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01/07/99 The first signs of returning migrants this week, though still fairly few and far between, and, in some cases, difficult, or impossible, to distinguish from birds that have lingered all summer. On June 25, a European roller was at Al Wathba, along with a couple of barn swallows and 12+ chestnut-bellied sandgrouse coming in to drink. On June 26, an early morning seawatch from 0530 to 0830 at Dibba saw 181 Socotra cormorants going south (had they come through the Straits of Hormuz, perhaps?), along with 11 pomarine skuas, 56 Persian shearwaters, and numerous common, lesser crested, white-cheeked, bridled and Sandwich terns. The same day, an adult whiskered tern was at Fujairah, while at Kalba were 6 crab plovers, 75 greater sand plovers, a little egret, 300 sooty gulls and 16 Saunder's little terns. At 1920, an early sooty falcon was taking bats at the Kalba bridge. On June 26, a small desert wadi with a pool of water a metre deep was found during a visit to the farming village of Ruwayyah, 20 km from Dubai on the Al Ain road, that held 10 red-wattled plovers, 2 juvenile black-winged stilts, 2 little ringed plovers and nearly 30 crested larks, both adults and juveniles. Ruwayyah itself had c. 20 blue-cheeked bee-eaters, including one pair with a nest and carrying food, 4 more red-wattled plovers and a pair with one young, 2 little ringed plovers, 5 Indian rollers, 3 cream-coloured coursers, 8 common mynahs, 4 southern grey shrikes, 2 purple sunbirds, 2 hoopoes and 12 little green bee-eaters. On June 27, an examination of cultivations near Murqab, on the Dubai - Al Ain road found a blue-cheeked bee-eater, apparently on territory. On June 28, the new Emirates Hills golf course in Dubai had a single cream-coloured courser, with 11 more at the Emirates Golf Course at Jebel Ali. The next day, the EGC had a wealth of red-wattled plovers, 95 of them, along with 8 little ringed plovers and 3 whimbrel, the first returning migrants. On June 30, 'Dreamland' beach in Umm Al Qaiwain had 3 oystercatchers, 10 lesser sand plovers, 35 greater sand plovers, 5 grey plovers, 6 dunlin, 9 bar-tailed godwits, 3 turnstone, and 100+ crested larks, 1 hoopoe lark and 2 black-crowned finch-larks. Also on June 30, the Jazirat Al Hamra lagoon in Ras Al Khaimah had 2 grey herons, 12 more greater sand plovers, 3 curlew and 3 swift, 17 lesser crested, 4 Sandwich, 5 white-cheeked and 38 Saunder's little terns, all near the new Al Hamra five-star hotel. In Khor Al Beida, also on June 30, were 12 crab plovers, 165 Kentish plovers, 50 lesser and 120 greater sand plovers, 11 whimbrel, 22 curlew and 4 gull-billed terns. On July 3, 3 swallows were on Abu Dhabi's Khalidiya spit. Bird of the Week? The sooty falcon taking bats at Kalba bridge. Now we had better get the bat species identified! SUMMER BREAK: Twitchers' Guide is now taking a summer break until late August, like most of its resident contributors. Keep any unusual records coming in, though, and we'll try to put the news out if there is anything remarkable about. A happy summer holiday to all our readers. ================================================================================Contributors of records to Twitchers' Guide are reminded that their records should be copied to the EBRC Secretary, David Diskin (e-mail: dadiskin@emirates.net.ae) for inclusion in the national records, and to For birding information on Dubai and the Northern Emirates, please contact Colin Richardson. Telephone: Dubai (9714)-3472277, Fax: 3472276. P.O.Box 50394, Dubai, UAE, e-mail: colinr@emirates.net.ae
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