Neighbourhood birds & plants, Mahboula

Some quick snaps from yesterdays dog walk to show you a bit of the 'wildlife' that's currently available in my beautiful neighbourhood ;-)

The usual criminals 

House sparrow, Passer domesticus

From Birds Kuwait 2011

White-eared Bulbul, Pycnonotus leucogenys

From Birds Kuwait 2011

These guys are usually migrants, but some fellows stay over winter it seems.

We have around three of them staying here. 

I thought I saw a Northern Wheatear the other day, but I am not 100% sure.

White Wagtail, Motacilla alba

From Birds Kuwait 2011

This fellow was a bit strange. He didn't wag his tail at all. I've never seen a waggy before,

 not wagging it's tail.

White Wagtail, Motacilla alba

From Birds Kuwait 2011

We have some bats around too. At least two species.
I doubt I will ever catch a photo of them though ;-)

Water sources

From Kuwait

From Kuwait

From Kuwait

Some plants that grow wherever you find some water

From Kuwait

Some trees that survive the harshest conditions & trash surrounding them, the construction that goes on around here (new sewer system - the exit still seems to lead to the ocean, new streets, new houses - like we really need more. Yes, the skies are actually this blue right now. But it was very windy yesterday and the dust pretty bad. I got my nasty cough back. Either a virus or the dang dust.

From Kuwait

Stray cats and dogs in abundance - King & JoJo wanted to get this one, but she somewhat
knew she was save in the dense undergrowth of the trees

From Kuwait

From The kids

From The kids

Something to smile ;-)

From Kuwait

From Kuwait

Posted for 'World Bird Wednesday' - hop on over to see the world

Kuwait Biodiversity on Project Noah

Just created the first mission on Project Noah :-)

Come and join me to show that Kuwait actually has some Beauty!

Qaru island, Kuwait - Beach clean-up Dec 23rd 2011

A small island off the coast of Kuwait, near the Saudi border. The Coast guard is stationed there and birds use it as a resting ground during migration and breeding there during summer. It is also important for the ongoing turtle conservation program. Any help on IDs of the (mostly dead) animals is welcome! Bird count of the day: Approx 5 Black-headed Gulls, 1 or 2 Caspian or Heuglin's Gulls (one oiled), 1 Ringed Plover, 8 House Sparrows
For the ones interested, some Info on the Turtle Conservation project

Black Woodpecker, Schwarzspecht, Dryocopus martius

One of my first forest walks while back in Germany,

I saw this fellow in the trees.

Just got these brief few clicks – not the greatest shots, but hey, it’s a Lifer :)

From Birds 2011 Germany

From Birds 2011 Germany

From Birds 2011 Germany

From Birds 2011 Germany

From Birds 2011 Germany

Beach Bird morning

Spent some time at the beach this morning. Nice bird flybys and nice sunrise

From Birds Kuwait 2011

From Birds Kuwait 2011

I watched a family of Common Mynas take a McD breakfast and sip some water – at least trash and Leftovers seem to be good for some and something, sometimes.

From Birds Kuwait 2011

King won a fight with a stray who wanted to show his female companions who’s the owner of the beach. No dogs got harmed & they went back to their own stretch after a while.

From The kids

From Birds Kuwait 2011

From Kuwait

Birdcount: 64 Greater Cormorants, 75 Black-headed Gulls, 1 Grey Heron, 5 Common Myna, 2 Greater Sand Plover, 1 Kentish Plover, 3 White Wagtails, 9 Yellow Wagtails, 1 Northern Wheatear, 15 Slender-billed and one possible Caspian or Heuglin’s Gull, 1 White-eared Bulbul, 23 House Sparrows on my way home 2 Rose-ringed Parakeet

Osprey, Fischadler, Pandion haliaetus

Some of you might remember these photos from my crashed blog.

Inspired by Mike’s blogpost over at 10.000 birds, I decided to dig them out and post them again.

More Info about Ospreys

Photos were taken in South Sinai, Egypt 2009 & 2010

From Birds Egypt 2009

From Birds Egypt 2010

From Birds Egypt 2010

From Birds Egypt 2010

From Birds Egypt 2010

From Birds Egypt 2010

From Birds Egypt 2010

From Birds Egypt 2010

Um Al Maradin, Island beach clean-up, Dec 9th 2011

First clean-up for me since I am back and I lucked out to get a place on the island trip to Um al Maradim (uhoh, there's even an entry on wiki :)). A tiny speck of land in the middle of nowhere, serving as a Coastguard post and can be visited only with a special permission. That doesn't stop a bunch of fishing boats from circling the island, there were at least 15 of them.


