For information on specially arranged half-day, single day and longer birding tours of the Emirates, e-mail: hellyer@emirates.net.ae or Peter@extinfo.gov.ae

THE SHELL BIRDWATCHING GUIDE TO THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Monthly report page on what's happening among the United Arab Emirates' bird-life.

05/06/02

Twitchers’ Guide for the United Arab Emirates for the week ending 31st May 2002. Edited by Simon Aspinall & Peter Hellyer, P.O.Box 45553, Abu Dhabi, UAE.

Very much the tail-end of the migration this week, with not many reports coming in either, since some of our regular resident correspondents have already migrated to cooler climes. So not many regular sites visited, either.
The best new bird reported is the purple gallinule found by Mike Wood at the remnants of the Ramtha lagoon site, which accordingly gets the Bird of the Week award.

To the reports - which won’t take long!

On 25th May, a visit to the remnants of the Ramtha lagoon area, between Sharjah and Ajman, produced the purple gallinule as well as 2+ little egrets, a marsh harrier and 200+ Saunder’s little terns. At Dubai’s Al Mamzar Park were a common cuckoo, 14 hoopoes, 2 common redstarts, a whitethroat, 4 willow warblers, a spotted flycatcher and a red-backed shrike, with three marsh warblers, a whitethroat and 2 red-backed shrikes at Mushrif Palace Gardens - very much the tail-end of the migration! Also at the MPG were summer breeders rufous bushchat (2) and 6 olivaceous warblers, one feeding a fledgling.

On 30th May, 2 night herons were in Safa Park (breeding nearby?), along with a juvenile shikra, a red-wattled plover, enjoying a venture into the heart of the city and 21 hoopoes. A single red-backed shrike was at the Al Wathba Camel Track, with the only other birds of note being a cream-coloured courser and a barn owl, the latter after dark. On 31st May, a visit to the Mushrif Palace Gardens found not a single migrant. A red-whiskered bulbul and 4 olivaceous warblers were the only birds of note. A foray deep into the desert, to Bu Hasa - always likely to produce something interesting in the winter - yielded only a single bird, a hoopoe lark.

Ah well, the first returning migrants should be back in a few weeks!

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27/05/02

Twitchers’ Guide for the United Arab Emirates for the weeks ending 17th and 24th May 2002. Edited by Simon Aspinall & Peter Hellyer, P.O.Box 45553, Abu Dhabi, UAE.

WEEK ENDING 17th May

Apologies, first, for the delay in sending out the Guide for this week, (though we should concede that running two weeks at once makes it easier to detect the migration movements!). For this week, evidence of an excellent passage of lesser grey shrikes is presented, as well as red-backed shrikes, marsh and sedge warblers (as well as a few other warblers), and spotted flycatchers. Best new birds of the week were 2 pale martins in Abu Dhabi and a river warbler at the Emirates Golf Course. We’ll plump for Colin Richardson’s river warbler as Bird of the Week.
To the records.

On 12th May, a visit to Mushrif Palace Gardens in Abu Dhabi found 2 pale martins, 27 marsh warblers, 5 olivaceous and 4 willow warblers, a whitethroat and a spotted flycatcher. A wood sandpiper, a black-tailed godwit, a spotted flycatcher and 4 singing reed warblers were at the Emirates Golf Course.

On 13th May, a great cormorant, a red-wattled plover, a Sandwich tern, a common cuckoo, 20 hoopoes, a redstart, a sedge warbler, 5 marsh warblers, 12 willow warblers, 4 spotted flycatchers and a red-backed shrike were at Dubai’s Al Mamzar Park.

On 14th May, 6 marsh warblers, 3 willow warblers and 4 spotted flycatchers were at the Emirates Golf Course. At the Abu Health and Fitness Club were a rufous bush chat, 10 marsh, 2 sedge and an Upcher’s warbler, 2 whitethroats, 10+ willow warblers, 4 spotted flycatchers, 3 red-backed shrikes and 2 lesser grey shrikes.

