Ringing

2110 birds have been ringed including 90 retraps since the project began in August 2005. There has only been one recovery to date which was killed by a shrike in the nets. While this is a little disappointing it is not surprising given that the birds are coming from areas where ringing is not practiced and going down the east coast of Africa which is again under recorded.

2007 was our best year yet with 1410 birds ringed including 78 retraps. 300 of these were caught in April by Juan Carlos, a visiting ringer from Spain. JC ringed every day for four weeks. He established permanent net sites and helped us develop a ringing station in Badaan farm. Ringing at the same sites continued after he left and data on summer breeders including Olivaceous warblers, rufous bush robins and graceful prinias was gathered for the first time.

911 of the 1410 birds ringed in 2007 were trapped in Badaan which brings the total number of ringed (retrapped) birds at the farm to 1171. We now concentrate our efforts there.

630 birds were ringed in 2006 (260 in Badaan) and 71 birds in 2005 (0 in Badaan).

The number of terns ringed has now risen to 358 (90 in 2006 and 268 in 2007). Pulli of white-cheeked (50) and lesser-crested terns (40) were ringed in 2006. In 2007 we took 2 boat trips north to Jarrim islands and ringed 129 white-cheeked, 170 lesser-crested and 69 bridled tern pulli. These trips will be a part of the ringing year for the foreseeable future.

We have come a long way from ringing sparrows in the garden in 2005. We are already excited at the prospects for 2008.

To view a full summary of numbers and species ringed click HERE

As on most weekends these day we spent Friday morning and Saturday afternoon at Badaan Farm. There are plenty of other places we could go to ring but the farm just offers the best return on our efforts in December.

Ringing station - we do sympathize and feel for those in cooler climes, Saturday evening was cool the temperature dropped I think below twenty for the first time this year. Time to get out the thermals.

Friday was a day when we caught only locally breeding species, nice to see as we build our knowledge data base on these.

Graceful Prinia Prinia gracilis

Palm Dove Streptopelia senegalensis - interesteing moult on this bird.

Saturdays' catch started with a Bluethroat and then a Stonechat
Bluethroat Luscinia svecica

Siberian Stonechat Saxicola maura

However this Saturday evening will go down as the day of the Pipit. Brendan had noted Pipits coming in to roost in a grassy patch during the week so at 4.30pm we set out two nets in a large V. Just as we had hammered the last peg in the ground, the pipits arrived, a nice mix of Water Anthus spinoletta and Meadow Pipits Anthus pratensis. We spent an enjoyable couple of hours in the dark ringing over twenty birds of these two species.

Meadow Pipit Anthus pratensis

Water Pipit Anthus spinoletta

Our local birding and ringing enthusiast Abdullah

Brendan, Abdulla and myself managed a short session of a few hours this afternoon after work. The fields as usual where full of birds however the number of species around was limited, mostly Doves egrets and larks with Water Pipits, Bluethroats, Stonechats, Starlings including Rosy, Indian Silverbills and White Wagtails moving around the open spaces. The White-fronted Goose and Purple Heron continue to walk around the farm and are seen often at a distance. The odd Wheatear and Shrike did put in an appearance in the fading light as did the Song Thrush amonst the palms. We even managed to flush a few quail however our nets in the fields yielded nothing but as we packed up we did manage to net an Isabelline Shrike, White-cheeked Bulbul and our second Song Thrush. These were ringed and photographed in the dark.

We decided on an afternoon session but at the moment catching anything to ring is hard work especially as the wind refuses to die down, however we did manage to add one species to our list that of Song Thrush Turdus philomelos

Not a hectic morning with only three birds ringed the only one photographed was this Isabelline Wheatear Oenanthe isabellina

A short burst of energy is the best way to describe our efforts this afternoon at Badaan. With it getting dark so early we barely have an hour and a half of daylight left after work to catch anything. Never the less we managed a total of eight birds nearly nine if we count the Egyptian Nightjar we just missed using a hand net and stong light after dark. Pied Isabelline and Desert Wheatear Water and Red throated Pipit, Crested Lark and two Quail were the species ringed this afternoon.
I only took a few pictures as I forgot my flash unit.

looking at a female wheatear a puzzled Dr. Brendan Kavanagh
bkavanagh@rcsi-mub.com

Isabelline Wheatear

Desert Wheatear

Pied Wheatear

The weekend could have been easily a washout with a strong northerly wind generated by the presence of a tropical storm of the southern coast of Oman persisting through out.

