For information on specially arranged half-day,
single day and longer birding tours of the Emirates,
e-mail: [email protected]
 
 
THE SHELL BIRDWATCHING GUIDE TO THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
A weekly up-date on what's happening among the United Arab Emirates' bird-life.
    09/07/01

    >The first migrants of "autumn" appeared with a bang this week, with good wader counts from Khor al Beida (including a Caspian plover), and odd individuals from elsewhere. Pick of the new birds of the week was a long-toed stint found at the Wimpey Pits on 29th June (still present on 6th July), while the intermediate egret found at the Pits and nearby pivot fields also hung around for a few days. In a normal week, the long-toed stint should take the Bird of the Week title, since the intermediate egret should have won last week. A sudden rush of blood to the brain of one of the Guide's editors, however, led to the egret being passed over in favour of a Caspian plover at the Emirates Golf Course. We really dare not do that again, so the intermediate egret is Bird of the Week, with the long-toed stint getting a mention as Honourable Runner-Up! Actually, since this is the last Twitchers' Guide before our summer break, and the long-toed stint was not only around all last week but on into friday 6th July, beginning of a new week, we'll settle for it now as Bird of the Week for next week!
    To the records.
    On 29th June, 2 pale crag martins were at the Mafraq Hotel, where they had probably bred. The intermediate egret was still at the Dubai pivot fields, while a long-toed stint and a little stint were found at the nearby Wimpey Pits.
    >On 30th June, 32 moorhen, 10 white-tailed plovers and a curlew sandpiper were found at the Wimpey Pits, while 9 cattle egrets, the intermediate egret, a hen harrier, 4 Montagu's harriers, 1 harrier sp. and 25 blue-cheeked bee-eaters were at the adjacent pivot fields. 2 eagle owls were seen at Bida bint Saud, north of Al Ain.
    >On 1st July, a visit to the Emirates Golf Course found five heron/egret species including a little egret, a Western reef heron, 2 night herons, a purple heron and 3 grey herons, along with 52 black-winged stilts, 6 red-wattled plovers, 3 whimbrels (the first returning migrants), a Saunder's little tern and 8 hoopoes. 5 cream-coloured coursers were at the nearby Emirates Hills. 2 pallid harriers were at Ras al Khaimah airport. Also on 1st July, 6+ Western reef herons, including 2 white morphs, 2 greater flamingos, a curlew, and a scattering of small but distant waders, including at least 2 redshanks and 2 Kentish plovers were between Rufayq and Qusabi islands, west of Abu Dhabi. A swallow was over the road near Dabb'iya, while a barn owl was near Abu Dhabi's Intercontinental Hotel.
    >On 2nd July, hoopoe larks were seen in the Abu Dhabi desert, 2 each at Al Shbaika, east of Sahil, and south of Hameem, while a post-breeding congregation of 7+ brown-necked ravens was at Jaw Sahhab. A barn owl was at Ras al Khaimah golf course.
    >On 5th July, 5 great cormorants, a reef heron, 2 great white egrets, 27 (!) grey herons, a shikra, an adult gull-billed tern, a pallid swift, around 10 pied mynahs, and a Indian silverbill (rather scarce at the moment) were at the Zabeel fish ponds in Dubai. The long-toed stint was still at the Wimpey Pits, along with a newly fledged white-tailed plover, while 2 Montagu's harriers, 20 blue-cheeked bee-eaters and 3 swallows were at the pivot fields. No sign, though of the intermediate egret.
    >On 6th July, 80+ little grebe, 12 little ringed plovers, 8 white-tailed plovers and the long-toed stint were at the Wimpey Pits while a trip to Umm al-Qaiwain's Khor al Beida found a little green heron, 4 oystercatchers, 2 adult and 2 juvenile crab plovers, 120 lesser sand plovers, 12 greater sand plovers, a Caspian plover, 16 grey plovers, 13 bar-tailed godwits, 2 whimbrel, 17 curlew, 22 redshank, 4 Terek sandpipers, 3 turnstones, 2 gull-billed terns and a clamorous reed warbler. 115 black-winged stilts and 4 bank mynahs were at the Umm al Qaiwain dump, both species now apparently extending their breeding ranges all over the place!
    From adjacent areas of Oman, also on the 6th, come reports from our Omani colleagues of 7 pale crag martins, 27 European bee-eaters, 7 purple sunbirds, 2 graceful warblers, 2 olivaceous warblers, 4 yellow-vented bulbuls and 2 Lichtenstein's sandgrouse in the Wadi Khudayrah.

