Information on the Eastern Woodchat Shrike (Lanius senator niloticus) is not so easy to come by on the internet and as a result I am posting a few details of this eastern sub-species of Woodchat Shrike here. Identification is fairly straightforward on spring/summer males with the lores and feathers next the nostrils white and an […]
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.
New area for over-wintering White-spotted Bluethroat (Luscinia svecica cyanecula)
Whilst ringing at Alba Marshes, Bahrain, on Friday 2nd March 2012, with Brendan Kavenagh and Nicole Proven, we caught a male White-spotted Bluethroat (Luscinia svecica cyanecula) which is a scarce passage migrant to the region, unlike the Red-spotted Bluethroat (Luscinia svecica svecica) which winters in good numbers. The White-spotted Bluethroat breeds locally in central & […]
The Rise & Rise of House Crow in Saudi Arabia
The House Crow (Corvus splendens), as it name suggests is a member of the crow family and is approximately 42–44 cm long (body and tail) and weighs 250–350 grams. Their plumage is glossy black, except for the nape, sides of the head, upper back and breast, which are grey and not glossy. Their bills, legs […]
Steppe Gull (Larus fuscus barabensis) – Status & identification in Eastern Saudi Arabia
The taxonomic treatment of the Large White-headed Gulls (LWHG) in Saudi Arabia has undergone various revisions over the years. Prior to 1970, and following the principle reference works for the region at the time, Vaurie – The Birds of the Palearctic Fauna, Non Passeriformes (1965) & Hue & Etchecopar –Les Oiseaux du Proche et du […]
First record for Bahrain, Siberian Buff-bellied Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicas) – Alba Marsh Bahrain
I have starting to learn (July 2011) to ring (band) birds, as a trainee, in Bahrain with the help of trainer Brendan Kavanagh . Brendan is licensed to ring under the British Trust for Ornithology scheme which operates in Britain and Ireland and has permission to use their rings in Bahrain. As a trainee ringer […]
The Saudi Arabian Gulf Coral Islands
The Saudi Arabian Gulf coral islands are very important sites for birds, both breeding seabirds and migrant passerines and hold internationally important numbers of breeding Lesser Crested Terns (Thalasseus bengalensis) and Bridled Terns (Onychoprion anaethetus). All six Saudi Arabian, Gulf Coral Islands were formed when sand, produced by wave action, boring of some worm species […]
My Local Patch – Dhahran Camp (Saudi Arabia)
This post will give you all a flavor of my local ‘patch’ and the habits that occur there before I post anything about birds seen. Dhahran Camp, Saudi Aramco’s compound, is a man-made environment, where a remarkable greening of the environment has occurred, which now helps support a varied range of flora and fauna, including […]
Birding in Saudi Arabia – Challenges
Birding in Saudi Arabia is a relatively challenging task for a number of reasons but the main one is probably not the one you are expecting. Saudi Arabia has a relatively poor press in Western countries as well as elsewhere in the world and this press makes the country out to be a dangerous place […]