Scratching for birds in the South

Week 02, 10 January 2015 - Sabah Al Ahmad Sea City

This was my first trip to the south of the New Year and it turned out to be pretty unproductive for no real nor apparent reason. The birds were just not around..

Out on the water, small numbers of Slender-billed Gulls were present. This Gull has amazing eye's

Slender-billed Gull (Chroicocephalus genei)

and I also picked up one Socotra Cormorant on the beach near the Khiran marina

Over-wintering Socotra Cormorant (Phalacrocorax nigrogularis)

At the jetty, I found quite a large starfish - not sure of the species

Starfish sp.

In the desert it was even bleaker with just a single Daurian Shrike seen.

Daurian Shrike (Lanius isabellinus)

Despite the lack of winter rain, the Nowair flowers were starting to show in a few areas

Nowair Flower - soon there will be a carpet of yellow through Kuwait

and a few butterfly species were recorded; including Western Pygmy Blue

Western Pygmy Blue (Brephidium exilis)

and a Mediterranean Pierrot

Mediterranean Pierrot (Tarucus rosacea)