Whilst birding the desert near Jubail I came across a small vegetated valley with a little wet pool. It was very attractive to migrants with plenty of Common Chiffchaffs, several Eurasian Hoopoes, White Wagtail and a single female Blue Rock Thrush. Blue Rock Thrush is an uncommon passage migrant through Saudi Arabia that is seen […]
Tag: saudi arabia
Pharaoh Eagle Owl – Jubail area
I saw and photographed a Pharaoh Eagle Owl recently in the desert in the Eastern Province. Records suggest it is an uncommon bird in the Saudi Arabian deserts, although it is probably more common than records suggest as they are secretive and well camouflaged. The Pharaoh Eagle Owl is distributed throughout much of North Africa […]
Red-wattled Lapwing – Khafrah Marsh
Whilst birding the Khafrah Marsh area on 9 March I saw three adult Red-wattled Lapwing. The species is scarce in Saudi Arabia with records from Riyadh, the Empty Quarter and the Eastern Province. This species is a resident breeder at wetlands in eastern Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Kuwait, and is gradually colonizing westwards. […]
Flock of 30 Bimaculated Larks – Jebal Hamrah
Whilst birding the Jebal Hamrah pivot irrigation fields recently with Phil Roberts, we came across a flock of up to thirty Bimaculated LarksMelanocorypha bimaculateon the stony area around the pivot field. The birds were on the edge of the field in with a group of Greater Short-toed Larks and Eurasian Skylarks. We had planned our […]
Plenty of Larks – Judah
On a winter trip to Judah, also known as Jebal Hamrah, Phil and I came across a good number of larks. They were mainly on a rough stony area between large pivot fields and consisted of a new species for Saudi Arabia for me Temminck’s Lark. There were five birds present but they never allowed […]
Wheatears everywhere – Haradh
Whilst birding the pivot irrigation fields of Haradh in late January we came across large numbers of both Desert Wheatear and Isabelline Wheatear. The bird spent most of their time around the stony edge of the large pivot fields or in the field themselves where they tended to use sand banks to sit on. We […]
Eastern Imperial Eagle – Haradh
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 […]
Steppe Eagle – Tabuk
Whilst in Tabuk recently we saw a Steppe Eagle perched on an earth bank the side of the road. The bird allowed very close approach before it flew off after twenty minutes and gave some good flight views. The species is a common passage migrant down the western side of the Kingdom with October the […]