Bird Monitoring and Protection Team (BMAPT)

At the Kuwait Environment Protection Society (KEPS)

ANNUAL REPORT    2001

CONTENTS

Membership and Contacts                                                              Page   2

The Year 2001                                                                                   Page   4

The Need for Bird Monitoring and Protection in Kuwait               Page   5

The Kuwait Bird List                                                                         Page   7

The Commoner Species of Birds                                                   Page   9

The Vagrant Species of Birds                                                         Page   22

The Species of Birds Requiring Confirmation                               Page   23

The Species of Birds of Captive Origin                                         Page   25

Notes on Selected Bird Species in the Year 2001                       Page   26

Recent Bibliography                                                                         Page   47

MEMBERSHIP AND CONTACTS

Communications With The Team

All communications with the team, including records of the occurrence and breeding of the commoner and vagrant species of birds,, descriptions of the vagrant species of birds, and notice of intended visits to Kuwait should be addressed to:

Khalid Al-Nasrallah, Chairman, BMAPT

post:              P.O.Box 1896, Safat 13019, KUWAIT

tel:                  (965) 484 8256

pager:            960 6799

fax:                 (965) 483 7856

and/or George Gregory, Secretary, BMAPT

post:              KES, PO Box 8640, Salmiya 22057, KUWAIT

tel:                  (965) 565 5216 (leave message)

fax:                 (965) 562 9356 (clearly address to Mr. G. Gregory)

email:             ggoldie51@hotmail.com

THE YEAR 2001

The year 2001 saw further developments in the fields of bird monitoring and protection in Kuwait.

During the year:

BMAPT transferred its base to the headquarters of KEPS in Shuwaikh;

BMAPT published the Second, then the Third Editions of the Kuwait Bird List, on its website;

BMAPT sent all available omithological data to the OSME Library;

BMAPT and other bodies were involved in environmental clean-up operations at a number of coastal and inland sites;

Several bird species were proved to breed in Kuwait for the first time, namely Little Crake, White-breasted Kingfisher, Bank Mynah, Short-toed Lark and Lesser Short-toed Lark;

Other important breeding records were of Greater Sand Plover, White-winged Black Tern, Grey Heron, Western Reef Heron, Yellow-throated Sparrow and Spanish Sparrow;

Improvements in the management of the National Park led to important changes in bird life there; fencing of more oil fields resulted in further protection of birds there from shooting and disturbance.

Greater coverage of previously known areas, and visits to new areas, resulted in an increase in bird records during the year.

This annual report, the second for Kuwait, demonstrates the increasing influence and effectiveness of BMAPT in the fields of bird monitoring and protection.

THE NEED FOR BIRD MONITORING AND PROTECTION IN KUWAIT

Bird populations are being monitored in Kuwait to find out if human activities or environmental changes are affecting them.

The most common breeding birds in Kuwait are House Sparrow, Laughing Dove, White-cheeked Bulbul, Common Mynah and Feral Pigeon. These species have increased in numbers because the greening of Kuwait has provided food and habitat for them.

Many species pass through Kuwait on spring and autumn migration because it is at a crossroads of migration routes between breeding grounds in Asia and winter quarters in southern Arabia, Africa and the Indian subcontinent. The most common migrant landbirds are the Swift, Bee-eater, Blue-cheeked bee-eater, short-toed Lark, sand Martin, Wheatear, Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler.

Mud-flats around the coast are important resting and feeding areas for migrant herons, egrets, waders, gulls and terns. A number of reedbeds, freshwater pools, sewage outfalls and flooded sabkha areas are used by migrant waterside birds.

Birds arriving in Kuwait for the winter include White Wagtail, Robin, Bluethroat, Song Thrush and Desert Warbler.

Some birds, such as the Greater Flamingo, Barn Owl and Ring-necked Parakeet, can be found in Kuwait in various seasons without necessarily breeding.

Kuwait’s small islands are important because they support breeding colonies of seabirds such as Swift Tern, Lesser Crested Tern, White-cheeked Tern and Bridled Tern.

