Trip Report | Kuwait April 2010
Our regular tour to Kuwait proved popular once again with tour members from Belgium as well as the UK. Those who joined us won’t have regretted it because it really was a memorable tour.
Kuwait continues to be a tricky country to bird with many of the key sites being off-limits to visiting birders without a local guide to arrange access from within the country. We were once again able to overcome any potential problems with our ever helpful guide and driver. The tour logistics were spot on with everything running to a tee.
As ever, we enjoyed the wonderful migrant oasis of Jahra Farms on several visits. This site has a regular turnover of migrants so deserves special attention and we often called in while passing. Resident birds include Bank Myna, Common Myna, White-breasted Kingfisher and Ring-necked Parakeet but it is the migrants that are the real draw here White-throated Robins proved to be particularly numerous this year whilst we also noted Squacco Heron, Rufous Bush Robin, Daurian Shrike, Turkestan Shrike, Great Reed Warbler, Barred Warbler, Crag Martin, Pallid Swift, European Bee-eater, Short-toed Eagle and Griffon Vulture (the latter a very notable bird in Kuwait). Common migrants included Spotted Flycatcher, Redstart, Yellow Wagtail (races beema, thunbergi, superciliaris 
and lutea), Tree Pipit, Red-throated Pipit, Hoopoe, Blackcap and Willow Warbler. The 9th April proved to be a real red letter day here though. Whilst birding in Fahaheel to the south of Kuwait city we had a call to inform us that against all odds an Ashy Drongo (which was thought to have been a one day bird that departed before we arrived in the country) had been refound at Jahra Farms. A quick dash back ensued and despite it having been lost when we arrived it popped up on telegraph wires within a few minutes and we were all treated to some wonderful views. The following day we returned for another look and were joined by a few other birders making it one of the largest twitches ever seen in Kuwait – 11 people! Sadly the bird wasn’t seen again after 10th April.
Nearby the private reserve of Jahra Pools had water levels that were perfect for waders and crakes so we made sure we visited a couple of times. The resident Grey-headed Swamphens were joined by Spotted Crakes and a single Little Crake but the real spectacle was 300+ Red-necked Phalaropes spinning around on every available piece of water! Other waders were particularly numerous too. 3 White-tailed 
Plovers were the pick of the bunch but there were also plenty of Marsh Sandpipers, Kentish Plovers, Little Ringed Plovers, Ruff, Wood Sandpipiers, Common Sandpipers, Curlew Sandpipers, Collared Pratincoles and Black-winged Stilts amongst hundreds of Little Stints. Other notable birds at the site were Glossy Ibis, Pallid Swift, Osprey, Steppe Eagle, White Stork, Daurian and Turkestan Shrike.
Our visit to Doha Spit was very productive with great views of everyone’s ‘wanted’ bird – Crab Plover plus 10 Lesser Sandplovers, Greater Sandplover, Kentish Plovers, 70+ Terek Sandpipers, Heuglin’s Gull and Steppe Gull. As ever the site was crawling with more common waders and the usual terns - Gull-billed, Caspian, Sandwich and Lesser Crested. 2 Rock Thrushes along the entrance track were also a nice surprise.
Early morning on our 2nd day saw us at the highly restricted desert site known as KEBD (or KISR) where was had been granted special access. The next few hours there were amazing. Not only did we connect with our target bird in the form of 9 Black-crowned Sparrow-larks but there had been a huge overnight fall of migrants. We clocked up c80 Northern Wheatears, c25 Pied Wheatears, 2 Isabelline Wheatears, c50 Whinchats, c20 White-throated Robins, Rufous Bush Robin, 2 Rock Thrushes, 10 Ortolans, c60 Short-toed Larks, 15 Tawny Pipits, Eastern Olivaceous Warbler, many Willow Warblers, Masked, Steppe Grey, Daurian and Turkestan Shrikes and 2 Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters not to mention the 2 Caspian Plovers at point blank range from the car!
Our traditional breakfast stop on the way north to Abdali Farms produced Rufous Bush Robin and Turkestan Shrike while the bushes surrounding the bottling plant close to Abdali showed there had been a small fall of Eastern Olivaceous Warblers joined by several Redstarts plus Rufous Bush Robin, Masked and Turkestan Shrike. When we reached our stake out at Abdali Farms we quickly located our main quarry – Common Babbler and we enjoyed lengthy views of 4 adults and 3 juveniles proving breeding at the only spot in the WP for this species. The other special bird here is Red-wattled Lapwing and we were lucky to have an alarm calling adult circling the fields for virtually the whole time we were there. 3 Crag Martins, 20 European Bee-eaters, Rufous Bush Robin, Pied Wheatear and 3 species of shrike were also noted. On our return drive we stopped at Maghasil overlooking Bubiyan Island where we were pleased to note 4 Swift Terns, several Lesser Crested Terns, 40 Crab Plovers and 2 Western Reef Herons.
