11/10/11
Twitching a rarity -
Categories: Week 40 - 08 October 2011, Pivot Fields
There is nothing worse than getting news of a first and national rarity whilst you are away on a business trip, so I did not have hold high hopes that the bird would still be present when I headed out to Pivot Fields early on the Saturday - 3 days after it was found. Images by Mike Pope
I would really like to thank Howard King for allowing me to publish images of Kuwait birds on his Website for the past 5-years and in doing so; increase the awareness and potential of birding in Kuwait, a country still considered by many to the within Western Palearctic. The archives for the past 5-year on this site will provide visitors and birders alike a glimpse of birding throughout the year specifically in terms of arrival and departure of migrants.
My Kuwait Blog has moved to a dedicated site for Kuwait Birding and can now be found at http://kuwaitbirding.blogspot.com/ should you be interested in continuing the Kuwait birding adventures.
An obliging Pied Wheatear posed nicely in the warm early morning sun
I caught this Hoopoe just before it disappeared out of the frame
One of the Rollers was still around
as were numerous Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters, this an adult showing its magnificent colours
and a first year Blue-cheeked Bee-eater fattening up for its long journey south
I checked the spot where the Pectoral Sandpiper was seen earlier in the week by Rashed, but found only a Common Snipe
and a juvenile Namaqua Dove
The morning was starting to warm up as I explored other parts of the farm, finding Common Ringed Plover
A first year Daurian/Turkestan Shrike
And a lone Lesser Grey Shrike
numbers of Black Kites were seen
a few Harriers were seen and I was able to photograph this Pallid Harrier
and Marsh Harrier
I found a Long-legged Buzzard, but they are way more skittish than the more common Steppe Buzzards
By now it was just after 11am and I went back to check the field for the Pectoral Sandpiper, when I got a call from Khaled Al-Ghanem to say that it had returned to a small pool and was feeding. I got to the spot just before it was flushed by a Harrier, so was able to twitch this 1st for Kuwait. It took a lot more patience to finally get some decent photographs after waiting for it to return.
