I found a breeding pair of Greater Painted Snipe Rostratula benghalensis near Sabya in July 2017. Initially I found an adult female at close range at a small wetland and took some photos of the bird. The next day at the same location I saw a male with a small chick indicating they had breed […]
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.
Brown Booby – Jizan fish market
Whilst photographing gulls at Jizan fish market, Phil saw a Brown Booby Sula leucogaster flying in and alerted me to its presence. The bird had been seen the day before at the fish harbor, but this time was much closer, flying around and occasionally over the fish market. It perched on the roof of the […]
Seven Pied Cuckoos – Sabya area
Whilst birdwatching the southwest of the Kingdom in July, around Sabya, I came across at least seven Pied Cuckoo Clamator jacobinus a species not often seen in the Kingdom. Birds were seen near Sabya Waste Water Treatment Lagoons (three) as well as at Phil’s Fields (four). Some of the birds appeared to be pairs and […]
White-eyed Gulls – Jizan Fish Market
Whilst in Jizan we stopped at the fish market where we knew from past experience that photography was possible. The fish market is an excellent place to see both Sooty and White-eyed Gulls with plenty of birds normally resting on the roofs and feeding on scraps on the ground. It is best to get to […]
White-eared Bulbul – Jubail
Whilst birding Jubail in July I found a White-eared Bulbul a species not commonly seen there although Phil Roberts saw one in early June. The birds in the Eastern province of Saudi Arabia appear to be of the subspecies mesopotamia found in Iraq and Kuwait as they have very yellow eye rings and a bigger […]
Waders and Terns – Jubail
Whilst birding the Jubail area in strong winds and the middle of summer few birds are generally seen. Waders can always be seen on the sabkha but they are restricted to breeding Black-winged stilts and Kentish Plovers as well as further inland Little Ringed Plovers that breed locally. A single Greater Sand Plover was a […]
Late Red-backed Shrikes – Jubail
I have been able to go to Jubail a few times recently, as it was the Eid holidays and on every visit in late June until 1 July I saw a number of Red-backed Shrikes including a stunning adult male on 1 July. This is late for the species as they nearly all pass through […]
Increasing numbers of Egyptian Nightjar – Jubail
The Egyptian Nightjar Caprimulgus aegyptius numbers at Jubail are building with 13 birds seen on 30 June. This is a very high number for this time of year although less than the highest ever count of fifteen seen in August and Setember. The species is an uncommon bird in Arabia although since 2006 birds have […]