The flock of eleven Dead Sea Sparrows found in the Jubail area on 26 February were still in the same general area on 4 March. This is only the second time this species has been seen in the Kingdom with the previous record also in the same area when a flock of 60 – 70 […]
Spring Preview
Spring is a week away and the signs of the season are everywhere. Crocuses are blooming all over New York City. The cardinals seem suddenly more active and vocal. Same for the blue jays. They seem busy and preoccupied. I’ve been able to get close enough to photograph them, which is unusual. The bees are […]
Stared Down By A Merlin
I went down to the shoreline this weekend looking for shorebirds but was stopped in my tracks when I came face to face with a Merlin. We stared each other down for at least a minute as we both sat perfectly still. No one was going to come between her and a meal. Not even […]
The vixen I tamed
– Vulpes vulpes – I was seeing this fox once in a while in the garden at different times of the day, mostly at dusk but one morning after coming back from shopping and stuffing my fridge, I saw him right in front of the kitchen door! This time, I thought “he” might be ‘ripe’ […]
Beema Yellow Wagtail – Jubail
The Yellow Wagtail is a common passage migrant through the whole of Arabia with many thousands passing through the Eastern Province alone. A number of different subspecies occur, often together with Jubail being a particularly good area for seeing large groups. The first subspecies to occur are Black-headed Wagtails feldegg and these are then followed […]
Fornebu by Foot
A car in for its MOT/EU test was a good reason to give Fornebu much more attention than it normally gets. Weather wise it was perfect to be out and about but birdwise it was slow going. Spring has made its mark though and there are now quite an array of birds singing. Great and […]
Spring has not sprung yet
At least here in Norfolk. Enjoyed the relatively nice weather today walking in Winterton Dunes. However I did not enjoy the birding too much, especially while getting all the spring reports coming in from Israel to my phone. I was obviously over-optimistic hoping to find a first wheatear or martin, but had practically nothing. Too […]
Blandford’s Agama – Ash Shargiyah Development Company Farm
Whilst birding Ash Shargiyah Development Company Farm, near Jubail Phil saw a Blandford’s Agama Trapelus ruderatus resting in the top of a small bush. We have seen the species here on a previous visit but they are not often seen. They range from northeast Jordan and southern Syria, through northern and eastern Saudi Arabia, Iraq, […]