On Friday we caught nothing in the nets so we tried our hand with spring traps baited with insect larva on the Jebel Dakhan in a forlorn hope of catching some of the numerous Mourning Wheatears wintering on its slopes. The birds were tempted but managed to take the larva with ease – we have to improve on our technique.

On Saturday the wind although still strong had dropped to a stiff breeze so we were able to sting two nets out across one of the crop circles in a bid to catch some of the numerous larks and pipits feeding in the area. This proved to be quite fruitful as we caught 9 Water and a Meadow Pipit. Despite the presence of a large number of Red-throated Pipits we failed to catch a single bird of this species as was the case with the Larks whose number included several Oriental (Small) Skylark, they never approached the netted area.

Nets in the trees yielded both White-cheeked and Red Vented Bulbul, but the best birds of the day have to go down to Abdullah who managed to catch a Kestrel and a Pied Wheatear using traps.

Kestrel

Pied Wheatear

Water Pipit

Red-vented Bulbul

To view the total number number birds by Species ringed upto August 2007

click here

Having opened the nets for two hours in the evening only 4 birds were caught. I don't generally ring sparrows as there are far too many in Bahrain and I would need 1000s of rings since we catch so many. I was struck by the bib on this guy and realised immediately that it was a bit different. Spanish sparrow is a new species for the ringing project. I wonder how many females we might have inadvertently thrown out of the nets! Photographs by Juhani Kyyro.

A small fall of reed warblers occurred recently and we ringed about half a dozen. Juhani Kyyro was with me when I caught this one. The bird was very small and the wing length (60mm) pointed towards Blyth's reed so I did a full set of measurements based on Svensson's Guide which confirmed it. Blyth's is a vagrant to Bahrain and has only been recorded a few times in the past 30 years. They normally overwinter in the Indian subcontinent. This one was fit and well with a fat score of 50. Photographed by Juhani.

I've just finished collating the ringing data in preparation for a submission to the BTO. Below are three photographs by Juhani of a weaver ringed on 11th May last. I am pretty sure it's a Yellow crowned bishop but if anyone can confirm this please contact me. The total list for ringing in Bahrain is now 1625 records including retraps. 82 species have been caught to date. The totals table will be updated shortly. Watch this spot!!

An evening session at Badaan yesterday caused us to ponder a potential terminal point for the period or occurrence on passage of some species passing through Bahrain. The migration regarded as the "Spring" in terms of a European time frame has slowed to a crawl. The fields are largely bare of migrants leaving our resident species more visible than usual; however a few species including possibly even some sub species of others thought to have all ready passed continue to be observed and even netted. Yesterday three Garden Warblers in our nets if added to the glut of others recently trapped indicate that for this species, May is their main period of passage. The Orioles seen last week that were present in good numbers have now disappeared; having first arrived around the end of April mid May represents the terminal date for their occurrence in the spring. The Roller and Cuckoo seen last week had gone but observations of both these species have been prolonged and spread over the last few months. Last week we had a flush of Reed Warblers none this week or the week before, is this indicative of possibly a very short period for their movement through. Willow Warblers and Chiffchaff were both observed in good numbers last weekend however only a few fleeting glances yesterday of a few remaining birds gave note that they would not be seen again till autumn. However being some of the earliest species to arrive are these late comers a different population or sub species to those that passed before. With the variations between many sub species only slight, often with separation identifiable only in the hand, it is possible our and similar ringing campaigns in the Middle East will be able to determine and identify positively the species involved and provide the missing links to answer these questions.

