Whilst birding the Jubail area on 22 September I came across a Western Osprey. Initially it was seen flying over the reed beds but soon disappeared from view. After a few minutes, the bird was seen again in flight but this time flew and landed on a post nearby. Unfortunately, the bird was directly into […]
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.
Harlequin Quail – Near Jizan
Whilst birding the area just north of Jizan on 7-8 July 2017 I saw at least six Harlequin Quail Coturnix delegorguei with many other birds calling. This species had not been recorded in Saudi Arabia for many years, until I found some in the same area in 2015. On the 6 July Phil Roberts and […]
Sooty Gulls – Jizan Fish Market
As I am very interested in gulls, we stopped at the fish market in Jizan where we knew from past experience that photography was possible. We only managed to get there late one evening and again in the early afternoon but saw plenty of gulls at both times. Many wait around on the ground for […]
Plenty of Arabian Wheatears – Tanoumah
Whilst birding the Tanoumah area I saw plenty of Arabian Wheatears at many different sites. The Arabian Wheatear Oenanthe lugentoides is a rather scarce resident of the south-west highlands, but is also found in Oman, Palestine and Yemen, mainly in rocky, bushy sites. It is widespread on the Jebal Souda plateau, Raydah Escarpment, Wadi Talea’a […]
Common Redstart – Jubail
The below photos were taken in the spring in Jubail but I did not post them at the time. Normally birds keep well hidden but this individual was quitehappy being out in the open feeding along the side of a track. The Common Redstart is a common passage migrant throughout Saudi Arabia and passes through […]
Some southwest specialities – Phil’s Fields
I visited Phil’s Fields three times in July 2017 and saw a lot of good birds in the area. Some of the birds seen were summer visitors from Africa and others specialities of the southwest of the Kingdom. The area is a set of three large pivot irrigation fields and surrounding trees edging the fields […]
Pharaoh Eagle Owl – Jubail area
I saw a pale B. a. desertorum Pharaoh Eagle Owl earlier in the year and took a few photos of it shown below. The Pharaoh Eagle Owl is distributed throughout much of North Africa and the Middle East, with two recognised subspecies. The subspecies Bubo ascalaphus ascalaphus occupies the northern part of the species range, […]
Summer Greater Spotted Eagle – Jubail
Whilst bird-watching in the early morning of 4 August 2017 at Jubail, Eastern Province Saudi Arabia, we saw a second calendar year Greater Spotted Eagle Aquila clanga.This is a very early record for the species and will relate to a bird that has spent the summer here. A point to note is that injured or […]