Desert Lark Ammomanes deserti is a common resident in rocky deserts and outcrops of all areas except the juniper summits of the Hejaz and Asir and probably the sand seas of the Empty Quarter and Nafud Desert. The best place to see the species close to Dhahran where I live is the Shedgum Escarpment. As […]
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.
Pale Crag Martins – Jebale Hamrah
Whilst birding the Judah area (two hours drive towards Riyadh from Dhahran) known as Jebal Hamrah recently Phil Roberts and I found a few Pale Crag Martins and managed to locate a small cliff where three birds were continually flying around and landing. After some time we managed to get in a position to take […]
Summer time birding – Tanoumah
Last summer I visited Tanoumah, and have just sorted out my photos from the trip. Below are a few species I managed to see and photograph including Abyssinian White-eye, Brown-necked Raven, Common Kestrel, Crested Lark, Little Rock Thrush, Tristrams Starling and Violet-backed Starling. I also saw a few Arabian endemics including Arabian Serin, Arabian Wheatear, […]
Greater Spotted Eagles – Jubail
At least fifteen Greater Spotted Eagles Clanga clanga were recorded at a wetland site near Jubail this winter. Birds winter at a number of sites in Saudi Arabia with the Jubail area the best for the species in the Eastern province. In winter birds are almost always near wetland areas with large areas where they […]
Western Marsh Harrier – Al Asfar Lake
I went to Al Asfar Lake near to Hufuf recently and saw over fifty Western Marsh Harriers. I managed to get a number of reasonable photographs with a couple of two birds playing in the air together. The Western Marsh Harrier is a winter visitor to Saudi Arabia and they always occur in areas of […]
Five Short-eared Owls – Al Asfar Lake
Greg Askew found a group of six Short-eared Owls near Al Asfar Lake, Hofuf 27 January. He very kindly let a couple of birders know and so I went the following weekend with Arnold and met up with Greg at the location. We arrived at first light and spent some time walking the area before […]
Abyssinian Roller and Singing Bush Lark – Phil’s Fields
Whilst birding the southwest of the Kingdom this winter I went to Phil’s Fields which is a large pivot irrigation set up with three large fields. It is an excellent place to see good birds and I always see Singing Bush Lark and Zitting Cisticola there, and this visit was no exception. More unusual birds […]
African Grey Hornbill – Raydah Escarpment
Whilst birding the bottom of the Raydah Escarpment I saw up to ten African Grey Hornbills Tockus nasutus together. This is the largest group I have recorded in Saudi Arabia. They only occur at the bottom of the Raydah Escarpment and are not seen higher up. The birds were located in the large wadi system […]