I have been able to go to Jubail a few times recently, as it was the Eid holidays and on every visit in late June until 1 July I saw a number of Red-backed Shrikes including a stunning adult male on 1 July.
This is late for the species as they nearly all pass through the Eastern Province in May with the peak in the early part of the second week. I saw a bird at the end of June last year at the same site so maybe they are getting later in their movements. These were the only migrants I saw apart from plenty of Barn Swallows and Sand Martins.
Breeding was evident with lots of juvenile Kentish Plovers and plenty of young and adult White-cheeked Terns present of every visit.
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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