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25 August 2011

Bahrain - Shorebirds and Terns at Tubli Bay


I was not able to do the 'patch' today due to wrk commitments so here is something from the morning of 20th August when I went to Bahrain to go birding and ringing with Brendan. We went birding in the morning as the tide was good for looking for shorebirds, Terns and Gulls. Unfortunately I arrived about thirty minutes late as the Saudi Arabia side of the Saudi Arabia / Bahrain Border was not working as the computer system had crashed. As a result I was stuck there for almost an hour and arrived a little late although as the tide was a very high one, the conditions were still good for birding. We saw plenty of the waders I have been seeing recently in Saudi Arabia but the number of Ruddy Turnstone where huge compared to Saudi Arabia and the number of Lesser Sand Plover seen was also much higher. After checking the main coastal sites around Tubli Bay we took a quick look at Alba Marshes where we were going ringing that evening and saw a Garganey which I have not seen in Saudi Arabia yet. After lunch and before ringing we went to some spray fields and other sites and saw quite a number of Grey Francolin another bird I have not seen in Saudi Arabia yet. Some waders seen in Saudi Arabia were not present in Bahrain such as Eurasian Curlew, Bar-tailed Godwit and Crab Plover and others were in reduced numbers such as Broad-billed Sandpiper and Terek Sandpiper but both countries have their pluses and minuses regarding bird species and numbers.
 Gull-billed Tern
 Saunder's Tern
 Caspian Tern
White-cheeked Tern
 Greater Sand Plover
 Lesser Sand Plover
Whimbrel