Indian (Clamorous) Reed Warbler ringing recovery – Bird record by Mohammed Khorshed & Mike Pope

Mike Pope sent me an e-mail the other day with a couple of photographs attached of an Indian (Clamorous) Reed Warbler taken by Mohammed Khorshed in the early morning of 8 September at Jahra Pools Reserve in Kuwait and asked if I had any idea whose ring it was and where this bird may have been ringed? The photos showed only part of the ring but it was enough to identify the bird. The photograph showed the first line of the ring ended in CD, the second line with DH and the number with 693.  This was enough to prove it was one of my rings as I ring with NCWCD, RIYADH rings and the number only fitted one bird with ring number B000693. Indian Reed Warblers are not thought to migrate far and just do small local movements but this is the second one I have either ringed or re-trapped that have moved countries with this bird travelling over 300 kilometres. The first moved from Qatar to Bahrain with the second from Saudi Arabia to Kuwait – see details below

Indian (Clamorous) Reed Warbler

Ring Number: B000693 (NCWCD, RIYADH)

Ringing date: 29 May 2015

Ringing Place: Sabkhat Al Fasl, Jubail, Saudi Arabia (Co-ords: 27.06651N, 49.51233E)

Age: Adult (breeding female)

Ringer: Jem Babbington

Finding date: 8 September 2015

Finding Place: Jahra Pools Reserve, Kuwait (Co-ords: 29 21'37.24 N, 47 41'26.03 E)

Finding Condition: Alive (photographed)

Duration: 103 days

Distance: 311 km

Direction: 324 deg (NW)

Finder: Mohammed Khorshed

Indian (Clamorous) Reed Warbler

Ring Number: VR88323

Ringing date: 22-November-2008

Ringing Place: Al Khor, Qatar, Bahrain & Qatar (Co-ords: 25deg 47min N 51deg 18min E)

Age: 1st Year

Ringer: K. Thornton & W. Jones - Rye Bay Ringing Group

Finding date: 18-May-2012

Finding Place: Alba Marsh, Bahrain, Bahrain & Qatar (Co-ords: 26deg 5min N 50deg 37min E)

Finding Condition: Alive (breeding female)

Duration: 1273 days

Distance: 76 km

Direction: 297deg (WNW)

Finder: Dr Brendan Kavanagh

These ringing results show that at least some Indian Reed Warblers move some distance and ties in with my ringing details where I have ringed over 120 Indian Reed Warblers, in my small ringing area, with only 22 re-traps indicating a passage of birds through my ringing site. The ringing details here show something little known and indicates the value to ringing for knowledge gain and is the first recovery of one of my ringed birds in Kuwait. The fact the Mohammed noticed the bird had a ring and was able to get at least part of the ring number allowed a tracing of the record shows the value of taking good photographs of birds. I would like to thank Mike Pope for passing on the details of this record to me and Mohammed Khorshed for very kindly allowing me to use his excellent photos on my website.

Fewer birds but still good - Ash Shargiyah Development Company Farm

Whilst birding Ash Shargiyah Development Company Farm, near Jubail on 11 September 2015 Phil and I saw a few good birds even though the numbers were considerably reduced from the previous weekend. Probably the best bird excluding the Short-toed Eagle and Juvenile Montagu’s Harrier was a Wryneck seen on the edge of a pivot irrigation field. Plenty of birds like the edges of the fields with Yellow Wagtails and Wheatears common. There were three species of Wheatear including Isabelline, Northern and Pied from commonest to least common. Up to 15 Greater Hoopoe Larks were still present but the number of Greater Short-toed Larks had dropped considerably with only one seen. We saw two Eurasian Turtle Doves a species we had not seen the previous week as well as five species of shrike Woodchat Shrike, Daurian Shrike, Turkestan Shrike, Mauryan Grey Shrike and Lesser Grey Shrike. The commonest birds were Eurasian Bee-eater and Eurasian Hoopoe. A single Spotted Flycatcher and Lesser Whitethroat were seen in the trees by the side of the road.

