KORC Rarity Report 2011

KORC Rarity Report 2011

1- KORC Rarity Adjudication

KORC meets quarterly each year to review and adjudicate submitted Rarity Forms for species that are considered Accidental, Vagrant, Rare and Scarce, as well as other specified species that have low and infrequent abundance.

The completed Rarity Forms are reviewed, discussed and either accepted or not by the core KORC members (MP, SIR, PF) who are all based in Kuwait. Consensus must be reached for a decision, but if a decision cannot be reached, then the external adjudicators (OC, PK) are asked for their opinion for a final decision, which requires a majority vote.

The current Committee is as follows:

Mike Pope (MP) – Kuwait (Chairman, voting member)

Abdulrahman Al-Sirhan (SIR) – Kuwait (Secretary, voting member)

Pekka Fagel (PF) – Kuwait (voting member)

Oscar Campbell (OC) – Dubai (External Adjudicator, voting member)

Peter Kennerley (PK) – England (External Adjudicator, voting member)

Brian Foster (BF) – England (honorary member)

2- Accepted Records  by Species for Category A and C

Seven (7) new species (1st) were recorded in Kuwait in 2011 and these are shown in the table below

SPECIES SCIENTIFIC NAME

SIGHTING #

DATE

# Birds

LOCATION OBSERVER(S)
Booted Warbler Hippolais caligata

1

2-Sep-06

1

SAANR A Al-Sirhan
Eastern Nightingale Luscinia megarhynchos golzii

1

4-May-07

1

Jahra Farm M Pope, B Foster, P Fagel
Pectoral Sandpiper Calidris melanotos

1

5-Oct-11

1

Pivot Fields R Al Hajji
Pied Stonechat Saxicola caprata

1

20-May-11

1

Jahra Pools Reserve (JPR) B Foster, P Fagel
Red-crested Pochard Netta rufina

1

29-Dec-11

9

Jahra Pools Reserve (JPR) Ouda Al-Bathali
Striated Heron Butorides striatus

1

31-Jul-11

1

Sulaibikhat KISR Beach K Al Alghanim
Masked Wagtail Motacilla a, personata

1

1-Mar-11

1

Jahra Pools Reserve (JPR) K Al Ghanem

In addition, no further Rarity Forms are required for:

Black Stork and Crested Honey Buzzard, as we have now had 15 submitted Rarity Forms for these Species.

The Status of these two species highlighted in blue will now be reviewed and amended by KORC and updated on Annotated Checklist.

Many other rarities were recorded during the year and these are reflected in the table below:

SPECIES SCIENTIFIC NAME

SIGHTING #

DATE

# Birds

LOCATION OBSERVER(S)
Buff-bellied Pipit Anthus (rubescens) japonicus

16

15-Jan-11

1

Sulaibiya, Pivot Fields M Pope
Dead Sea Sparrow Passer moabiticus

11

16-Jan-11

1

Jahra Pools Reserve (JPR) Pierre Crochet
Eversmanns Redstart Phoenicurus erythronotus

9

21-Jan-11

1

Wafra Farm Pierre Crochet
Rufous Turtle Dove Streptopelia o. meena

10

5-Mar-11

1

Jahra Farm B.Foster, M Pope
Dead Sea Sparrow Passer moabiticus

12

12-Mar-11

18

Jahra Pools Reserve (JPR) G Whitehead
Black Stork Ciconia nigra

12

18-Mar-11

1

Jahra Pools Reserve (JPR) R Al Hajji
Common Crane Grus grus

7

22-Mar-11

1

SAANR P Fagel
Mongolian Finch Bucanetes mongolicus

2

8-Apr-11

1

SAANR K Al Alghanim
Pale Crag Martin Ptyonoprogne (fuligula) fuligula

8

9-Apr-11

1

SAANR B Foster
Black Stork Ciconia nigra

13

29-Apr-11

1

SAANR M Pope
Black Stork Ciconia nigra

14

14-May-11

1

SAANR B Foster
Long-tailed Skua Stercorarius longicaudus

3

30-May-11

4

Jahra Pools Reserve (JPR) M Khorshed
Red Knot Caldris canutus

2

2-Jun-11

1

Jahra East Outfall (JEO) R Al Hajji
Arctic Tern Sterna pardisaea

5

3-Jun-11

1

Jahra Pools Reserve (JPR) R Al Hajji
Eurasian Golden Plover Pluvialis apricaria

9

15-Jul-11

Jahra East Outfall (JEO) M Pope
Crested Honey Buzzard Pernis ptilorhyncus

15

15-Sep-11

1

SAANR P Fagel
Grey-necked Bunting Emberiza buchanani

3

16-Sep-11

1

SAANR R Al-Hajji
Crested Honey Buzzard Pernis ptilorhyncus

16

28-Sep-11

1

Sulaibiya, Pivot Fields M Khorshed and others
Spur-winged Lapwing Vanellus spinosus

