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Bird
Monitoring and Protection Team (BMAPT)
At the Kuwait
Environment Protection Society (KEPS)
ANNUAL REPORT 2004
CONTENTS
Membership and
Contacts Page
2
The Year
2004
Page 4
The Need for Bird Monitoring and Protection in Kuwait Page
5
The Kuwait Bird
List
Page 7
The Main List of Species of
Birds Page 7
The Species of Birds of Captive Origin
Page 16
The Species of Birds Requiring Confirmation
Page 17
Notes on Selected Bird Species in the Year 2004
Page20
MEMBERSHIP
AND CONTACTS
Board of
Directors
Chairman:
Khalid Al-Nasrallah
Deputy Chairman
and Bird Recorder: Mahmoud Shihab
Secretary:
Brian Foster
Liaison
Officer: Abdalla
Al-Fadhel
Kuwait-based
Members
Shaikha Amthal
Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah
Abdalla
Al-Fadhel
Khalid
Al-Ghanim
Misha´l
Al-Jeriwi
Khalid
Al-Nasrallah
Fahad
Al-Mansori
Hussain
Al-Qallaf
Musaad
Al-Saleh
Abdulrahman
Al-Sirhan
Abdul-Muhsen
Al-Suraye´a
Andrew Bailey
Pekka
Fagel
Brian
Foster
Eisa
Ramadan
Mahmoud
Shihab
Communications With The Team
All
communications with the team, including records of the occurrence
and breeding of all species of birds, descriptions of vagrant
species of birds, and notice of intended visits to Kuwait, should be
addressed to:
Khalid
Al-Nasrallah, Chairman, BMAPT
Post: P.O.Box 1896, Safat, 13019, KUWAIT
Tel: (965) 484 8256
Pager: (965) 960 6799
Fax: (965) 483 7856
Email: khalid@kuwaitbirds.com
and/or Brian
Foster, Secretary, BMAPT
Tel: (965) 6436377
Email: brian_foster_uk@yahoo.co.uk
THE YEAR 2004
The Year 2004
was important for the consolidation of the position of BMAPT and for
the expansion of its activities.
During the year:
There was
considerable regeneration of plant and animal life in the Sabah
Al-Ahmed Natural Reserve, Sulaibikhat Nature Reserve, Jahra Pool
Reserve and most of the oilfields, due to fencing. This resulted in
an increase in bird life in all these places.
There was
greater coverage of birds in Kuwait, due to the addition of Khalid
Al-Ghanim to the team and the arrival in Kuwait of Brian Foster and
Pekka Fagel, resulting in a significant increase in bird records.
Two new species
were added to the Kuwait List: Great Knot (Calidris tenuirostris)
and Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis).
Several species
were discovered to breed for the first time in Kuwait.
The Annual
Report 2003 was published on the internet and printed copies were
distributed in Kuwait and the United Kingdom.
The team
continued to manage and develop its nature reserve at Sulaibikhat
Bay.
A number of
important breeding records, including several first records for
Kuwait, were submitted to the Atlas of Breeding Birds of Arabia
(ABBA).
The Eighth
Edition of the Kuwait Bird List, following the nomenclature and
order used by the Association of European Rarities Committees (AERC)
was adopted, and is published in this report.
This annual
report, the fifth for Kuwait, demonstrates the increasing influence
and effectiveness of BMAPT in the fields of bird monitoring and
protection.
THE NEED FOR
BIRD MONITORING AND PROTECTION IN KUWAIT
Bird populations
are being monitored in Kuwait to find out if human activities or
environmental changes are affecting them.
The most common
breeding birds in Kuwait are House Sparrow, Laughing Dove,
White-eared Bulbul, Common Mynah and Feral Pigeon. These species
have increased in numbers because the greening of Kuwait City has
provided food and habitats for them.
Oasis farm
areas at Jahra, Abdali and Wafra are the breeding sites of species
such as White-throated Kingfisher, Black-crowned Sparrow-lark and
Spanish Sparrow.
Kuwait’s small
offshore islands are important because they support breeding
colonies of seabirds such as Lesser Crested Tern, White-cheeked Tern
and Bridled Tern. The large island of Bubiyan is an important
breeding site for Western Reef Egret, Grey Heron, Eurasian
Spoonbill, Crab Plover, Slender-billed Gull, Gull-billed Tern,
Caspian Tern, Greater Crested Tern and possibly other species.
Some species
tolerant of arid conditions, such as various larks and
Cream-coloured Courser, breed in the desert areas and wadi systems.
A number of
reedbed warblers, Little Crake and Common Moorhen breed at the
sewage outfalls, and other species probably do so.
