ISSN 0260-3799

IIIll''l! lllll'll I.-, Number 72 April 1994

ß .i- -'-', i ß OFFICERSAND EXECUTIVECOMMI7-1'EE Honorary President Dr M W Pienkowski ADVISORYPANEL

Chairman Dr G C Boere, Voorstraat 7, 4153 AH Beesd, N & J Clark, Thefiord, U K J P Myers, New York, USA The Netherlands A J van Dijk, Ufielte, Netherlands RIG Morrison, Ottawa, Canada P R Evans, Durham, U K home (31) - (0) 3458 - 1814 Y Ntiamoa-Baidu,Legon, Ghana P N Ferns, Cardiff, U K D Parish,Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia work (31) - (0) 3404- 2611 I Forsyth, Ballast, U K P Prokosch,Oslo. No•vay G H Green, Pershore, U K R Ruffno,Usbon. Portugal Vice-Chairman T Pierstoa, Bomendiek 6a, 1793 AA De Waal, B A Lane,Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia C J Stair, Texel, Netherlands Texel, The Netherlands R Maheo, Sane, France R L Swann, Drurnnadrochit,U K = home (31) - (0) 2220- 13741 P Meire,Gent, Belgium L Underhill,Capetown, South Africa H Meltofte,Copenhagen, Denmark L Oring, Nevada, USA work (31) - (0) 2220- 69300 C D T Minton, Melbourne, Australia B I-larfington,Manornet, USA (31)- (0) 2220- 69485

Vice-Chairman Dr N C Davidson, 17 Bexwell Road, Downham Market, Norfolk PE 38 9LH, U.K. = home (44)- (0) 366- 384604 work (44) - (0) 733 - 62626 fax (44)- (0) 733- 555948 CORRESPONDENCE

General Secretary P de Goeij, Klif 11,1797 AK Den Hoorn,Texel, Exceptfor that concerningWader Study Group Bulletin,all correspon- The Netherlands dence, includingmatters and proposalsconcerning colour-marking • home (31) - (0) 2220- 19549 schemes,should be sent to the Group'sofficial address; Wader Study work (31) - (0) 2220- 69485 Group,PO Box 247. Tring,Hertfordshire, HP23 5SN, UK. All general enquiriesshould be sent to the General Secretary. Membership Secretary R B West, Farnham Barn, Farnham, Saxmundham, Suffolk, U.K. Membership All applicationsfor membership,initial subscriptions and renewals, changesof address,matters relating to the circulationof the Bulletin home (44) - (0) 728- 603942 etc. shouldbe sentto the MembershipSecretary. work (44) - (0) 728- 604742 fax (44)- (0) 728- 604651 Payments and Subscriptions See details on inside back cover. Editor D A Stroud,Spring Meadows, Taylors Green, Warmington, PeterboroughPE8 6TG, U.K. Pro•ects M•tters and proposalsconcerning co-operative research projecL• and home (44)- (0) 832- 280837 obje•ves shouldbe sent to the Co-ordinator. work (44)- (0) 733- 62626 Colour-marking Register Treasurer B Loos, Bernardlaan60, 1791 XG Den Burg,Texel, Proposalsand sightingsconcerning colour-marking schemes should The Netherlands be sent to the Colour-markingRegister at the officialaddress given above. home (31)- (0) 2220- 15757 work (31) - (0) 2220 - 12920 Bulletin Correspondenceconcerning the Wader StudyGroup Bulletin should OTHER COMMI7-I-EE MEMBERS be sentto the Editor:D A Stroud,Wader Study Group Bulletin, c/o UK J Groadzka B Klinner-H6tker N Baccetti M Barter JointNature Conservation Committee, Monkstone House, City Road. P Canevari E Lebedova P Tomkovich A Yurlov PeterboroughPE1 IJY, U.K.

