29/04/2025 Short-tailed Shearwater, 3rd for Kuwait if accepted by KORC

During a boat trip to Kubbar Island with Giancarlo Marconi, on our return to Kuwait City, Giancarlo spotted a bird, and we asked the skipper to steer in its direction. We managed to take several photographs, and upon reviewing them, I remarked to Giancarlo that it looked promising for a Short-tailed Shearwater—but we needed to examine the photos more carefully to be sure.

I immediately shared a message in our local WhatsApp group, saying I had seen either a Short-tailed or Sooty Shearwater, pending further confirmation. After studying Robert Flood’s paper on the identification of Short-tailed Shearwater, and discussing the bird in detail with Omar Al-Shaheen, we agreed that the bird fits well for a Short-tailed Shearwater.