Many species
pass through Kuwait on spring and autumn migration because it is at
a crossroads of migration routes between breeding grounds in Asia
and winter quarters in southern Arabia, Africa and the Indian
subcontinent. The most common migrant landbirds are Common Swift,
European Bee-eater, Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, Short-toed Lark, Sand
Martin, Barn Swallow, Common Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler.
Mud-flats
around the coast are important resting and feeding areas for migrant
herons, egrets, waders, gulls and terns. A number of reedbeds,
freshwater pools, sewage outfalls and flooded sabkha areas are used
by migrant waterside birds.
Birds arriving
in Kuwait for the winter include White Wagtail, Eurasian Robin,
Bluethroat, Song Thrush and Asian Desert Warbler.
Some species
such as Greater Flamingo, Barn Owl and Rose-ringed Parakeet can be
found in Kuwait in various seasons without necessarily breeding.
Bird
populations in Kuwait have completely recovered from the
environmental damage at the end of the Iraqi invasion, and some have
increased. The main threats to birds in Kuwait now are over-grazing,
shooting, disturbance, building and oil lakes.
Over-grazing
reduces both plant and animal food for birds, and removes habitats
for nesting and roosting birds. Restrictions on grazing in the east
of Kuwait have been introduced.
There has been
some reduction in shooting in recent years, but it still is fairly
severe in some areas. Shooting is mainly for sport, although some
species, such as European Turtle Dove and Barred Warbler, are eaten
as delicacies. The species most commonly shot in Kuwait are European
Turtle Dove, Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, European Bee-eater and Barn
Swallow. Indiscriminate shooting results in the reduction of some
raptors and regionally scarce species.
Disturbance by
camping and other activities is now prevented by the Public
Authority for Agricultural Affairs and Fish Resources, the
Environment Public Authority and the Kuwait Environment Protection
Society in the National Park and in Nature Reserves at Jahra Pool,
Doha and Sulaibikhat Bay.
The recent
security fencing around various large oil fields has stopped
grazing, shooting and most disturbance there, and has effectively
created very large nature reserves where the vegetation is
regenerating naturally.
Building
sometimes creates new habitats for birds to nest or roost in, but
chalet building along the coastline prevents the breeding of Kentish
Plover and possibly of other species.
Some of the oil
lakes have naturally dried out and some others have been covered
over. However, others remain, for example at Bahra, where some birds
die by being trapped in oil residues.
The
establishment of more nature reserves, increased control of
shooting, environmental education and publicity to increase public
awareness are some of the best ways of protecting birds in Kuwait.
KUWAIT BIRD
LIST (EIGHTH EDITION)
Published by the
Bird Records Committee,
Bird Monitoring
and Protection Team,
Kuwait
Environment Protection Society,
Kuwait.
The Kuwait Bird List has been
divided, for present convenience, into:
(1) The Main List of Species of
Birds, (2) The Species of Birds of Captive Origin and (3) The
Species of Birds Requiring Confirmation.
(1) MAIN LIST
OF SPECIES OF BIRDS
The Main List of
Species of Birds comprises those species of birds which are judged
to have definitely occurred in a wild state, or those species of
birds originally of captive origin which have subsequently become
established, in Kuwait.
A - Abundant:
occurs annually in very large numbers (10,000+).
VC - Very
Common: occurs annually in large numbers (1,000 - 9,999).
C - Common:
occurs annually in moderate numbers (100 - 999).
U - Uncommon:
occurs annually in small numbers (10 - 99).
S - Scarce:
occurs annually in very small numbers (1 - 9).
R - Rare: does
not occur annually but has occurred more than 10 times in total.
V - Vagrant:
has occurred less than 10 times in total.
I - Irregular:
occurs, not necessarily every year, in very variable numbers.
E - Extinct:
exists no longer.
B - Breeds
annually.
HB - Has bred.
