Heavy passage and a lifer

My first birding in the Nouakchott area since returning from my summer break was at the waste water site.

It was on August 19th and was much better than expected.

• there was a large warbler passage: western Bonelli's warbler,  willow warbler, common chiffchaff, western olivaceous warbler, melodious warbler, sedge warbler, eurasian reed warbler, common grasshopper warbler, spectacled warbler
• western olivaceous warbler, western Bonelli's warbler and melodious warbler were early passage last year.
• common grasshopper warbler was a target bird. It is known to winter in West Africa and even south west Mauritania. However, it was lifer for me and number 306 on my Mauritanian list.
• Though seen by me in country before, I photographed a European cuckoo for the first time here.
• There was a good cross section of early waders including a curlew sandpiper
• A full list of species seen is at the bottom of the blog

immature chiffchaff

western bonelli's warbler

common grasshopper warbler

hepatic female common cuckoo 1

hepatic female common cuckoo 2

redshank

spur-winged lapwing and other waders

rufous bush-robin

curlew sandpiper

glossy ibis

horses

common ringed plover

blue-cheeked bee-eater

spotted flycatcher 1

spotted flycatcher 2

pied flycatcher

nightingale

North Nouakchott waste water site, Nouakchott, MR

19-Aug-2018 09:45 - 13:45

36 species

Laughing Dove  

Namaqua Dove  

Common Cuckoo  

Black-winged Stilt  

Spur-winged Lapwing  

Common Ringed Plover  

Whimbrel  

Curlew Sandpiper  

Little Stint  

Common Sandpiper  

Common Greenshank  

Wood Sandpiper  

Common Redshank  

Glossy Ibis 

Osprey  

Eurasian Hoopoe (Eurasian)  

Blue-cheeked Bee-eater  

Great Grey Shrike (Sahara)  

Woodchat Shrike  

Black-crowned Sparrow-Lark  

Crested Lark  

Barn Swallow  

Western Bonelli's Warbler  

Willow Warbler  

Common Chiffchaff  

Western Olivaceous Warbler  

Melodious Warbler  

Sedge Warbler  

Eurasian Reed Warbler 

Common Grasshopper Warbler  

Spectacled Warbler  

Spotted Flycatcher  

Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin  

Common Nightingale  

European Pied Flycatcher  

Sudan Golden Sparrow 

October's desert trip

A week ago Friday, Ellen Askum joined me for my first long trip in the desert for three weeks. Once again the main stop was at Dowkah farm which is a magnet for migrating birds.

Of course the cast had changed once again. However the much-liked golden oriole was still able to be seen but now in lower numbers.

golden oriole

As usual I started my inspection of the farm by walking round the outlining fields. Soon the first tawny pipit of the winter were observed.

tawny pipit

Black-crowned sparrow lark and Eurasian collared dove were the most abundant birds out there. 

In the same filed as in previous visits this autumn, Montagu's harrier were found.

Surprisingly no chestnut-bellied sandgrouse were seen which was a first on any of my visits.

spotted sandgrouse by Ellen Askum (with thanks)

However around 9.15am, three waves of spotted sandgrouse appeared. 

We soon headed for the wooded area in the centre of the farm which has the strongest record for migrants.

It didn't take us long to realise that a wave of common cuckoo had arrived.

common cuckoo at Dowkah

We counted at least six.

another common cuckoo at Dowkah

Rather strangely there were no warblers about this time. This desert stops can vary day to day with the numbers and types of migrants especially warblers at this time of year. 

Only two spotted flycatcher remained too.

rosy starling

On leaving the wooded area, we went to the field next to the farm house.

three rosy starling

A medium sized flock of rosy starling were mingling with the resident house sparrow. The field was hopping with locusts which would have been much to the rosy starling's liking.

This was the same field I saw nine white stork three weeks before. There were still four there.

white stork

While the numbers of golden oriole had started to drop off, the numbers of European roller were still going strong.

five European roller

I know Ellen was very satisfied with Dowkah farm with several lifers. It is a tribute to Dowkah's ability to deliver new birds for me that I was slightly disappointed this time particularly in the diversity of the migrants. 

