Whilst birding the seafront next to the Dhahran Expro Wader Roost I found a Socotra Cormorant Phalacrocorax nigrogularis sitting in a small tree next to the water edge at very close range but unfortunately it flew after I had only taken a single photo. This is probably the best place in Dhahran to see the species but they are normally quite distant.
They breed on islands in the Arabian Gulf where they are common. Small numbers can be seen close to the mainland coast especially from April to August but from October to March it is generally outnumbered by great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo .
Huge gatherings sometimes occur from December to May with more than 25,000 birds on the sea or flying in formation. There are no inland records of this species in the Kingdom.
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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