The island is quite important for migrating birds as a stopover and for some birds as a breeding ground.


This was the second clean-up on this island. Due to the currents (I guess) and the visiting boats, a lot of trash gets on the beaches with the tide. Including dead sheep, 7 of them. Dumped, most likely, by big animal transports who don't want to have sick or dead sheep aboard when they reach port. It's scary to think of all the trash floating in our oceans... We also found 3 dead birds. Two in a state of decay beyond ID-ing and 1 a possible Steppe Buzzard.


We collected altogether 33 big black trash bags full of plastic bottles, Styrofoam, cans and other plastics, household stuff, fishing lines and hooks, kids balloons (I know why I don't like those things), ropes and half a rubber boat. There's also tires and a big pile of pallets that we couldn't remove.


The Kuwait Dive team took us to the island. They helped burying some of the sheep above the tide line. The team of K's Path, including John the manager whom I met for the first time, was there and the girls did a good job organizing the whole trip. Thanks for doing this! A big thanks also to the chief (?) of the Coastguards who had a big, yummy Lunch prepped for us when we were finished with the clean-up :)

Birdcount:


At the Marina


8 Cormorant, 2 Slender-billed Gull, 4 Black-headed Gull, 3 White-eared Bulbul




Um al-Maradim island


1 Northern Wheatear (1st wt), 3 Greater Sand Plover Plover, 6 Kentish Plover, 15 (Great) Cormorant (6 Juv.) - flying over, 9+ House Sparrow, 1 1st wt Caspian Gull (possibly more), 4 Black-headed Gull, 1 White-eared Bulbul (voice)

A morning at the beach, Dec 8th

Caught my first sunrise at the beach this morning. Was up way too early and had to kill time at home (you don’t want to be at the beach in the dark…), check the sunrise times and then almost missed out on the glorious pre-sunrise colours 

Most exciting sightings were a Flamingo flyby and a Grey Plover.

Sadly the birds were all gone (thanks to someone walking around) when the light finally got better for my lens & camera skills  - I hope you can enjoy them anyway.

From Kuwait

From Kuwait

From Kuwait

From Kuwait

From Birds Kuwait 2011

From Birds Kuwait 2011

From Birds Kuwait 2011

From Birds Kuwait 2011

From Birds Kuwait 2011

From Birds Kuwait 2011

From Birds Kuwait 2011

From Birds Kuwait 2011

Bird count:

2 Cormorant, 2 Reef Egret (dark and white morph), 31 Black headed Gull (at least two oiled), 2 Caspian Gull, 1 Flamingo (flyby), 2 Greater Sand Plover, 2 Ringed Plover, 1 Kentish Plover, 1 Grey Plover, 10 White Wagtail, 2 White-eared Bulbul, 9 House Sparrows, 17 Laughing Doves, 2 Common Myna

Good-bye Germany

For now :-).


Have left Germany last Saturday and am back in Kuwait. Everyone is whining that it’s so cold here, even my dear husband.


I am happy that it’s not 55C and blazing hot, neither is it dusty right now. The sky is a crystal blue and the air fresh and crispy. Perfectly fine with me.

Will post some new shots another day.

For today, we’ll have some gloomy shots from German forests with a Marsh tit (a Lifer for me), a Nuthatch and a Jay (can you believe that I forgot the English names for the last two?! But Bavarian Birds‘ translation tool helped me out once again).