Deadlines I Januaryfor the Aprilissue I May for the AugustIssue I September for the December issue EDITORIALTEAM David Stroud editor-in-chief If correspondencebetween editor and author(s)is likelyto be needed, RodneyWest production material must be received well before these dates if material is to be Nick Davidson SupplementaryBulletins included in the next issue. Nicola Crockford reviews editor Phil Grlce Lys Muirhead Notes & News Robin Ward Notes & News WesternHemisphere Editor• (3 Rulz, SmithsonianEnvironmental Research Center, PO Box28, Edgewater,Maryland 21037-0028, USA. Martin Nugent

Printingby Lake-ShoreGraphics, Nottingham, U K There will be a follow up to the Travel arrangements would help if you could let us know methodsworkshops held at the 1993 yourarrival time by September15. If meeting during the 1994 conference. BOsumcan be reached by plane, you do not hear from us by 10 Furtherdetails will be given in the boat, railway, and car (and in the October, we will not be able to August Bulletin(see also below in case of winds from the east also by collectyou. this Bulletinfor a progressreport on bicycle).At present,direct plane and this initiative). boat servicesare unfortunatelyonly Car travellerswhich have to pass - availablefrom Helgoland. Moreover, Hamburgare advisedto use the Saturdayevening will be devotedto the boattrip from Helgolandto motorwayA23 via Itzehoeto Husum. informal discussions, and there will BOsum cannot be recommended due Near Heide, shortlybefore the be a bar (and perhapsmusic) to an unfortunate ratio of vessel size motorway turns to the national road available. Further talks will take and wave heightsduring storms. B5, BSsumis signposted.Travellers place on Sunday morning,with field from the north are advised to use the tripsduring the afternoonto the Therefore,plane travellersare B5 to Heide and followthe signs Meldorfer Bucht and the advisedto land in Hamburgand use from there. SpeicherkoogDithmarschen, both the train thereafter. The correct closeto BOsum.The field tripswill station for the trains to the west All delegatesare kindlyrequested to end at 17.00. coast in Hamburg-AltonaoThis arrive first at the Youth Hostel, stationmay be reachedfrom the where the registrationdesk will be The Monday after the meeting (24 airportby usinga taxi (c. 25 min) or open from 16.00 to 20.00 on Friday October) will be given over to the publictransport (> 60 min, but 90% 21 October. one-dayworkshop on measuringand cheaperthan the taxi). There is a monitoringthe breedingsuccess of bus shuttlebetween the airportand Food and accommodation waders. This will finishat approx. the nearest city train (S-Bahn) 17.00. station (Olsdorf). The S-Bahn line Accommodation and meals will be in S1 will; bringyou directlyfrom the S- the Youth Hostel. The number of Bahn stationto Hamburg-AItona. small rooms(two or three beds)is Ticketsfor the wholetrip to very limitedand will be allocatedon General information Hamburg-AItonamay be purchased a "first come, first served" basis. from the bus driver. For getting There will be enough beds available BOsumis a very small town on the closerto B0sum,please continue in larger rooms. It is recommended west coast of Schleswig-Holstein.It readingunder train services. to bringbed linen. is situated in the centre of the East Atlanticflyway on the border All train connectionsfrom the east, Meals (breakfast,lunch and dinner) between Europe'slargest cabbage the south,and the west, incorporate will also be taken at the Youth cultivation area and the Wadden a smallstopover in Hamburg-Altona, Hostel. Delegateswith special Sea. BOsum is said to be the the last of the three or four dietaryrequirements, e.g. secondmost windy place in (dependingfrom where you come) vegetarians,should indicate this on Germany, and indeed,the weather in train stationsin Hamburg. In most the bookingforms. Duringthe Octobermay be a bit cold, stormy (but not all) cases, you will have to breaks, coffee and tea will be served and rainy (a fact, however, that does change trains here. Arrivingin in the conference room. There will not distinguishOctober from other Hamburg-Altona,you may take the be a bar servingbeer, spiritsand months). The town's main income is next train to Westerland or Husum soft drinks in the conference room tourism, but there are also harbour (not Flensburgand not Kiel). All on Friday,Saturday and Sunday facilities and - of course - the trains to Husum and/or to evenings. cabbagefields, which in someplaces Westerlandserve Heide, where you even providebreeding grounds for have to change train again. There is Talks and posters waders like Avocets. a fairly regularservice of trainsfrom Heide to BSsum. Travellingfrom the Offersof talks and postersshould be The natural values of B0sum are north(for examplefrom Esbjerg)to made to: clearlysituated on the Wadden Sea B0sumby train is difficult(you have to changetrains up to five times!)but side of the dikes. The vast mud- and Hermann H0tker, WSG Conference, possible! sandflatsof the outer Elbe estuary FTZ, Hafent0rn, 25761 BOsum, holda very richwader fauna, Germany. especiallysouth of BOsum. Many Providingthe organisingcommittee wadersspend the hightide in the knowthe times of arrival of your Phone (work): (0) 4834-604-280, SpeicherkoogDithmarschen, which planes(at Hamburg),or yourtrains (home): (0) 4841-73673, will be visitedduring the excursion. (at Heide),we mightbe able to fax: (0) 4834-6772. collectyou with minibuses. At presentwe cannot yet make any Please note that the time for talks is promises in this respect,but it limited to 15 minutes, with an At Esbjerg in 1991, the governments this projectwould be to provide of the three Wadden Sea countries economic stimulusto Argentina, adopteda declarationcontaining a Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and guidingprinciple for the trilateral Uruguay. Wadden Sea policy,common managementprinciples and common WA's report illustratesthe potentially objectives,which cover all main negativeconsequences of providing impactsand uses (Esbjerg a cheap form of transportationat the Declaration). expense of the region'slong term environmental health. Available in The 1993 symposiumdiscussed the English,Portuguese and Spanish, Esbjerg Declarationand agreed a this reportcosts $25.00. Both the series of recommendations to be above publicationscan be ordered given to the next Trilateral through Wetlands for Americas, 81 Governmental Conference on the Stage Point Road, P.O. Box 1770, Protection of the Wadden Sea. Manomet, MA 02345 USA. These included recommendations relatedto protectionand zero-use nature reserves, salt-marsh protectionand management,location of wind turbines, fisheries, and internationalscientific co-operation.

