Birding Bahrain

I am on leave in the UK FOR A FEW MORE WEEKS - If I get any pictures from here I will put them up on our page world birds

First thing this morning I returned to Askar reeds (26° 4'33.21"N 50°37'11.07"E) to get a better image of the Avocet - well worth it too the bird was still there and feeding out in the open.
Avocet

I also managed to find a juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron indicating that they also breed here.

and a Clamorous Reed Warbler

I then went to Hamalah and the experimental farm (26° 8'26.80"N 50°28'25.82"E)- not a lot here as yet but I did manage to find five or six Isabelline Wheatears

I then went over to Buri to check out the vegetable gardens in amongst the palms (26° 9'48.58"N 50°29'38.40"E) again a few more Isabelline Wheatears on the open fields but in the shade of the trees it was very quite except for a few of our breeding species

Rufous Bushchat

White-cheeked Bulbul

Graceful Prinia

Red-vented Bulbul

Hill Mynah

Common Mynah

last full weekend before a spot of leave in the UK - but the weather has to be endured its "horrible" - hot and humid. First thing this morning was a trip around the shore line of Maharraq and Hidd then onto some gardens in Buri then back to Asker after a phone call from Brendan telling me he had found an Avocet - our first since September 1998.

Socotra Cormorant - these are 1st year birds - but quite a few large flocks around - won't be long now before they all disappear off to the breeding grounds on Hawar.

Whimbrel currently more numerous than the Curlews

Broad-billed Sandpiper

A lot more Lesser Sand Plovers around this week as well

Turnstone

Terek Sandpiper

Redshank

Bar-tailed Godwit

Curlew Sandpiper - food fight

Greater Sand Plover

Little Stint

From the Refinery green patch - now complete with water
Green Sand Piper

Marsh Sandpiper

and finally the rather distant Avocet from Askar

The last of the Pallid Swifts have disappeared for the summer from outside the office window this week but Rollers Blue Cheeked Bee-eaters Sand Martins and even a yellow Wagtail have already been seen by Brendan. For my part I have added Cream Coloured Courser and a Isabelline Wheatear to the early returns. On the Shore Curlew Sandpiper and Little stint are now the most numerous wader but a few Terek Sandpipers Dunlin have been also seen along with an increase in numbers of Red and Greenshank, Whimbrel, Curlews and Godwits.

Cream Coloured Courser

Our regulars
Greater Sand Plover - they just luv the camera

Little Bittern

Night Heron

It was my intention to concentrate on land birds today in both the gardens and fresh water margins. But having visited Adhari ditches,the chicken farm and a few green spots in between I ended up at Dumistan or Lawzi Lake with not many species recorded. The lake, our biggest body of brackish water and all that remains of an old long abandoned sandpit, was full of Terns; White-cheeked and Little, Reef Herons and Black-winged Stilts, a few Kentish Plovers, Little Egrets, a solitary Grey Heron and Little Grebes completed the picture. I was surprised as sat viewing the antics of the terns to see a pair of Slender-billed Gulls appear from the reed margins on the far side. Slender-billed are not that numerous in the summer unlike in winters when tens of thousands can be found. What was surprising about this pair were that one was obviously a juvenile whist the other an adult and the attentive behavior of the adult was suggestive of parent and offspring. Interesting to say the least as we do not have any accepted records for this species breeding here.

Dumistan Lawzi Lake

Slender-billed Gull the pair in question

the adult

the juvenile

Terns

White-cheeked Tern

Little Tern

Black-winged Stilt

From Adhari
breeding Collared Dove

Squacco Heron another species thought now to be breeding here

Kentish Plover chick

Moorhen

From the Chicken Farm
Rufous Bushchat

after our ringing trip to Jarim last weekend it was nice to get back to the Maharraq shore - the most numerous species seen were the Greater Sand Plovers, out numbering the Kentish Plover for once. Both species seem to have multiplied in numbers dramatically these last few weeks. Terns were in short supply with the breeding season still not yet complete but plenty of Reef Herons around and the odd other wader the numbers of species on the shore is beginning to build.

Curlew Sandpiper

Bar-tailed Godwit

Greater Sand Plover

Greenshank

Kentish Plover

Lesser Crested Tern

White-cheeked Tern

Western Reef Heron