02 December 2015

Birds of prey at Sabkhat Al Fasl – Bird records by Arnold Uy

Arnold Uy is a bird photographer and he went to Sabkhat Al Fasl last weekend in the hope of photographing Pied Kingfisher. As luck would have it I met him there and he said he has seen and photographed a Pied Kingfisher but at some distance. I had just had a very nice male sitting very close and had left the bird on its perch only a few minutes before so informed Arnold. He went back and the bird was still present allowing him to take a few very nice photos of which two are below. Arnold mentioned he had seen a few birds of prey including good numbers of Greater Spotted Eagles, Western Osprey and Black Kite. As mentioned in a previous post it has been a very good winter for Greater Spotted Eagles at the location with approximately twenty birds present the last two weekends. Arnold was very impressed with Sabkhat Al Fasl and said it was the best site he had birdwatched whilst being in the Kingdom. It is now officially a nature reserve and is a great success for the Royal Commission and Saudi Wildlife Authority protecting such an important area of habitat.
Squacco Heron
Squacco Heron
Pied Kingfisher
Pied Kingfisher
Pied Kingfisher
Pied Kingfisher
Western Osprey
Western Osprey
Western Osprey
Western Osprey
Western Osprey
Western Osprey
Western Osprey
Western Osprey