Brendan, Major Abdulla and I spent a few hours in the evening light chasing down birds mostly Terns breeding in and around the industrial wasteland that passes for Askar. The Saunders's Terns we found were at different phases of their season, we found four nests with a single egg, one small chick, and observed serveral flully fledged chicks.(Follow link May 20th for further images)
Saunders's Tern chick

The White-cheeked terns on the other hand, close to fifty pairs breed in this area, were either about to or had laid their eggs in their shallow often decorated nest scraps.
White-cheeked Tern nest and eggs

Elsewhere in the desert behind Alba smeltar thanks to Abdulla's nifty eyesight we were able to find and ring two Crested Lark chicks still in the nest, and observe another nest with four eggs.

Things are definately getting slower however the nets continue to deliver some intersting birds - A Red-backed Shrike, Garden, Reed and a very late Barred Warbler being amongst the highlights. Plus some interesting retraps of locally breeding Olivaceous Warbler some 6 weeks on from our first encounter. For some additional photographs follow link to May 18 - 19 for this weekends efforts.

Red-backed Shrike

Whitethroat

Garden Warbler8

Little and Saunders's Terns are well into there breeding season with some chicks already fully fledged. White-cheeked, Bridled and Lesser Crested Terns are about to start mostly likely as the tidal range decreases over the coming month and the shallows sees a surge in bait fish shoals. White-cheeked particularly, nest very close and even on the floatsum line and hence can't risk tidal inudation as would be the case at the moment.
Walking any beach line be it natural or reclaimed land at the moment, one has to be very careful where one puts a foot. Tern chicks and nests are randomly scattered all over the place.

Saunders's Tern Chick Sterna Saundersi
to view more images for this species follow link to May 16th photos to the right

We only decided to go ringing last evening at the last moment, it turned out to be a good choice. I arrived at Badaan first and dropped the nets, when I returned to the first Brendan was there glowing like an expectant father , he had just taken a European Nightjar Caprimulgus europaeus out of the first net, closely followed by a Nightingale, a Garden and Reed Warbler. With less than a few weeks to the end of what we think of as the main migration period we were as you would expect delighted with our efforts - 7 birds, seven species. Additional photographs of the evenings efforts can be found by following the link in the side column.

European Nightjar Caprimulgus europaeus

European Nightjar Caprimulgus europaeus

Garden Warbler Sylvia borin

These week good numbers of migrant birds continue to arrive and pass, but the species involved is changing all the time. Nightingales continue to pass and be trapped in good numbers since they first arrive a month ago, but many small warblers like Lesser Whitethroats, Chiffchaffs and Willow warblers have disappeared to be replaced by Reed Warblers, Spotted Flycatchers and Whitethroats.
Many locally breeding species are busy in their various breeding cycles with some like Crested Lark even ready for the next brood having successfully reared the first. To view the all recent project (in hand) Photos follow links in right column under Ringing project Photos

Reed Warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus

Spotted FlyCatcher Muscicapa striata

Whitethroat Sylvia communis

Mynah Acridotheres tristis

Juan Carlos Fernández-Ordóñez spent just over three weeks in Bahrain ringing migrants in April 2007. His trip was funded by a grant from the Ornithological Society of the Middle East (OSME) and The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland – Medical University of Bahrain (RCSI-MUB). Most of the ringing was conducted in Badaan Farm, a beautiful wall enclosed farm with grass circles, crops and a Palm Grove along the western shore of the Island. However other sites including several wadis were also netted on one or two occasions.

The spring migration was a bit patchy this year, hampered by high winds and sandstorms. On several days the nets couldn’t be opened. Non-the-less the three weeks netted 300 birds of 37 species, eight of these new to the project. A full ringing list for the three weeks can be viewed HERE

A number of interesting retraps was also recorded and fat and muscle scores showed rapid improvement as the birds fuelled up on the rich insect life at Badaan. At the same time the arrival of our breeding species, in particular the Rufous Bushchat and Eastern Olivaceous Warbler was notable with the first brood patches being recorded by the second week in April. Catching our breeding species allowed us to sex the birds which is useful in determining morphological differences between the sexes.