10

29-Sep-11

1

Jahra Pools Reserve (JPR) Fahad Alkhamis
Ferruginous Duck Aythya nyroca

8

18-Oct-11

1

Jahra Pools Reserve (JPR)  A.Al-Sirhan, M. Chalmers
Black Stork Ciconia nigra

15

22-Oct-11

1

Jahra Pools Reserve (JPR) P. Fagel, M. Newey
Common Crane Grus grus

8

24-Oct-11

1

Pivot Fields M Khorshed
Rufous Turtle Dove Streptopelia o. meena

11

19-Nov-11

1

Jahra Farm M.Pope
Humes Leaf Warbler Phylloscopus humei

4

3-Dec-11

1

Rawdatain P Fagel
Eurasian Golden Plover Pluvialis apricaria

10

4-Dec-11

1

Pivot Fields P Fagel
Common Crane Grus grus

9

6-Dec-11

3

SAANR P Fagel
Hooded Wheatear Oenanthe monacha

7

10-Dec-11

1

Jahra East Outfall (JEO) P Fagel et al

3- First Record Images (photographer credited)

Booted Warbler – A Al-Sirhan

Booted_Warbler400

Eastern Nightingale – M. Pope

Nitightingale

Pectoral Sandpiper – P Fagel

Pectoral_Sandpiper

Pied Bushchat – P Fagel

Red-crested Pochard – M. Korshed

pochard

Striated Heron – K Al-Ghanem

heron

White (Masked) Wagtail – K Al-Ghanem

masked_wagtail

4- Not Proven Records

Species Scientific Name

Date

Location Not Proven Reason
Crested Honey Buzzard Pernis ptilorhyncus

19-Jan-11

Al-Abraq Considered a hybrid by D Forsman
Grey-necked Bunting Emberiza buchanani

24-Apr-11

Pivot Fields Observer did not submit Rarity Form
Red-necked Stint Calidris ruficollis

30-Jul-11

Freee Trade Zone Confirmed as a Sanderling
Red-headed Bunting Emberiza bruniceps

16-Sep-11

Sulaibiya, Pivot Fields Confirmed as Black-headed Bunting
Greater Scaup Aythya marila

29-Oct-11

Jahra Pools Reserve (JPR) Confirmed as juvenile Tufted Duck

5- Other Records of Interest

Other interesting observations in 2010 were for:

  • 4 Richards Pipit seen at Pivot Fields in January
  • 124 Hypocolius on Green Island in January
  • Humes Leaf Warbler at Al Abraq in January
  • 6 Great Crested Grebes in Jahra Bay in February
  • Oriental Skylark at Pivot Fields in February
  • Pygmy Cormorant was still present at Pivot Fields in March
  • Black Vulture seen in SAANR in April
  • 5 Arctic Skua’s on route to Kubbar Island in April
  • Lesser-crested, Bridled and White-cheeked Terns on eggs at Kubbar Island in May
  • Arctic Tern at Jahra East in June
  • 21 Socotra Cormorants at Khiran (2nd highest count)
  • 40+ European Honey Buzzards at Tuhla in September
  • Grey-necked and Red-headed Bunting at SAANR in September
  • Red-wattled Lapwing at Pivot Fields in September
  • Wood Warbler at Tuhla in September
  • Spur-winged Plover at Jahra Pools in October
  • European Goldfinch at Al Abraq in December
  • Hooded Wheatear at Jahra East in December

A few of the other interesting species are highlighted in images below:

Crag Martin – 30 Oct 2011, SAANR, Rashed Al Hajji

crag_martin400

Short-eared Owl – 02 Nov 2011, Jahra Pool Reserve, Rashed Al Hajji

owl

Tufted Duck – 12 Nov and 29 Dec 2011 – Jahra Pool Reserve, Rashed Al Hajji et.al.

duck

Black-throated Thrush – 17 Nov 2011, Sulaibikhat, Rashed Al Hajji.

thrush

Wood Warbler – 24 Sep 2011, SAANR, Rashed Al Hajji.

wood_warbler400

Icterine Warbler – 09 Aug 2011, Jahra Farm, Rashed Al Hajji.

icterine_warbler400

Mountain Chiffchaff – 24 Nov and 11 Dec 2011, Jahra East Outfall, Rashed Al Hajji.

mountain_chiffchaff400

Mistle Thrush – 5 Dec. 2011, Jahra Pool Reserve, Rashed Al Hajji.

mistle_thrush400

Common Reed Bunting – 10 Dec 2011, Jahra Pool Reserve, Rashed Al Hajji.

reed_bunting400

Jack Snipe – 14 Dec 2011, Jahra Pool Reserve, Khaled Al Ghanem

jacksnipe400

Eastern Greylag Goose (11 birds) – 26 Dec 2011, Jahra Pool Reserve26 Dec 2011, 11 birds, RH.

greylag400

Eurasian Dotterel – 31 Dec 2011, Pivot Fields, Pekka Fagel.

dotterel400

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