Short-tailed Shearwaters in the Persian Gulf off Kuwait May 2025

Things have developed with our Short-tailed Shearwater sightings off Kuwait and we now have six confirmed (by Bob Flood) individual birds (there were seven previous individuals recorded in the WP before our trip). Seems like there has been a regional influx into the NW Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf with a flock of 14 in Bangladesh, birds in India,  up to nine 'Short-tailed-types' in Kuwait Bay in the last two weeks and the first record also for the UAE. Hopefully will do a proper write up on this for a regional journal (hopefully Sandgrouse) with Bob and other Middle East/ Indian birders but in the meantime here is the link to Bob and Ashley's identification paper on Short-tailed Shearwater HERE and an introduction to our six birds with their diagnostic bill proportions. Very simply a Shortie has a bill ratio which roughly equates to a 30% tube, 30% mid-section and 40% unguis. In the images the variation between individuals is shown but all fall within variation of Short-tailed except for bird 6 which is marginal but can be confirmed on the structure and plumage indications (rounded head, steep forehead, pale chin, more compact) and underwing colouration which is more subdued than Sooty Shearwater.  

Main images below are mine, bill measurements and bill photos by Vince and bird 6 in flight by Omar. 

BIRD ONE

BIRD TWO

BIRD THREE

BIRD FOUR

BIRD FIVE

BIRD SIX 

Kuwait day 4, Al-Abraq and a first for the Western Palearctic !

Put simply May 18th 2025 was one of my best birding days in the WP ever. We decided to go back to Al-Abraq to spend out last day at the oasis. When we arrived there had clearly been a nice arrival of migrants probably bottled up due to the strong north-west winds and sandstorms over the previous couple of days. Will do full write ups of this day in Birdwatch magazine and Dutch Birding so will keep this brief here but basically we (Vince, Julien and I) found a first for the WP- a Lesser-striped Swallow. My main rarity finding life goal was to find an African vagrant in the WP so this was simply epic. More so I've been dreaming of a big fall day all Spring where the bushes are dripping with migrants and that was the back drop to the find and even better the migrants were from diverse families including herons, raptors, waders, nightjars, bee-eaters and passerines too. Simply mind-blowing! Ebird list HERE

Trip report from our four day mini-mega trip HERE. Got to be one of our best four days birding with six Short-tailed Shearwaters (6 previous records in the WP) and a first for the WP too and Basra Reed Warbler, White-cheeked Tern, Bridled Tern and Socotra Cormorant additional local speciality WP ticks too. Also Indo-pacific Finless Porpoise, Indian Ocean Humpack Dolphin, Cheesman's Gerbil and Kuhl's Pipistrelle were mammal lifers and all of the reptiles were ticks too. What a trip!  

Now on 752 for the WP (75 in Netfugl ranking) and 963 for False WP (39 ranking). Basra Reed, White-cheeked Tern and Socotra Cormorant were world ticks so 3380 for the World and 5309 World Pan-species list with the new mammals and reptiles. 

This Spring I've done 134 Ebird checklists since early March, which I guess equates to approx 200+ or so birding hours (maybe less not sure, I could work it out more accurately but basically I have been in the field a lot- a lot!) including trips to Cyprus and Kuwait. Apart from the very unsatisfying (wish I'd never seen it as I generally follow the no-photo/no bird rule) brief single observer no photo encounter with the Collared Prat at Medmerry (which was a relocation rather than a find anyway) I hadn't found anything worth talking about but have seen some great birds that others found and some fantastic birding and vis mig days. Considering this day was probably the last day of Spring birding 2025 it certainly felt like a very nice ending to the Spring and also maybe there just may be some 'perceived justice' in birding and some correlation between effort and reward but..... that is a big maybe.  Either way I don't care I'm quite happy in the zen zone (it's a meditative state) looking for rarities without seeing bugger all but nice when you do find something and never really expect it despite that being the goal! The pursuit of extremely improbable outcomes must actually make for some interesting birding stats. Be good to work out how many birding hours are equal to different levels of rarity finds e.g. local rarity, country descripiton species, BBRC rarity, mega rarity etc and correlate that to various locations , skill and technology too. This is the third first for the WP that I've found but that is mainly a hack (plus a lot of luck) by visiting places/ suspected vagrant traps that few other people have visited, at the right time of year in the right weather.  Maybe rarity finding statistical thoery is a new project to work on?      