European Bee-eater

Eurasian Hoopoe

Greater Hoopoe Lark

Greater Hoopoe Lark

Yellow Wagtail

Yellow Wagtail

Yellow Wagtail

Spotted Flycatcher

Lesser Grey Shrike

Mauryan Grey Shrike

Short-toed Snake Eagle – Ash Shargiyah Development Company Farm

Whilst birding Ash Shargiyah Development Company Farm, near Jubail on 11 September 2015 I saw a juvenile Short-toed Snake Eagle over one of the spray fields. The bird dropped down behind the horizon and looked like it may have landed in the field. We drove around and saw the bird take off and fly away but it then circled around and flew closer before drifting off and being lost from sight. This is a good record as in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia the species is a scarce migrant and winter visitor and has only been recorded since 1979 although birds have been seen in all months of the year except July and August. Most records have occurred in March and October & November suggesting most birds just pass through the area although single records in December to February show some birds may winter here. Birds have been seen from the Dibdibah, Nariya and Manifa in the north to Haradh and Jawb on the edge of the Rub’ al-Khali in the south. I have seen a few birds whilst being in Saudi Arabia in the Eastern Province including a second calendar year, Dhahran Hills, 31st March 2011, two juveniles, Dhahran Hills, 22nd October 2011, a second calendar year, Dhahran Hills, 11th February 2012 and a second calendar year, Dhahran Hills, 26th March 2013.

Some bird records from the Jubail area – Bird records by Mohammed Al-Ruqaya

I recently received an e-mail from Mohammed Al-Ruqaya a birdwatcher and photographer from the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia who sent me a few of his photos he has taken in the Jubail area in the last two years. He has very kindly allowed me to use the photos on my website some of which some are shown below. One of the photos is of a White-breasted Kingfisher from last winter at Sabkhat Al Fasl and another a Common Kingfisher from the same site. The White-throated Kingfisher is a scarce winter visitor to the region, but more and more records are being seen in recent winters so, hopefully, some birds may stay and breed. The other birds photographed are regular migrants or winter visitors to the area although some are not so easy to get good photographs of.

Common Kingfisher

White-throated Kingfisher

Collared Pratincole

European Bee-eater 

Red-backed Shrike

Red-spotted Bluethroat

Spotted Flycatcher

A big influx of European Rollers – Northern and Eastern Saudi Arabia

There have been good numbers of European Rollers in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia this autumn but they seem to be moving across the country on a broad front as Viv Wilson also saw good numbers in Tabuk in the northwest of the Kingdom last weekend. Viv had a minimum of six birds on his local patch which was a good count for there including what he thought may have been a family party of three birds, two adults and a juvenile. Phil and I saw the largest numbers we have ever seen on 4 September at Ash Shargiyah Development Company Farm, near Jubail in the Eastern Province with a minimum of 17 birds found including ten on a single large pivot irrigation spray bar. Some birds were very approachable, which is unusual for this species indicating they may have been very tiered new migrants. The approachable nature allowed for some close up photographs to be taken some of which are shown below. The species is an uncommon passage migrant to Saudi Arabia with adults in spring and less commonly juveniles with the odd adult in autumn.

Mass migration - Ash Shargiyah Development Company Farm

Birding the Ash Shargiyah Development Company Farm, Fadhili, near Jubail on 4 September proved to be one of the best days birding I have had in Saudi Arabia. Migrants were thick on the ground with a number of good birds seen including the third record for the Eastern Province of Black-winged Kite (see previous post). Shrike numbers were very large with almost 100 birds seen during the day of eight species (Southern Grey Shrike, Lesser Grey Shrike, Steppe Grey Shrike, Woodchat Shrike, Turkestan Shrike, Daurian Shrike, Red-backed Shrike and Masked Shrike). Other good birds included a female type Eurasian Golden Oriole, a Eurasian Wryneck, five Cream Coloured Coursers, 17 European Rollers and nine Collared Pratincoles. Other migrants included a few Spotted Flycathcers, three Black-eared Wheatears, two Pied Wheatears, four Northern Wheatears and ten plus Isabelline Wheatears. Bee-eaters were around in good numbers with both Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters and European Bee-eaters in about equal numbers with hundreds of both. Many of the European Bee-eaters were finding plenty to eat on the ground where the alfalfa crop was being cut. In this cut field were tens of Yellow Wagtails and close by were a large flock of thirty plus Greater Short-toed Larks. A small number of birds of prey included the Black-winged Kite, one Common Kestrel, two Pallid Harriers including one male and a juvenile Montagu’s Harrier. Barn Swallows and Sand Martins were plentiful and a few waders were seen including Little Stint, Kentish Plover and Black-winged Stilts. The only species of warbler noted were a few Common Whitethroats and Graceful Prinias. Three Brown-necked Raverns were seen flying over a species that is not so commonly seen by me in the region.

