We went to look for Eurasian Griffon Vultures at the lookout point in Alheefah Park and were rewarded with a female Crested Honey Buzzard that flew along the escarpment before disappearing. The species has only been seen five times previously in the summer in the Kingdom but this record being mid-may could be a late […]
On arrival at Alheefah Park I head a Diederik Cuckoo calling and after some searching, we saw the bird in the top of a tall tree. Unfortunately, it flew almost immediately but landed again in a better-positioned tree for photography. This is normally a very difficult species to get good photos off, so the ones […]
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: […]
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 […]
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 […]
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. […]
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 […]
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 […]