Breeding without any disturbance: The life of birds at Gerain Al Aish

Gerain Al Aish is one of the many areas that have been surveyed by the EAD team while monitoring sites for Avian influenza along the coastline of UAE. This is the first time that a bird survey has been carried out in the area to record the number of bird species that exist there.

A total of 69 species of bird belonging to 24 families were recorded. Important among these include the Osprey Pandion haliaetus, Kentish Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus), White-cheeekd Tern (Sterna repressa) and Bridled Tern (Sterna anaethetus). The latter two were also recorded breeding during the current breeding season. The Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus), Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber) and Turnstone (Arneria interpres) are also common in the area. These regionally important bird species were spotted breeding without any disturbance.

The number of species that the EAD team documented is less than the number expected to be present in the area. EAD says that more year- round surveys will be conducted in the future that will further add to the existing bird list.

So far, about 431 species of birds have been recorded, which highlights the rich birdlife and biodiversity in the UAE. The majority of these species are migratory, passage migrants and winter or summer migrants. The UAE falls in the Afro-Eurasian migratory flyway, which is used by the majority of birds to reach their southern wintering destinations.

The long coastline of the UAE is important for waterbirds as it provides wintering and stopover sites during their journeys. Along the 450 km long coastline of the country facing the Arabian Gulf, there are certain sites which attract birds in higher numbers because they provide a suitable habitat with shallow areas and mudflats.

Gerain Al Aish's management has expressed its wish to keep Gerain Al Aish a suitable and disturbance-free habitat for all species.