    And with that, Twitchers' Guide signs off for the summer break. Normal service will resume, insha'allah, in early September. Local observers should keep the records coming in though - they'll still be used.

    =============================================

    Emirates Bird Records Committee

    Readers of Twitchers' Guide may like to know that the Emirates Bird Records Committee has just chosen a new set of officers, with the Committee also being expanded with the co-option of Paul Bourdin and David Diskin. The new Chairman is Simon Aspinall, while David Diskin takes over from Colin Richardson as Secretary. Other members are Stephen James, Peter Hellyer and John Bannon (non-resident). Twitchers' Guide continues to appear with the blessing of the EBRC, although it is appropriate to point out, yet again, that sightings reported in Twitchers' Guide are unverified and not assessed. Appearance of a sighting in Twitchers' Guide should not be interpreted as confirmation of the sighting, or of its inclusion in the national database.

    Contributors of records to Twitchers' Guide are reminded that their records should be copied to the EBRC Secretary, David Diskin (e-mail:
    [email protected]) for inclusion in the national records, and to
    Colin Richardson, compiler of the UAE Monthly Record, at
    [email protected]


    ===============================================

    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: [email protected]

    >The following note is inserted in Twitchers' Guide this week at the request of Michael Jennings, co-ordinator of the Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Arabia. Anyone with records is encouraged to send them to Mike and to the local recorders.
    >
    >ABBA and Breeding Bird Records for 2001
    >================================
    >
    >I would like to remind everybody about the Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Arabia (ABBA) project's continuing need for records of breeding bird species. Even information on common birds in well watched places are valuable and of course reports of rare birds or from remote areas are even better.
    >If you have unreported records for the current season (there is still lots mof breeding going on especially in the hills and on the coast) please make sure that you complete an ABBA report form, giving as much information as possible on on nests, nest site, eggs, young and behaviour at and near the nest. If you need the forms let me know or ask around in your group for copies.
    >
    >Forms should be sent to your local recorder but whether you send them via, or copy them to your recorder is up to you. You can get further details on the ABBA project from my website.
    >
    >I am also starting to put together Phoenix 18 and would be pleased to consider any articles for inclusion in it on Arabian breeding birds or their habitats, or any relevant notices and requests for information. There is already an article promised on an exciting new breeding bird for the Arabian Peninsula.
    >
    >If you have still not seen Phoenix 17 or would like to be on the distribution for No 18 at the end of the year please let me have details of your address.
    >
    >Michael C Jennings
    >Co-ordinator, Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Arabia,
    >Warners Farm House, Warners Drove, Somersham,
    >Cambridgeshire, PE28 3WD, UK.
    >Editor: Phoenix Newsletter (ISSN 0268-487X).
    >Tel/Fax 01487 841733, International 00 44 1487 841733.
    >Email: <[email protected]>
    >Webpage: <http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/arabian.birds/>
    >

| MONTHLY REPORT PAGE |

A REMINDER: Twitchers' Guide is designed as a weekly news feature, not asan official record of authenticated sightings, and should not be cited inany publication. All records are subject to adjudication.

Contact details for visitors to the Emirates, and for submission of reports and information:

Contact details for visitors to the Emirates, and for submission of reportsand information:Twitchers' Guide (Simon Aspinall & Peter Hellyer) P O.Box 45553, AbuDhabi, UAE.Tel: (Mobile): Abu Dhabi 971-(0)-50-642-4357/642-4358. Fax: 9712-4450458.E-mail: [email protected] OR [email protected]

or

Colin Richardson at t
el:Dubai (9714)-3472277, Fax: 3472276.
P.O.Box 50394, Dubai, UAE, e-mail:[email protected]

Reports from Oman are courtesy of the local daily e-mail hotline The Oman Birder, and are not official in any way. Again, these reports should not be cited.



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