We caught many Kentish Plover chicks, our first little tern chick and saw the first clutch of graceful prinias fledged. Grey Francolin broods also appeared at the latter end of the second week.

Spring is a very brief affair in Bahrain. Over the three weeks the temperatures went from 27 to 37 degrees signalling the end of spring and the start of summer. We were sad to see JC go. His knowledge of moult and the racial distribution of many species is legendary and his persistence in the face of sandstorms and rising temperatures is commendable. For me personally, it was invigorating to have another ringer on the island and to exchange ideas and ringing techniques once again. Thank you to OSME and RCSI-MUB for making it all happen.

His visit has been of immense value and an outstanding success, we hope he will agree to more trips in the future. To VIEW some of the images (over 250) of birds in the hand click here or follow links at side additional ringing photos

Juan Carlos Fernández-Ordóñez and Dr. Brendan Kavanagh

Juan first tried all our normal sites but with the best returns from Badaan Farm he concentrated his major offensive there. The following images show different aspects of the farm environment

Disappointing results from our other ringing stations this month, due largely to their exposure to high winds, which have persisted almost continuously over the last few weeks, encouraged us to try a new location, the drainage ditches at Adhari. The area south and east of the village of South Sehla and west of Adhari Park is a mix of open ground, intense agricultural gardens and overgrown wetland margins, all separated by numerous deep and free flowing fresh water drainage ditches. The site hosts numerous breeding species including Little Bittern, Night Herons, Kentish Plover, Moorhen, Sparrows, Palm Doves, Collared Doves, Rufous Bush Chats, Graceful Prinia and White-cheeked Bulbuls. The ditches are also home to a sizable population of local Terrapins, frogs and fish which makes the area a magnet for egrets, herons and Kingfishers with many wintering almost exclusively at the site. Snipe and Sandpipers are common in all the ditches along with Red and Greenshank and a few small waders and the gardens full of migrant passerines. The only problem for ringing is one of site selection for the nets as the ditches are deep, with heavily vegetated margins, but as we develop our knowledge of the area in terms of ringing potential this can be overcome.

After a week of unsettled and blustery weather we finally managed to get out to the Hypocolius roost at Saar. Well over forty Hypocolius arrived at the site between 16.15 and 17.30 hrs but as usual they proved very difflicult to pin down so we considered ourselves lucky to catch one bird, a male

At the site I was surprised to find a Kentish Plover nest with two egg - in the middle of open ground the bird could not have chosen a worse site - Its chances of a successful season are slight

A windy day a the Diplomatic Wadi Riffa, that resulted in only two birds being trapped, both recaptures of birds originally ringed at the wadi on 3 Frebuary - A Bluethroat and Chiffchaff, further picture in day folder Feb 23

A vast improvement in the weather this weekend, temperatures are beginning to climb. We still await the main arrival of most migrants so it was no surprise to only get 3 birds in the bag, however what was surprising were the two species of warbler trapped, Menetries's Sylvia mystacea and Barred Sylvia nisoria. The possibility is that both had wintered here, particularly the Menetries's as it was in full moult, even minus a tail. This is the reason why there is no photograph of the tail in the ringing photograph folder 16th feb 2007. We do have for both species a few previous winter records. The other species caught was a Palm Dove, which as a species is fast becoming the most numerous dove in Bahrain overtaking Collared Dove. Photographs this week by Juhani Kyyrö

Menetries's Warbler ©Juhani Kyyrö www.virtual-bird.com

Barred Warbler ©Juhani Kyyrö www.virtual-bird.com

Palm Dove ©Juhani Kyyrö www.virtual-bird.com

A misty start to a calm dry day - not many birds around but plenty of water in the desert. Many places are currently just to muddy to access so we stuck to one of our favourites the old rock quarry - the Diplomatic Wadi. Nearly all the waders had disappeared so we concentrated our efforts around the thorn thicket just north of the lake and succeeded into netting 4 species Lesser Whitethroat, Chiffchaff (2), Bluethroat and Water Pipit. See Feb 03 2007 for further images.