The symposiumendorsed a continuation of the moratorium on gas explorationand exploitationin the Dutch Wadden Sea recognising the pivotalrole that the Wadden Sea plays in the whole East Atlantic Flyway.

Also stressedby the Symposium was the importanceof establishing specificconservation plans for the Kentish Plover Charadrius alexandrinus and Dunlin in the breeding season.

WETLAND BENEFITS

Two new publicationshave been publishedby Wetlands for the Americas(WA). In partnershipwith Asian Wetland Bureau and IWRB, WA have produceda 45 page book describingthe benefitswetlands provideto society. It aims to serve as a tool for publicawareness and as a reference guide for those seekingfurther technical expertise. Available from IWRB, AWB or WA and in English, it costs $15.00.

The secondWA publicationis in response to a proposed developmentproject called Hidrovia whichaims to constructa complex navigationsystem allowingbarge traffic on the Parana-Paraguay rivers of South America. The chief goal of

12 recordedon passage or in winter in S.E. Asia and in the 9) only 17 were found here in the winter of 1990/91 Indian sub-continent(all Figure 1) with vagrant individuals (Perennou& Mundkhur1991). Similarlysmall numbers, occurringas far afield as the U.K., Morocco,Seychelles 37 and 14, were found duringthe respectiveAsian and Israel. There are however a number of recent Watedowl Census countsin January 1992 and 1993 records of flocks of Great Knot from Arabian Gulf states (Perennou& Mundkhur1991; Eriksenpers. comm). where formerlythis specieswas also affordedthe status of vagrant. This paper collatesall recordsof Great Knot The first arrivals of Great Knot on the Barihah coast of in the Arabian peninsulaand discussesthose comingfrom Oman may be in Augustbut there is no informationon within the Arabian Gulf. arrival dates at the main resort which lies much further south. The relativelysmall numbersrecorded in the mid- winter counts,by which time most birds shouldhave arrived,since that of 1989/90 does not necessarilymean numberschanged betweenthen and the followingwinters as the area is large (c.200 sq. km) and flocksmobile. They couldtherefore have been missedquite easily. Only duringthe WAS surveyin December1989 and January 1990 has completecoverage been achievedwhereas the standardAWC countsare made of part of the area on a singleday or at best over a few days each winter.

