Kuwait Rarity Report 2013

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) 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 for acceptance. The current Committee is as follows:Mike Pope – Kuwait (Chairman, voting member)
Abdulrahman Al-Sirhan – Kuwait (Secretary, voting member)
Pekka Fagel – Kuwait (voting member)
Oscar Campbell – Dubai (External Adjudicator)
Peter Kennerley – England (External Adjudicator)
Brian Foster– England (honorary member)

2- Accepted Records by Species for Category A and C

Six (6) new species (1st) were recorded in Kuwait during 2013 with 4 of these species being recorded at the oasis farm of Al Abraq and 50% of these species found by visiting birders.

The seventh species, a single Arabian Golden Sparrow recorded in November 2010 at Al Abraq was accepted this year after much deliberation by the KORC Committee

All are highlighted in the table below:

SPECIES	SCIENTIFIC NAME	SIGHTING #	DATE	# Birds	LOCATION	OBSERVER(S)
Arabian Golden Sparrow	Passer euchlorus	1	13-Nov-10	1	Al-Abraq	B Foster, P Fagel
Collared Flycatcher	Ficedula albicollis	1	10-Apr-13	1	Al-Abraq	Angelo + Alberto Nava
European Greenfinch	Carduelis chloris	1	10-Apr-13	1	Al-Abraq	Angelo + Alberto Nava
Taiga Flycatcher	Ficedula albicilla	1	19-Apr-13	1	Al-Abraq	Ebrahim Al-Sahood
Striolated Bunting	Emberiza striolata	1	14-Aug-13	1	SAANR	A Al-Jeraiwi
Goldcrest	Regulus regulus	1	16-Nov-13	1	Al-Abraq	H Al-Shayji and Abdulaziz Al-Youssef
Streak-throated Swallow	Petrochelidon fluvicola	1	06-Dec-13	1	Jahra Pools Reserve (JPR)	Dennis O’Sullivan et al

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)
Horned Grebe	Podiceps auritus	2	1-Jan-13	2	Jahra Pools Reserve	R Al-Hajji
Ashy Drongo	Dicrurus leucophaeus	3	14-Feb-13	1	Fintas Park	Nicola Hulet
Desert Finch	Rhodospiza obsoleta	10	5-Feb-13	2	Khiran Area	Omar Al-Shaheen
Masked Wagtail	Motacilla a. personata	3	02-Mar-13	1	Jahra Pools Reserve	Mishal Al-Saddni
Dead Sea Sparrow	Passer moabiticus	15	04-Mar-13	1	Jahra Pools Reserve	K Al-Ghanem
Eastern Nightingale	Luscinia (megarhynchos) golzii	3	05-Apr-13	1	South Al-Sabahiya	O Al-Shaheen
Spur-winged Lapwing	Vanellus spinosus	12	16-May-13	1	Jahra Pools Reserve	Halima Bughaith
Grey Phalarope	Phalaropus fulicarius	5	28-May-13	1	Jahra East Outfall	R Al-Hajji
Black Tern	Chlidonias niger	12	29-May-13	1	Jahra East Outfall	A Al-Sirhan, R Al-Hajji
Arabian Grey Shrike	Lanius aucheri	3	15-Jun-13	1	Jahra East Outfall	O Al-Shaheen
Grey Phalarope	Phalaropus fulicarius	6	22-Jun-13	1	Jahra East Outfall	R Al-Hajji
Masked Wagtail	Motacilla a. personata	4	03-Jul-13	1	Jahra Pools Reserve	K Al-Ghanem
Indian Pond Heron	Ardeola grayii	2	15-Jul-13	2	Jahra Pools Reserve	O Al-Shaheen
Pygmy Cormorant	Phalacrocorax pygmeus	3	09-Aug-13	1	Jahra Pools Reserve	H.Boresli, O.Al-Shaheen
Booted Warbler	Hippolais caligata	4	15-Aug-13	1	SAANR	R Al-Hajji, M Pope
Mesopotamian Crow	Corvus c. capellanus	2	28-Sep-13	1	Jahra Pools Reserve	Yousef Al-Failakawi
Sooty Falcon	Falco concolor	11	13-Oct-13	1	Khuwaisat	K Al-Nasrallah
Spur-winged Lapwing	Vanellus spinosus	13	17-Oct-13	5	Jahra Pools Reserve	O Al Shaheen
Pallid Scops Owl	Otus brucei	6	30-Oct-13	1	JPR	Saleh Al-Sulaihim
Paddyfield Warbler	Acrocephalus agricola	2	30-Oct-13	1	Jahra Pools Rerserve	A Al Sirhan
Pallid Scops Owl	Otus brucei	7	07-Nov-13	1	Jal Al Zor	Bouke Atema
Eversmanns Redstart	Phoenicurus erythronotus	10	16-Nov-13	1	Al-Abraq	P Fagel
Striolated Bunting	Emberiza striolata	2	18-Nov-13	1	Wafra Oil Field	H Al-Shayji
Zitting Cisticola	Cisticola juncidis	6	28-Nov-13	1	Al-Abraq	M Pope, M Craig
Taiga Flycatcher	Ficedula albicilla	2	03-Dec-13	1	Al-Shallal’s Farm	Alan Dean, P Fagel et al
Desert Finch	Rhodospiza obsoleta	11	19-Dec-13	4	Khiran Area (South)	M Pope

We continue to record rare species that have had 15 Rarity Forms or more submitted, to better understand occurrence and distribution of these species.

These species are shown in the table below.

SPECIES	SCIENTIFIC NAME	SIGHTING #	DATE	# Birds	LOCATION	OBSERVER(S)
White-crowned Wheatear	Oenanthe leucopyga	16	12-Jan-13	1	Mutla Ridge	R Al-Hajji
Black Stork	Ciconia nigra	18	15-Apr-13	1	Jahra Pools Reserve	M Pope
White-crowned Wheatear	Oenanthe leucopyga	17	15-Jun-13	1	Sabhan	Saud Al-Nouri
Black-winged Kite	Elanus caeruleus	16	17-Jun-13	1	Al-Sallam Park	Mohammed Ayoub
Black-winged Kite	Elanus caeruleus	17	07-Jul-13	2	Jahra Pools Reserve	K Al-Ghanem
Black Stork	Ciconia nigra	19	19-Sep-13	1	Al Ritqa	O Al-Shaheen
Crested Honey Buzzard	Pernis ptilorhyncus	18	14-Sep-13	1	Um Erimam	M Al-Saddani
Crested Honey Buzzard	Pernis ptilorhyncus	19	21-Sep-13	1	SAANR	M Shah
Crested Honey Buzzard	Pernis ptilorhyncus	20	21-Sep-13	1	Al Ritqa	K Al Nasrallah
Crested Honey Buzzard	Pernis ptilorhyncus	21	25-Sep-13	1	Khuwaisat	O Al-Shaheen
Black-winged Kite	Elanus caeruleus	18	29-Oct-13	1	Jahra Pools Reserve	R Al-Hajji
Crested Honey Buzzard	Pernis ptilorhyncus	22	23-Nov-13	1	Al-Abraq	R Al-Hajji
White-crowned Wheatear	Oenanthe leucopyga	18	13-Dec-13	1	Jal Al-Zor	O Al-Shaheen
Black Stork	Ciconia nigra	20	16-Dec-13	3	Jahra Pools Reserve	R Al-Hajji

3- First Record Images (with photographer credited)