I even saw a Hoopoe on the deck after dipping them all Spring- alas it dissappeared before I got a photo so the jinx was firm to the end :-) 

Lesser-striped Swallow- a first for Kuwait and the classic WP.

Blue-cheeked Bee-eater

River Warbler

There were several of these which caused some debate but I thought Marsh Warbler was the closest fit

Several of the Willow Warblers were these grey looking birds- presumably Northern birds

Spot Fly

Sedge Warbler was the most numerous passerine migrant 

Nightjar. Two of these. 

Squacco- a few of these and a few Black-crowned Night Herons too

Kuwait day 3- Al Jahra Farm and Al Albraq Night Drive

We started the day off at Al Jahra but dipped the Bank Myna again (I tried in January). There were a few migrants about HERE.

We then headed over to Al Abraq to meet up with Omar for a night drive. After a quick bit of birding at the farm HERE , the highlight was a Crested Honey Buzzard, we headed to an old quarry area near the Iraq Border and had a five hour night drive looking primarily for Sand Cat. We dipped the cat but had a very nice little selection of desert mammals and herps.

A few photo highlights and preliminary ids on the herps from Wildlife Of Kuwait – موقع السرحان below: (some more possible id options on I-naturalist HERE) 

Spotted Flycatcher at Al Jahra Farm

Barred Warbler, Al Jahra Farm

First-summer (above) and adult (below) Red-throated Pipit at Al Jahra farm

Steppe Buzzard. Al Abraq

Spiny-tailed Lizard, Uromastyx aegyptia microlepis

Arabian Toad-headed Agama, Phrynocephalus arabicus

Desert Lizard (I think), Acanthodactylus hardyi

'Desert Skink' Scincus mitanus

Short-fingered Gecko, Stenodactylus affinis

Not sure on this, maybe Stenodactylus slevini (above and below)

Blanford's Rock Gecko, Stenodactylus tuberculatus

Lesser Egyptian Jerboa (above and below) 

Cheesman's Gerbil

Arabian Fox (above and below) 

Kuwait day 2- Al Jahra Reserve and Kuwait City

We started the day off at Al Jahra Pools, 64 species of nearly 1000 individuals HERE and then we visisted Sulaibikhat HERE, next was a city park HERE and then we met up with Omar at his office for some seawatching HERE. In the evening we went to the Hypocolious wintering site HERE and had drinks (non-alcoholic) and prayers with the host before a non-alcohol night on the town with the local birders at the Oak and Smoke. 

Basra Reed Warbler (above and below). Lifer. The only one we had on the trip in a city park. We dipped Clamarous Reed at Al Jahra and also dipped Bank Myna at Al Jahra farms later on in the week and didn't try for Red-vented Bulbul so still a few WP ticks out here for me so a good excuse for another visit. 

Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin- any day with one of these is a good one

Brahminy Starling- still a Cat E in Kuwait but has become established in UAE

White-tailed (above) and Spur-winged Lapwing (below) at Al Jahra Pools

A better view of a Temminck's Stint than I had on Ferry earlier on in the Spring. We had 19 species of wader at Al Jahra including 60+ Red-necked Phalaropes.

Dark and pale morph Western Reef Egrets at Sulaibikhat 

Socotra Cormorant- lifer. One of the main targets of the trip but this was the only we had. 

Great Crested Tern

Kuhl's Pipistrelle- lifer

Northern House Gecko , Hemidactylus flaviviridis