Kuwait - Winter Sun Birding

Kuwait is a tiny country — covering a mere 18,000 square kilometres — and lies at the head of the Persian Gulf close to the mouth of the Tigris-Euphrates River. Countless raptors, warblers, chats and other birds travelling south between their breeding grounds in Eurasia and their winter haunts in Africa and Arabia are funnelled through the region and stop here to refuel and rest. Many go no further and remain for the winter months. At the same time, Kuwait is home to an enticing suite of resident desert species, as well as hosting a very impressive cast of waterbirds too.

We start our holiday with a flight to Kuwait City, where we will base ourselves in a comfortable hotel for the duration of our stay. From here we will undertake a series of day trips to the country's key birdwatching localities, although on our first day we will stay local and confine ourselves to Kuwait City itself. Here, the green strip of Shaheed Park forms a crescent across the south of the metropolis, attracting resident birds such as White-eared and Red-vented Bulbuls, Namaqua Dove, Common and Bank Mynas and Indian Silverbill, and a variety of Palearctic migrants including Masked Shrike, Rufous-tailed Scrub-robin and many others. The list of possibilities is endless and almost anything could turn up here — a description that applies to most of the country!

Kuwait City lies on the coast and contains plenty of exciting urban birdwatching sites, not least the shores of Sulaibikhat Bay. Here we will search for waders, among them Greater and Tibetan Sand Plovers and Broad-billed Sandpiper, plus Western Reef Heron, Greater and Lesser Crested Terns, plus Heuglin's, Armenian and Pallas's Gulls. Two species in particular, however, will set pulses racing: Grey Hypocolius and Crab-plover. Breeding in politically awkward places, such as Iran, Grey Hypocolius is a short-distance migrant, but a few flocks of this silky-plumaged bird winter here, feeding on the berries of the Toothbrush Tree (Salvadora persica). The striking Crab-plover breeds on the shores of the Indian Ocean, Red Sea and Persian Gulf. It is black and white in colour with a chunky bill — an Avocet gone rogue some might say — and specialises in, unsurprisingly, eating crabs. A few remain in Kuwait during the winter, and we hope to see both of these specialities on our day around the city.

The Jahra Pools Reserve lies a little way to the north of our base and is one of Kuwait's finest wetlands. Here we hope to see Pied and White-throated Kingfishers, Moustached and Clamorous Reed Warblers, Spur-winged, Red-wattled and White-tailed Lapwings, Ferruginous Duck, Grey-headed Swamphen and a wonderful range of other waterbirds. Nearby, the limestone escarpment of Jal Al Zor is a reliable site for Red-tailed, Mourning and White-crowned Wheatears, while the nearby farms may hold such birds as Eversmann's Redstart, Ménétries's and Asian Desert Warblers and a variety of shrikes.

In desert countries such as Kuwait, irrigated farms and fields provide a lush and green refuge for hungry and tired migrants and some of the region's specialities too. The Abdali Farm complex to the north of the city, for example, is a reliable site for Afghan (Common) Babbler, which has bred here since 2007, and Indian Shikra. Meanwhile, the Sulaibiya Pivot Fields is the place to go for the rare Indian Roller (as well as Oriental Skylark), while the critically endangered Sociable Lapwing has been seen here on occasion too. The abundance of birds on these well-watered farms attracts a wide variety of raptors, such as Greater Spotted, Eastern Imperial and Steppe Eagles, alongside Oriental Honey Buzzard and Pallid Harrier. Wintering Pallid Scops Owls are also possible, although very tricky to find.

Surrounding these lush green farms lies the vast Arabian Desert, a moon-like landscape that is still remarkably good for birds. We will look for characteristic species such as Greater Hoopoe Lark and Bar-tailed, Desert and Temminck's Horned Larks, with a chance of Arabian Lark and Black-crowned Finch-lark if fortunate. Isabelline, Finsch's and Desert Wheatears also favour these desert areas and we may even find an impressive Pharoah Eagle Owl roosting on a rocky crag!

We will also venture south of Kuwait City to Abu Al Hasaniya, another wonderful wetland site for waders, including Crab-plover, and Fintas Park in search of wintering passerines. Our tour will be led by AbdulRahman Al-Sirhan, one of Kuwait's top ornithologists and co-author of the Helm Field Guide to 'Birds of the Middle East'.