Bahrain - Ringing Isabelline Wheatear at Busaiteen

On Friday I went ringing with Abdulla at Busaiteen. The site is a good place to see Wheatears that have just arrived off the sea as there are a few small bushes, piles of stones and pieces of wood for the birds to sit on or hide under. We had two spring traps and Abdulla had managed to catch eight grubs to set the traps with. Abdulla is an expert at catching the Wheatears and has caught 40 already this year of various species including Pied, Desert, Black-eared and Isabelline. He has caught even more in previous years and has the art of catching them well honed. We caught five Isabelline Wheatear including one well fed and heavy individual that had probably been in Bahrain for a few days and a very large adult male? bird. We also caught a single 1^st year male Pied Wheatear and saw a female Northern Wheatear and a 1^st Year Black-eared Wheatear along with a couple more Pied and up to ten more Isabelline. Other birds of interest included a Desert Warbler and a Tawny Pipit.

Birds ringed:
Isabelline Wheatear – 5
Pied Wheatear - 1

Isabelline Wheatear

Isabelline Wheatear

Isabelline Wheatear

Isabelline Wheatear

Isabelline Wheatear

Isabelline Wheatear