24 December 2013

Change to the Status of Savis Warbler in Bahrain – Alba Marsh (Bahrain)

An early morning ringing trip to Alba Marsh in Bahrain in mid-October produced another Savi’s Warbler. This is the fourth record of the species we have had from this small marsh in Bahrain. Prior to ringing at the marsh there had only been a few records of the species recorded from Bahrain and it was regarded as a vagrant. We have caught birds in the spring and autumn and the true status of the species is probably a scarce passage migrant, which is similar to the status of nearby Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. This is a useful piece of information that has been added during out small scale ringing project and as the species is not easy to see I suppose this has always been the status but birds just have not been seen by the limited number of birders that bird or have birded the country. This bird was in wing moult.