Whilst in Tabuk recently we saw a Steppe Eagle perched on an earth bank the side of the road. The bird allowed very close approach before it flew off after twenty minutes and gave some good flight views. The species is a common passage migrant down the western side of the Kingdom with October the […]
Author: 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.
Winter Harriers – Haradh
Whilst birding the NADAC Farm area of Haradh recently I saw plenty of Harriers including a female Montagu’s Harriers in a pivot irrigation field. Male Montagu’s Harriers are easily identified by their upperwing pattern amongst other details but Juvenile and female Montagu’s and Pallid Harriers are difficult to identify with certainty and good views are […]
Male Citrine Wagtail – Jubail
Whilst birding at Jubail 11 January I found a single male Citrine Wagtail. The species is a regular though local winter visitor to the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia that was not seen until 1975. The species has become more common in the region recently (last ten years) and are almost always found near water […]
Immature Steppe Eagle – Tabuk
Whilst birding the Tabuk area in late January, we saw an immature Steppe Eagle showing the bird was wintering in the area. Steppe Eagle is a common passage migrant and uncommon wintering species in Saudi Arabia. There are two recognised subspecies of steppe eagle, Aquilanipalensis nipalensisand Aquilanipalensis orientalis,the latter being slightly smaller, with paler plumage. […]
Pied Kingfishers – Jubail
Whilst birding the Jubail area recently I came across four female Pied Kingfisher. This species is now becoming an uncommon winter visitor to the Jubail area with birds seen every winter for the last five years. The weather was very poor with overcast conditions so the photo is not the best but they are always […]
Greater Flamingo – Jubail
Whilst at Jubail this winter I have seen good numbers of Greater Flamingo with numbers exceeding two-thousand birds. Occasionally the birds were close to the shore, whch is unusual at this location, allowing good views. I spent quite some time looking to see if I could locate any birds with plastic Darvic rings on them […]
Long-legged Buzzards – Haradh
Whilst birding in Haradh in mid-January I saw at least five Long-legged Buzzards Buteo rufinus. These birds must be wintering in the area as there were too many in too small an area for them to be breeders. Long-legged Buzzard is an uncommon breeding resident in all areas of the Kingdom. In the Riyadh area […]
Four Black-throated Thrushes in Deffi Park – Jubail
Phil Roberts and I went to Deffi Park on 20 January to see if we could find any displaced birds. Weather to the north of us has been very severe with lots of snow and we were hoping the cold weather may have moved birds south. Deffi Park is a large urban park in Jubail […]
