16 February 2015

Final twitch of the year

Week 50, 12 December 2014 - Jahra Pools Reserve (JPR)

The 2nd White-tailed Eagle for Kuwait was seen at JPR late yesterday afternoon. I had missed the 1st record in Nov 2009 despite numerous attempts to connect with it.

I assumed that the bird would roost somewhere close by overnight, so I was at the reserve as soon as the gates opened and it was still dark! I tried one area near the sea, but could not see a hulking big raptor in the pre-dawn gloom. I then tried another location and caught up with Mo Murad, one of the birders who saw and photographed this impressive eagle yesterday. We picked it up roosting on the beach some distance away and could only appreciate it through our bin's. As it got lighter, it was harassed by the much smaller Greater Spotted Eagles, so it kept moving further out to sea on the low tide - too far for any images. Nevertheless, I finally caught up with this impressive raptor and was happy to soak it in without picking up my camera.

Unfortunately, other commitments meant I couldn't stay longer, so had to depart, picking up one of the offending Greater Spotted Eagles that had caused the bigger raptor to depart.

Greater Spotted Eagle (Clanga clanga)

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