Lesser Whitethroat Sylvia curraca

Chiffchaff Phylloscopus collybita

Chiffchaff Phylloscopus collybita

Bluethroat Luscinia svecica

Water Pipit Anthus spinoletta

January 30 was a Holiday here so we decided to try for the Warblers wintering in the BDF Wadi near Hamad Town, maybe if we were lucky we might even get some Hypocolius. Our first catch of the day were Crested Lark Galerida cristata, White-cheeked Bulbuls (5) Pycnonotus luecogenys, the national bird of Bahrain, followed by a rash of Lesser Whitethroats Sylvia curraca with two identified as Desert Ssp minula (P2= 7/8), an Indian Silverbill, Collared and Palm Dove. Five Hypocolius were seen feeding in the wadi but none were caught.

Crested Lark

White-cheeked Bulbul

For more images of both the two desert and the lesser Whitethroat see additional ringing project photos - 30 Jan 2007

Yesterdays ringing session at the Hypocolius roosts netted none of the Hypocolius seen however one Chiffchaff and a House Sparrow (recovery)did obligue us by dropping into the nets.

A mixed bag of eight birds, with eight species ringed today - again at the Diplomatic Wadi behind Riffa Airbase, with Bill Jones from Kent assisting Brendan with the ringing.
Species for the day are Bluethroat, Chiffchaff, Isabelline Shrike, Indian Silverbill, Palm Dove, Collared Dove, Little Stint.

Isabelline Shrike

Chiffchaff

Palm Dove

Bluethroat

The small pond has been turned into a small lake.

A cold and blustery day but enjoyable all the same that gave us two new species on our ringing list - Little Stint Calidris minuta (5) and Wood Sandpiper Tringa glareola (1) along with another Green Sandpiper Tringa ochropus (1) Too view a selection of the days photographs follow links in the rightside margin
The final count for birds ringed in Bahrain from August 2005 to the end of December 2006, can be viewed by Clicking Here

Little Stint Calidris minuta

Wood Sandpiper Tringa glareola

The final count for birds ringed in Bahrain from August 2005 to the end of December 2006, (Exactly 700 birds processed that’s precision for you!) can be viewed by CLICKING HERE

The recent heavy rains has turned the small pond at the old stone quarry behind Riffa airbase, affectionately called the Diplomatic Wadi by us here, into a small lake. We had picked this site for our weekend morning session as we expected to find it full of waders and wintering passerines. On our arrival at 6.25am many Teal, Black-necked Stilts, small flocks of mixed waders and Moorhen darted for cover into the now isolated and inaccessible reed bed at the back of the lake under the old rock face. We set up our nets across the area to the north of the small lake amongst the smaller ponds and grassy patches. We were unfortunately soon joined by a flock of goats and a pair of Sparrowhawks that supplemented a Kestrel that was already watching us trying to divert his breakfast into our nets. Having committed ourselves to the site we settled down to await the birds return which had since disappeared due mainly to the hunting activities of the Sparrowhawks. The site remained largely inactive until around 9am when five or six Willow Warblers put in an appearance in the thorns nearby. The waders did not start moving around until 9.30am when a Green Sandpiper obliged us by becoming our first catch of 2007. We decided to take it out of the nets straight away managing in the process to flush two Redshanks and two Water Pipits into our other nets. This bag of five birds proved to be our total catch for what was otherwise a very quiet day.
For additional photography click here

Green Sandpiper Tringa ochropus

First Redshank Tringa totanus

The second Redshank Tringa totanus

The pair of Water Pipits Anthus spinoletta note the difference in the appearance of each bird.
In the pictures of the tails, heads and wings below the top bird is always on the left.

Brendan at play

Camera Nikon D70 lens 18-70mm

Click on folder name to view thumbnails then click on a thumbnail to view larger picture - use navigation controls on the page to browse

Ringing Project Details

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