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. It has had some good birds seen in it in recent years including Arabian Magpie, although this species has not been seen there for many years.
Recently Blandfords Lark has been seen there and on our last visit we also found the scarce African Pipit. A bird was seen song flighting over a rough area of short grass and stones and is some distance from any other sighting of the species. Other good birds seen in the area included very good numbers of Cinnamon-breasted Buntings.
The valley is hot and dry and any area of water attracts a steady stream of birds in the summer coming down to dry so are worth looking at if found. Small numbers of the endemic Arabian Wheatear and Arabian Woodpecker have also been seen regularly in this valley making it an excellent birding site. Ruppell’s Weaver is a common resident of this valleyand can always been seen in good numbers at anytime of year.
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.
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