We have had some discussions about the possibility of Black-eared Kite in Kuwait, especially the wintering birds. We do understand that there is still much discussion and research going on with this taxa and of course there is the possibility of hybrids. I found an interesting article on Identification of Black-eared Kites by Dick Forsman […]
Author: Michael Pope
Mega’s, Vagrants and Rarities in Kuwait
It has been quite some time since my last post. Following a low depression in Arabia in late November that brought more than above average rainfall at this time of the year to the Region, some great birds were recorded in Kuwait. The one species was a vagrant and a 1st for Kuwait that has […]
Early Autumn Migration in Kuwait
Early August is the anticipated start of the annual Autumn migration when birds have completed their breeding season in Europe and both adult and juvenile birds start moving south to various parts of Africa for the second part of their endless summer. Kuwait is fortunate to be situated on two of the key migration flyways; […]
Jahra Pools Reserve, Kuwait
Summer in Kuwait is searing hot and is traditionally a quiet birding month, however in late Spring we do have some species breeding at the Pools and mid-summer we have many Tern species breeding on the off-shore islands. Little Ringed Plovers (Charadrius dubius) have remained through the Spring and Summer and are suspected to be […]
Rarities and Early Migrants at Jahra Pools Reserve, Kuwait
Jahra Pools Reserve (JPR) is a small fenced wetland reserve just off the Arabian Gulf coastline to the north of Kuwait City. Previously the pools were formed from a sewage outfall, but more recently a water network has been provided and this has allowed the pools to remain filled since the end of 2012. As […]
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – continued…
Following my visit to the Rub’ Al-Khali, I returned to Dhahran which would be my base for the next few days. There were a few typical urban birds as well as some others of interest in and around the compound and some of the more open areas. Here is a selection of the common urban […]
Rubʿ al-Khali; The Empty Quarter
At the start of this year I visited the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and was fortunate to spend a few days at Shaybah in the northeastern edge of this, the world’s largest desert. This region is classified as ‘hyper-arid’ with typical rainfall of less than 30mm per year and is one of the driest regions […]
A few days in Sharjah, UAE
Earlier this year, I was fortunate to represent Kuwait at the 14th Conservation Workshop for the Biodiversity of Arabia. I am pleased to report that the bird team was able to achieve the workshop objective of assessing the regional Red List of all the breeding birds of Arabia. On the last day of the workshop, […]