Recent recordsfrom other sites are all of singlebirds, at Sur Masirahon 12 October1990; AirportKhawr near Muscat in September 1991 and off the Salalah cornichein southernOman on 9 September1992 (Oman Bird News 10, 12 & 13 respectively). The last of these sightings together with the first Omani record in 1982, representthe Figure1.Breeding (crosshatched) and mostsoutherly sightings in Arabiato date. UnitedArab Emirates (UAE) wintering(single hatched) areas of Great Knot.

Great Knot is still officiallyrecognised as a vagrant (less than 10 records)to the UAE, this despitethe occurrence RECORDS FROM AROUND ARABIA (all named of a flock at one site (Khor al Beidah)in three of the last sites shown in Figure 2) four winters. The first UAE recordwas of a single at Khor Kalba on the east (Gulf of Oman) coast on 8 & 12 Oman November1986 (Richardson& Richardson1991). All records since have been from within the Arabian Gulf from Great Knotwas first recorded in Oman (& Arabia) when the Emirates of Umm al Quwain at Khor al Beidah and three birdswere identifiedat West Khawr (Salalah, from islands off the coast of, and belongingto, Abu Dhabi. SouthernOman) on 23 September1982 (King& The first record from the latter emirate was in March 1993. Gallagher1983). Two previousclaims, both of singleson MasirahIsland (on 30 November1974 and 6 December At Khor al Beidahup to five were presentfrom 7-9 March 1975), were not conclusivelyidentified at the time and 1990. Despite a search being made none were seen in thus not consideredadmissible (but see below). Following the winter of 1990/1 or early part of winter 1991/2, but 70 the 1982 recordthere was one near Seeb on 26 August were present here on 30/31 March 1992. At the other end 1986 and two at Khawr Awamir on 23 August 1987 (one of the year 21 found on 18 November had increasedto 37 to 5 September), both sites being in northernOman. In on 17/18 December (1992), followed by the highest count 1988 two were seen both at Seeb (19 September) and to date at this site of 90 birds on 26 December. Less than Awamir(29 September)and on 12 September1989, a 10 were noted on all subsequentvisits until late March single was at Khawr Azaiba, also northern Oman. 1993 but 46 were present on 9 April, with a single sub- However since the winter of 1988/9 a single site, Barr al adult remaininguntil at least 27 April. It is generally Hikman, has produceda series of unprecedentedcounts. acceptedamong residentornithologists that Great Knot A total of 119 birdswere countedhere on 7 January1989 may have been overlookedprior to 1990 when visitorsfirst (Scott& Rose 1989) with five remainingon 3 Marchwhile located birds at Khor al Beidah. duringthe survey undertakenby the West Asian Shorebirdsurvey team the followingwinter (1989/90) Also in 1993, flocks were seen for the first time on two 1,193 individualswere foundin December/January(Uttley islandswest of Abu Dhabi city. On Abu al Abyadh31 et aL 1990). This site is the premiershorebird resort in were seen on 11 March and on Merawah a peak of 227+ the countryand lieson the centralOman coast opposite on 22 Marchwhere they had been noteddaily from the Masirah Island. Althoughat least 20 birds had been seen 18th. Many of these birdswere in full summerplumage at Barr al Hikmanon 6 September1990 (Oman BirdNews and thus presumedto be adults. There are extensive

