Whilst birding near Jubail in September I found an adult Eurasian Hobby sitting on the small tree in the early morning. The weather conditions had been foggy and large numbers of birds had been grounded by the weather most of which appeared to be Spanish Sparrows. I assume the Eurasian Hobby was part of 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.
Arabian Scops Owl – Tanoumah
Whilst birdwatching the Tanoumah area in summer 2018 I managed to hear a number of Arabian Scops Owls Otus pamelae and photograph one. The Arabian Scops Owl has recently been split as a distinct species from African Scops Owl O. s. senegalensis. Recent work (Pons et al 2013) has shown African Scops Owl, represents a […]
Saudi Arabia’s largest flock of Lesser Flamingo – Jizan
Whilst birding the coast just south of Jizan with Phil Roberts we came across a large group of Flamingo’s. There were at least 500 Greater Flamingo and a minimum of 100 Lesser Flamingo. As the birds were continually on the move it was difficult to get an accurate count but the highest we achieved was […]
Yemen Thrush – Tanoumah
Whilst birding the Tanoumah area in summer 2016 I saw a good number of Yemen Thrushes Turdus menachensis including a pair of adults feeding a very young juvenile on the ground. I am not certain if the bird could fly as it was very young but the parents were in close attendance and hopefully it […]
Migrants lacking – Jubail
Whilst birdwatching in the Jubail area I saw a few good birds but very few migrants. The Egyptian Nightjars that I saw a few weeks ago are still present with at least three birds seen. This site, like the one in Al Hassa, seems to hold Egyptian Nightjars throughout the summer now indicating birds may […]
African Olive Pigeon – Raydah Escarpment
Whilst birdwatching in the Raydah Escarpment recently Phil Roberts and I saw two African Olive Pigeons. This was a species we had been looking for but had failed to see on many previous trips to the southwest of the Kingdom. It was only discovered as a new species for Saudi Arabia in the mid 1980’s […]
Largest every flock of Spur-winged Lapwing in Saudi Arabia – Haradh
Whilst birding the large Pivot Irrigation fields of Haradh on 14 October Phil Roberts and I came across large numbers of Spur-winged Lapwing Vanellus spinosus. This was a surprise as the species is seldom recorded in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. The largest recorded flocks in Kingdom have been 61 at Todhia farm, 27 […]
Birding the Talea’a Valley – Abha
The Talea’a Valley near Abha is in the Asir mountains in southwest Saudi Arabia and is a large upland wadi with stony ground and acacia trees growing in the bottom. It has had some good birds seen in it in recent years including Arabian Magpie, although this species has not been seen there for many […]