Whilst birding the Jebal Hamrah pivot irrigation fields recently with Phil Roberts, we came across a huge flock of Corn Buntings. The total seen was a minimum of one hundred birds and possibly many more.
They were feeding in the grassy pivot fields but a couple of times all took to the air and landed on rough ground under the pivot irrigation equipment allowing reasonable views. In amongst the Corn Buntings were several small groups of Eurasian Skylarks and Greater Short-toed Larks.
Corn Buntings are uncommon winter visitors to the region but this winter we have seen a few large flocks, like one in Tabuk and this one.
Eurasian Skylarks are regular winter visitors in small numbers often seen in pivot irrigation fields.
Greater Short-toed Larks are common passage migrants with flocks of several hundred often seen in suitable habitat.
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.
Leave a Reply