Cetti’s Warbler 2, Moustached Warbler 2, European Reed Warbler 1, Little Crake 2, Spanish Sparrow 2, Common Moorehen 2

Cetti’s Warbler Cettia cetti

European Reed Warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus

Ouda Al-Bathalie a member of Kuwait Birding forum has asked me to see what he thinks a new bird for Kuwait at his farm. This morning Rashed and I went to his farm and photographed the bird it turned out to be an Asian Koel Eudynamys scolopaceus, a first winter.

Asian Koel has been recorded twice in Bahrain (has not been accepted yet), eight times in UAE between 1996 and 2006, and is an uncommon and irregular winter visitor to Oman with a mximum of six birds, birds are  mostly seen at Masirah.

This bird has not been seen at Kuwait Bird Market according to Ouda Al-Bathalie who owns a bird shop at this Market. Further, no birds have been imported to Kuwait since the breakout of avian flu. The bird being a first winter, as the white tips to greater coverts and in breast indicate this age, also being a parasitic bird that parasites on Crows and Mynas would make it difficult to breed in captivity or even impossible. It must have flown to Kuwait from its breeding ground naturally.

The heavy yellowish green hooked bill, unforked heavy rounded tail, yellowish green legs, and gape reaches under eye excludes any other forms of Drongo.

This constitutes a first record for Kuwait and the Western Palearctic as defined by BWP by Cramp and Simmons 1977 if accepted by KORC.

Asian Koel Eudynamys scolopaceus

At Souq Sharq: Pallas’s Gull 3, Black-headed Gull 20, Slender-billed Gull 2, Armenian Gull 10, Steppe Gull 20, Palld Swift 8.

At Pivot Fields: Corn Bunting 3, Black Kite 60, Greater Spotted Eagle 3, Common Kestrel 1, Eurasian Skylark 4, Crested Lark 10, White Wagtail 30, Water Pipit 30, Common Staling 50, Isabelline Wheatear 2, Isabelline Shrike 1, Long-legged Buzzard 3, Barn Swallow 4, Northern Lapwing 9, Southern Grey Shrike 1, Song Thrush 1, Grey Heron 1, Meadow Pipit 2, Common Snipe 1, Common Buzzard 3, Buff-bellied Pipit 3, Imperial Eagle 1, Red-throated Pipit 1, Short-toed Lark 1, Pallid Swift 5, Green Sandpiper 1.

At Doha Peninsula: Grey Heron 10, Caspian Tern 10, Grey Plover 5, Great Cormorant 15, Common Ringed Plover 2, Western Reef  Heron 2, Greater Spotted Eagle 1, Kentish Plover 2, Eurasian Teal 40, Pallas’s Gull 20, Tawny Pipit 1, Greater Flamingo 200, Mallard 50, Redshank 4, Gracefull Prinia 1.

At JEO: Little Crake 2, Moustached Warbler 2, Clamorous Reed Warbler 1, Pied Wheatear 1, Isabelline Shrike 1, European Robin 1, Common Snipe 2, Bluethroat 2, Marsh Harrier 1, Common Moorehen 2, Siberian Stonechat (ssp. variegatus ) 1

Armenian Gulls Larus armenicus with Pallas’s Gull Larus ichthayaetus  

Pallas’s Gull Larus ichthayaetus  

Meadow Pipit Anthus pratensis

Together with a Canadian Visitor, Gordon Saunders we  started from Kuwait Bay to Sulaibikhat Bay to produce the following:

Armenian Gull 30 (maximum daily count so far), Steppe Gull 53, Lesser Black-backed Gull (fuscus) 1,  Siberian Gull (heuglini) 3, Laughing Dove 12, Feral Pigeon 20, Grey Heron 2, White-eared Bulbul 20, Bank Myna 5, Common Shelduck  180, Graceful Prinia 1, Common Redshank 190, Caspian Tern 10, Crested Lark 4, Little Tern 2, Eurasian Curlew 450, Crab Plover 322, Mallard 137, Grey Plover 124, Barn Swallow 2, Pied Avocet 30, Red-vented Bulbul 3, Common Moorehen 1, Kentish Plover 2, Great Cormorant 7, Wiskered Tern 1, Slender-billed Gull 20, Blue Rock Thrush 3, Western Reef  Heron 10, White Wagtail 4, Greater Flamingo 1500, Oystercatcher 40, Common Sandpiper 2, Ruff 1, Common Chiffchaff 2, Black-winged Stilt 3, Isabelline Shrike 3, , Northern Shoveler 32, Lesser Sand Plover 1, Eurasian Spoonbill 1, Marsh Sandpiper 40, Bar-tailed Godwit 155, Black-tailed Godwit 3, House Sparrow 20, Squacco Heron 1.

