Whilst birding the NADAC Farm area of Haradh 14 October I saw some good desert birds and migrants. One of the first birds seen was an Eastern Morning Wheatear, which was good as birds have only just started returning for the winter and I have not seen one at this location before.
Other migrants included a few Common Kestrels hunting over the pivot irrigation fields and a Collared Pratincole was along one field edge. Several shrikes were seen including good numbers of Daurian Shrikes, Turkestan Shrikes and Mauryan Grey Shrike.
Birds seen in the desert included, Namaqua Doves, Greater Hoopoe-Lark and Black-crowned Sparrow Larks with possibly over 100 birds seen, easily the largest number I have seen at one time in the Kingdom.
![Desert birds and migrants - Haradh AW0I3856](https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zAWcUCLcPTA/WAn6bhkIxsI/AAAAAAAAZhU/I9w2zKl3tYIf3IpLLI7A3GHVKS2s1XJWACLcB/s1600/AW0I3856.jpg)
![Desert birds and migrants - Haradh AW0I3857](https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BaPozr7sygg/WAn6elQ35VI/AAAAAAAAZhY/sT-k0-PhGLcGx8TJ9vDRtYv1nss201M5wCLcB/s1600/AW0I3857.jpg)
![Desert birds and migrants - Haradh AW0I3983](https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_rHrJtfOuMU/WAn6iT4tmmI/AAAAAAAAZhc/pgoxF1MOXfEmBOiHbZqL7MJ9l4qG_GhwACLcB/s1600/AW0I3983.jpg)
![Desert birds and migrants - Haradh AW0I4001](https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6T3drt2Pj3o/WAn6i7iG8pI/AAAAAAAAZhg/vI-tZEYrxW8kQ61VdJxQAZoNEibTAivFgCLcB/s1600/AW0I4001.jpg)
![Desert birds and migrants - Haradh AW0I4011](https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4IizJC7UH48/WAn6sLXGVvI/AAAAAAAAZho/VV3k2cHu8SomQZG5GJm9wjUxarbFnzuiQCLcB/s1600/AW0I4011.jpg)
![Desert birds and migrants - Haradh AW0I4013](https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-O0pyt1K5ZvI/WAn6sF527eI/AAAAAAAAZhs/FBxRsoocCU8ubc_LH5lXc5zFjKOovkaDwCLcB/s1600/AW0I4013.jpg)
![Desert birds and migrants - Haradh AW0I4031](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fZ5nIvpvDTM/WAn6tmLGJoI/AAAAAAAAZhw/q9MQjxK5GK4CwaKGcdSIIM1b1Cvn7QmTwCLcB/s1600/AW0I4031.jpg)
![Desert birds and migrants - Haradh AW0I4042](https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Muf5tVKdwb8/WAn6yS-qZPI/AAAAAAAAZh0/qLtCjBke9bksVAfglOLSZlMsxRvDpjC5wCLcB/s1600/AW0I4042.jpg)
![Desert birds and migrants - Haradh AW0I3862](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Vd6rf9DCUSM/WAn6zD2NnlI/AAAAAAAAZh4/KTFk-1yvSeUoftIS6nbRrwSQ5Rq3MD07QCLcB/s1600/AW0I3862.jpg)
![Desert birds and migrants - Haradh 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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