Breeding Indian (Clamourous) Reed Warblers in Bahrain – Record by Jehad Alammadi

Jehad Alammadi found some breeding Indian (Clamourous) Reed Warblers in Bahrain and managed to take a few photographs of them that he has very kindly allowed me to use on my website and which are shown below The birds were nesting in their typical habitat of dense reed beds where they can be heard singing loudly throughout the year. Although the species is a common breeder in all reed beds in Bahrain and the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia it was not mentioned as doing so in the latest Reed and Bush Warbler guide by Helm as little published data is available from this part of the world.

A pretty good morning in Jubail – bird records by Phil Roberts

Phil went to Jubail recently and had a pretty good mornings birdwatching.  The highlights were 63 Grey-headed Swamphen, 2 Marsh Harrier, 5 Willow Warbler, 7 Turkestan Shrike, 2 Daurian Shrike, 1 Lesser Grey Shrike, 2 Yellow Wagtail, 1 Whinchat, 8 Common Redstart and a 1 Spotted Crake. Phil mentioned there were no sign of the Greater Spotted Eagles so they hve almost certainly left for their breeding grounds. Phil also mentioned he has not seen Red-backed Shrikes so far, a comment made by a few other birders this year.

Lesser Grey Shrike

Graceful Prinia

Indian (Clamorous) Reed Warbler

Ringing in windy conditions - Jubail

Whilst ringing at Sabkhat Al Fasl on 17 March we caught a few birds which was very surprising as the wind was very strong. The forecast had been for calm conditions with sunshine but it turned out to be overcast and strong winds. As we had driven along way we decided to set only four nets along a partly sheltered ride but held out little hope of catching anything. As it turned out we caught 15 birds including nine species so not too bad. Species trapped included Turkestan Shrike, Common Chiffchaff, Red-spotted Bluethroat, Little Bittern, Eurasian Reed Warbler, Indian Reed Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Eastern Stonechat and Graceful Prinia. It was not the best ringing session but was not a waste of time either.

Turkestan Shrike

Turkestan Shrike

Indian Reed Warbler

Graceful Prinia

Eurasian Reed Warbler

Sedge Warbler

Winter ringing - Jubail

Whilst ringing at Jubail recently we have started to catch typical winter species. These include Common Kingfisher, Water Pipit and Bluethroats. Water Pipits are not easy to catch as they normally see the nets and skillfully avoid them but occasionally we get lucky. The subspecies seen in Saudi Arabia is coutelli. Bluethroat numbers are steadily increasing with them making up the majority of birds caught and involving adults and juveniles as well as males and females. Common Kingfishers are always great to catch as they are beautiful birds and are very gentle when in the hand. A more unusual bird for late November was a Great Reed Warbler that is late for the species. They normally move through in September and October with late birds seen in early November. Other species trapped and ringed were resident ones such as House Sparrow, Graceful Prinia and Indian Reed Warbler.

Water Pipit

Water Pipit

Common Kingfisher

Red-spotted Bluethroat

Red-spotted Bluethroat

Great Reed Warbler

Great Reed Warbler

House Sparrow

Graceful Prinia

Indian Reed Warbler

First Indian Reed Warbler trapped in Jubil re-caught - Jubail

During our ringing sessions at Sabkhat Al Fasl we catch good numbers of Indian Reed Warblers some of which are retraps. Some of these birds have been retrapped soon after their original capture but others have been caught after a prolonged period. Whilst ringing on 13 November 2016 we retrapped the very first Indian Reed Warbler (or any bird) we ringed at the site. This bird was also trapped on 16 October 2015. This is a total of making it a total of 1012 days from original capture to retrap.  The weekend previously we recaught a bird ringed on the first days ringing at the site after 610 days. Indian Reed Warblers are meant to be resident but the large number caught at our site combined with the small retrap rate of these birds makes a strong case for birds passing through our location at least during some periods of the year. Obviously the long period between retraps of some of the birds do show they are resident in the trapping area with this bird retrapped three times in exactly the same net. As can be seen from the photos below the bird has freshly moulted flight and tail feathers showing Indian Reed Warblers moult in September and October after the breeding season.

A few herons – Jubail

Whilst birding the Jubail area recently I saw a few interesting herons. Many Grey Herons and Western Great Egrets were flying around but also in amongst them was a single Purple Heron. Numbers of Squacco Heron are also increasing as winter arrives with many juvenile birds. Wader numbers are decreasing but the odd Greater Sand Plover can still be found amongst the commoner Little Stints and Kentish Plovers. Otherwise it is resident species that are making up the numbers with Indian (Clamorous) Reed Warblers being seen in good number as are Grey-headed Swamphens.