On 15th May, Mushrif Palace Gardens produced 2 nightingales, a white-throated robin, 3 sedge, 18 marsh, 4 olivaceous and 30 willow warblers, along with a single Upcher’s, together with 15 spotted flycatchers and 4 red-backed shrikes (1 male). A fall was clearly under way, with Khalidiya producing a further 2 nightingales, 3 redstarts, 26 marsh and 3 sedge warblers, a whitethroat, 46 willow warblers, 22 spotted flycatchers and 5+ red-backed shrikes. Several marsh warblers were noted arriving at sunset in trees at the Desert Springs housing compound near the Emirates Golf Course. Also found in the compound that evening were 12 spotted flycatchers and a red-backed shrike.

On 16th May, Mushrif Palace Gardens produced a nightingale, a sedge warbler, 25 marsh, 35 willow and 5 olivaceous warblers, 12 spotted flycatchers, a male and a female golden oriole, 3 red-backed shrikes and 2 lesser grey shrikes. A trawl around all the key Abu Dhabi island sites, including most of the above, found an Indian roller, 6 yellow wagtails, a grey wagtail, 5 tree pipits, 2 rufous bush chats, 4 nightingales, 7 redstarts, 8 whinchats, warblers galore, including 84 marsh, 26 sedge, 1 great reed, 1 Upcher’s, 2+ Blyth’s reed, 5 whitethroats and 184 willow, along with 113 spotted flycatchers, 29 red-backed shrikes, 3 golden orioles and the 2 lesser grey shrikes. A sooty gull was off Abu Dhabi’s Sheraton Hotel.

An early morning visit to the Emirates Golf Course, prompted by the fall at Desert Springs the night before, produced a river warbler “almost the first bird seen,” along with a little bittern, a shikra, a cuckoo, a sand martin, 9 redstarts, 90 marsh warblers, 2 probable Blyth’s reed warblers, a sedge warbler, a blackcap, 5 willow warblers, 39 spotted flycatchers, 10 red-backed shrikes and a lesser grey shrike. Other birds seen there during the day included a whinchat and an olivaceous warbler Also on 16th May, an inspection of Jebel Ali village found a single yellow wagtail, 5 whinchats, 2 marsh warblers, 2 willow warblers, 4 spotted flycatchers, 3 red-backed shrike and a lesser grey shrike.

The weekend inspection of the Al Wathba Camel Track, on 17th May, found a Montagu’s harrier, a kestrel, a collared pratincole, 10 red-wattled plovers (with young), 17 chestnut-bellied sandgrouse, 3 hoopoe lark, a short-toed lark, 2 swallows, 2 rufous bush chats (in the wood), 18 whinchats, 2 Northern wheatears, 3 isabelline wheatears, 12 marsh warblers, 2 whitethroats (wood), an Upcher’s warbler (wood), 25 willow warblers (wood), 4 red-backed shrikes, 8 lesser-grey shrikes and 2 Southern grey shrikes. 15 spotted flycatchers were out in the fields on the sprinkler taps, an unusual place to see them.

In Mushrif Palace Gardens, with the fall continuing, were 2 yellow wagtails, a thrush nightingale, 2 nightingales, 3 redstarts, 6 whinchats, warblers en masse, including 213 marsh, 15 sedge, 2 great reed, an Upcher’s, a barred and 208 willow, along with a blackcap, a lesser whitethroat and 8 whitethroats, 67 spotted flycatchers, 24 red-backed shrikes, 3 lesser grey shrikes and 3 golden orioles. 2 yellow wagtails, 2 whinchats, a Northern wheatear and 6 willow warblers were at the nearby Health and Fitness Club. Down at Khalidiya were another redstart, a whinchat, 30 marsh, 3 sedge, one great reed, one barred and 40 willow warblers, as well as a whitethroat, 8 spotted flycatchers, 5 red-backed and 2 lesser grey shrikes and a golden oriole.

Also on 17th May, Wimpey Pits produced a purple heron, 3 glossy ibis and 10 white-tailed plovers (plus 3 young chicks). In the adjacent pivot fields, were a squacco heron, 12 cattle egrets, 2 glossy ibis, 7 ruff, 2 little ringed plovers, 2 spotted flycatcher, a common whitethroat, 3 blue-cheeked bee-eaters, 2 hoopoes, 3 sedge warblers, 12 marsh warblers, 3 whinchats, 2 willow warblers, a lesser grey shrike and a red-backed shrike. 110 Kentish plovers, 1 redstart, 10 willow warblers and a lesser grey shrike were at the Emirates Hills Golf Course.

