Whilst birding the Haradh area recently we saw good numbers Bluethroats. There were calling from an area of long grass in a partly cut pivot field and consisted mainly of Red-spotted Bluethroats but two White-spotted birds were also seen.
There were double figures seen which is a good number of a non-wetland area and were probably the last wintering birds being joined by migrants on their way to their breeding grounds.
They are really beautiful birds but not so easy to get good photos of as they seldom allow close approach. Other birds seen in the fields nearby were Namaqua Dove and Water Pipit.
![Last of the Wintering Bluethroats - Haradh Red spotted Bluethroat1](https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QJrEy7nzvTU/XKde5E2zU2I/AAAAAAAAd0Y/-8bbNapLvDM2orirI2lchrI8fI1lnb9-wCLcBGAs/s1600/Red-spotted_Bluethroat1.jpg)
![Last of the Wintering Bluethroats - Haradh Red spotted Bluethroat2](https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HehH8HbpNJk/XKde5lGxrtI/AAAAAAAAd0c/B4h-mCEnpiU6C5c2Dy3WlpkbiaHZ5RAGwCLcBGAs/s1600/Red-spotted_Bluethroat2.jpg)
![Last of the Wintering Bluethroats - Haradh Red spotted Bluethroat](https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JSZDr-9ECkQ/XKde4qbrKDI/AAAAAAAAd0U/9fl5-loEacsJIyvsLrQvU0vph7hCh--9wCLcBGAs/s1600/Red-spotted_Bluethroat.jpg)
![Last of the Wintering Bluethroats - Haradh Water Pipit](https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wqVjQZyWYmI/XKde5mG447I/AAAAAAAAd0g/KdFwTGoqnnwZDpPdKmunH4N0l5bEdMhhwCLcBGAs/s1600/Water_Pipit.jpg)
![Last of the Wintering Bluethroats - Haradh Namaqua Dove](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fxNg0_9rewU/XKde4GTURgI/AAAAAAAAd0M/q0sNqVmL5Js8DLtNEzfwmAFGiGFrMwKbQCLcBGAs/s1600/Namaqua_Dove.jpg)
![Last of the Wintering Bluethroats - 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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