A small group of 22 Common Shelduck were seen on the flooded sabkha area of Sabkhat Al Fasl in January, the first birds recorded there this winter for me although Phil saw some a few weeks before.
This species occurs here every winter in small numbers although over 300 were seen one winter. In the same area there were seven Greater Spotted Eagles with two birds feeding on a dead bird or something similar. The water levels were very high due to all the rain over the Christmas period and as a result wader numbers were very low.
The only waders seen in any numbers were Black-winged Stilts and Common Ringed Plovers. Water Pipits and White Wagtails have been less common than usual this winter but I came across a large mixed flock of them at one point with more than 50 of each species.
Other birds seen of interest included Grey-headed Swamphens and at least three Pied Kingfishers including two females and a male.
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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