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ORNITHOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF THE MIDDLE EAST BULLETIN 28 SPRING 1992 OSME Bulletin 28 Spring 1992 Editor: Mark Boyd AllrecordsinthisBulletin are subjectto acceptancebythe relevant records committees of the country concerned. Any articles, announcements or requests to do with birds in the Middle East are welcome, and may he published free of charge, subject to thediscretion ofthe Editor, Accompanyingphotographs and line-drawingsarewelcome. Bird namesgenerallyfollow those ofBirds of the Middle East and North Africa. ContributionstothenextBulletinshouldbereceivedby15 September 1992. Theyshouldpreferablybedouble-spacedandtyped. Articles on disk (3.5 or 5.25 inch only please ) are welcome. Please include both formatted and ASCII files and a paper copy as well. Illustrations We are grateful to the following artists for the illustrations used in this Bulletin: SM Andrews: black-headed Yellow Wagtail Cover and 47; LesserSand Plover3; RockNuthatch 17; Bald Ibis 34; Brown Booby 54; Lesser Kestrel 56. Hilary Welch: House Crow 4; Bee-eater 15. We are grateful to the RSPB for the use of the following illustrations: JohnBusby:Nightjar 20;Goldcrest23; Long-tailedSkua 58. Darren Rees: Osprey 41; Red Kite 53; Stone-curlew 57. Suez: not only raptors Derek Evans J MuchhasbeenwrittenaboutthespectacularraptormigrationsatSuez, Egypt, but almost nothing on the other birdwatching opportunities offered by thisarea. Thesitesdescribed herecanbeexplored inadaytrip fromCairobybus ortaxi,butaprivateorhirecarispreferable,especiallyaroundSuezitself. Suezisapproximatelytwo-hours' drivefromCairo, and Brown-necked RavenCorvus ruficollisand HoopoeLarkAlaemonalaudipesareregularly seenalong the way; Spotted Sandgrouse Pterocles senegallus is seen less frequently. The White House Hotel is thebest place to stay (approximately £4 per nightinMarch1991);theGreenHouseHotelismoreluxurious,buttwice asexpensive. Suez Bay ExplorationofbothSuezBayandthemarshesisquitestraightforwardby car.TheBayisborderedbya'comiche'road,andotherroadsrundirectly pastthemarshes.Parkingonthehardshoulderorinthelittleentriesand access points shown on the map will allow good viewsover the water; but a telescope is useful. Short walks into garden areasaround the BlueHuts and alongtheOld and New Causeways may reveal migrant passerines such as Red- throated PipitsAnthuscervinus,IsabellineWheatearsOenantheisabellim and Masked Shrikes Lanius nubicus. At sometimesoftheday,glare fromthesuncanbeconsiderableatthis site.ThetidalrangeoftheBayis2.1 m.Hightidesconcentratebirdsinto less accessible areas which may change according to disturbance, so visits on a risingor falling tideare best. Thearmy hasa considerable presence in thisarea, but their reaction to birdwatchersisusuallyfriendly.Itis,however,bestnottowatchthebay atdusk,sincethearmyseemsparticularlyvigilantthen. Landminesare notadangerintheareashown,butarefarthersouthalongtheroadtoAin Sukhna. In thatarea,donotstrayfromtheroad exceptalongobviously well-used tracks. Heronsandegretsarequitewell-represented,withGoliathHeronArdea goliath reported in April,Septemberand October. Grebesand wildfowl are generallyuncommon. Raptors areoutside the scopeofthisarticle. There isquite a variety of wader species, though apparently not in the greatconcentrationsrecordedbytheBirdsofEgyptProjectinthe1970s, probably because ofincreased landclaim and disturbance. On26February,27LesserSandPloversCharadriusmongolusand20Bar- tailed Godwits Limosa lapponica were recorded, both the largest concentrations counted in Egypt. Greater Sand Plover Charadrius leschenaultiiisaregularpassageandwintervisitorinlownumbers,and Spur-wingedPloversHoplopterusspinosusarecommonresidents.Broad- billedSandpipersLimicolafalcinellusandTerekSandpipersXenuscinereus arescarcepassagemigrants, with thelatterrecorded mostlyinautumn. MarshSandpipersTringastagnatilisareregularonpassageandinwinter in low numbers. TheproximityoftheRedSeabreedinggroundsinfluencestherecordsof gullsand terns. Sooty Gulls Larus hemprichii have occurred outside the breedingseason;White-eyedGullsLarusleucopthalmusareregularinlow numbers in spring and summer; Great Black-headed Gulls Larus 2 ichthyaetus are regular in winter and on passage from mid-February to lateMarch,andagaininNovember.MikeEverett'srecords(OSMEBull. 