Whilst birding at Haradh recently I saw and photographed an Eastern Imperial Eagle. This site is a regular wintering location for one or two birds that spend much of their time in and around the pivot irrigation fields. They are seldom approachable and normally seen in flight so this bird that flew over and landed […]
Scavenging birds play a vital role in our ecosystems, they clean up carcasses before they have time to rot. Without scavengers, rotting carcasses would become hubs for harmful pathogens. Vultures specialise in eating carrion and are highly efficient at cleaning up a carcass. But many other birds, like crows and eagles, will also scavenge if […]
Arnold Uy has been seeing Fat Sand Rats at a location near Jubail for most of the winter but reported that recently a large number of birds of prey as well as other birds were in the area probably eating the animals. Species seen included Greater Spotted Eagle, Eastern Imperial Eagle, Common Kestrel and Long-legged […]
Phil Roberts and I went to Haradh recently and found plenty of good birds despite the temperature being 1 degrees Celsius the coldest day for many years in the region as well as a bitingly cold northerly wind. Some birds were winter visitors such as Mallard, Northern Lapwing, Desert Wheatear, Eastern Imperial Eagle and Tawny […]
In this post I want to present a beautiful new book published recently by my dear friend Thomas Krumenacker. This is not a book review (I write book reviews for Dutch Birding); it is rather a celebration of this wonderful creation by my friend. I am too involved in the book, and too close to […]
The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture (MEWA) has condemned the hunting of migratory and protected birds in private farms. Bird hunting is a popular sport in Saudi Arabia, but lately hunters have been resorting to new techniques where property owners rent their farms to hunters as a source of income. The result: […]
Champions of the Flyway 2016 is behind us and now there’s some time to look back. It has been an amazing 48 hours of adrenalin and birds and emotions. I will begin with a quick back-log of March 28th. Had some time in the morning for a quick look in Yotvata. The fields were alright […]
Whilst birding at Sabkhat Al Fasl in January I saw and photographed a second calendar year Eastern Imperial Eagle. The species is rarely seen at Sabkhat Al Fasl although the Greater Spotted Eagle is seen almost every visit during the winter. The Eastern Imperial Eagle is an uncommon winter visitor to Saudi Arabia with most […]