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WEEK ENDING 24th May

To the second week’s reports. Comparison with the week ending 17th May, above, shows the tailing off of the passage of the previous week. The continued presence of collared pratincoles is noteworthy - surely the species must breed one year!

For Bird of the Week, we’ll pick a species that is rarely recorded, thanks to a lack of regular summer seawatching, the Persian shearwater found by Tommy Pedersen at Ra’s Dibba.

To the records. A visit to Mushrif Palace Gardens on 18th May found a nightingale, 2 sedge, 8 marsh and 14 willow warblers, a whitethroat, 6 spotted flycatchers, 2 red-backed and 2 lesser grey shrikes. On 19th May, a visit to the Ra’s al-Khaimah golf course found a female marsh harrier, 2 collared pratincoles, a wood sandpiper and 2 European rollers.

At Khor Kalba, also on the 19th, were a striated heron, 5 oystercatchers, 6 lesser sand plovers, 3 curlews (eastern race), 93 sanderling, 125 common terns, (2 in breeding plumage), and 25 little terns. 5 lesser crested, 1 common, 10 white cheeked and 25 little terns were at Fujairah beach with an Arctic skua and 150 bridled terns off Bidiya. At Ra’s Dibba were a Persian shearwater, a great cormorant, 5 pomarine and an Arctic skua, 50 lesser crested, 100 white-cheeked and 500 bridled terns, 2 (eastern) olivaceous warblers, 3 willow warblers, a female whinchat and a pair of yellow-throated petronias (escapes are everywhere these days!).

On 20th May, the RAK golf course produced 2 swallows, 2 marsh warblers and a spotted flycatcher. 2 marsh warblers, a great reed warbler, 5 olivaceous and 8 willow warblers were in Mushrif Palace Gardens, along with 2 rufous bush chats, a single spotted flycatcher and 2 red-backed shrikes. Safa Park held 3 night herons, a pair of shikra, (one bird carrying nest material), 8 pallid swifts, 20 hoopoes, an Upcher’s warbler, a whitethroat, 5 willow warblers and a spotted flycatcher.

Also on 20th May, a pair of Bonelli’s eagles and an osprey were at the Wadi Shih reservoir on the East Coast.
On 22nd May, a male red-backed shrike was at the RAK golf course while an inspection of the last remnants of Abu Dhabi’s Bateen Wood yielded 2 male red-backed shrikes.

On 23rd May, a redstart and a whinchat were at Ghantut. On 24th May, Wimpey Pits held 35 adult little grebes plus 18 juveniles, 2 cattle egrets, a little egret, 2 glossy ibis, 109 greater flamingos, a greylag goose, 9 mallard, 7 pintail, 2 shoveler, 3 pochard, a ferruginous duck, 17 moorhen, a coot, 70 black-winged stilts and a juvenile, 6 little ringed plovers, 50 Kentish plovers, 15 red-wattled plovers, 9 white-tailed plovers, 3 little stints, a common sandpiper and a red-necked phalarope. In the adjacent pivot fields were 15 cattle egrets, a glossy ibis, 4 red-wattled plovers, a white-tailed plover, a black-tailed godwit, 25 blue-cheeked bee-eaters, a hoopoe, 2 barn swallows, 3 bank mynahs, and 2 Southern grey shrikes, an adult and a juvenile, (not associating). The weekly inspection of the Al Wathba Camel track, also on 24th May, found 2 kestrels, a cream-coloured courser, 20 chestnut-bellied sandgrouse, 3 hoopoe larks, 9 swallows, 2 whinchats, a spotted flycatcher, 2 red-backed shrike and a juvenile Southern grey shrike.

A trawl around Abu Dhabi island caught up with the tail end of the previous week’s fall, with Mushrif Palace Gardens producing a yellow wagtail, 2 nightingales, a redstart, 17 marsh, 3 sedge, an Upcher’s and 17 willow warblers, a whitethroat, 6 spotted flycatchers and 3 red-backed shrikes. At Khalidiya were a female European nightjar, a redstart, 3 willow warblers, a spotted flycatcher and a red-backed shrike.