20:3-5)andmyownrecentobservationssuggestthatthereisconsiderable and previously unrecorded northward passage in spring in this area. Slender-billedGullsLarusgeneiarecommonpassageandwintervisitors. CaspianTernsSternacaspiaareregularandprobablypresentthroughout theyear witha maximumcountof25in theautumn. SwiftTernsSterna bergii are scarce, but have been recorded here and at Ain Sukhna in September. LesserCrested Terns Sterna bengalensis are regularin small numbers,probablythroughouttheyear,butWhite-cheekedTernsSterna repressa are rare visitors, recorded only in April. A Brown-throated Sand Martin Riparia paludicola was recorded in May 1990; African Rock Martins Ptyonoprognefuligula have been recorded irregularly fromSeptember to December,butaremorefrequentfarther south towards Ain Sukhna. The Concrete Causeway gives good views over the Bay. Access is throughagateinawirefence;curvetotherightandfollowthecauseway. There is some army presence here. Green Beach is an erstwhile tourist area,butisnowbadlyoiled.Theoffshoreisletsstillholdroostingbirds. This site isclearly signposted on a frameovera track, but use the track immediatelytothewestofthesign toreachtheshoreand shrubbyarea. There isa strongarmy presence here. Suez Marsh Park along the road and watch the marsh from the roadside at various points. Thenew fishpondsbeyond theMarshlookpromising,butarea restricted 'military' zoneat present. The 'new' marshisdevelopingina depression along the road. 3 Many of the species described for Suez Bay use this area, too. Purple Gallinules Porphyrio porphyrio are resident and best seen in the early morningand lateafternoon. Painted SnipesRostratula benghalensis have been recorded here, but they are scarce. Marsh terns Chlidonias are best seenhere.ClamorousReedWarblersAcrocephalusstentoreusareresident, and Avadavats Amandava amandava have been seen in the reedbed, where theyprobablybreed. Port Tawfik Thisareaisapeninsulasuburbofhousinganddocklandsto thesouthof Suez town (seemap). Follow signsto Canal Authorities,butnotto Suez Port. Park at the southernmost point, where views of the Bay and, especially,thecanalcanbeobtained.Gullsandterns,particularlyWhite- eyedandGreat-Black-headedGulls,areoftenseenfromhereattheright time ofyear. Ring-neckedParakeetsPsittacula krameriare ratherelusive residentshereandelsewhereintheSuezarea,andthelawnsandgardens shouldbeexplored formigrantbirds. HouseCrowsCorvussplendens are common throughout the area, but are particularly abundant and approachable here, where a roost of 1,049 was counted on 28 October 1988. This article describes the main areas of interest in Suez though further explorahon of sites such as the reedy ditches to the north of the town should prove worthwhile. All the sites are constantly changing: development and landclaim have longthreatenedtodestroytheMarsh;andthefeedingandroostingareas forbirdsin theBayarereducedannually.Nevertheless,Suezremainsan excitingarea forbirds, not just forraptors, and is well worthvisitingon a tourof Egypt. Acknowledgment ParticularthanksareduetoDavidCorfield withwhomsomeoftheseobservations , were made. Derek] Evans, British InternationalSchoolPOBoxl37,Zamalek, Cairo, Egypt 4 Preliminary observations of raptor migration along the Al Hada escarpment near Taif, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Geoffand Hilary Welch Introduction Eachautumn,largenumbersofbirdsofpreymigratefromtheirbreeding groundsineasternEuropeandRussia to winteringareasin Arabiaand eastern and southern Africa. Asa resultoftheirmigration strategy, the