When I arrived the tide was very low and about 600m out. This was a bit frustrating as most of the birds had followed the falling tide. I spent some time scanning the coast with my bins to see what was out there. There were large numbers of Greater Flamingos and a big flock of mixed Western Reef Herons (dark and pale phase). I saw an Osprey flying along the coast with a fish in its claws lined up head first in the direction of flight to reduce drag. There was a small party of Crab Plovers (6) feeding out on the flats. I tracked a flock of Common Black-headed Gulls flying along the coast. Also present was a Grey Heron and a Great Cormorant perched on some rocks. As I drove along the coast I came across a Steppe Grey Shrike and two Greater Hoopoe-Larks. The Hoopoe-Larks have not seen for a few months so it was good to catch up with them again. At a small lagoon I came across a Common Redshank, a Greenshank and a Grey Plover. The raptor trapping hides were still in operation up in this area. Fuwairit Beach was very quiet, with the usual flocks of Terns or Gulls not to be seen. Back at Al Khor harbour it was also quiet with only a Slender-billed Gull , a Caspian Tern and a Lesser Crested Tern patrolling overhead. All in all not the most productive day, but it still beats the hell out of jacket and tie at the office. Steppe Grey Shrike The Common Kestrel at one of the trapping sites A grey Plover in winter plumage
0 Comments
I came across my first Eastern Mourning Wheatear the other day. They are winter visitors and not as common as the Isabelline and Desert Wheatears Eastern Mourning Wheatear showing the diagnostic orange colouring under the tail
Finally the temperatures are coming down. It was 18 degrees C when I got to the farm this morning. Later the mercury climbed up into the high twenties, but still very pleasant conditions as compared to what we were experiencing a few weeks ago. One of the resident Lilith Owls gives me the beady eye as it rests up in the shade of the large rock My first image of a female European Stonechat this Autumn An obliging Tawny Pipit allows me to get close There are still many Namaqua doves passing through at the moment. Here is a juvenile bird showing typical barring An Isabelline Wheatear perches on a rock near the owl burrow
I stopped to observe two Namaqua Doves which I saw resting on the ground near a small shrub. After a few moments the one bird started scratching and stretching, culminating with a magnificent double wing stretch with a tail fan-out, the likes of which I have never seen before. Starting with a bit of a head scratch Followed by some preening A single lateral wing stretch A double wing upward stretch Leading into a double wing and tail fan-out And finally a 270 degree tail fan-out Good to go!
There are Common Kestrels everywhere at the moment. Here is a juvenile Western Marsh Harrier. They are many to be seen patrolling over the fields There are an abundance of Desert Wheatears. Here a male perches obligingly for me The numbers of Water Pipits has also increased over the last few days. Here one has just caught breakfast
The first three images show a bird with the very pale upper-parts, white under-parts blushed pinky-buff on the breast and flanks, and pale lores with a grey bill. With this bird the pink blushing is much less obvious A comparative image of an Arabian Grey Shrike showing the dark lores and black bill
Temminck's Stint, a bird I have only seen on a few occasions here A Wood Sandpiper enjoying the water flowing over the rim of the storage dam A Common Redshank feeding in the shallows Also seen was this Terek Sandpiper A Whiskered Tern takes a break from fishing A Little Tern tbc resting on the beach A Caspian Tern at Fuwairit beach A Lesser Crested Tern flies up the coastline at Fuwairit A first for me at Irkaya. This single Greater Flamingo spent some time feeding on one of the Irrigation storage dams on the farm A Slender-billed Gull wading through the shallows near Al Ruwais
Black-crowned Night Heron. 05.56 am Pied or Eastern Black-eared Wheatear female tbc. 06.12 am Common Snipe 06.24 am My first Water Pipit of the Autumn. 06.28 am Squacco Heron. 06.33 am Common Kestrel. 06.36 am. Note the left over locust/grasshopper legs Male Namaqua Dove. 06.40 am Female Namaqua Dove. 06.41 am
Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters Just before take-off showing the under wing colour. Large numbers were present today. A solitary Marsh Sandpiper. Only my second sighting of this species in just over a year of birding here. Red-wattled Lapwing. There are half a dozen of these birds to be seen at the moment. A Squacco Heron stalking an unsuspecting Dragon-fly Other species included: Black-winged Stilt, Ruff (50 +), Crested Lark, Common Snipe, Barn Swallow, Grey Heron, Pallid Harrier, Isabelline Wheatear, Arabian Grey Shrike, White Wagtail, Eurasian Hoopoe, Wood Sandpiper, Common Moorhen and the rest.
|
Archives
April 2024
|