An interesting record of an Eastern (Common) Nightingale Luscinia (megarhynchos) golzii was recorded nar Jubail in early May 2019. Eastern Nightingale is sometimes regarded as a separate species from Common Nightingale and breeds in Eastern Turkey, Iran, Turkmenistan, Armenia, Kazakhstan & Afghanistan and they winter mainly in southern Africa. Identification differences from Common Nightingale include: […]
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.
Snake-tailed Fringe-toed Lizard – Quraish
Whilst birding recently in the Tanoumah area I came across a Snake-tailed Fringe-toed Lizard Acanthodactylus opheodurus down a tree filled wadi. The lizards were very active even during the hottest part of the day and where always found near small low-lying plants with hard sandy soil. It is superficially similar to its larger congener Acanthodactylus […]
Arabian Magpie – Billasimer
The Arabian Magpie is the only truly endemic species in Saudi Arabia, meaning it is found in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and nowhere else in the world. It has a very restricted range (An Namas to Billasimer) and very low number of birds and should probably be classified as Critically Endangered on Red Data […]
Springtime – Quraish
May in the Asir is great for birding as most if not all the African breeding species have returned and additional passage migrants can be seen as well as the resident highland birds. We saw a few passage birds including an Olive-tree Warbler, Common Whitethroat, Red-backed Shrike, Turkestan Shrike, Common Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler and Whinchat. […]
Two Spur-winged Lapwing – Jubail
Whilst biding the Jubail area I saw two Spur-winged Lapwings along the edge of a wet area. One of the birds appeared to be displaying to the other s there is again the chance they could breed locally. The species is still scarce in the Eastern Province although good numbers have been seen recently in […]
Ehrenberg’s Redstart – Jubail
Areally smart Common Redstart of the sub-species samamisicus which is often known as ‘Ehrenberg’s Redstart’ was seen in Jubail recently. This sub-species breeds in the southern Balkans and Greece east to Turkmenistan, south Uzbekistan and Iran and winter in north-east Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. They are slightly greyer and darker above, with a large […]
Whimbrel – Jubail
Whilst birding the Jubail area in early May I can across a Whimbrel. This is not a common species in Saudi Arabia and it occurred to me there could be a very slim chance it could be a Steppe Whimbrel alboaxillaris as one has been claimed in Bahrain in recent years. The timing was not […]
Dunlin in breeding plumage – Jubail
Whilst birding the Jubail area recently I saw a few summer plumaged Dunlin, these birds are supposedly of the subspecies Calidris alpina centralis. I rarely see Dunlin in summer plumage, so took the opportunity to take a few photos and although the light was very poor but I did manage to obtain a few average […]