44 intertidalareas betweenthese two neighbouringislands canutusin the Eastern Provinceprior to 1984, all of which and there may be movement of these birds between were rejected, may well in fact have relatedto Great Knot. variousfeeding sites. Regular observationson the island The only accepted Saudi recordof the former species of Abu al Abyadhin Marchand April1993 failedto concernsa singlesummer plumaged bird (accompanying produceany furthersightings, and similarlynone had the 107 Great Knot !) in April 1991. been seen there in late February. There is no doubt that the increase in records is due at Four immaturebirds were presenton Merawah on 1 least in partto an increasein observercoverage and August1993 and had presumablyoversummered (in the awareness. Extensiveshorebird counts in April/Mayand companyof non-breedingplumaged Bar-tailed Godwits November/December1991 were part of a concertedeffort Limosa lapponica). by ICBP/NCWCD (and in particularPeter Symens), followinglarge scale oil pollutionin the Gulf. Saudi Arabia Bahrain The first Saudi record was of two birds on the shore south of aI-Khoberfrom 28-30 May 1984 (one remaining until 9 There are onlytwo recordsfrom Bahrain,both of roosting June) (Bundy et al. 1989). There were no further records singles. The first recordwas on Muharraq islandon 5 until 1991 when a single (2nd year) bird was seen on January 1990 and the second (a juvenile) at Janabiyah on sewage fed lagoons(on former sabkha) at Jubail, Eastern 17 September1992 (per Erik Hirschfeld). Provinceon 5 Aprilonly to be followedby 107 in full summer plumage at nearby Tarut Bay on 9 April (Symens Other States pers comm.). None was seen on subsequentvisits here althoughanother bird, again a second year, was found at There appear to be no recordsof Great Knotfor Qatar, a second site in Tarut Bay on 11 May 1991. Two more Kuwaitor Iraq all of whichcountries border the Arabian recent recordsare also from Tarut Bay (at a third site): Gulf and possesssubstantial intertidal areas. Iran which one (first winter) 26 November 1991 and seven in winter presentsan extensivebut particularlyremote and plumage on 1 7 October 1992. inaccessibleGulf coastlineis also hamperedby a lackof observers. Scott (1975) listed no occurrenceof Great Two more as yet unsubstantiatedrecords from the winter Knot in Iran and althoughthere has certainlybeen some of 1992/3 concern a single at an "inland"site and "several" recentsight recordsof singles(and possiblysmall groups) at Jizan on the Red Sea coast (Symenspers. comm.). It since, I have been unable to locate them thus far. should also be noted that several claims of Knot Calidris

t

\ •c, yBr

R•.A&I A

A•Y•4k I

./

o 300 ;oo qoo Ka,

./

Figure 2. Main sites in Arabia where Great Knot has been recorded.

