09 October 2013

The Turf fields – Dhahran Hills


As I had a little more time than usual to bird the camp, I went to a new area for me of the grass ‘turf’ spray fields and the cricket pitch. These areas are large grassy areas that are relatively undisturbed as they are through a security fence and check point. The fields were alive with birds with hundreds of Yellow Wagtails, House Sparrows, Laughing Doves and Eurasian Collard Doves. The spray heads had a couple of species of shrike on them with one being Daurian Shrike and the other a Mauryan (Steppe) Grey Shrike. A couple of Wheatears were also around with several Isabelline as well as Northern Wheatears feeding on the grass.
Yellow Wagtail
Large trees surround the whole area and some shrubs interspersed with some nice grass areas were also present with a few Eurasian Hoopoes and a single Spotted Flycatcher there. Two more Daurian Shrikes were also in this area. This whole area looks good for birding and I will be spending a lot more time looking at this area in the coming months.
Eurasian Hoopoe