Whilst birding Jubail with Phil we came across two juvenile Cream-coloured Courser Cursorius cursor a locally common breeding resident of all scrub desert areas, but a species not often seen due to its habitat preferences. This was the first time I had seen the species in Jubail although Phil had seen them there once before.
They occur throughout Saudi Arabia and in the Eastern Province, where I live, and breed in the northern plains and on the Dibdibah north of 27 degrees N, preferring lightly vegetated gravel and stony desert. During January and February a northerly movement takes place across a broad front and in July to early September post breeding dispersal occurs with juveniles accompanying adults in small flocks.
Nine were seen together at the edge of Dammam Airport Pools on 8th July 2011.
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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