SPECIES AND MAIN STATUS
Ostrich
(Struthio camelus)
EHB
Mute Swan
(Cygnus olor)
V
Greater
White-fronted Goose (Anser albifrons) V
Greylag Goose
(Anser anser) R
Ruddy Shelduck
(Tadorna ferruginea) R
Common Shelduck
(Tadorna tadorna) C
Eurasian Wigeon
(Anas penelope) U
Gadwall (Anas
strepera)
U
Common Teal
(Anas crecca) C
Mallard (Anas
platyrhynchos) S
Northern Pintail
(Anas acuta)
U
Garganey
(Anas querquedula)
U
Northern
Shoveler (Anas clypeata)
U
Marbled Duck
(Marmaronetta angustirostris) V
Common Pochard
(Aythya ferina) R
Ferruginous Duck
(Aythya nyroca) V
Tufted Duck
(Aythya fuligula)
R
Red-breasted
Merganser (Mergus serrator) V
Common Quail
(Coturnix coturnix) C
Little Grebe
(Tachybaptus ruficollis) SHB
Great Crested
Grebe (Podiceps cristatus) R
Horned Grebe
(Podiceps auritus) V
Black-necked
Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis) U
Audubon's
Shearwater (Puffinus lherminieri) V
Red-billed
Tropicbird (Phaethon aethereus) V
Great Cormorant
(Phalacrocorax carbo) VC
Socotra
Cormorant (Phalacrocorax nigrogularis) UHB
Pygmy Cormorant
(Phalacrocorax pygmeus) V
Great White
Pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus) RHB
Dalmatian
Pelican (Pelecanus crispus)
V
Great Bittern
(Botaurus stellatus)
S
Little Bittern
(Ixobrychus minutus)
UB
Black-crowned
Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) SHB
Squacco Heron
(Ardeola ralloides) U
Cattle Egret
(Bubulcus ibis)
U
Western Reef
Egret (Egretta gularis) VCB
Little Egret
(Egretta garzetta)
U
Great Egret
(Egretta albus)
U
Grey Heron
(Ardea cinerea)
VCB
Purple Heron
(Ardea purpurea) U
Black Stork
(Ciconia nigra)
V
White Stork
(Ciconia ciconia)
R
Glossy Ibis
(Plegadis falcinellus)
U
Sacred Ibis
(Threskiornis aethiopicus) V
Eurasian
Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia)
CB
Greater Flamingo
(Phoenicopterus roseus) VCHB
European Honey
Buzzard (Pernis apivorus) S
Crested Honey
Buzzard (Pernis ptilorhyncus) S
Black-shouldered
Kite (Elanus caeruleus) V
Black Kite
(Milvus migrans)
C
Egyptian Vulture
(Neophron percnopterus) S
Eurasian Griffon
Vulture (Gyps fulvus) S
Eurasian Black
Vulture (Aegypius monachus) R
Short-toed Eagle
(Circaetus gallicus) U
Western Marsh
Harrier (Circus aeruginosus) U
Hen Harrier
(Circus cyaneus)
R
Pallid Harrier
(Circus macrourus)
C
Montagu's
Harrier (Circus pygargus)
U
Northern Goshawk
(Accipiter gentilis) R
Eurasian
Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus)
U
Shikra
(Accipiter badius)
S
Levant
Sparrowhawk (Accipiter brevipes)
R
Common Buzzard
(Buteo buteo) VC
Long-legged
Buzzard (Buteo rufinus) U
Lesser Spotted
Eagle (Aquila pomarina) V
Greater Spotted
Eagle (Aquila clanga) C
Steppe Eagle
(Aquila nipalensis) VC
Imperial Eagle
(Aquila heliaca)
U
Golden Eagle
(Aquila chrysaetos) V
Booted Eagle
(Hieraaetus pennatus) S
Bonelli's Eagle
(Hieraaetus fasciatus) R
Osprey
(Pandion haliaetus)
S
Lesser Kestrel
(Falco naumanni) C
Common Kestrel
(Falco tinnunculus) UHB
Red-footed
Falcon (Falco vespertinus)
V
Merlin (Falco
columbarius)
R
Eurasian Hobby
(Falco subbuteo) U
Sooty Falcon
(Falco concolor)
V
Lanner (Falco
biarmicus)
R
Saker (Falco
cherrug)
R
Peregrine
(Falco peregrinus)
R
Barbary Falcon
(Falco pelegrinoides) V
Water Rail
(Rallus aquaticus)
UHB
Spotted Crake
(Porzana porzana) U
Little Crake
(Porzana parva)
UB
Baillon's Crake
(Porzana pusilla)
S
Corn Crake
(Crex crex)
U
Common Moorhen
(Gallinula chloropus) UB
Purple Swamp-Hen
(Porphyrio porphyrio) VHB
Eurasian Coot
(Fulica atra)
CB
Common Crane
(Grus grus) V
Demoiselle Crane
(Anthropoides virgo) V
Macqueen's
Bustard (Chlamydotis macqueeni) SHB
Eurasian
Oystercatcher (Haematopus haematopus) C
Black-winged
Stilt (Himantopus himantopus) CHB
Pied Avocet
(Recurvirostra avosetta) C
Crab Plover
(Dromas ardeola) VCB
Stone-Curlew
(Burhinus oedicnemus) U
Cream-coloured
Courser (Cursorius cursor) CB
Collared
Pratincole (Glareola pratincola)
C
Black-winged
Pratincole (Glareola nordmanni) U
Little Ringed
Plover (Charadrius dubius) U
Common Ringed
Plover (Charadrius hiaticula) C
Kentish Plover
(Charadrius alexandrinus) VC
Lesser Sand
Plover (Charadrius mongolus) C
Greater Sand
Plover (Charadrius leschenaultii) C
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