Bird populations in Kuwait have completely recovered from the environmental damage at the end of the Iraqi occupation, and some have increased. The main threat to birds in Kuwait now, are overgrazing, shooting, disturbance, building and oil lakes.

Overgrazing reduces both plants and animal food for birds, and removes shelter for nests and roosting birds.

Shooting is mainly for sport, although some birds, such as Turtle Dove and Barred Warbler, are eaten as delicacies. The species most commonly shot in Kuwait are Turtle Dove, Bee-eater, Blue-cheeked Bee-eater and Swallow. Significant numbers of locally uncommon species, such as Grey Hypocolius, Yellow-throated Sparrow, Lesser Kestrel and White-breasted Kingfisher, are also shot, as well as large numbers of other species.

Disturbance by camping and other activities is now prevented by the Public Authority for Agricultural Affairs and Fish Resources and the Environmental Public Authority in the National Park and at the Nature Reserves at Jahra Pool and at Doha.

The security fencing and various oil fields by the Kuwait Oil Company has stopped grazing, shooting and most disturbance there, and has effectively created very large nature reserves where vegetation is regenerating naturally.

Building sometimes creates habitats for birds to nest or roost on, but chalet-building along the coastline prevents the breeding of Kentish Plover and possibly of other species.

The Kuwait Oil Company has recently announced that almost all of the oil lakes in Burgan oil field will be covered over. However, others remain, for example at Bahra, where many birds die by being trapped in oil.

The establishment of more nature reserves, control of shooting, education and publicity to increase public awareness are the best ways of safeguarding Kuwait’s birds.

THE KUWAIT BIRD LIST
(Third Edition)

The Kuwait Bird List has been divided, for present convenience, into:

The Commoner Species of Birds, the Vagrant Species of Birds, the Species of Birds Requiring Confirmation and the Species of Birds of Captive Origin.

Both of these are analyses of the records of Ahmadi Nat. Hist. and Field Studies Group,
S. Al-Ahmadi, M. Al-Jeriwi, F. Al-Mansori, K. Al-Nasrallah,
Shaikha A. Al-Sabah, A. Al-Suraye’a, A. Bailey, W. Bindl, R. P. Blacker, G. Bundy,
H-M. Busch, A. Caldwell,R.E. Cheeseman, M. O. Chichester, D. A. Clayton, N. Cleere,
P. Cowan, P. Z. Cox, A. J. Crease, A. Cross, G. Dallemagne, H.R.P. Dickson,
V. Dickson, M. Evans, P. Fraser, J. Gaskell, G. Gregory, P.R. Haynes, S. Holliday,
P. A. D. Hollom, S. Howe, A. Lange, F. Lange, R. Meinertzhagen, J. Middleton,
N. Montfort, Nat. Hist. Mus. Tring, M. Newhouse, D. L. Newman, G. Ostero,
C. W. T. Pilcher, E. Ramadan, P. H. Rathbone, J. Rathgeber-Knan,
M. Reed, P. Robertson, A. Ross, G. Rowlands, L. Sager, V. A. D. Sales,
O. and S. Schroder, R. Seargent, J. Shaw, M. Shihab, S. T. Spencer, W. A. Stuart,
B. Thomas, C. B. Ticehurst, A. Tye, G. Walker, F. E. Warr, J. Webb, R. Williams,
G. Wright, and Anon,  published in a wide variety of sources.

Particular thanks must go to the OSME librarian, Ray Daniel, the ABBA Co-ordinator, Michael Jennings, the former Kuwait Bird Recorder, Effie Warr and the former Chairman  of the Ahmadi Natural History and Field Studies Group, Stanley Howe for their help in making records accessible. Thanks must also go to the National Commission for Wildlife Conservation and Development in Riyadh, whose sponsorship of ABBA enables such work to continue.

The work of Gavin Rowlands, David Hellam and Zainab Khalil in formatting versions of this list is gratefully acknowledged.

The Kuwait Bird List has not been easy to compile, due to loss, destruction and inaccessibility of records, nor is it immutable, and BMAPT would welcome any comments, suggested changes or constructive criticism concerning the list so that it can be kept up to date and accurate. The list, of course, is constantly changing, as every year brings new data and new discoveries about Kuwait's birds.