Western Great Egret

Purple Heron

Greater Sand Plover

Indian Reed Warbler

Grey-headed Swamphen

Indian (Clamorous) Reed Warblers in moult – Jubail

Whilst ringing in Jubail we trapped and ringed a number of Indian Reed Warbler many of which were in moult as can be seen from the below photographs where tail and wing moult had either been completed or nearly so. Indian Reed Warbler occurs from north-east Sudan, north-west Somalia, Arabian Peninsula and from south central Kazakhstan south to southern Iraq and Iran and east to northern Indian sub-continent. Non breeding birds have been seen in peninsula India. Previously the status of this species at was thought to be a rare winter visitor at Sabkhat Al Fasl up until the early 1980’s but since this time its status has changed significantly and it is now a common breeding resident with additional small numbers of passage birds seen. They have a very loud song that combines harsh grating and chattering sounds with more melodic notes and squeaks and was more often heard than seen staying out of sight in the dense vegetation. Worldwide it has a large range that extends from Northeast Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, through South and Southeast Asia to the Philippines, New Guinea and Australia. The species appears to have colonised the area around 1999 with 16 singing paurs in 2003 when song peaked in February and March. Most populations remain fairly sedentary year-round although some local small scale movements occur between breeding sites and presumably close by wintering areas. This was shown by a bird ringed at Al Khor, Qatar (25deg 47min N 51deg 18min E) 22 November 2008 with ring number VR88323, being recovered alive at Alba Marsh, Bahrain (26deg 5min N 50deg 37min E) 18 May 2012 that moved 76 kilometres across the sea in a direction of 297 degrees (WNW). Another adult female breeding bird (B00693) ringed at Sabkhat Al Fasl, Saudi Arabia (27deg 07min N 49deg 51min E) on 29 May 2015 was found at Jahra Pools Reserve, Kuwait (29deg 21min N 47deg 41min E) 08 September 2015. This bird moved 311 kilometres in 103 days in a northwest direction of 324 degrees when it was photographed alive. Sabkhat Al Fasl is a favoured site for the species with large numbers of calling birds heard throughout the year although calls and songs are most often heard in the spring from January to May. The population density appears to be very high at the site with many birds trapped and ringed and only a small percentage of less than 25% of birds retrapped.

Quality migrants at Abu Hadriyah – Records by Arnold Uy

Whilst birding the Abu Hadriyah area recently Arnold Uy and found some amazing birds. He very kindly sent me the details and has allowed me to use his photos on my website some of which are shown below. Blue Rock Thrush is an uncommon passage migrant that is commoner in the spring than autumn and a species I personally do not see every year. Eurasian Wryneck has a similar status to Blue Rock Thrush but they are seen slightly more often. Other birds seen by Arnold included Indian (Clamorous) Reed Warbler a species extended it range considerably in the province in recent years. Also seen was Spotted Flycatcher a species that has been passing through in very good numbers this autumn over a broad range.

Blue-Rock Thrush

Eurasian Wryneck

Indian (Clamorous) Reed Warbler

Spotted Flycatcher

Summer breeding warblers – Jubail

The middle of summer is the slowest time for birdwatching in Saudi Arabia but it is always worth going out and seeing what you can see and different things or unusual occurrences can occur at any time of year. Jubail ha many reed bed areas that hold a number of breeding warblers with the commonest birds being Indian (Clamorous) Reed Warbler, Eurasian (Caspian) Reed Warbler and Graceful Prinia. I managed to photograph all these species recently on a trip there and although all three are common breeding species they are not so easy to photograph. Eurasian (Caspian) Reed Warbler is the most difficult to photograph so I was quite please with my result shown below.

Eurasian (Caspian) Reed Warbler

Eurasian (Caspian) Reed Warbler

Eurasian (Caspian) Reed Warbler

Indian Reed Warbler

Graceful Prinia

Breeding Indian Reed Warblers in Bahrain – Record by Jehad Alammadi

Indian Reed Warbler is a common breeding resident of Bahrain and Eastern Saudi Arabia but photos of the young and nest are not easy to take. As a result the photographs below taken by Jehad Alammadi in Bahrain this year are noteworthy. Although local birders know the species breeds locally it is not mentioned as doing so in many books such as the latest Helm Warbler guide. The birds nest in tall reeds with water nearby so they can feed on the abundant insects, although I have also seen one individual eating a small fish. The Indian Reed Warbler is often treated as a subspecies of Clamorous Reed Warbler. In Saudi Arabia Clamorous Reed Warbler also occurs and breeds on the Red Sea coast.