A midweek
trip to Sabkhat Al Fasl before a nearby meeting was the first time I have
birded the site outside of the weekend. It was very quiet with respect to
hunters and fishermen, which was a nice surprise. There were, however, plenty
of shrikes about with one of the first birds seen a Mauryan (Steppe) Grey
Shrike. The bird was using the small shrubs on the way into the site as a
lookout for prey and was being quite successful in catching flying moths in the
very early morning light. A little further into the site I found a second bird,
this one slightly more marked on the lores with a darker bill making it
look superficially like an Arabian (Southern) Grey Shrike. This area has been
the best place to see the newly arrived Woodchat Shrikes, but today there were
none present that I could see. Further down in the main birding areas near the
reeds there were literally tens of both Turkestan and Daurian Shrikes.
Turkestan Shrike numbers were greater by a factor of at least two with a
minimum of 40 birds seen. Some birds allowed very close approach and on one
occasion I got so close to a Daurian Shrike I was unable to focus the camera
lens. It was a pity the weather was a bit overcast as otherwise I would have
been able to get some excellent photographs of the birds. Sabkhat Al Fasl is a
very good location for shrikes in the spring with only Masked Shrike uncommon,
although Lesser Grey Shrike is also less numerous than the others and will,
hopefully, be arriving in a month or so.
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| Mauryan Grey Shrike |
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| Mauryan Grey Shrike |
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| Mauryan Grey Shrike |
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| Turkestan Shrike |
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| Daurian Shrike |
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| Daurian Shrike |