Look: How UAE deserts turned into a winter wonderland for migratory birds

Flamingos strut their stuff, their pink feathers contrasting starkly against the desert landscape as they wade through the waters with magical fluidity. A short distance away, hundreds of sparrow-sized birds with dagger-like bills are engaged in a feeding frenzy.

“Those are Little Stints stocking up fuel. They weigh under 25 grams, but are excellent long-distance migrants, having flown over 5,000 kilometres to reach here,” explains wildlife expert Dr Reza Khan as we pull up at Al Qudra Lake in Dubai.

Veritable paradise

As winter sets in, the manmade desert oasis in the expansive Al Marmoom Desert Conservation Reserve becomes a veritable paradise for migratory birds.

From waders such as cattle egrets, herons and·flamingos, to freshwater birds like mallards, pintails and green-winged teals, they all flock to the 70 odd lakes here.

Here's the scene in one area of the reserve:

“We also get a lot of sea birds. Common species include gulls, terns and petrels, says Khan, who is also principal wildlife specialist at Dubai Safari Park

Birds of prey such as the eagles and harriers are not far behind,” he adds, pointing at a big vulture lazily circling in the morning sky.

“That’s a Lappet-faced vulture. With a wingspan measuring up to nine feet it is one of the largest vultures in the Arabian Peninsula although its major population lives in Africa.”

However, the species that outnumber other avian visitors are the warblers, flycatchers, bluethroat, nightingale, thrushes, stonechat, wagtails, buntings, pipits, larks, shrikes, martins, starlings, bee-eaters, finches, siskin and wheatears.

Passage migrants

Certain birds remain in the UAE throughout the winter while others stay for a day – often just a few hours, much like transit passengers.

“This explains why you may see thousands of godwits, Kentish plovers, stints and sandpipers in Dubai’s Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary or the Khor Al Baidah wetlands in Umm Al Quwain one day – but none the following day.

They might have already left for their final migratory destination, which is usually the Red Sea or Coastal East Africa. These birds are called passage migrants,” says Khan.

“Then there are summer migrants and breeders like the Eurasian Turtle Dove and the Blue cheeked bee-eater, which come here to breed during May-June only. They leave the country by September-October along with their chicks.”

The UAE welcomes nearly two million feathered friends every year, according to the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi (EAD), which runs a long-term conservation and monitoring programme to monitor migratory birds.

Over 260 species have been recorded so far at Al Wathba Wetland Reserve, which is the only site in the Arabian Gulf where the greater flamingo breeds regularly – an important indicator of EAD’s efforts in species conservation.

According to the UAE bird checklist, there were 300 species in the country in the early 90s. That number has now gone up, here are the latest figures:

Environment-friendly initiatives

Dr Khan attributes the rise to the environmental initiatives taken by the UAE rulers. “Their policies and management protocols have transformed desert lands into winter wonderlands for birds.

Increase in green cover, freshwater lakes, ponds, canals, fountains and fountains draw them like a magnet.”

Popular Emirati bird-watcher Khalifa Al Daheri says UAE is an ideal place for migratory birds as it lies in the middle of their flight route.

Twice a year, billions of birds migrate vast distances across the globe, migrating along broadly similar, well-established routes known as flyways.

Over 50 million use the East Asia-Australasia flyway yearly.

“We get birds from as far as the high arctic, Siberia, Europe and Asia, as well as some rare ones from America. They are everywhere, from the North and South to the far West in Silaa, to the East in Al Ain and Fujairah,” says Al Daheri.

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