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 […]
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.
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 […]
Migrants – Jubail
A steady trickle of migrants have been passing through the Eastern Province in the last couple of weeks with several Red-backed Shrike appearing. Lesser Whitethroat, Spotted Flycatcher, Common Redstart, Pied Wheatear, Tree Pipit and Western Siberian Stonechat were also seen in small numbers. Very few Yellow Wagtails have been around recently compared to recent years […]
Passage and Breeding Waders – Jubail
Wader numbers have started to increase again as passage of some species speeds up. Passage waders included good numbers of Wood Sandpiper and Ruff with smaller numbers of summer plumaged Curlew Sandpiper, Dunlin and Little Stint. Terek Sandpiper, Common Ringed Plover and a single Broad-billed Sandpiper were also seen. Regular breeders were seen in good […]
Slightly odd Barn Swallow – Jubail
Whilst birding the Jubail area recently I came across a slightly odd looking Barn Swallow. It had a large amount of white in the wing, which when originally seen from distance perched on a reed made it look very interesting. Instead, it turned out to be a Swallow made to look even more strange by […]
Lesser Kestrels – Jebal Hamrah
Whilst driving to Judah and Jebal Hamrah we came across two Lesser Kestrels perched on fence wires in the very early morning. This was the first time I have seen the species in Jebal Hamrah. Lesser Kestrel is an uncommon passage migrant to the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia that migrates in small flocks. They […]
Camouflaged Desert Larks – Jebal Hamrah
Whilst walking around the Judah area we located tens of Desert Larks often in pairs and almost all were of the pale subspeciesaziziwhich is the palest form of all the subspecies and matches almost perfectly with the limestone rocks and scree of the escarpment. As can be seen from one of the photos below they […]
Breeding Pharaoh Eagle Owl – Jubail area
I took a few photos recently of a nesting Pharaoh Eagle Owl. The bird had four young but when I was present only two were seen. A male was seen calling nearby so I did not stay long in order not to disturb the birds. The Pharaoh Eagle Owl is distributed throughout much of North […]