broad-wingedspecies-eagles,buzzardsandvultures-tendtocrossthe Red Sea at its narrowest points, at Suez in the north and the Bab-el- Mandebstraitsin thesouth.Whatisnotknownatpresentaretheroutes usedbythesebirdstoreachtheseconcentrationpoints.Forbirdscrossing atBab-el-Mandeb,therearethreepossiblestrategies,andthereisevidence thatall areemployed: • a broadfront movement throughout the Arabian peninsula • a moreconcentrated movement following the Asirmountains • by following the Hadraumat in Omanand southern Yemen having entered Arabia via theStraitofHormuz. Non-systematicobservationsmadeby the staffoftheNationalWildlife Research Center atTaifin 1988 and 1990 (PSymens and X Eichackerin litt) suggested that there was a significant passage of raptors along the Asir mountains and that the Al Hada escarpment might be a suitable vantagepointformonitoringthemovement.Ourpreliminarystudywas therefore organised to assess the suitability of the site and to make systematic countsofthebirds passing to assesstherelativeimportance ofthearea. The observation site NWRC Thechosencountsitewasthe houseatthenorthernendoftheAl Hada escarpment (21°22'N,40°15'E). Fromhere,itwaspossible to have a clear view of the Makkah valley to the westand of the foothillsof the escarpmentto thenorthand,toalesserextent,theeast.Beingatthestart oftheescarpment,itwasfeltlikelythatbirdswouldbenaturallyfocused towards thecount site. 5 Methods Systematiccountsweremadefromthehousebytwoobserversonatotal of12daysbetween14and28October1991,withadditionalcountsbeing madefromapointnorthofHarathi(21°N,40°17'E)on13Octoberandat AshShafa (2r06'N,40°17'E)on21 October;250man-hoursobservation time in total.Observationsweremadeusing10x40and 7x42binoculars anda20x77telescope.Countsweremadeathourlyintervals(usinghand tallycountersforthemostnumerousspecies),informationbeingrecorded inafieldnotebook.Attheendofeachhour,countsweretotalledandtally counters zeroed. Simple meteorological records (wind direction, wind speedand cloud cover)werealsomade,togetherwithnotesonvisibility and heightand direction ofmigratingbirds. Attheend ofeach day, the informationwastransferred tostandardisedmigrationrecordingsheets. Opportunisticcountsofobviousmigrantswerealsomadewhentravelling to and from the main count siteand elsewhere. Results A total of 25,330 migrant raptors of 18 species was recorded, the most numerousbeingSteppeBuzzardButeobuteovulpinus(22,495)andSteppe EagleAquilanipalensis(2,001).Allothervisiblemigrantspecieswerealso countedandgaveanadditionaltotalof1,337birdsofafurther17species - see summary table. Discussion Forthispreliminarystudy,itwasdecidedtocountatthetimewhenlarge numbersofSteppeBuzzardsandSteppeEaglescouldbeexpected tobe migrating. InthecaseofSteppe Buzzard, theavailableinformationindicatesthata significantpartofthepopulationmigratesaroundtheeasternendofthe BlackSea,with205,000birdsinautumn 1976(BeamanandPorter, 1977), butthenremainsvirtuallyundetecteduntilitcrossestheBab-el-Mandeb intoAfrica(WelchandWelch,1988)suggestingarathernarrowmigration route through western Arabia. This study'scountcomparesfavourably with figuresfortheequivalentperiodinDjiboutiin1987-22,501 inSaudi Arabia, 16,791 in Djibouti -and is the third highestautumncountinthe MiddleEast.ThisclearlydemonstratesthattheAsirmountainslieonthe migratory route of this species and that Al Hada offers an excellent opportunity for monitoring the autumn migration of Steppe Buzzards through Saudi Arabia. The situation with the Steppe Eagle is, however, more complex. This speciesmigratesslightlylaterthan theSteppeBuzzard (peakbeingmid to late October compared with early to mid-October) and therefore wouldhavebeenexpectedtobepassingalongtheescarpmentinincreasing numbersasthecountprogressed.Thiswasnotthecase,andnosignificant 6 dailycountsweremade.Thereareseveralpossibleexplanationsforthis: • the migration waslater in 1991 • any narrow-front migration route for this speciesdoesnot follow theescarpment • thespecieshasamoredispersedmigrationthroughoutthearea. There