We spent a lot of our time walking along the ride to the south of the main track a couple of days ago. With this in mind we felt a concerted effort to the north of the track was needed just to make sure we hadn’t bypassed a Hume’s Wheatear. So a good couple of hours were spent walking along the ridge and in the wadis to the north of the main track (from 29”31’46N, 47”48’48E) but again it was to no avail. The odd Persian Wheatear was seen, and added to the total a couple of days ago and the two the Swedes saw elsewhere in the reserve, a conservative count would show there to be nine birds wintering in the SAANR – easily a Kuwaiti record.

Eastern Mourning Wheatears seemed to be reduced in numbers compared to our previous visit, perhaps the slightly warmer temperatures had made them disperse. Steppe Grey Shrikes were seen in small numbers as were Finsch’s Wheatears while in the desert areas Isabelline and Desert Wheatears were quite common. Similar to a couple of days ago the Danes interrupted our search of the ridge – although in truth we’d pretty much given up the ghost ourselves – as they had located a handful of Dunn’s Larks within the reserve 29”33’22N, 47”48’40E. As we headed towards these birds we flushed a couple of Macqueen’s Bustards from beside the track and while we gained excellent flight views they then landed distantly and had the cheek to walk over a ridge never to be seen again. We managed to catch up with the Dunn’s Larks, favouring an area of low vegetation by the helipad, in amongst larger numbers of Bar-tailed Larks. Crested Lark were common here while singles of Hoopoe Lark and Tawny Pipit were also seen.

SULAIBHIKAT

It was now mid afternoon and we had our final check of the mudflats of Kuwait Bay viewing from the usual area at 29”19’09N, 47”51’40E as well as an area just to the east of the funfair. A handful of Marsh Sandpipers provided us with a new bird for the trip while we got some excellent views of thirty Terek Sandpipers and lots of Lesser Sand Plovers.  Broad-billed Sandpipers were present along with large numbers of Dunlin while five hundred Greater Flamingos created a pink glow on the horizon in the fading light. One of our team in particular, who shall remain nameless, was rather keen on seeing some purple chickens before we headed home so with this in mind our last bit of Kuwaiti birding would be done at South Doha.

SOUTH DOHA NATURE RESERVE

On our previous trip this place (29”19’37N, 47”47’33E) was stinking, mosquito infested and reeds blocking your views of the pool. So it was understandable to have put this visit off right until last knock-ins on the final evening. It was, however, a pleasant surprise to find a lack of insects and a clear view of the pool – and we quickly located a seistanicus Purple Gallinule. We saw at total of three birds here before the light went while on arrival back at the car, a Bluethroat was attracted to the car’s lights and was feeding into darkness.

As this was our final evening we headed over to the American Diner for a good bit of food before our early morning flight home. As with every other evening us and the Danes had some good banter, normally surrounding contentious Allen’s Gallinules and Pied Crows in Spain.

20^th January 2008

It was an early start but getting to and through the airport was hassle free. We arrived back in London early afternoon and on time – us Brits made our way home whilst the Danes continued up to Norfolk for an extra day of holiday and succeeded in seeing the long staying White-crowned Sparrow. So all in all another highly successful and enjoyable Kuwaiti birding experience.