45 Pakistan or N.W. India. These areas, as already stated, OBSERVATION OF GREAT KNOT WITHIN THE are knownas winteringgrounds for Great Knotespecially ARABIAN GULF the deltaof the Indusbelow Karachi. A singledirect flight across the Arabian Sea to or from the Gulf of Oman would Most of the followingcomments are based on observation be a formality(for a large Calidrid). Recordeddates for of birds in UAE. In almost all instances there is a close flocks of this speciesin Pakistanextend betweenOctober association of Great Knot with Bar-tailed Godwit both at and May, but with few other details available. roostand in feedingsites. Typicalhabitat for flocksis extensive intertidal, often remote, sand and mudflats on The almostcomplete absence of autumn records,and open coasts. None has been seen alongstrictly sabkha certainlyof largeflocks, from withinthe ArabianGulf coast. Accessto these areas is characteristicallydifficult. suggestsan easterlyapproach for those birdswintering The UAE coast,for example, is a maze of islands, on the Gulfof Omancoast with the possibilityof a '1ooping' channels and extensive intertidal areas and shoals with returnmigration through the ArabianGulf in springnot yet some large areas of mangrove. On Merawah, Great Knot ruled out. onlyarrived close to the shoreon the droppingtide having roostedelsewhere, and on one occasiona group of 60 Cramp & Simmons(1983) is unable to provideany birdswas observedfeeding over ten kilometresfrom the informationregarding routes used by Great Knotwintering shore of the island. At Tarut Bay (Saudi) and at Barr al on the Makran and Sind coasts of Pakistan and north- Hikman (Oman) the sheer size of the intertidalarea and west India. An overlandpassage through central Asia for mobilityof flocksdo not lend themselvesto easy or this westernwintering population seems possiblealthough accuratecounting. Furthermoredistinguishing Great Knot migrationfrom eastern Siberia to Australia is (and has to from Bar-tailedGodwit and Grey Plover Pluvialis be) mostlycoastal. A coastal routefollowing a smallcircle squatarolain denselypacked mixed roostsis often not eastwardfrom the Gulf and involvingoverland crossings possible.The problemswith shorebirdsurveys in this of India to Bangladesh/Bayof Bengal and S.E. Asia to region,where also high-tidesfrequently fail to get reach the South China Sea and then north via the Sea of anywhere near the shore, are really self-evident. Japan to Siberia would be at least 12.500 kin. This is Comprehensiveshorebird surveys are stillto be similar to the distance travelled to reach some of the completedin many areas of the ArabianGulf, particularly Australianwintering areas. The relativelylate arrivaldates the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi Emirate of flocks,so far establishedin the ArabianGulf, may be and the northern Gulf shore, as well as in the known the net resultof a coastal route having been taken. winteringareas of Great Knot in Pakistan and N.W. India and Bangladesh. Can otherwader specieswintering in the Gulf shed any lighton the subject? Lesser Sand Plover Charadrius mongolusis one of the commonestwaders on Gulf DISCUSSION mudflatsin winter. Bothmigrant and winteringbirds appearto be of the race altifronswhich breeds in Tibet and the Himalayasand wintersas far southas southern It is not yet possibleto say whetherthere is any movement of Great Knot between sites in Saudi Arabia, Africaand east to Sumatra(Hayman et al. 1986), UAE and Oman. The records to date from within the althoughanother race - pamirensis- hailingfrom the ArabianGulf may hintat Great Knotbeing on passage southcentral CIS, may also occur. Their routeto the Gulf ratherthan winteringhere. Most recordsand the highest in autumnand returnin springis presumablyrelatively numbers(except on one occasionin UAE) have been in straightforward.A similarwholly overland route is a Marchand April,at a time when otherwaders are possibilityfor Great Knot reachingArabia. certainlyon passagethrough the Gulf and are then mixed withthe winteringshorebird populations. Current records Comparisonwith those speciesbreeding in Siberiain certainlysuggest a passage(perhaps westward) along the particularmay be more pertinentalthough there is none southshore of the Gulf in spring. If thesebirds are on that comes from as far east as Great Knot. Curlew passage then where from and where to? SandpiperCalidris ferruginea are passage migrantand winter visitors to the southern Gulf from central Siberian Thosewintering at Barr al Hikmanin Oman are notseen breedingareas. Their autumnmigration takes manyto furthernorth on the Gulf of Oman coast(Khor Kalba is the Africavia the Caspianand BlackSeas, passingthrough onlypossible intertidal stopover site beforeHormuz but is Arabia. Howeverunless they are overlooked,this is not probablynot suitablehabitat anyway and certainlynot for the routetaken by Great Knotto Arabia, otherwisethey would enter the Arabian Gulf at the northern end and largenumbers). They couldconceivably cross the Wahiba Sands or enter the Gulf via the Straits of Hormuz would have been recordedthere by now. The same butthis seemsunlikely when their breeding area liesin appliesfor returningbirds in springwhich presumably cross from the southern Gulf to the Laristan or Mekran easternSiberia. A moreobvious route measuring coast of Iran instead. approximately9,000 km wouldbe that of a near great circle taking birds over the Tibetan Plateau via a first stopover site most likely to be somewhere on the coast of Bar-tailedGodwit with which Great Knotfrequently associatein the MiddleEast are of the race lapponica