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14/05/02

Twitchers’ Guide for the United Arab Emirates for the week ending 10th May 2002. Edited by Simon Aspinall & Peter Hellyer, P.O.Box 45553, Abu Dhabi, UAE.

Despite the onset of the summer heat, (and the absence from this week’s report of a few regular contributors), a trawl around the country produced some good records. The final flurry of the spring migration is well under way, with lesser kestrels, golden orioles and the last spotted flycatchers still passing through and marsh warblers reaching their early May peak. Breeding by residents and summer visitors, is also in full swing. Best new birds of the week were the 2 sooty shearwaters found by Dave Diskin off Ra’s Dibba, which take the Bird of the Week title.
To the records.

On 4th May, the Emirates Golf Course produced a Temminck’s stint, 6 snipe (last of the season?), 6 blue-cheeked bee-eaters, 6 swallows, a marsh warbler and a spotted flycatcher.

On 5th May, 3 little egrets, 2 pochard, 1 garganey, 8 white-tailed plover, 30 little stints, 2 white-winged black terns, one whiskered tern, a sand martin and 2 streaked weavers were at the Wimpey Pits, with 10 cattle egrets, a collared pratincole, a white-tailed plover, a wood sandpiper, 12 blue-cheeked bee-eater, 2 black-crowned finch larks, 2 red-throated pipits and an ortolan at the nearby pivot fields. 2 wood sandpipers were at the Dubai sewage works.

Also on 5th May (and again on 6th May), 5 curlews, 2 golden orioles, 1 red-backed and 4 isabelline shrikes were at the Abu Dhabi Golf and Equestrian Club, where the mallards were also out in force again. Perhaps the managers have stopped dumping insecticides on the grass? At the Dubai pivot fields on 8th May were a glossy ibis, a Montagu’s harrier, a black-tailed godwit, 7 white-tailed plovers, a collared pratincole, 2 little and a Temminck’s stint, a thunbergi yellow wagtail and a water pipit. A European nightjar was in the Garhood area of Dubai. A shikra, a singing reed warbler, 7 marsh warblers, 6 willow warblers and a spotted flycatcher were at the Emirates Golf Course. A nightingale was in Mushrif Palace Gardens.

On 9th May, a return visit to the Dubai pivot fields found 3 glossy ibises, 4 white-tailed plovers, a wood sandpiper and 12 marsh warblers. A visit to the Emirates Golf Course found 9 marsh warblers and 3 spotted flycatchers. 3 nightingales, a rufous bush chat, a sedge warbler, 8 marsh warblers, a clamorous reed warbler, 6 olivaceous warblers, a blackcap, 2 willow warbler and 3 spotted flycatchers were in Mushrif Palace Gardens. On 10th May, a lengthy inspection of the East Coast produced a good haul of records. At the Fujairah National Dairy Farm were a little egret, a pallid and a Montagu’s harrier, 35 lesser kestrels, 17 red-wattled plovers, a wood sandpiper, 2 sand martin and 16 swallows and 8 marsh warblers. Off Ra’s Dibba, 2 sooty shearwaters passed by, 20 minutes apart. Also seen were 140 Persian shearwaters, 2 sooty gulls, 150+ common, 2 white-cheeked, 300+ bridled and 20 little terns.

At Qurayyah were 2 juvenile little grebes, a glossy ibis, 15 greater flamingos, 162 black-winged stilts, including at least 13 juveniles or differing ages, a sanderling, 7 little stints, 2 curlew sandpipers, 2 black-tailed godwits, 20 black-headed gulls (rather late), 26 slender-billed gulls and 5 common terns.

3 Socotra cormorants, 30 sanderling, 3 sooty gulls, 280 common, 50 white-cheeked, a bridled and 4 little terns were at the Fujairah Port beach, while 3 more Socotra cormorants, 8 sanderling, 52 sooty gulls, 2 slender-billed gulls and 32 lesser crested, 28 Sandwich, 1100 common and 250 white-cheeked terns were off the Kalba Corniche. On or just off the nearby Kalba beach were 174 sanderling, 3 curlew, a turnstone, 32 sooty gulls, 2 slender-billed gulls and a swift, 39 lesser crested, 7 Sandwich, 75 common, 27 white-cheeked and 110 little terns. 5 little egrets, an adult and 2 juvenile moorhen and a whiskered tern were at the old Ramtha dump, with 28 greater flamingos, 36 adult black-winged stilts and 5 juveniles, an avocet,12 little stints, 4 curlew sandpipers, 2 ruff, a turnstone, 3 whiskered and 2 white-winged black terns and an Upcher’s warbler were at the Sharjah dump.

