Whilst in the southwest of the Kingdom in April, Phil Roberts and I came across a group of eight mainly second calendar year Steppe Eagles. The birds appeared to be migrating along the escarpment edge. It is diffuclt to know if these birds were wintering birds from the region moving north or birds from Africa […]
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.
Blandford’s Lark in 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. The valley is hot and dry and any area of water attracts a steady stream of birds in the summer coming down to drink so […]
Collared Pratincole and other interesting birds
Phil Roberts and I went to Haradh in late April to look for migrants and other birds. We set off at 03:00 hrs and arrived at 06:00 hrs. Birding was not exactly stunning but a few good birds were seen in our day out. Birds we do not see often in the Eastern Province included […]
African birds at the bottom of the Raydah Escarpment – Abha
Whilst birding the lower areas of the Raydah Escarpment in late March I saw a number of African species. Birds seen included African Grey Hornbill, Violet-backed Starling, Black-crowned Tchagra, Bruce’s Green Pigeon and White-browed Coucal. Bruce’s Green Pigeon is an interesting species as it only eats the fruit of a single type of fig tree. […]
Laughing Dove and other interesting birds
Whilst in the Asir Mountains recently I went down the Raydah Escarpment early in the morning. This is the best place and best time to try to locate Arabian Partridge and as normal I was not disappointed with a number of birds calling and a couple seen on the roadside. A stop at the disused […]
Arabian Spotted Eagle-Owl – Tanoumah
Whilst in Tanoumah in early April Phil Roberts and I saw an Arabian Spotted Eagle-Owl. Initially Phil found it sitting on some overhead wires but it soon flew off. It was seen a few times catching what looked like large moths around some very powerful lights on a house and was then lost from view. […]
Red-throated and Tree Pipits – Jubail
A trip to Jubail in late April was very productive for Red-throated Pipits and Tree Pipits. The majority were Red-throated Pipit Anthus cervinuswith up to thirty in small flocks in a couple of places. Tree Pipit Anthus trivialis was also seen but in much smaller numbers of twos or threes. Red-throated Pipit is also a […]
African Grey Hornbill at the bottom of the Raydah Escarpment – Abha
Whilst birding the bottom of the Raydah Escarpment in late March I saw up to ten African Grey Hornbills Tockus nasutus. This is a very high number as normally only one or two birds are seen. All birds appeared to be in pairs with loud calling being seen and heard from some birds on a […]