Kasfareit to Port Said to Suez
Life list now 178 species
>>Destination known at last!
On 4 March I learned that my Middle East posting was to Aden and that I and others going there would leave by ship from Port Said the following day. "During the morning of 5 March, I went by train from Kasfareit to Port Said, embarked on the "Capetown Castle" and sailed for Aden in the evening. >>>
From the train I saw many Buff-backed Herons [Cattle Egrets], Black Kites, one Common Snipe, c.10 Pied Kingfishers (one of which flew parallel with and kept up with the train at c. 20 mph for 50-100 yds. Their note: a chattering shrill scream), several Sand Martins [Bank Swallow](Riparia riparia shelleyi?), 5 [Northern] Lapwings (Vanellus vanellus) (with two Spur-winged Plovers and another Lapwing later, one Kestrel and some Hoopoes. In the harbour at Port Said, I saw no different birds from those on 22 February.
The night of 5-6 March was spent passing through the Suez Canal and we arrived at Suez at 0700h. On the mud at the end of the Canal and on the east side were 5 [Eurasian] Oystercatchers (presumably Haematopus o. ostralegus) and 2 either Whimbrel or Curlew (bill seemed shortish). In Suez harbour were Black-headed Gulls, Yellow-legged Gulls and Lesser Black-backed Gulls. I noted the relative numbers of these four forms of gull at 100:5:13:2. We left Suez at c. 0900h and entered the Red Sea in the evening. Outside the harbour I found the approximate proportion of British to Scandinavian Lesser Black-backed Gulls to be 50:50."
>>1-3 March 1946
Great Bitter Lake and vicinity
Each day I walked from the camp to and along the western side of the Great Bitter Lake. Much of the area was cultivated (irrigated), also with occasional villages. Kasfareit was near the modern village of Fanara (find by viewing larger map).>>>
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“There were House Sparrows in all habited areas. On 1 March, just outside the camp I saw a ♂ Stonechat (Saxicola torquata rubicola) of the darker European form and 2 or 3 more (1 ♂ and/or 1 ad. ♂ and 1 imm. ♂) near a small settlement at the south end of the lake. On 2 March one Stonechat was seen to have a very dark, apparently black back. On 1 March I saw my first Bluethroat* (Luscinia svecica) with a red spot in a garden near the camp.
The only Hoopoes* (Upupa epops) seen were on 2 March. Presumably they were of the Egyptian form, major. They were in a garden and at a fair distance so I could see little detail. On this day too, I observed an unknown warbler that was probably the Graceful Warbler [Prinia] (Prinia gracilis]. It had a monotonous song: “slenk-slenk-slenk-..." There was also a different effort from the same bird "chik-o chik-o chik-o... " with the second note lower and shorter than the first. I saw this bird once or twice - it was generally grey-brown with a long tail.
In the fields were several Spur-winged Plovers* (Vanellus spinosus), which greatly puzzled me till I was able to identify them from Greave’s “Sixty Common Birds of the Nile Delta”. [This book was originally published in 1936 in Cairo but the copy I was able to borrow had been published in 1944 by the British Government (Stationery Office) as a Service Edition, intended for use by M.E.F. (Middle East Forces), presumably to provide some diversion for British troops stationed in Egypt. It was available in the Camp Library. I located the one illustrated below via the Internet and bought it in 2010.]
During the whole of my walk, Crested Larks and White Wagtails were visible. The chief note of the former was a whistling “pweep” or “peep-eep”. Several times they broke into full song, not unlike that of a Skylark but much less varied. I think there were also a few smaller larks more resembling a Woodlark in appearance.
In a flooded field, feeding among rice(?), were c. 40 [Cattle Egrets]. These birds proclaimed their identity by the very light buff markings on the head. Back and mantle noticeably very light grey instead of white. There were one or two beside the lake and many in another field as well as odd ones in flight. A few Pied Kingfishers were seen.
At various points, I disturbed waders along the shore. There were at least two Greenshanks (Tringa nebularia) and 4+Redshanks (probably T. totanus totanus). The only difference I could see between these and the British form was that the breast, flanks and back had more noticeable black spots.
I came across a mixed party of plovers on 1 March. There were c. 6 Kentish Plovers* (Charadrius a. alexandrinus) (pretty little chaps these - the distribution of black as well as dark legs and noticeably sandy crown combined with small size make them easy to distinguish), c. 12 Ringed Plovers (C. hiaticula), differing from the British variety in that back and crown seemed darker, white over eye in form of a narrow stripe, note apparently identical - probably the Siberian race tundrae) and about a dozen of an unidentified species. They were a little larger than the Ringed and had a similar white eye-stripe. Legs darkish, general colour olive, very much as a typical Ringed Plover, uniform over whole upperparts; below white except for brownish flush on sides of breast. Bill as normal plover. Their note was a kind of very mellow whistling twitter. Later I was able to identify them as Lesser Sand Plovers* (C. mongolus).
The only other wader near the lake shore was a Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos). From sedgy pools near the lake, I flushed two Jack Snipes (Lymnocryptes minimus) and two Common Snipes (Gallinago gallinago). The last wader was a Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus) from a roadside ditch (identified only by black underwing - no particular shyness or towering behaviour noticed and no note heard.) On 2 March much the same waders and plovers were observed.
Gulls on the lake were Black-headed (species?), some in complete plumage; also about three Yellow-legged Gulls and one Scandinavian Lesser Black-backed Gull.
On 1 March, towards the other shore, were four large white birds (storks?), some pied looking ducks and several probable Great Crested Grebes (Podiceps cristatus). On 3 March, one White Stork* (Ciconia ciconia) landed on the lake. The red of the bill and legs and the black primaries contrasting with the white plumage was noticeable thro’ my binocs. However, in flight, just before alighting, it seemed to have neck drawn in as does a heron.
One wheatear (probably typical [i.e. Northern]) flew from one bush to another in the fields beside the road. There was a flock of about 100 Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris).
Subspecies of [♂][Yellow] Wagtail (Motacilla flava) were plentiful by the road, both on the lake shore and along the ditch. On 1 March, two, seen clearly, had white chins and a white stripe thro’, or partly thro’ and partly over the eye, obviously the typical European Blue-headed race flava. Another had white chin, no white eye-stripe and black behind bill, apparently Ashy-headed (cinereocapilla). Yet another one or two had this appearance only with less intense dark colour behind the bill, probably Grey-headed (thunbergi). Alternatively, these two forms may have both been of the Egyptian [breeding] race pygmaea. However, from the illustration in “Sixty Common Birds of the Nile Delta”, there is no black on the ear coverts of this subspecies. It was not very prominent on those seen. The most probable example of the Egyptian race was one with no white stripe and no black. The blue-gray forehead was flecked with white. On 2 March, several of these possible Egyptian wagtails were singing, with a rather Corn Bunting-like jingle of high-pitched chirps.
Pipits were observed on 1 and 3 March and, on the letter day, identified as Tawny Pipits* (Anthus campestris) by largish size, light sandy or buff-brown back, greyish tinge on head with light eye-stripe, almost completely unspotted and unstreaked underparts, very light sandy-buff, vaguely veined with faint blue-grey. Note: rather like that of a Meadow Pipit only rather “pweest”. With them on 3 March were two Red-throated Pipits* (Anthus rufugulariscervinus]). They greatly resembled Meadow Pipits with heavily spotted underparts but one had a chestnut-red throat extending down sides of breast. The other had apparently no red (winter plumage?)”
