The migrants continue to come through. My Iraq list will soon be over 100 species.

On Thursday I had to drive a few soldiers to the helipad to get them on a flight. I took 45 minutes extra to check a few spots for birds.

On the far side of the base there is a small pond next to a modular water-treatment plant. The pond is about 1/2 an acre and was dug this spring. Now some reeds have grown up around it and I've started noticing some shorebirds, mostly stilts.

When I checked it out there was a nice selection of shorebirds including a life bird for me. There were a dozen black-winged stilts, two spur-winged plovers, a common sandpiper and my new life bird, a great snipe. All were very cooperative and I drove my humvee right up to the bank and watched the birds from 20 feet away.

At the laundry pond in addition to the usual species I saw another new species, a group of three ferruginous ducks. The males are all reddish brown with a white belly and white on their wings when they fly. I also saw some sand martins (Bank Swallows) for the first time in Iraq.

Driving around the perimeter I checked the flooded areas near the fence for more shorebirds. I turned up some red-wattled plovers and my third new bird of the day a white-tailed plover.

Some passerines were perched on the fence. I saw a flock of common babblers, a migrant spotted flycatcher and my final new bird of the day an isabelline wheatear.


September 23rd Birdlist 1230-1330

Little Grebe - 4
Great-crested Grebe - 1
Little Egret - 4
Mallard - 3
Northern Shoveler - 2
Marbled Teal - 4
Ferruginous Duck - 3
Moorhen - 2
Black-winged Stilt - 12
Spur-winged Plover - 3
Red-wattled Plover - 4
White-tailed Plover - 1
Great Snipe - 1
Common Sandpiper - 1
White-winged Black Tern - 10
Rock Dove - 15
Wood Pigeon - 4
Collared Dove - 6
Pied Kingfisher - 1
Blue-cheeked Bee-eater - 4
Crested Lark - 2
Bank Swallow - 10
White-cheeked Bulbul - 3
Isabelline Wheatear - 1
Spotted Flycatcher - 1
Common Babbler - 5
Hooded Crow - 3
House Sparrow - 30