From Birds 2011 Germany

Birdlist 2011

Germany 2011

 


Kuwait 2011


 

Birds seen in Kuwait, Bahrain, Dubai & Germany:

Accipitriformes

Accipitridae

Black Kite (Kuwait)

Pallid Harrier (Kuwait)

Booted Eagle (dark form) (Kuwait)

Eastern Imperial Eagle (Kuwait)

Steppe Buzzard (Kuwait)

Montagu's Harrier (male & female) (Kuwait)

Red Kite, Rotmilan, Milvus milvus (Germany)

Pandionidae

Osprey (Bahrain)

Anseriformes

Anatidae

Tufted Duck (Germany)

Mallard (Germany)

Common Pochard (Germany)

Apodiformes

Apodidae

Pallid Swift (Kuwait)

Common Swift (Kuwait)

Charadriiformes

Charadriidae

Black-bellied Plover (Grey) (Bahrain)

Lesser Sand-Plover (Bahrain)

Greater Sand-Plover (Bahrain + Kuwait)

Snowy Plover (Kentish) (Bahrain)

Ringed Plover (Kuwait)

Little Ringed Plover (Kuwait)

Red-wattled Plover (Dubai)

Kentish Plover (Kuwait)

Grey Plover (Kuwait)

Glareolidae

Collared Pratincole (Kuwait)

Black-winged Pratincole (Kuwait)

Cream coloured Coursor

Haematopodidae

Eurasian Oystercatcher (Kuwait)

Recurvirostridae

Black-winged Stilt (Kuwait)

Scolopacidae

Common Greenshank (Bahrain & Kuwait)

Common Redshank (Bahrain & Kuwait)

Eurasian Curlew (Bahrain & Kuwait)

Curlew Sandpiper (Bahrain & Kuwait)

Dunlin (Bahrain & Kuwait)

Common Sandpiper (Kuwait)

Ruff (Kuwait)

Whimbrel (Kuwait)

Green Sandpiper (Kuwait)

Wood Sandpiper (Kuwait)

Bar-tailed Godwit (Kuwait)

Ruddy Turnstone (Kuwait)

Terek Sandpiper (Kuwait)

Laridae

Slender-billed Gull (Bahrain + Kuwait)

Black-headed Gull (Bahrain + Kuwait)

Caspian Gull (Bahrain + Kuwait)

Sub. Steppe Gull (Kuwait)

Heuglin’s Gull (Lesser Black-backed Gull) (Kuwait)

Pallas’s Gull (Great Black-headed Gull) (Kuwait)

Sternidae

Lesser Crested Tern (Bahrain)

Caspian Tern (Kuwait)

Sandwich Tern (Kuwait)

Whiskered Tern (Kuwait)

Gull-billed Tern (Kuwait)

Common Tern (Kuwait)

Little Tern, Zwergseeschwalbe, Sterna albifrons (Kuwait)

Ciconiiformes

Ardeidae

Grey Heron (Bahrain & Kuwait & Germany)

Western Reef-Heron (White & dark Morph) (Bahrain & Kuwait)

Black-crowned Night-Heron, Nycticorax nycticorax, Nachtreiher

Squacco Heron (Kuwait)

Little Egret (Kuwait)

Cattle Egret (Dubai & Kuwait)

Ciconiidae

White Stork (Kuwait)

Columbiformes

Columbidae

Laughing dove (Bahrain & Kuwait)

Eurasian Collared-Dove (Bahrain & Kuwait)

Namaqua Dove (Kuwait)

Common wood pigeon, Ringeltaube, Columba palumbus (Germany)

Coraciiformes

Alcedinidae

White-throated Kingfisher (Kuwait)

Common Kingfisher, Eisvogel, Alcedo atthis (Germany)

Meropidae

Blue-cheeked Bee-eater (Kuwait)

European Bee-Eater (Kuwait)

Upupidae

Eurasian Hoopoe (Kuwait)

Gruiformes

Rallidae

Spotted Crake (Kuwait)

Coot (Germany)

Falconiformes

Falconidae

Lesser Kestrel (Kuwait)

Common Kestrel (Kuwait & Germany)

Passeriformes

Alaudidae

Crested Lark (Bahrain)

Corvidae

House Crow (Kuwait & Dubai – both times most likely Indian)

Magpie (Black-billed Magpie), Elster, Pica pica (Germany)

Emberizidae

Ortolan Bunting (Kuwait)

Estrildidae

Indian Silverbill (Dubai)

Hirundinidae

Barn Swallow (Kuwait & Germany)

Sand Martin (Kuwait)

House Martin (Kuwait)

Crag Martin (Kuwait)

Lanidae

Isabelline Shrike (Kuwait)

-> & Turkestan Shrike (Kuwait)

-> & Daurian Shrike (Kuwait)

Woodchat Shrike (Kuwait)

Masked Shrike (Kuwait)

