There have been numerous small flocks of Bee-eaters passing over Jubail in recent weeks most of them European Bee-eaters. Recently a few Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters have been seen including some birds that have spent time perched on the ground or any other perches they could find.
I found two birds sitting on a potentially not so comfortable barbed wire perch. They remained on the perch allowing close views, suggesting they may have been fresh in tired migrants. Although the perch is not so photogenic the desert background makes the colours of the birds stand out nicely.
The species is a common passage migrant through the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia with good numbers of birds passing in the spring as well as the autumn.
![Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters and more – Jubail Blue cheeked Bee eater1](https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LwTfexyyNis/WcdxktwaS6I/AAAAAAAAbTM/BWIW-2Ym5yUDhDZC9vqwW1UHW3ZbSsdmACLcBGAs/s1600/Blue-cheeked_Bee-eater1.jpg)
![Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters and more – Jubail Blue cheeked Bee eater](https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-F4q9Ot0u94k/WcdxoEn1D9I/AAAAAAAAbTQ/A5fssH4r2WENrUmavqFZsIpfOCjscMeZQCLcBGAs/s1600/Blue-cheeked_Bee-eater.jpg)
![Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters and more – Jubail Jem Babbington](https://focusingonwildlife.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Jem_Babbington_square-e1326016039596.jpg)
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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