Day two in Kuwait, we started at Mutla Ranch, Markus Craigs favourite patch. Mutla is a low-end ranch where whey grow dade and some grass. It’s scruffy and has exactly the right size to be thoroughly searched. Lots and lots of migrating birds, everywhere. Mostly Redstarts, Chiffchaffs and Willow Warblers (who finally went off the difference list)
Better birds were Semi-collared Flycatcher and White-throated Robin. Primarily though, we were searching for Shikra and Basra-reed warbler. Erik found a Reed Warbler that looked very promising.
We got pictures of the bird in two different sessions and there and then – at Mutla – we convinced ourselves that this indeed was the rare one. We ticked it and reported on iGoTerra. Later at night – scrutinising the pictures we had second thoughts and made a back step on the Warbler, it’s just a Eurasian Reed Warbler (ssp fuscus) with a longish beak. Not an easy bird to safely id the Basra Reed Warbler, we will make further attempts later this week, maybe at Abraq.
After the debacle with the Reed Warbler we went together with Markus to Al-Liiah, a strange nature reserve in the north where an odd row of trees had been planted in the desert. The reserve turned out to be better than good for migrants, a drivable dirt track with small scattered sparse trees along both sides. Migrants everywhere, mostly Lesser Whitethroat, Willow Warbler, Blackcaps. First good bird was an Icterine Warbler.
Sufficiently good to make Omar get into his car and drive there. Other good birds were a cooperative Eastern Orphean Warbler .
And a few Nightingales (ssp golzi) aka Eastern Nightingale (possible future armchair tick) and a few Turkestan Shrikes.
After a few hours though we briefly saw, several times, poor views – a suspicious looking Whitethroat. It looked dark and big, and we spent quite some time until we finally tracked it down and nailed it as a Hume’s Whitethroat. A really rare bird in WP – and difficult to id safely too.
Omar had arrived for shots of the Icterine warbler, and we helped him search for it but unfortunately it couldn’t be relocated. Omar suggested we should go nightjaring at JPL in the dark. He has seen Egyptian Nightjar on the dirt tracks there at night this time of the year. No Nightjars, but a Jack Snipe hiding from the lights as well as a wounded (hunter gunshot or snakebite) White-tailed Lapwing.
What a birding day, high energy adrenaline birding.
Next day, our third day here in Kuwait we decided to go Jahra Pool Reserve and search for vagrants. The first bird on the way in was a nice perching Isabeline Shrike as well as a Spotted Crake.
We started to scan the beach for waders, there were quite a few but not massive amounts.
The first good bird, which is a bird we would have screamed in joy for just a few weeks ago, now we just call out – without ant major agitation – Pacific Golden Plover.
Next, Erik finds a bird he thinks looks suspicious, and part of this post is going to be a study of the psychology of rarity birding. Mårten has a friend at home who birds by the devise – everything is a rarity until proven otherwise. If you think like that, you find rarities, otherwise not. Anyways, the Stint Erik bitches about looks like nothing to me, and when Erik suggests that we should pursue that bird – actually by wading across a creek – I just dissed, nah it’s nothing.
Erik persevered, and going for the Stint, we first flushed a Caspian Plover !!!! Also a Pratincole was sitting next to the Caspian Plover – more on that later.
Once we got close to the Stint, we got some footage of it, and also a crappy video.
And it looks like a Long-toed Stint. We got this confirmed by first Raul Vicente and later by Arjan Dwarshuis and we had our first self found MEGA in the WP. Other Kuwaiti birders arrived at the scene and the Stint could eventually later be re found. A first for Kuwait. It’s got long toes !!
Now, back to the Pratincole. We had seen it fly, and I saw zero white trailings on the wings, and wanted to see more of the bird. Both Erik and Mårten had a Colared Pratincole feeling and just wanted to move on. Anyways, we flushed the bird again, this time with cameras ready and we got some poor shots of both sitting as well as of flying bird. Looking at the pictures, I persisted, it’s got no trailing white edges on the wings, whereas both Mårten and Erik said – well it has some … on this pic here … see.
We gave up on that and went back across the creek, back at the parking lot, a British birder (Pete ??) found a Kitiwake, the second for Kuwait.
Going back to the hotel, scanning the pics on the Pratincole while Erik drives, I again – said – the bird looks good, and back at the hotel room, both Erik and Mårten starts to get excited about the bird. And, given help by friends, Raul Vicente and Arjan, we came to the conclusion that the bird was an Oriental Pratincole.
The Pratincole is questioned, and it may very well turn out to be a Colared Pratincole in the end. It’s matter of tail-streamers and nostril shape. It’s up to KORC now, hopefully someone can secure better footage of the bird today.
— UPDATE:
I keep the original text, and add the update here. The Pratincole has now been confirmed by the premiere expert on the matter, Gerald Driessens, who co-authored the Dutch Birding paper on how to distinguish a Collared Pratincole from an Oriental. We reached out to Gerald who promptly replied:
“Thanks for your mail. Interesting bird. This is for sure a Collared Pratincole with worn-off trailing edge. On the outerweb of the outermost tail feather, the proportion of blak along the shaft is too large for Oriental. Tail feathers also seem to show strong emarginations and look long. Contrast between coverts ands remiges is obvious. Also head pattern is more in favour of Collared.”
So – back the psychology part – the Stint was secured by Eriks stubbornness and the Pratincole by mine. It’s good to be a team, a team that can argue without pride getting in the way. What a rarity day – hard to beat.