46 (Uttley et al. 1988) breeding in Scandinaviaand western REFERENCES CIS and they are thus unlikelyto have migratedtogether. They may just consortin their winterquarters due to Ali, S. & Riplay,S.D. 1982. A synopsisof the birds of India and similarhabitat preferences, or as an anti-predator Pakistan,together with those of Nepal, Bhutan,Bangladesh strategy,and accomplishrelatively short distance and Sri Lanka. 2nd ed. BombayNatural HistorySociety. movementsin the wintertogether. DunlinCalidris alpina Bundy,G., Connor,R.J. & HarrisonC.J.O. 1989 Birdsof the of the race sakhalinafrom eastern CIS also certainly EasternProvince of SaudiArabia. HF.G. WitherbyLtd., reach the Gulf m winter (pars obs), as well as the London. nominatealpina, but again the routetaken is not known. Cramp. S. & Simmons,K.E.L. (ads.) 1983. The birdsof the Western Palearctic. Volume 3. Oxford University Press, One further possibilityto explore is that Great Knot breed Oxford. furtherwest in Siberiathan was previouslyrealised, or have recentlyspread there with the corresponding Hayman, P., Marchant,J. & Prater A.J. 1986. Shorebirds.An identificationguide to the waders of the world. Christopher developmentof a new winteringarea, (in which case Helm, London. perhapsbirds weren't overlookedpreviously). Only very few nests of Great Knot are recorded in western literature Hirschfeld,E. in prep. Migrationpattern of birdsin Bahrain,1990- as havingever been found (e.g. two in Hayman et al. 1992. 1986 and four in Lane 1988) so their breeding range may King,BF. & Gallagher,M.B. 1983. Firstrecord of Great Knot well be imperfectlyknown, especially when one considers Calidris tenuirostris in Oman, Eastern Arabia. Bull. Brit. Orn. the size of the populationwintering in Australia. Arrivalat CI. 103 (4): 139-140. the breedinggrounds is by the second half of May (Cramp Lane, B. 1988. Shore Lines: Waaers in Australia. B.T.O. News & Simmons1983) so departurefrom the southernGulf No.155. March/April1988. '1ring, I I.K. gives birds a minimumof five weeks to travel there, which presumablythey do since many are certainlyadults. Oman Bird News 9:11. Winter 1990. Some immaturebirds might be expectedto oversummer Oman Bird News 10:11. Summer 1991. in the Gulf but so far there are only recordsof a single Oman Bird News 12: 17. Summer 1992. bird in Saudi in May and of four in UAE in August. Oman Bird News 13: 9. Winter 1992/93.

If Great Knot recordedin the Gulf are onpassage then Perennou, C. & Mundkhur, T. 1991. Asian & Australasian their winteringrange may extend further south than WaterfowlCensus 1991. AWB/IWRB, Slimbridge,U.K. presentlyrealised. The potentialwintering range based on the distanceGreat Knotcould travel comparedwith the Perennou, C. & Mundkhur, T. 1992. Asian & Australasian eastern Siberian-Australian'West Pacificflyway' (over WaterfowlCensus 1992. AWB/IWRB,Slimbndge, U.K 14,000 km) would easily take them to the East African Richardson, C. 1990. The Birds of the United Arab Emirates. coast, of Eritrea/Ethiopiaand Somaliafor example. King Hobby Publications,Dubai. & Gallagher(1983) also postulatedon this possibility,but Richardson, C. & Richardson, B. 1991. A Birdlist of the UAE. observationswould also then be expectedin Yemen and Tribulus1 (2): 3-12. Bulletinof the EmiratesNatural History other countriesbordering the Red Sea which does not Group. Abu Dhabi. seem to be the case either. A lookat the map suggestsa Roberts, T.J. 1991. The Birds of Pakistan. Volume 1. Oxford lack of suitablestopover sites en routeand perhapsalso UniversityPress, Oxford. an unsuitableAfrican coast. However it may be that there are stillbirds to be found, after all they were formerly Scott, D.A. 1975. Check List of the Birds of Iran. MTT Technical described as "rare" in Australia. LeafletNo.12, Dept. of the Environment,Tehran.

Scott, D.A. & Rose, P.M. 1989. Asian Waterfowl Census 1989. The 'West Asian flyway' remainseasily the poorestknown AWB/IWRB, Slimbridge,U.K. of shorebirdmigration routes and discoveryof the route of Uttley,J.D., McGradyM., Green, M. & Newton,S. 1990. Barr al Great Knot to and from the Arabian Gulf remains HikmanWest Asian ShorebirdSurvey, December 1989 - somethingof a challenge. The Laristan or Mekran coast January 1990. Oman Bird News 8, Summer 1990: 2-4. of Iran is almost certainlyone area from where observationsare likely. Uttley,J. D., Thomas,C. J., Green, M. G., SuddabyD. & PlattJ. B. 1988. The autumnmigration of wadersand otherwaterbirds throughthe northernUnited Arab Emirates. Sandgrouse10: 58-70. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Jens Eriksen, Erik Hirschfeld, John Norton, Patrick POSTSCRIPT: RECENT 1993/94 COUNTS Osborne,Colin Richardson,Peter Symensand John Uttleyall assistedby providingdata or by readingand In the UAE, a record 282 Great Knot were recorded on improvingdrafts of this paper and are thanked Merah Islandon 9 November1993, with 80-90 remaining accordingly. from 22 Novemberuntil at least early March 1994.

47