The ‘oasis’ of Al Abraq in the western desert has always been a favourite site and this year we made the drive out there twice. On our first visit migration conditions were average but Steppe Eagle, 3 Sparrowhawks, Montagu’s Harrier, Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, 6 European Bee-eater, 12 Redstarts, 6 Spotted Flycatchers, 2 White-throated Robins, 2 Rufous bush Robins, Namaqua Dove, Red-backed Shrike, 4 Turkestan Shrikes, Southern Grey Shrike, 3 Barred Warblers, 2-3 Menetries’s Warblers and 2 Eastern Olivaceous Warblers certainly puts things into perspective. Our second visit was extremely good with the highlights being most of the above species in much larger numbers plus other highlights of a male Shikra, Sykes’s Warbler, Basra Reed Warbler, 3 Great Reed Warblers, Grasshopper Warbler, Upcher’s Warbler, 2 Icterine Warblers, c10 Whitethroats, Nightingale, Thrush Nightingale, 2 Bluethroats, Wryneck and an amazing 13 Grey Hypocolious.
The Sabal al Ahmed Nature Reserve (SAANR) is always one of the trip highlights and this year was no exception. This year a temporary artificial lake had been created and despite no plan to stop it quickly drying out it held some impressive waders and raptors when we visited. Black Vulture was a real Kuwaiti rarity but around the lake shore there were also 3 Eastern Imperial Eagles, c10 Steppe Eagles, 5 Pallids and 1 Montagu’s Harrier. An adult White-winged Black Tern hawked over 23 Red-necked Phalaropes, 2 Curlew Sandpipers, 4 Marsh Sandpipers, Wood and Green Sandpipers ,several Little Stints, Black-winged Stilts, 6 Garganey and a Purple Heron. At Tulha Oasis and other traditional desert spots inside SAANR Pale Rock Sparrows were exceptionally numerous with flocks of 70 and 340 noted. Basra Reed Warbler was seen well on the island on the Tulha pond (a real déjà vu moment!) whilst 2 Grey Hypocolious, several White-throated Robins, 2 Cinereous Buntings, Black-eared Wheatear were the other main highlights amongst good numbers of migrant warblers, wheatears, chats, wagtails and pipits.
The Fahaheel area to the south of Kuwait City was visited twice and the harbour here proved to be particularly productive. From the plush surroundings of a shopping mall come marina we saw 2 Socotra Cormorants, several White-cheeked Terns, many Lesser Crested, Sandwich and Little Terns and Western Reef Heron before we retired to Costa Coffee for refreshment! Across the road in Fahaheel Park things were quite quiet but the usual Redstarts, Willow Warblers and Lesser Whitethroats were joined by a Rufous Bush Robin, Spotted Flycatchers, Turkestan Shrike and 2 Hoopoes.
Pivot Fields is yet another site with no general access. This large area of lush green cultivated fields is a great raptor spot and this year we weren’t disappointed with the offerings there – c25 Black-eared Kites, Steppe Eagle, Eastern Imperial Eagle, Short-toed Eagle, c25 Lesser Kestrels, Marsh Harrier, 2 Pallid Harriers and 5 Montagu’s Harriers was an impressive haul. We were able to add to that Rock Thrush, Namaqua Dove, Spotted Crake, Little Bittern, Ortolan, Red-throated Pipits and Richard’s Pipit amongst the more regular chats, wheatears and wagtails.
Despite encroaching development Jahra East Outfall remains a great birding site and our visit there added several new species to our triplist. As well as a good selection to waders including yet more Red-necked Phalapropes we added Cattle Egret, Purple Heron, Little Bittern, Greenshank, Clamorous Reed Warbler, Savi’s Warbler, Richard’s Pipit and Siberian Stonechat.
Our traditional visit to Zour Port in the far south was arranged once again. Having already seen Socotra Cormorant at Fahaheel the pressure was off but we managed at least 1 plus a further 10 probables on offshore rigs. 10 Bridled Terns and 2 White-cheeked Terns showed much better as did Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, Wryneck, 2 Desert Wheatears, 10 Pied Wheatears, Woodchat and Daurian Shrike.
In addition to the main sites already described we also visited sites in and around Kuwait City where we were able to locate Red-vented Bulbuls, Namaqua Doves, Indian House Crows, Heuglins Gull, Caspian Gulls, Slender-billed Gulls, Pallid Swifts, Bar-tailed Godwits, Avocets, Grey Plovers, Terek Sandpipers, Grey Hypocolious and a selection of migrants plus breeding Ruppell’s Weaver which is a potential future category C species.
On a very smooth and relaxed paced tour we’d cleaned up on all the available regional specialities and also some nice surprises. Not least the Ashy Drongo which has now been accepted by the Kuwait Ornithological Records Committee (KORC) as the first record for the Western Palearctic.
The State of Kuwait continues to be a must visit destination for the serious Western Palearctic birder and we are delighted to confirm we will be running a spring tour there again in 2011.
Our thanks to tour participant Craig Holden who very kindly supplied some of his excellent photos to accompany this report.
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