Also on 10th May, the weekly inspection of Al Wathba Camel Track produced a Montagu’s harrier, 2 kestrels, 71 Pacific golden plovers (late this year), 2 red wattled plovers, a white winged black tern ( full summer plumage), 7 chestnut-bellied sandgrouse, a European roller, a short toed lark, 5 hoopoe larks, a red-rumped swallow, a Northern wheatear, a isabelline wheatear, 12 marsh warblers, 2 isabelline shrike and 2 Southern grey shrike. In Mushrif Palace Gardens were a European nightjar, a nightingale and 3 spotted flycatchers. 30 greater flamingos, an osprey, and 23 bridled terns were off Abu Dhabi’s Eastern Lagoon, where 3+ clamorous reed warblers were present.

Dubai’s Al Mamzar Park produced 3 Alexandrine parakeets, 74 marsh warblers (migration peaking?) and 4 spotted flycatchers.

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06/05/02

Twitchers’ Guide for the United Arab Emirates for the week ending 3rd May 2002. Edited by Simon Aspinall & Peter Hellyer, P.O.Box 45553, Abu Dhabi, UAE.

Migration is now beginning to tail off, although the late birds are now passing, through, like golden orioles and marsh warblers, and buntings are still to be found. Best new birds of the week were the 2 or 3 cinereous buntings on Das Island, while the reappearance of the white-eyed buzzard at the Emirates Golf Course and of Abu Dhabi’s goldfinch were also noteworthy. 4 male pin-tailed sandgrouse at the Dubai pivot fields were surely escapes, as were single green-coloured and magenta-coloured bank mynahs, also at the pivot fields.

Mike Wood’s cinereous buntings from Das take the Bird of the Week title. A timely round up from Das Island to begin with, covering the period from 19th April to 29th April.

Barn owl and little bittern, 20th April; 2 steppe eagles, 22nd April; short-eared owl, 24th April; ortolan 19th April to 24th April; 2 or 3 cinereous buntings and 2 Indian rollers on 27th April; night heron, 28th April. Other birds seen over the period included hobby, turtle dove, European bee-eater, European roller, short-toed lark, sand martin, pale crag martin, red-throated, tree and Richard’s pipits, yellow, citrine and grey wagtails, rufous bushchat, nightingale, whinchat, pied, red-tailed, Northern and desert wheatears, rock thrush, blue rock thrush, marsh, olivaceous, Upcher’s, Menetries’, Orphean and wood warblers and a blackcap, spotted flycatcher, golden oriole, isabelline, red-backed, Southern grey and masked shrike, rose-coloured starling and yellow-throated sparrow. Dates still awaited for some of the migrants.

To the week’s reports.

On 27th April, 2 European rollers, a European nightjar, 2 tree pipits, 2 redstarts, a red-whiskered bulbul, 3 spotted flycatchers, 2 rufous bushchats, a lesser whitethroat, a chiffchaff, 2 olivaceous warblers, an isabelline shrike, a male and a female red-backed shrike and the long-staying goldfinch (singing as usual), were in the Mushrif Palace Gardens.

A visit to Dubai’s Al Mamzar Park on 28th April found a Socotra cormorant (!), a common sandpiper, 15 pallid swifts, 17 hoopoes, a tree pipit and a red-throated pipit, 3 yellow wagtails, (including 2 thunbergi), 2 nightingales, 7 redstarts, a male rock thrush, a whitethroat, 6 willow warblers, an isabelline, 2 male red-backed, a lesser grey and a masked shrike, an ortolan and a black-headed bunting. Also on 28th April, 3 black-tailed godwits, 4 European rollers, a redstart, 2 red-backed shrikes, at least 2 reed warblers in song, willow warblers and 2 spotted flycatchers were at the Emirates Golf Course.

