Another Egyptian Nightjar – Sabkhat Al Fasl

A trip to Sabkhat Al Fasl proved quite successful with the finding of another Egyptian Nightjar, this time at the other side of the site under a small Tamarisk bush on the edge of the now dry sabkha area. Birds are now regular here and I have seen one on the last three weekends even though it is only July. August has been the best month for the species at this site with only one July record previously last year.

Egyptian Nightjar

Curlew Sandpiper

Slender-billed Gull

Other interesting birds included three Clamorous Reed Warblers, two Namaqua Doves, six Squacco Herons, one Little Egret, 70+ Indian Reef Herons and nine Purple Swamphens. An Upcher’s Warbler was my first record of this species for the site and look a little out of place in the scrub and reeds. Five Purple Swamphens were also seen at Khafra Marsh on the way home, which is the new breeding site we found last year. Although no young birds were seen it is obvious this site has now been colonised by the species.

For more information about my birding exploits in the eastern province of Saudi Arabia and ringing trips to Bahrain, please visit my website “Birds of Saudi Arabia“.

Jem Babbington

Jem Babbington is a keen birder and amateur photographer located in Dhahran, Eastern Saudi Arabia where he goes birding every day. Jem was born in England and is a serious local patch and local area birder who has been birding for almost forty years and has birded in more than fifty countries. Jem is learning to ring birds in Bahrain as a perfect way to learn more about the birds of the area. Saudi Arabia is a very much under-watched and under-recorded country.

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