Eurasian Hoopoe

European Bee-eater

Brown-necked Raven

European Bee-eater

Greater Short-toed Lark

Greater Short-toed Lark

A huge fall of Shrikes - Ash Shargiyah Development Company Farm (Fadhili)

In early September on an exceptional day of birding at Ash Shargiyah Development Company Farm, near Jubail, we had a massive fall of shrikes. It was obvious as soon as we got to the location migrants were everywhere but shrike numbers were particularly impressive. By the end of the day we had seen eight different species (Red-backed Shrike, Turkestan Shrike, Daurian Shrike, Southern Grey Shrike, Steppe Grey Shrike, Masked Shrike, Lesser Grey Shrike and Woodchat Shrike). Some birds were relatively easy to get close to, suggesting them may be freshly arrived migrants, but luckily the are where they were held plenty of food for them and they were mostly busily hunting it. Due to the number of birds seen throughout the day it was difficult to keep accurate numbers but we probably saw close to fifty Woodchat Shrikes, the species that was the most common. We also saw between five and ten Red-backed Shrike, Turkestan Shrike and Daurian Shrike, one Southern Grey Shrike and Masked Shrike, six Steppe Grey Shrikes and over ten Lesser Grey Shrikes. This made the grand total for the day of approaching 100 birds. This is easily the highest numbers of shrikes we have seen in a day whilst birding in the Kingdom, although we once saw well over fifty Red-backed Shrikes on a morning at Sabkhat Al Fasl in the spring. It was not only the totals that were impressive but also the number of species seen with all the Saudi Arabian shrikes seen in a day with the exception of the vagrant Bay-backed and Long-tailed Shrikes.

Southern Grey Shrike

Southern Grey Shrike

Southern Grey Shrike

Lesser Grey Shrike - adult

Lesser Grey Shrike - immature

Red-backed Shrike

Woodchat Shrike

Woodchat Shrike

Cream Coloured Coursers – Ash Shargiyah Development Company Farm (Fadhili)

Whilst birding Ash Shargiyah Development Company Farm with Phil we speculated early on that it would be a good place and time of year for finding Cream-coloured Courser Cursorius cursor a locally common breeding resident of all scrub desert areas, but a species not often seen due to its habitat preferences. Later on we came across a small flock of two adults and three juveniles along the edge of a pivot irrigation field although they always kept to the sandy edges not the fields themselves. They were quite flighty and did not allow close approach and as it was getting towards midday the sunlight was very strong and heat haze intense so photography was difficult. They occur throughout Saudi Arabia and in the Eastern Province where I live they breed in the northern plains and on the Dibdibah north of 27 degrees N, preferring lightly vegetated gravel and stony desert. During January and February a northerly movement takes place across a broad front and in July to early September post breeding dispersal occurs with juveniles accompanying adults in small flocks. Nine were seen together at the edge of Dammam Airport Pools on 8th July 2011.

Plenty of migrants and Eurasian Hoopoes in Tabuk – Bird records by Viv Wilson

Viv Wilson a birdwatcher from Tabuk was out birding at the end of August and found and photographed plenty of good birds. Viv said he saw up to nine Eurasian Hoopoes together in his compound, the largest number he has seen together at the location. Eurasian Hoopoe appears to be migrating in good numbers on a broad front across Saudi Arabia at present and has been recorded in high numbers in many different locations. Other migrants were about in good numbers including both Black-crowned Night Herons and Glossy Ibis. Viv also saw both Red-backed and Masked Shrikes as well as Spotted Flycathers and a few more brightly coloured species such as European Roller, Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters and Yellow Wagtails. It is obvious migration is well underway across much of the Kingdom and this is a little earlier than many previous years. Hopefully it will continue for a few more weeks and allow some good birds to be found.

Eurasian Hoopoe

Eurasian Hoopoe

Eurasian Hoopoe

Black-crowned Night Heron

Glossy Ibis

European Roller

Blue-cheeked Bee-eater

Blue-cheeked Bee-eater

Yellow Wagtail

Red-backed Shrike

Masked Shrike

Spotted Flycatcher