On 29th April, 3 night herons, a kestrel, 2 red-wattled plovers, 2 common sandpipers, 10 back-headed gulls, 4 pallid swifts, a European roller, 13 hoopoes, a tree pipit, a redstart and 10 ortolans were in Safa Park. A return visit on 30th April to Al Mamzar Park found a common sandpiper, a European roller, 9 hoopoes, 2 nightingales, a redstart, a male and a female rock thrush, a willow warbler, 2 spotted flycatchers, a male and a female red-backed shrike and a male black-headed bunting. On 30th April, a white-eyed buzzard, a Temminck’s stint, a chestnut-bellied sandgrouse, a sand martin, a willow warbler, 2 olivaceous warblers, 2 spotted flycatchers and 5 ortolans were at the Emirates Golf Course. 13 cattle egrets, 4 (all male) pin-tailed sandgrouse, 6 collared pratincoles, 3 Temminck’s stints, a green sandpiper, 3 white-tailed plovers, 15 blue-cheeked bee-eaters, a red-throated pipit, 1 tawny pipit, 24 bank mynahs (including a green one and a magenta one, mm! Nice!) and an ortolan were at the Dubai pivot fields.

On 1st May, a male golden oriole, 2 spotted flycatchers and 6 olivaceous warblers (in song) were in the Mushrif Palace Gardens, with 3 tree pipits, a red-throated pipit, a Northern wheatear, a whinchat, a female red-backed shrike and 3 isabelline shrikes were at the Health and Fitness Club nearby. 3 great white egrets,1124 greater flamingos, an osprey, 170 lesser sand plovers, 210 (!) Pacific golden plovers, 280 grey plovers, 2 broad-billed sandpipers, 2 whimbrel, 6 greenshank, 42 Terek sandpipers, 10 gull-billed terns, 37 Caspian terns and 145 Sandwich terns were at Khor Dubai.

On 2nd May, a visit to the Al Wathba Camel Track found a Montagu’s harrier ( adult male ), 3 black-winged stilts, 2 collared pratincoles, 20 Kentish plover (after dark), 66 Pacific golden plovers (many in full summer plumage), 3 red-wattled plovers (after dark), 5 chestnut bellied sandgrouse, a barn owl (after dark ), 6 European Nightjar (after dark ), a blue-cheeked bee-eater, 3 European rollers, 2 hoopoe larks, 4 short-toed larks, a red-throated pipit, a whinchat, 3 isabelline wheatears, a Northern wheatear,a marsh warbler, 5 isabelline shrike, a red-backed shrike, a lesser grey shrike and 5 ortolans. A chestnut-bellied sandgrouse was at the Abu Dhabi Airport Golf Club On 3rd May, another visit to the Al Wathba Camel track produced the Montagu’s harrier, the 2 collared pratincoles, 30 Pacific golden plovers, a white-winged black tern in full summer plumage, 3 sand martins, 2 isabelline and one lesser grey shrike (but not a single wheatear!).

On 3rd May, a visit to the Dubai pivot fields found 14 cattle egrets, a pallid harrier, a Montagu’s harrier, 2 black-winged stilts, a collared pratincole, 7 little ringed plover, a Kentish plover, 12 red-wattled plovers, 5 white-tailed plovers, a Temminck’s stint, a chestnut-bellied sandgrouse, 5 pin-tailed sandgrouse (all males), 19 blue-cheeked bee-eaters, 4 barn swallows, a red-throated pipit, 2 marsh warblers and an ortolan. At the nearby Wimpey Pits at dusk were 17+ cattle egrets at roost, a little egret, 3 glossy ibis, a greylag goose, a mallard, 8 pintail, 2 shoveler, 3 pochard, 1 ferruginous duck, a purple gallinule, 3 red-necked phalaropes, 4 barn swallows and a reed warbler. Also on 3rd May, 8 rufous bushchats, 10 hoopoes, 7 Indian rollers, 15 little green bee-eaters, 20 purple sunbirds and 17 Indian silverbills were in the Al Jimi oasis in Al Ain, with both yellow-vented and white-cheeked bulbuls also being present.


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SHELL BIRWATCHING GUIDE

Visitors to the Emirates may obtain copies of
The Shell Birdwatching Guide to the United Arab Emirates from

Simon Aspinall, Twitcher’s Guide
P.O. Box 45553, Abu Dhabi UAE
Tel: 971 50 6424358, at a price of 60 UAE dirhams