What the fog?

Week 10, 08 March 2014 - Sabah Al Ahmad Sea City

Spring migration is certainly starting to step up a gear with migrants starting to arrive in numbers in northern Kuwait. I had great expectations for my visit to Sea City, but halfway down the 30 the traffic literally ground to a snails pace as we hit a thick bank of sea fog that lasted all the way to Khiran and only lifted by 8:30am

Engulfed by the fog bank

Goats appearing like apparitions in their pen

The bulk of the winter visitors appear to have departed with very few Great Cormorants seen and only a handful of Heuglin's Gulls

Heuglin's Gull (Larus f. heuglini)

and a single Common Black-headed Gull seen on the lagoon beaches

A late blooming Common Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) not yet in breeding plumage

I checked out each of the islands and was a little disappointed at the lack of numbers, but did get a find a Chiffchaff that appeared to be darker than what I have been used to seeing. Birds of the Middle East refers to brevirostris the breeding form from Turkey which is brown-tinged above (especially crown) and on breast sides and has off-white undertail coverts. I would be interested to hear opinions of those who may be more familiar with this ssp.

Chiffchaff, possibly Phylloscopus collybita brevirostris?

Feeding closer to the ground and very seldom coming out of cover was a male Menetries Warbler that tried my patience, but I was able to get one image through the foliage.

Shy male Ménétriés’s Warbler (Sylvia mystacea)

Another treat was a White-throated Bluethroat, only my second sighting of this ssp - again patience and stealth was required to get both images. The first against the light, but thanks to RAW I was able to recover the image.

White-spotted Bluethroat (Luscinia s. cyanecula)

I found a Moth sp that flew like a Skipper butterflies, but then would dart inside the cover and close their wings like a regular moth. Thanks to Ben Porter for suggesting is is probably an Eastern Bordered Straw

Eastern Bordered Straw (Heliothis nubigera)