An early morning trip to Jubail was rewarded with the sighting of three different Citrine Wagtails together in an area of flooded track. We met Phil Roberts after packing up early from ringing due to the hgh winds and he kindly informed us of two birds presence. As a result we went to look for them and found them quite easily amongst a number of other wagtails. They all appeared to be adult males in breeding plumage but some were brighter than others.
Citrine Wagtail is a regular though local winter visitor to the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia that was not seen until 1975. I have seen quite a few in the last few years indicating the species is becoming more common in the region, particularly as they are not so difficult to identify in full breeding pluamge.
They are almost always found near water and favour feeding on wet roadside puddles, but are not the easiest species to photograph as they are quite nervous and flighty and rarely stay still for long. March appears to be a month when passage occurs through the region as more birds are seen during this month than any other.
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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