Some movement caught my eye at the waters edge in a shady corner of a small fresh water pond at the local patch. When I went over to investigate, the bird that I had seen had retreated back into the cover of the overhanging bush. I decided to sit and wait for it to re-appear as it had looked like a Night Heron and I was keen to get another look at it. As I was quietly waiting I spotted some movement out of the corner of my eye. Much to my surprise I then saw this Little Bittern female perched in amongst the branches of the overhanging Bougainvillea bush. After waiting a few more minutes the Night Heron also re-emerged. So in this instance two birds in the bush were certainly better than one in the hand Little Bittern female Black-crowned Night Heron juvenile A Willow Warbler on the lookout for insects A European Roller. One of two seen on the day
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We decided to take a drive up to Fuwairit beach over the weekend. They have fenced it off in preparation for the Turtle breeding season, so we had to drive a bit south and find another spot for our picnic. There were a few terns around, so I waded out a bit and tried my hand at some B.I.F. shots Lesser Crested Tern A few landed briefly on these exposed rocks allowing me this image Sandwich Tern Caspian Tern Caspian Tern
There have been some signs of breeding activity recently. Below are a few images of some of what I have come across Three fledgling Cattle Egrets compete for attention from the parent Two adult birds in breeding plumage showing courtship colouring of pink-orange bill and legs, and orange tone to the crown, breast and mantle A male House Sparrow busy carrying nesting material to his nest A female House Sparrow feeds a demanding fledgling A typical Dove's nest of twigs complete with a couple of eggs A Red-wattled Lapwing nest. Lets hope they are successful with their breeding attempt this summer An Indian Silverbill collecting material. I sat and observed as it broke off sections of the dried grass and then carried it into a bush where it was building the nest. My first sighting of Grey Francolin chicks this season
Even though I spent most of my time observing the foxes there was still a bit of time for birding. As I looked around I came across two new species for this location, plus a few other interesting observations. A Black-necked Grebe in gorgeous breeding plumage A single female Blackcap was seen making its way along a tree line in search of insects amongst all the branches Red-throated Pipits were seen in good numbers An Eurasian Curlew was also present A Red-eared Slider warming itself on a rock in the sun
A Red Fox has been in residence at the local patch for some time now. It was therefore very exciting to find out that in fact there were a pair of them and that they had bred successfully. Four healthy cubs have been seen in and around the den. By watching and waiting patiently one morning I was able to finally get an image of all four of the cubs outside of the den together. Unfortunately the parents did not put in an appearance, perhaps next time I will have more luck. All four cubs in the frame Then there were three After a while they relax and start wrestling with each other Two cubs on view Here one cub shows off the diagnostic large broad ears, dark facial stripes and the white tip to the tail
Here are some more images of birds seen over the last few days. Hopefully this kind of action will continue for a while yet. A White-tailed Lapwing. Only my second record of this bird here Another uncommon migrant, this Temminck's Stint can be differentiated from the more common Little Stint mainly by the yellowish green legs This Common Sand Martin was seen together with a large flock of Barn Swallows This Upcher's Warbler was busy working its way through the bushes feeding on the leaf insects on offer This Little Ringed Plover is already showing breeding plumage One of two Spotted Flycatchers I observed within a short distance of each other
I sat and watched as these two birds sorted out their personal space issues on this very handy perch before then getting on with what they wanted to do
With migration season in full swing the poor old residents tend to be neglected somewhat. Here are a few images of some of the birds that are taken a little bit for granted at these times of the year The exception that proves the rule. Here a Male Spanish Sparrow shows some lovely colour A female Spanish Sparrow by contrast Two almost fully grown fledging Spanish Sparrows wait on this branch for an indulging parent to arrive with a tasty insect or two. Note the fleshy gape still visible on these birds Here a Corn Bunting poses on the "well known" curved branch near one of the storage dams, that has been part of the landscape on the farm for as long as I have been in Qatar An Isabelline Wheatear poses against the lovely OOF green background of an irrigated field of pasture grass No LBJ collection would be complete without an image of one of the the abundant Crested Larks
Now that the wind has died down a bit and the dust that was choking everything has abated it was good to spend some time out on the farm. The wind had been blowing out of the North West. It has caused a drop in the temperatures and for the last two mornings it has been quite cool to start of with. I had spoken to Mike in Kuwait and he had told me of large numbers of Barn Swallows being present. Well they were also here as well as a few Sand Martins keeping them company. There were several species that I saw for the first time this season, as well as some of the old regulars I drove past both of the owl burrows and all was well There was another wave of Bee-eaters. Both species were to be seen. Here a Blue-cheeked Bee-eater is resting on the deck Between their aerial sorties over the irrigated fields in search of food the Barn Swallows would also land and rest on the roads I found this Arabian Grey Shrike perched on one of the trees in the Wadi. Note how the tree is coming into leaf Here is a Turkestan Shrike for comparison A female Namaqua Dove. One of several that I saw today Mike Pope had been telling me that the Rollers and the Golden Orioles had not been seen in Kuwait yet. Well today I spotted my first European Roller of the season A Greater Short-toed Lark with a raised crest Other species included: Crested Lark, Lesser Kestrel, Grey Heron, Wood Sandpiper, Ruff, Upcher's Warbler, Isabelline Wheatear, Yellow Wagtail, Black-winged Stilt, Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin, Common Moorhen, Squacco Heron, Little Grebe, Grey Francolin, Ortolan Bunting, Red-wattled Lapwing, Pied Wheatear, Northern Wheatear, Indian Silverbill and the rest
I rushed off to try and connect with two European Storks that had been seen flying overhead at Al Khor. The chances of finding them were not good, but nothing ventured nothing gained. It was also an excuse to drop what I was doing (not much) and head off in search of a few birds. Sadly I dipped on the storks, but I was more or less expecting that. Instead what I did find was a few rather tatty looking gulls as a consolation prize 1st Year Great Black-headed Gull Another 1st year bird showing a strongly bi-coloured bill, grey adult like upper parts and a more prominent eye-crescent A Slender-billed Gull gives me the eye as it flies past. Note the worn wing feathers Another scruffy looking Slender-billed Gull on the look out for a meal as the fishermen clear their nets at Al Khor harbour
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