An Namas is an area north of Tanoumah in the Asir Mountain chain. It is the northerly most point where Asir (Arabian) Magpie can currently be found and is a good birding location. Whilst birding a small valley there I found a lot of good birds including Ruppells Weaver, Violet-backed Starling, Crested Lark, Gambaga Flycatcher, […]
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.
Hunter and Hunted – Judah
Whilst searching for scorpions we found a very small Black-sting Scorpion or possibly a Deathstalker in the ultraviolet torchlight. When we got closer a spider was in attendance and it became clear the scorpion was entangled in the spider’s web and was in fact already dead. It appears the spider had killed the scorpion or […]
Jizan Corniche – Jizan
This site is one of the main birding locations in the region and has good wader habitat holding the highest concentration of shorebirds along the Saudi Red Sea coast. The site is easily viewed from the cornice road and in the early morning the sun is behind the observer allowing good viewing conditions. We birded […]
Black-sting Scorpion – Judah
Whilst out looking for owls at night near Juadh we came across three scorpions, and although I am not an expert on scorpions they resemble Black-sting Scorpion Buthacus yotvatensis nigroacleatus. They were found by using an ultraviolet light that’s shows them glowing in the light, with the photos taken with strong flash showing off their […]
Birding Wadi Grosbeak – Near Bani Saad
Wadi Grosbeak is a site where Arabian Golden-winged Grosbeak has been see I recent years although when we went this year we failed to find any. The site is good for a number of other species and Arabian Babbler can always be found there in small noisy groups. Another bird regularly seen in the area […]
Migrating Steppe Eagles – Between Tanoumah & Abha
Whilst driving between Abha and Tanoumah in mid-October 2018 we saw 28 Steppe Eagles with a further 51 on the return journey. Birds seen included immatures, sub-adults and adults and will probably include birds that will stay the winter in the region along with migrants. These sightings fit in well with the idea that Steppe […]
Arabian Spiny-tailed Lizard – Ash Shargiyah Development Company Farm
Whilst birding Ash Shargiyah Development Company Farm, Fadhili, in late August Phil spotted an Arabian Spiny-tailed Lizard sunning itself by its hole. This individual was not too large but was a bright yellow colour as it had obviously spent some time warming up in the hot sunshine. These lizards are relatively common and widespread across […]
Little Swift Nesting – Wadi Grosbeak
Whilst birdwatching near Wadi Grosbeak in the Bani Saad area south of Taif, Phil Roberts and I found a number of Little Swift Nests on a building. The Little Swift is probably a breeding visitor from Africa as it is very scarce in November and December. in the southern Red Sea, Asir, Hejaz and the […]