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\n \n Overhead a few Pale Crag Martins (Ptyonoprogne obsoleta) were hawking insects.<\/p>\n \n \n The first protected area was enjoyed on foot but didn’t produce anything out of the ordinary. However we still enjoyed Grey Francolin (Francolinus pondicerianus)<\/p>\n \n \n Numbers of Indian Silverbill’s (Euodice malabarica) which are more prolific in UAE than Kuwait<\/p>\n \n \n \n \n Red-vented Bulbuls (Pycnonotus cafer) are also more numerous in UAE than they are in Kuwait<\/p>\n \n \n A few winter plumage Whiskered Terns (Chlidonias hybrida) hawking over the pools<\/p>\n \n \n And many Pallid Swifts (Apus pallidus) overhead, always a challenge to photograph<\/p>\n \n \n Before leaving, we flushed a White-tailed Lapwing (Vanellus leucurus) which many of the out of country birders enjoyed.<\/p>\n \n \n The next stop was a wader roost and many different species were seen, however the Green Bee-eaters (Merops orientalis) along the shoreline provided some colourful entertainment.<\/p>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n A pale form Western Reef Heron (Egretta gularis) came in to land, just as we were leaving<\/p>\n \n \n Our hosts saved the best to last which was Khor Kalba where we were all anxious to find the Collared Kingfisher. This population is thought to be a localised sub-species in this mangrove habitat and is recorded nowhere else in UAE. The only other known populations is on the south west coast of Saudi Arabia and possibly in Oman. We were searching for this bird across the Khor into the sun, so conditions were far from ideal – but finally we were rewarded with two, albeit distant birds and my last Kingfisher species for the Middle East.<\/p>\n \n \n