iscircumstantial evidence for the first oftheseexplanations. The generalimpressionofresearchersbased inbothTaifandRiyadh,andof Bedouin falcon-trappers atAl Lith, was that themigration ofraptorsin 1991 was both smaller and later than in previous years. There are, however,nodocumentarydataavailabletosupportthisandanyvariation could simply be a natural fluctuation. TheSteppeEagleswhichmigratethroughArabiaoriginatefrombreeding grounds covering an area extending from the Black Sea to the Kirgiz steppes.Theroutethesebirdsusetoreachthepeninsulaisunknown,but therearevariouspossibilities(WelchandWelch,1991)includingbroad- front migration from the Caucasus, and concentrated migration round the Arabian Gulf - at the northern end through Kuwait, and at the southern end via the Strait of Hormuz. There is evidence that each of these routes is used by somebirds,but the relative proportions at each hasyettobedetermined.ThusthebirdsenterArabiafromseveralwidely separated points,and with fewgeographicalfeaturestochannel themit ispossiblethattheycontinueonabroad frontuntiltheyarefunnelledat thesoutherntipofthepeninsulaacrosstheBab-el-Mandebstraits. Ifthis is the case, one would expect the Steppe Eagles to pass on a generally broadfrontthroughSaudiArabia,graduallybecomingmoreconcentrated as they move south and west. This could also account for the frequent scattered sightings of small numbers of eagles throughout much of northern Arabia. In contrast to the relatively srnall number of eagles counted at Al Hada during this study, casual observationsmade in the Abu Arish area in October 1987 noted over 800 Steppe Eagles in four hours (P Symens in litt), which tends to support the idea that the movement becomes more concentrated as it moves southwards. Of the other raptor species recorded. Honey Buzzard Pernis apivorus, Black KiteMilvus migrans, Egyptian Vulture Neophron percnopterus and Booted Eagle Hieraaetus pennatus all tend tobeearly migrantsand thus nosignificantnumberswereexpected.Conversely,Long-leggedBuzzard ButeorufinusandImperialEagleAquilaheliacaarelatemigrantswiththeir main migratory period being in late October and November. The very smallnumbersofthesetwospeciesattheendofthecountarethuslikely to be the start of the movement. Among the remaining species, SparrowhawkAccipiternisus, harriers Circus and falconsFalcoaremore 'active' migrants,and thusarenotconcentrated atnarrowseacrossings asare thebroad-winged species. 7 Site Al Hada Date in October1991 14 15 16 17 18 Countperiod (hours from08.00) 9 10 10 9 9 Grey HeronArdeacinerea 58 11 BlackStorkCiconianigra 1 1 Honey Buzzard Pemisapivorus BlackKiteMilvus migrans 6 2 2 2 EgyptianVultureNeophronpercnopterus 1 3 GriffonVultureGypsfulvus 3 3 Short-toed Eagle Circaetusgallicus 1 2 1 Pallid HarrierCircus macrourus 1 2 Pallid/Montagu's H C. macrourus/pygarus 1 1 1 SparrowhawkAccipiternisus 21 25 22 24 14 SteppeBuzzard Buteo buteo vulpinus 1730 2815 2742 4026 3234 Long-legged Buzzard Buteo rufinus Buzzard sp. Buteosp. SteppeEagleAcjuila nipalensis 250 73 206 238 85 Imperial EagleAquila heliaca Golden EagleAcjuilachrysaetos 1 Eagle sp. Aquilasp. 1 7 Booted EagleHieraaetuspennatus 4 1 3 LesserKestreLFa/conaumanni KestreLFa/co tinnunculus 3 1 2 3 1 Hobbyffl/cosubbuteo 1 2 1 2 SakerFalcocherrug Peregrineffl/coperegrinus Falconsp.Falco sp. 1 1 Raptorsp. 7 7 48 10 LesserBlack-backed GullLflrwsfuscus 1 HerringGullLflrusargentatus 1 TurtleDove Streptopeliaturtur 1 Swift Apusapus 2 2 2 Pallid SwiftApuspallidus Alpine SwiftApus melba 1 7 LittleSwiftApusaffinis 2 Bee-eaterMeropsapiaster 53+ 66 40- 112+ 1+ Sand MartinRiparia riparia SwallowHirundo rustica 47 16 79 33 230+ Red-rumped SwallowHfrwn^iodaurica 1 House Martin Delichon urbica 3 3 1 Hirundinesp. 1 Tawny Pipit Anthus campestris 1 TreePipit Anthus trivialis Yellow WagtailMotacillaflavasp. White Wagtail Motacillaalba Dailytotal-migrant raptors 2024 2934 3039 3706 4131 Dailytotal-all migrants 2130 3017 3230 3858 4376 8