Summer Shorebirds Around the Abu Dhabi Islands

It is hard to believe looking outwards from the city of Abu Dhabi, but the capital is surrounded by a fantastic array of marine and shallow intertidal habitats. The extent of these, including creeks and extensive mangrove forests, are best appreciated from satellite imagery. Those habitats extend both to the northeast and southwest of Abu Dhabi island.

Replenished by the tides daily, intertidal habitats are full of small invertebrates such as worms, shells and crabs and, if you are a bird, that means food. Lots and lots of food. Intertidal areas throughout the Arabian Gulf support vast flocks of shorebirds, gulls and herons, many of which fly here from their breeding grounds as far away as the Siberian tundra. Once here, some birds remain all winter, but just as many continue southwards to wintering grounds in Africa.

So everyone knows that the UAE’s intertidal mudflats are important for birds every year from September to April. What is often not appreciated, however, is that they are a very important resource for shorebirds in summer too. Although then total numbers are much lower, many species do not breed in their first year and so immatures remain on the ‘wintering grounds’ all summer, despite the heat.

Here at Nautica we quite often get the chance to do fieldwork on the intertidal habitats surrounding Abu Dhabi Island. Visits in early July produced over 250 shorebirds in a small area, including six species on the global IUCN Red List (categorised as Vulnerable or Near Threatened)! Species seen included Curlew Sandpipers and Bar-tailed Godwits, which nest on the shores of the Arctic Ocean as well as Crab Plovers which nest locally in the Arabian Gulf.

Bar-tailed Godwit (left) and Curlew Sandpiper (right), looking for food as the tide falls. Both species assume a bright red breeding plumage, but as these are immatures (one year old), they will not acquire that plumage until the next breeding season. Next July they will be in Siberia!

Crab Plover - this distinctive species breeds in colonies on the Arabian coastline but migrates as far as Madagascar in the non-breeding season.