Whilst ringing at Sabkhat Al Fasl in January I trapped a quite grey/brown looking Chiffchaff with few greenish tones. Unfortunately, with Chiffchaffs, things get complicated in the Middle East. With Mountain Chiffchaffs nearby, which look quite like Siberian Chiffchaff tristis, and a series of taxa with intriguing combinations of abietinus or intermediate plumage but tristis-like […]
Tag: saudi arabia
Two winter plumaged Red-necked Phalaropes – Jubail
Phil Roberts and I found two winter plumaged Red-necked Phalaropes on some flooded Sabkha in Jubail on 26 February. This is the first time I have seen the species in winter plumage in the Kingdom and appears to be the earliest ever record for the Eastern Province. These two birds were behaving in typical Phalarope […]
Wintering Purple Herons – Sabkhat Al Fasl
Whilst birding at Sabkhat Al Fasl recently I have been seeing a number of Purple Herons. This species is not common in winter at the site but has been common this winter. In the Eastern Province the Purple Heron is a locally common passage migrant and winter visitor seen from August through April with the […]
Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse – Jubail
Whilst birding the Jubail area 12 February, Phil Roberts and I saw a Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse Pterocles exustus. This was a new species for the Eastern Province for me although Phil had seen one previously. They are a common and widespread breeding resident on the Tihamah and southern Red Sea coastlands, less common in the Northern […]
Spur-winged Lapwing – Haradh
Whilst biding the Haradh area on 5 February 2015 Phil Roberts and I found a Spur-winged Lapwing in a pivot irrigation field next to the NADEC dairy farm. The species is still scarce in the Eastern Province with all records shown below: Haradh 24th October 1986; Dhahran 22nd November 1986; Sabkhat Al Fasl 30th October […]
Saudi Arabia largest flock of Northern Lapwings – Haradh
As mentioned in a previous post Phil Roberts and I travelled to Haradh an area of extensive pivot irrigation fields three hours drive from Dhahran and found some access to some very good looking fields in various stages of growth from ploughed to fallow to newly growing. We eventually came across two very damp newly […]
Three Caspian Plovers – Haradh
On 5 February Phil Roberts and I travelled to Haradh an area of extensive pivot irrigation fields three hours drive from Dhahran. We left at 03:00 hrs to allow us to be at the site at first light. After plenty of searching we eventually came across a very damp newly ploughed field that had a […]
Sixteen Sociable Lapwing – Haradh
On 5 February Phil Roberts and I travelled to Haradh an area of extensive pivot irrigation fields three hours drive from Dhahran. We left at 03:00 hrs to allow us to be at the site at first light. We tried the big farm complexes first but were not allowed entry to any so tried a […]