Whilst birding the bottom valley of the Raydah Escarpment I saw a Rock Semaphore Gecko Pristurus rupestris also known as Blandford’s Semaphore Gecko. This is a tiny gecko which, like other members of the genus Pristurus, is notable for being active during the day rather that at night. Whereas most other geckos are nocturnal and […]
Whilst birdwatching the bottom valley of the Raydah Escarpment in the Asir Mountains of southwest Saudi Arabia, I came across and photographed a White-spotted Pansy or White-spotted Commodore Precis limnoria. This is a butterfly in the Nymphalidae family. It is found in Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya and Tanzania. The habitat consists of savanna […]
The Yellow Wagtail is a common passage migrant through the whole of Arabia with many thousands passing through the Eastern Province alone. A number of different subspecies occur, often together with Jubail being a particularly good area for seeing large groups. The first subspecies to occur are Black-headed Wagtailsfeldeggand these are then followed normally bybeema. […]
Birding the Jubail area continued turning up migrants and winter visitors with plenty of Great Cormorants staying in the area later this year than previously. They used to be seen rarely in the area but have now started winter in large numbers. Wheatears have been common with Pied Wheatears the commonest although a few Eastern […]
Whilst birding the Jubail area recently I came across a single Steppe Buzzard Buteo Buteo vulpinus. This is the first time I have seen the species in the area so was very pleased with the sighting. Steppe Buzzard is an uncommon passage migrant and winter visitor that pass in March and April and again in […]
Whilst birding the Jubail area in late March, it became obvious a good number of migrants had arrived. There were a good number of Tree Pipits scattered around, several late Water Pipits and a single Spotted Crake wandered out onto dome vegetation near the edge of a wet area, briefly. More than ten birds of […]
Whilst birding Deffi Park recently I came across a Pied Wheatear eating a Mole Cricket. The insect is from the family Gryllotalpidae measuring 3-5 cm long and as it is nocturnal, so they are seldom seen. This one was found by the Wheatear in the very early morning on a grass field. The scientific name […]
The first Painted Lady butterfly of the year appear in late March possibly as a result of the very heavy rains. Although the Painted Lady can survive in Saudi Arabia in most years the majority of butterflies are probably migrants. The Painted Lady is the most widely distributed butterfly in the world occurring on all […]
A few days ago I was walking around the flat stoney desert area near Jebal Hamrah when I came across an Arabian Spiny-tailed Lizard sunning itself by its hole. It was still quite cool as it was a blue colour.Theybecome yellow when they have heated up. These lizards are relatively common and widespread across Saudi […]
Whilst birding the Jebal Hamrah with Greg Askew recently we came across a wheatear at the bottom of the escarpment in a largish wadi. It looked a little different, so we got out of the car and went and had a look. After a short while we saw the bird again and it turned out […]
Whilst birding the Jebal Hamrah pivot irrigation fields recently with Phil Roberts, I came across a Bimaculated Lark Melanocorypha bimaculata. The bird was on the edge of the field in with a very large group of around three hundred Greater Short-toed Larks, but flew almost immediately. We moved to where it had landed and refound […]
Whilst birding the Jebal Hamrah area in March I came across seven species of Wheatear in a single day including Black-eared Wheatear, Hooded Wheatear, White-crowned Wheatear, Northern Wheatear, Isabelline Wheatear, Pied Wheatear and Desert Wheatear. The week previously, I also saw an Eastern Mourning Wheatear, making a total of eight species in a week. The […]
Whilst birding the Jebal Hamrah pivot irrigation fields recently with Phil Roberts we came across a pair of Trumpeter Finch Bucanetes githagineus. This species is a locally common widespread resident found in manly arid rocky areas where it is thinly distributed. Birds are seen throughout the year but may become common after good rains with […]
