Variable Wheatear at Mutla’a Ranch
The excitement began around midnight when I received a WhatsApp message from Mohammed Alazmi, asking me to identify a wheatear he had found at Mutla’a Ranch. As soon as I looked at the photographs, the bird immediately caught my attention. It looked very good for a Variable Wheatear, and I replied to Mohammed that I thought that was what he had found.
Needless to say, I was very keen to see the bird for myself. Variable Wheatear was a bird I had wanted to see for some time. In fact, during a previous winter visit to the United Arab Emirates, I had made a special attempt to find one, but despite searching for it, I was unsuccessful. So the possibility of finally seeing one—and in Kuwait—made Mohammed’s discovery particularly exciting.
Early the following morning, I headed to Mutla’a Ranch and began searching the area. Despite spending some time looking, however, I could not relocate the bird. Eventually, I reluctantly gave up and started to leave.
Just as I was on my way out, Omar called to say that he was coming to look for the bird. He had actually seen it briefly from a distance the previous day, but at the time had assumed it was a Pied Wheatear.
Not long afterwards, a message arrived from Omar with the words every birder hopes to receive in such circumstances: he had found the bird!
I immediately turned around and headed back to the site. With Omar’s help, I soon managed to see the wheatear, although initially my views were brief. Shortly afterwards, Humoud Alsahyji arrived, and fortunately the bird then came much closer and began showing extremely well, giving us excellent views and good opportunities to photograph it.
At times the wheatear disappeared from view and we had to search for it again. Omar’s knowledge of where the bird had been moving proved invaluable, and he helped us relocate it whenever we lost sight of it. Many thanks to Omar for relocating the bird that morning and for helping us find it again during the observation.
With prolonged close views, there was now no doubt that the bird was indeed a Variable Wheatear.
It was a particularly memorable moment for me. Variable Wheatear is an exceptional rarity this far west, and this individual represents only the fourth record for both Kuwait and the Western Palearctic. On a personal level, it was even more special. After failing to see the species during my earlier attempt in the UAE, I had finally caught up with it—and unexpectedly on home ground in Kuwait. Variable Wheatear was a lifer for me.
What had begun with a WhatsApp message around midnight ended the following morning with one of those wonderfully unexpected encounters that make birding so rewarding. It was also a reminder of how easily a rarity can initially pass unnoticed: a bird seen briefly from a distance and thought to be a Pied Wheatear turned out to be something considerably more exceptional.