Qatar Natural History Group

Trip Report: Birding Around Al Khor

From Nadeera Rangika:

Here are some of the photos of our trip. Literally speaking, it was one of the best sh*tty trips I've been on. Never been to such dumping grounds before! Abdel says it's the meeting point of almost 140 nationalities – not in terms of birds, but in terms of sewage!!!

I'm curious about the Arabic name for the Morning Glory. Coincidentally, the Sri Lankan, Thai and Indonesian name for this is "Kang Koong". In all three countries, it's a delicacy, when it's fried. This is the first time I've seen it growing on sandy/rocky terrain with so little water.

Kudos to Michael and QNHG. Keep it up David. Enjoyed every bit of it.

From David Mundie: A delightful morning. We fell just a couple birds short of Michael Grunwell’s target of 50 species (see Gordon Saunder’s tally below). UPDATE: The final count actually put us two birds over the target.

From Gordon Saunders:

Birding Report by Michael Grunwell, Gordon Saunders, Shirley Carter-Brown, Roger Clark, David Mundie et al for Qatar Natural History Group Birdwalk

Friday, November 14, 2008 at Al Khor harbour, sewage lagoons and marshes, Obelisk beach and Al Thakhira sewage lagoons

Conditions were very pleasant in early morning with temperatures increasing by late morning.

Numbers are conservative for the shorebird count.

One participant complimented this ramble by calling it the "amazing sewage walk" [ed. note: the actual word she used was more picturesque] due to the sewage lagoons we visited.

Below is a list of birds I recorded. No doubt I missed a few when I was out of earshot from Michael.

Note that Roger and myself dropped into Simaisma and, among the regulars, we saw a Little Tern and a Starling!

A couple of nice moments: a fledgling House Sparrow looking exhausted resting on the diamond wire fence; some African Silverbills building a nest, and challenged to get a full white Kleenex into the nest site which was being scouted by a House Sparrow — a great show of teamwork!!

Enjoy!

The following list attempts to be inclusive; of course not all birds were seen by all participants.

Black-crowned Night Heron (juv), 1 
Grey Heron, 1 
Squacco Heron, 2 
Western Reef Heron, 3 (at least 2 white phase)
Lesser Black Back Gull (Heuglini), 5 
Slender-billed Gull, 5 
Black-headed Gull, 2 
Whiskered Tern, 1 
House Crow, 1 
House Sparrow … , 20+ 
Colared Dove, 20+ 
Palm Dove, 10+ 
Crested Lark, 10+ 
Indian Silverbill, 5 
White Cheeked Bulbul, 8 
Common Myna, 2 
Moorhen, 20+ 
Clamorous Reed Warbler, 1 (many others calling)
White Wagtail, 30+ 
Yellow Wagtail, 1 
Water Pipit, 20+ 
Bluethroat, 1 
Isabelline Shrike, 4 
Southern Grey Shrike, 1 
Green Sandpiper, 1 
Wood Sandpiper, 2 

Greenshank, 6 
Redshank, 10 
Turnstone, 2 
Little Stint, 20 
Dunlin, 10 
Oyster Catcher, 10 
Bar-tailed Godwit, 5 
Kentish Plover, 10+ 
Grey Plover, 10+ 
Little Ring Plover, 3 
Ring Plover, 2 
Black Winged Stilt, 10 
Common Snipe, 1 
Curlew, 20+ 
Gargany, 2 
Northern Shoveller, 2 
Kestrel, 1 
Marsh Harrier, 5 
Barn Swallow, 5 
Isabelline Wheatear, I 
Desert Wheatear, 2 
Little Tern, 1 
Starling, 1 
Litle Grebe, 1
Lesser Crested Tern, 100+
Great Cormorant, 3

Ramble 2008-11-14: Winter Birds in Al Khor

Information

Date: 2008-11-14

Time: 07:30. The early rambler gets the bird.

Venue: A variety of locations just outside of Al Khor. Exact itinerary will depend on conditions, but will probably include Al Khor Island, Dhakira Sewage Works, and Obelisk Beach.

Ramble Time: About three hours. Expected finish time is 11:30.

What to expect: Waders, ducks, larks, wheatears – general assortment of wintering birds.

Vehicles: Four-wheel drive is nice, but not necessary. The Rambles Coordinator has done it in his low-slung Mazda3.

Requirements: BINOCULARS! Beg, borrow, or steal them. If this is a problem, send an e-mail to the rambles coordinator, as QNHG may be able to help. Apart from that, the usual: snacks, sunscreen, hat. Wading boots might come in handy.

FAQ: Do I need to know the difference between a Purple Swamphen and a White-tailed Lapwing? No. Although this ramble is not specifically targeted at novices, we will attempt to accomodate all skill levels.

Rules: For the enjoyment of the group as a whole, please, no dogs and no small children.

Leader: Michael Grunwell (mobile: 584-9161)