Phil Roberts and I found two winter plumaged Red-necked Phalaropes on some flooded Sabkha in Jubail on 26 February. This is the first time I have seen the species in winter plumage in the Kingdom and appears to be the earliest ever record for the Eastern Province. These two birds were behaving in typical Phalarope […]
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.
Western Marsh Harrier with prey – Sabkhat Al Fasl
Whilst birding at Sabkhat Al Fasl we saw a Western Marsh Harrier trying to pick up what looked like a dead fish from the side of the flooded sabkha. This spectacle was very interesting so we stopped and took a few photos of the proceedings. As the bird was interested in the prey it was […]
Wintering Purple Herons – Sabkhat Al Fasl
Whilst birding at Sabkhat Al Fasl recently I have been seeing a number of Purple Herons. This species is not common in winter at the site but has been common this winter. In the Eastern Province the Purple Heron is a locally common passage migrant and winter visitor seen from August through April with the […]
Black-headed Wagtail – Jubail
Whilst birdwatching the Jubail area I came across a very smart looking male Black-headed Wagtail feeding along a dirt track. It was not at all afraid of the car and allowed very close approach as it busily feed on insects. Mid-February is the start of the spring passage for this species and Black-headed Wagtail feldegg […]
Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse – Jubail
Whilst birding the Jubail area 12 February, Phil Roberts and I saw a Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse Pterocles exustus. This was a new species for the Eastern Province for me although Phil had seen one previously. They are a common and widespread breeding resident on the Tihamah and southern Red Sea coastlands, less common in the Northern […]
Spanish Sparrow breeding and much more – Haradh
Whilst birding the area of Haradh recently where we concentrated on looking in the pivot irrigation fields we also saw a few other good birds around the filed edges and surrounding areas. The first good birds we saw were just outside the main entrance to the huge HADEC farm complex where a nesting colony of […]
Spur-winged Lapwing – Haradh
Whilst biding the Haradh area on 5 February 2015 Phil Roberts and I found a Spur-winged Lapwing in a pivot irrigation field next to the NADEC dairy farm. The species is still scarce in the Eastern Province with all records shown below: Haradh 24th October 1986; Dhahran 22nd November 1986; Sabkhat Al Fasl 30th October […]
Saudi Arabia largest flock of Northern Lapwings – Haradh
As mentioned in a previous post Phil Roberts and I travelled to Haradh an area of extensive pivot irrigation fields three hours drive from Dhahran and found some access to some very good looking fields in various stages of growth from ploughed to fallow to newly growing. We eventually came across two very damp newly […]