Red-backed Shrike

Lesser Grey Shrike (Kuwait)

Motacillidae

Grey Wagtail (Kuwait)

White wagtail (Bahrain & Kuwait & Germany)

Yellow Wagtail (feldegg & flava & flavissima & dombrowskii & lutea   & ema ) (Kuwait)

Water Pipit (Kuwait)

-> Subsp. Coutellii (Kuwait)

Red-throated Pipit (Kuwait)

Tawny Pipit (Kuwait)

Tree Pipit (Kuwait)

Muscicapidae

Spotted Flycatcher (Kuwait)

Semicollared Flycatcher (female Kuwait)

Nectariniidae

Purple Sunbird (Dubai)

Oriolidae

Golden Oriole (Eurasian) (Kuwait)

Passeridae

House sparrow (Bahrain & Kuwait & Germany)

Pale Rock Sparrow (Pale Rockfinch) (Kuwait)

Pycnonotidae

Red-vented Bulbul (Bahrain & Dubai)

White-eared Bulbul (Kuwait)

Sturnidae

Common Myna (Kuwait)

Common (European) Starling (Kuwait & Germany)

Sylviidae

Common Chiffchaff (Kuwait / Germany)

Willow Warbler (Kuwait)

Lesser Whitethroat (Kuwait)

Desert Warbler (Asian) (Kuwait)

Great Reed Warbler (Kuwait)

Basra Reed Warbler (Kuwait)

Blackcap (Juv or fem & adult male) (Kuwait)

Whitethroat, subsp. Icterops  (Kuwait)

Barred Warbler (Kuwait)

Graceful Prinia (Kuwait)

Turdidae

Isabelline Wheatear (Kuwait)

Blue Rock Thrush (Kuwait)

Stonechat (Kuwait male & female)

Rock Thrush (Rufous-tailed) (Kuwait)

Pied Wheatear (Kuwait)

-> & var. 'vittata'

Black-eared Wheatear (Kuwait)

-> and 1 Pale-throated Morph of BEW Melanoleuca (Kuwait male & female)

Northern Wheatear (Kuwait)

Mourning Wheatear (Kuwait)

Common Redstart - Subsp. samamisicus (Kuwait)

Rufous Bush-Robin (Kuwait)

Black Redstart (Kuwait & Germany)

White-throated Robin (male & 1st wt) (Kuwait)

Whinchat (male) (Kuwait)

Blackbird (Common), Amsel, Turdus merula (Germany)

European Robin, Rotkehlchen, Erithacus rubecula (Germany)

Paridae

Great Tit, Kohlmeise, Parus major  (Germany)

Marsh Tit (Germany)

Coal Tit (Germany)

Cinclidae

Dipper (White-throated Dipper), Wasseramsel, Cinclus cinclus (Germany)

Sittidae

Nuthatch, Kleiber, Sitta Europaea (Germany)

Corvidae

European Jay, Eichelhäher, Garrulus glandarius (Germany)

Carrion Crow, Rabenkrähe (Aaskrähe), Corvus corone (Germany)

Fringillidae

Chaffinch, Buchfink, Fringilla coelebs (Germany)

Emberzidae

Yellowhammer, Goldammer, Emberiza citronella (Germany)

Pelicaniformes

Phalacrocoracidae

(Great) Cormorant (Bahrain & Kuwait)

& maybe  Subsp. sinensis (Kuwait)

Piciformes

Picidae

Wryneck (Kuwait)

Black Woodpecker, Schwarzspecht, Dryocopus martius (Germany)

Great Spotted Woodpecker, Buntspecht, Dendrocopus major (Germany)

Phoenicopteriformes

Phoenicopteridae

Greater Flamingo (Bahrain & Kuwait)

Psittaciformes

Psittacidae

Rose ringed Parakeet (Kuwait & Dubai)

Anseriformes

Anatidae

Mallard, Stockente, Anas platyrhynchos (Germany)

Piciformes

Picidae

Great Spotted Woodpecker, Buntspecht, Dendrocopus major (Germany)

Fringillidae

Chaffinch, Buchfink, Fringilla coelebs (Germany)

Podicipediformes

Podicipedidae

Great Crested Grebe, Haubentaucher, Podiceps cristatus (Germany)

Total:      146

Hybrid:

Red crested Pochard Mallard Hybrid (Germany)