KUWAIT CITY, May 25: A team of Kuwaiti and international observers has recorded sightings of rare oceanic bird species during a recent voyage in Kuwaiti waters, including the Short-tailed Shearwater and the Arctic Skua, Mohammad Al-Hudhaina, a member of the bird monitoring and protection team, told KUNA on Sunday.

This marks the fourth time the Short-tailed Shearwater has been spotted in Kuwait, with the first recorded sighting in 2014, the second in 2021, and the third occurring during the past two weeks of this current voyage, Al-Hudhaina said. He noted that the bird is widely distributed from the North Pole to the South Pole across the Pacific Ocean, making its appearance outside this natural range “rare.” The Short-tailed Shearwater is similar in size to the common gull and is distinguished by its unique hunting style.

Regarding the Arctic Skua, Al-Hudhaina explained that it appears in small numbers in Kuwait during migration seasons. Known as one of the most agile and fast-flying birds, it exhibits great acceleration, which gives it the appearance of a predator in flight. The Arctic Skua is an opportunistic feeder, larger than the common gull, and can be easily identified from a distance when chasing seagulls and terns.

Al-Hudhaina emphasized that these rare sightings highlight Kuwait’s significance as an important environmental station along seabird migration routes, underscoring the ongoing efforts of observers to document the biological diversity of the local marine ecosystem.

The observation team includes Kuwaiti members Abdulrahman Al-Sarhan, Omar Al-Shaheen, and Hamoud Al-Shaiji, along with European observers Peter Alfre from England, and Vincent Legrand and Julien Hainaut from Belgium.