We decided to press on further away from Salalah as our 4.30 am start in the morning had given us time to play with.

Qatbeet motel garden was the next stop and furthest stop away.

willow warbler 1 by Ellen Askum (with thanks)

Unlike at Dowkah, there had been a windfall of warblers. The not-so-good news was that all the warblers appeared to be of two types: willow warbler and common whitethroat.

willow warbler 2 by Ellen Askum (with thanks)

Probably the most remarkable birding feature of Qatabeet was not the warblers but the sheer numbers of common cuckoo on site.

common cuckoo at Qatbeet

We counted at least nine.

rufous bush robin

There was a very late rufous bush robin.  Most of this species went through these desert spots on migration 3-5 weeks before.

barn swallow

There were several barn swallow overhead. However was was resting only a few centimetres from the ground. It has obviously taken a bath in the small near-by pool. It was soaked. I suspect the pool saved its life though by perching that low one of the cats could still end it.

white wagtail

There was a white wagtail. Unlike the rufous bush robin, this bird was very early for its species.

common cuckoo at Al Beed farm

After Qatbeet, we changed direction and headed back towards Salalah. We had time to stop off at Al Beed farm though it was blisteringly hot in the afternoon sun.

Even here we saw three more common cuckoo. There was clearly a wave going through.

European roller

European roller was also expected and indeed seen.

blackstart

I have never seen a blackstart at a desert farm before. It was about 60 kilometres north of its expected range.

spotted flycatcher

Our last stop was very brief when I took a peak into the garden surrounding a wind turbine station. There were no cuckoos this time but European roller and golden oriole were present. One spotted flycatcher was also seen.

I thank Ellen Askum for her company on this trip and on the other days.

I will write next about another trip with friends which took place nearly a week later. We went west and close to the Yemen border. The results were very good indeed. 

Three cuckoos in one tree

I spent much of Saturday morning at Wadi Darbet. It is still very green and attracting many birds indeed more so than from November onwards when the ground dries out under the trees.

I was looking mostly for any passage birds. I found quite a few.  

adult male common cuckoo

Remarkably in one tree there were three cuckoos.

adult male common cuckoo 2

Two were passage common cuckoo and one was a Dideric cuckoo which is a summer breeder in Dhofar.

adult male common cuckoo

The first one I noticed was an adult male. 

resting common cuckoo

The second one is a second calendar year bird which still retained some juvenile plumage.

second calendar year common cuckoo

I understand there is nowhere of telling whether this bird is male or female.

second year common cuckoo 2

Both birds are remarkably tame especially if you walk towards them extremely slowly. I withdraw from one barely 3 metres way. Ironically it only flushed when I walked away.

second year common cuckoo 3

To be honest I din't know that common cuckoo don't mature until they are two years old until this sighting and my investigation into it.

second year common cuckoo 4

The Dideric cuckoo was not so tame. It moved out into a dip next to the tree very quickly.

Dideric cuckoo

This tree didn't look very special except it is one of the largest in the wadi, with only one immediate neighbouring tree and also close to the water.

"eastern"nightingale

Most of my time at the wadi was taken under the more heavily wooded area on the west side. Here is is well shaded.

Several passage nightingale were present.

tree pipit

Some tree pipit have arrived. A few stayed all winter there last year.

common whitethroat

As is typical in most of the Salalah area in autumn, the most common passage warbler by far is common whitethroat. 

western reef heron with a grey heron

The water levels in all water bodies in Dhofar are much lower this year than last. There were no signs of ducks here yet.

water at Wadi Darbet

As well as the migrants, the resident birds were out in force obviously including Ruppell's weaver.

By co-incidence, representatives of three of the local birds got much closer to me than usual. This allowed me to shot sharp pictures with my average camera.

cinnamon-breasted bunting

Arguably the nosiest bird in the woods, one was a cinnamon-breasted bunting.

African paradise flycatcher

African flycatcher has lost their breeding plumage now but are still attractive.

blackstart

The final local bird was a blackstart. Actually its not so unusual for them to get close but it was welcome nevertheless.