Egyptian Nightjar (Tour participant Rainer Kopa)
Next came a visit to the tiny island kingdom of Bahrain. Now happily getting back to normal after the uprising of the ‘Arab Spring’, although some obvious traces of the troubles remained in the form of a massively increased police presence, numerous road blocks and some of their Land cruisers bearing metal grills on the windows as well as pock-marks of missiles thrown at them. Occupying an important strategic point in the Persian Gulf, Bahrain (‘two springs’) has been inhabited for thousands of years, by the Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians and latterly the Arabs, under whom it became an Islamic state and then formally a kingdom in 2002. The island has been ruled by the Sunni Al Khalifa family since the nineteenth century, with considerable support from the British. Oil was first discovered in Bahrain in 1932 leading to rapid modernization and it also helped its establishment as the Middle East’s financial hub, following the decline of Beirut. Recently it has gained further wealth through the reclamation and subsequent sale of land from the sea surrounding its northern coast, particularly around the (former) island of Muhrarraq.
Gull-billed Tern (Mike Watson)
After checking in, a short time later we found ourselves in the centre of the island, searching the oilfields for Eastern (or Persian) Mourning Wheatear, which has a tiny wintering population here. The wheatear is a potential banana skin but was fortunately found relatively quickly and we enjoyed some nice views, although we dared not linger long in this sensitive military area! Also here were Rufous-tailed Wheatear and Desert Lark but little else. Next followed one of the most surreal birding sites I have ever visited and involved talking the apprehensive manager of the racecourse into allowing our large group onto her site. The grandstand makes a good vantage point over the lake in the middle of the racecourse, a great place for some shameless list padding as well as the occasional rarity. We achieved both with several Mallards, Common Pochard, Water Pipits and a Common Stonechat as well as a Grey-throated Martin (split from Brown-throated), a first for Bahrain! A Pied Wheatear here was a chance for folks who had missed it Oman to catch up.
After checking in, a short time later we found ourselves in the centre of the island, searching the oilfields for Eastern (or Persian) Mourning Wheatear, which has a tiny wintering population here. The wheatear is a potential banana skin but was fortunately found relatively quickly and we enjoyed some nice views, although we dared not linger long in this sensitive military area! Also here were Rufous-tailed Wheatear and Desert Lark but little else. Next followed one of the most surreal birding sites I have ever visited and involved talking the apprehensive manager of the racecourse into allowing our large group onto her site. The grandstand makes a good vantage point over the lake in the middle of the racecourse, a great place for some shameless list padding as well as the occasional rarity. We achieved both with several Mallards, Common Pochard, Water Pipits and a Common Stonechat as well as a Grey-throated Martin (split from Brown-throated), a first for Bahrain! A Pied Wheatear here was a chance for folks who had missed it Oman to catch up.
After a late lunch came the grand finale of the tour. As ever there is one bird above all others that Birdquesters want to see, the beautiful Grey Hypocolius. We were delighted to learn that at last there now appears to be a reliable new gathering site, following the clearance of the famous roost at Saar in the northwest of the island. The fact that the majority of its breeding range from Iraq in the west to Pakistan in the east is effectively ‘off limits’ to western birders has made its wintering grounds, mostly in the gulf (and a small outpost in the Kutch region of India), the place to see it (in Oman we have a chance to find it from the central desert oases and rest houses southwards but it usually arrives here a little later than our present tour dates). Fortunately Bahrain stalwart, Brendan had been hard at work in locating this new site and as soon as we rolled up a female was spotted in an acacia bush not far from the road in a rough patch of land not yet swallowed up by the relentless villa land developments of northern Bahrain. Soon afterwards we enjoyed the comings and goings of at least 200 hypocoliuses and maybe as many as 300, although it was difficult to know precise numbers as some birds may have been double counted. The sleek lines and satin plumage of these shrike or maybe waxwing-like birds make them very attractive to listers. The birds would fly in at a fair height before diving down into the acacias and then making their to the ground below them, we think maybe to dust bath as by afternoon there should not be much moisture down there. Many returned to the tops of the bushes with feathers ruffled supporting this theory. They would then enjoy some evening sun and maybe communicate with other birds gathered here (?) before taking flight again and heading off to their roosting grounds in a safe (although too sensitive for us to visit) residential compound not far away. Again this was the crowning moment of our tour without a doubt not to mention a massive relief. Also in this area of note were: Red-vented Bulbul and Steppe Grey and Turkestan Shrikes. There was now one final piece missing from our jigsaw as we headed off with Brendan to a nearby farm. Doubters did not realize how good a site this place is for Egyptian Nightjar and after darkness fell we did not waste any time in finding a small group of three of these sought-after birds, one of which remained in the headlights at close range for all to see its huge eyes and softly mottled plumage. This was one of my best views so far of this excellent desert dwelling species.
Grey Hypocolius (Mike Watson)
It was hard to tempt anyone into yet another early morning start but those who did were rewarded with some more great views of the hypocoliuses, which perform the same daily ritual in reverse, gathering here before heading out to their feed in the surrounding date palm plantations. After breakfast we checked Bahrain’s main refuse dump but found the gulls there difficult to pin down and Caspian and Siberian as far as we could see. We did add Black Kite to our Bahrain list though, a juvenile bird reminiscent of the eastern form Black-eared Kite/lineatus, although from recent case studies we know they are impossibly difficult to separate from nominate birds. A stop along the coast revealed many thousands of gulls, mostly Common Black-headed but also high numbers of Slender-billed. A few Caspian Terns and Socotra Cormorants were also here. An afternoon along the north coast of Muharraq eventually produced a Steppe Gull amongst the small numbers of Caspian and Siberian Gulls here, although there were also many intermediate birds that were difficult to pigeonhole until we found one with a strongly four-coloured bill and black sub terminal marks on its third primaries. We finished with a visit to a farm and enjoyed some nice views of a male Daurian Shrike, plenty of Water Pipits, a few Eurasian Skylarks and a last addition to the list, Northern Lapwing. We were also able to see a couple of species in the hand thanks to Brendan and Abdullah’s ringing efforts – Water Pipit (the birds here are of the form coutelli) and Isabelline Wheatear, a nice way to end the tour.
Socotra Cormorant (Mike Watson)
After almost everyone had gone I enjoyed a final day birding in Bahrain, adding one new bird for the trip - Common Starling! I checked another farm I have not visited before, where Brendan caught a fine Isabelline Shrike and then I spent the last evening hanging around a pile of chicken shit, which proved irresistable to, amongst others, the Northern Lapwing! This nice Pied Wheatear was also fairly obliging. Finally, a big thank you from me to our excellent driver/assistants on this tour, Dave Andrews and Phil Rostron, whose sharp eyes and great support made my job very easy this time. Thanks a lot guys! Returning to the cold, grey ornithological desert of East Lancashire after such an amazing adventure was a rather unwelcome prospect.
Above Isbelline Shrike (Brendan wears a glove for this bird - 'they will always take the time to bite you' he said and below: Pied Wheatear (Mike Watson)
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