Whilst birding near Jubail in September I found an adult Eurasian Hobby sitting on the small tree in the early morning. The weather conditions had been foggy and large numbers of birds had been grounded by the weather most of which appeared to be Spanish Sparrows.
I assume the Eurasian Hobby was part of the movement halted by the weather as the bird appeared to be tired and allowed close approach before moving off only a short distance.
As the bird was tiered we left it in piece after getting a few photos and as the light was poor due to the fog the below photos are not as good as they may have been. I have only seen Eurasian Hobby a few times before in Saudi Arabia with all records being in Dhahran Camp with the exception of a single bird seen at near Jubail. Most records are from the spring migration period, so this record was a slight surprise.
The species is an uncommon passage migrant to the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia where it often hunts small birds and insects over wetlands and fields. Birds are mainly seen in the early morning and late evening.
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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