At Jahra Farms we found the following:

Indian Roller 1, Black-throated Thrush 3, House Martin 10, Spanish Sparrow 10, Rose-ringed Parakeet 5, White Wagtail 10, Common Myna 6, Bank Myna 8,  Common Buzzard 1, Eurasian Hoopoe 1, Sparrowhawk 1, White-throated Kingfisher 2, Common Chiffchaff 3, Cattle Egret 14, Pallid Swift 3, Red-rumped Swallow 11, House Sparrow 10, Barn Owl 1, Laughing Dove 5.

Buff-bellied Pipit 1, Steppe Eagle 2, Woodchat Shrike 2, Long-legged Buzzard 2, Cattle Egret 10, Water Pipit 20, White Wagtail 15, Eurasian Skylark 30, Isabelline Shroke 1, Isabelline Wheatear 2, Common Moorehen 17, Common Snipe 1.

Yesterday the Visiting French Group had seen at Sulaibiya Pivot Fields: Buff-bellied Pipit 7 (maximum daily count so far), Oriental Skylark 2.

On 15/02/2009 they saw at  Jahra Farms: Black-throated Pipit 4 (male 2 and female 2), Indian Roller 1.

Buff-bellied Pipit Anthus rebescens japonicus (the weather was dusty so the photographs at worst condition)

Water Pipit Anthus spinoletta coutellii, this bird was closer so it looked better.

At JEO: Curlew Sandpiper 500, Common Shelduck 60, Mallard 55, Eurasian Wigeon 5, Grey Plover 180, Northern Shoveler 1, Pied Wheatear 1, Siberian Stonechat ssp. variegatus 1, Desert Wheatear 1, Isabelline Wheatear 1, Steppe Eagle 1

At Jahra Farms: Indian Roller 1, Sparrowhawk 1, Common Kestrel 1, Grey Hypocolius 1, White-throated Kingfisher 1, Isabelline Shrike 1, Song Thrush 2, Common Myna 2, White-eared Bulbul 20, Rose-ringed Parakeet 3

Indian Roller Coracias benghalensis

Grey Hypocolius Hypocolius  ampelinus

Song Thrush Turdus philomelos

Laughing Dove Streptopelia senegalensis

After checking many Southern sites without finding much Simon, Jens and I decided to visit Fahaheel. At harbour we found one Great Black-headed Gull among Slender-billed and Black-headed Gulls.

Great Black-headed Gull (Larus ichthyaetus)

I visited this morning with Simon Price and Jens Toettrup Abdaly Farms and later on Jahra Farms for their special birds.

At Abdaly Farms we had  Red-wattled Lapwing c. 20,  Common Babbler 4, Southern Grey Shrike 1, Isabelline Shrike 1.. As a bonus species we saw a Stone Curlew.

At Jahra Farms we found Indian Roller for Simon but Black-throated Thrush was seen only briefly. Other birds there were Lesser Whitethroat 1, Robin 1, Rose-ringed Parakeet 4, White-throated Kingfisher 1, Blackbird 1, Song Thrush 4 and Cattle Egret 5.

Stone Curlew (Burhinus oedicnemus) at Abdaly Farms

Rose-ringed Parakeet (Psittacula krameri) at Jahra Farms

I went this morning with Rick and Simon to Pivot Fields having two target species in mind; Hen Harrier and Sociable Plover. We have had this winter one female Hen Harrier around. On 27. January we saw with Dominic and Roy both female and male Hen Harrier at Pivot Fields. Today we were lucky to see the male bird again. I took a record shot since male is probably never before photographed in Kuwait. Sociable Plovers were not at their previous field and therefore quite difficult to find. With some luck a Long-legged Buzzard flushed one bird and later on we managed to see one more.

Hen Harrier 1, Black Kite 20, Kestrel 1, Imperial Eagle 2, Long-legged Buzzard 3, Steppe Buzzard 1, Black-crowned Night Heron 4, Squacco Heron 2, White-throated Kingfisher 1,  Green Sandpiper 1, Curlew 6, Namaqua Dove 8, Collared Dove 100+, Laughing Dove 20+, Woodpigeon 22, Skylark 200+, Crested Lark 10, Water Pipit 50+, White Wagtail 30+,  Starling 200+,  Northern Lapwing 50+, Sociable Plover 2, Corn Bunting 12, Isabelline Wheatear 2, Stonechat ssp. maura 1, Spanish Sparrow 300+.

Male Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus)