tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23588861037001826692024-03-19T04:00:34.604+03:00 Birds of Saudi ArabiaJem's Birding & Ringing Exploits in the Eastern Province and elsewhere in Saudi ArabiaJem Babbingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05268114140418666748noreply@blogger.comBlogger3543125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358886103700182669.post-35177823089088570012024-03-19T04:00:00.013+03:002024-03-19T04:00:00.265+03:00 Socotra Cormorant – Al Uqair<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Whilst birding the Al Uqair area in March we found a number of Socotra Cormorant</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Phalacrocorax nigrogularis</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">sitting next to the waters edge at very close range. The birds included both adults and juveniles. This is probably the best place in the local area to see the species at close range but only if you remain in the car. They breed on islands in the Arabian Gulf where they are common. Small numbers can be seen close to the mainland coast especially from April to August but from October to March it is generally outnumbered by great Cormorant</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Phalacrocorax carbo</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">. Huge gatherings sometimes occur from December to May with more than 25,000 birds on the sea or flying in formation. There are no inland records of this species in the Kingdom.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXwe-087_MDU-jF1h2zJBRAxAehcfwcpl3V499NIsr1HNOf6CsVJvFbqI_qnGm6Po1G7JW5sReutuFnv6gN4z1VfKw6SeBJpeVMlbyb4WNBjVPq_gh72Oan8MIfrz9RCmQpASNqEnrd_r9cOpxxPXSQjteMcYn1NZ0h_nZS7Keyp8qxFPTMjbw6w3ymakj/s900/Socotra_Cormorant1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXwe-087_MDU-jF1h2zJBRAxAehcfwcpl3V499NIsr1HNOf6CsVJvFbqI_qnGm6Po1G7JW5sReutuFnv6gN4z1VfKw6SeBJpeVMlbyb4WNBjVPq_gh72Oan8MIfrz9RCmQpASNqEnrd_r9cOpxxPXSQjteMcYn1NZ0h_nZS7Keyp8qxFPTMjbw6w3ymakj/s16000/Socotra_Cormorant1.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPlicRBQy-zDE-sBUV-doJgHOB4SEfOP9S0fbSU0D7zCgbV7Ihl0uMf-w8XZcKvWQECB3ZIu5JbhY8q_8KP7NzuhS7t7nQHz-1nM0jc6fQwJSRZzfsCviqw7oL-KVpHiZ0DJbJqKxBSlwMbjvlGrEEUnGIe5oGywbwFFfOrWBQnVwUc8GhmMVVw848S9bd/s900/Socotra_Cormorant2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; 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text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje00eRBdKIZsmMJ_0E8ebPIAl_LGeIocUwUmZLfaGx3adKJRw3DMYnqsRrkudr3Yr2mrdvu1Fmg5W4f1c0sxrCYjqOA6PGiGJNMkdjFPImxFY18dbBqta57R_uzhyphenhyphenE642uYcvOsmdQx2x3_vwVLjxG8G0JlETDeV4S4ZOt7ovI64q-hOMiWAR4VTew_CDC/s900/Socotra_Cormorant4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje00eRBdKIZsmMJ_0E8ebPIAl_LGeIocUwUmZLfaGx3adKJRw3DMYnqsRrkudr3Yr2mrdvu1Fmg5W4f1c0sxrCYjqOA6PGiGJNMkdjFPImxFY18dbBqta57R_uzhyphenhyphenE642uYcvOsmdQx2x3_vwVLjxG8G0JlETDeV4S4ZOt7ovI64q-hOMiWAR4VTew_CDC/s16000/Socotra_Cormorant4.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWVeNqZa0A9tCzXO1rsYz_071gOkAdyhdZG9e8XC9NIdYK2mA3eLe1-3Zv1tjj23aES0J5leVpvLBu6Zkf7CXcouJQ78P37RfhGDfx3HckAcv9rHXh3XOef-pTTdrMVaUVnRm4xCQOGMujq0KlyIdUHytQkGlfvCaJqJg52elYT3JCrUoykFAWllxjGYwS/s900/Socotra_Cormorant5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; 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text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXDuv18AYo0VnP1XoKFOa2DGyglUj9cHl2QTyYFyBstuFQ4Yy9n4tD4vQlkaweXSeO9tYCLz3uUceGHPeLAqPjZvdcINp-P0Ms93XcexWx5C5biQUGSiC2kJe0Iy9G6ROH5eJY_G0YEFd7qmhXbYPlDt_KhEwoXR8pXtL2LRSm3YCBR5qexj30pnmfqbE_/s900/Socotra_Cormorant7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="599" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXDuv18AYo0VnP1XoKFOa2DGyglUj9cHl2QTyYFyBstuFQ4Yy9n4tD4vQlkaweXSeO9tYCLz3uUceGHPeLAqPjZvdcINp-P0Ms93XcexWx5C5biQUGSiC2kJe0Iy9G6ROH5eJY_G0YEFd7qmhXbYPlDt_KhEwoXR8pXtL2LRSm3YCBR5qexj30pnmfqbE_/s16000/Socotra_Cormorant7.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr13_rCBHBvspidMdXZjlSmna7HALz01QERZOMX1DVgkJ75OzEPg0Ev6N5VQXCNA_Wu2EVq05Fe5NU0O-oqyj9Mz5exfFfWQpTGUnN-g0td5pernDoVJl3CIX3hFkDy-s-rDb0DCKEou9rvoQO1nnDHh55uDeL5L_3fI76juEmbcUrL0_MsXJ8vl2ikNMu/s900/Socotra_Cormorant8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; 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text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCTjFK8EMZccXrAFU6Hii7EQ32DJNs0cIUEKl0UR1p7Bbn4slXSQgr1b8f2dGgjSrTu71JnNACsbPHtc5fmzD6Gklk_5PJ-dCWd0dsJSRJ7wPVL0hufBusW5hw3bcOG1sRwkxg6Hcqtgo5Av-wGyPHaq6OEmNfdJXTrkyTuglPcmU1gyYIeELrMKY9hkTD/s900/Socotra_Cormorant10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCTjFK8EMZccXrAFU6Hii7EQ32DJNs0cIUEKl0UR1p7Bbn4slXSQgr1b8f2dGgjSrTu71JnNACsbPHtc5fmzD6Gklk_5PJ-dCWd0dsJSRJ7wPVL0hufBusW5hw3bcOG1sRwkxg6Hcqtgo5Av-wGyPHaq6OEmNfdJXTrkyTuglPcmU1gyYIeELrMKY9hkTD/s16000/Socotra_Cormorant10.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtA-N3spq0uuf7fnLif2Vg1CKhtAOzNNbRtteg9_hfuVFifvbN2iVXmL5q02oIql1Yt-jo1Ocd-SkgbFlpkOaZxJ8dAQfp7ODsBH0i-NyNVILzEiCBz-jaxCOTW2KLfKjZdWHPeGPeTwVTbe8sp-AysuWi4Nb4EPoOCJIOrdvaPp0rxOuw3Myh5Rv_Z4cz/s900/Socotra_Cormorant11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtA-N3spq0uuf7fnLif2Vg1CKhtAOzNNbRtteg9_hfuVFifvbN2iVXmL5q02oIql1Yt-jo1Ocd-SkgbFlpkOaZxJ8dAQfp7ODsBH0i-NyNVILzEiCBz-jaxCOTW2KLfKjZdWHPeGPeTwVTbe8sp-AysuWi4Nb4EPoOCJIOrdvaPp0rxOuw3Myh5Rv_Z4cz/s16000/Socotra_Cormorant11.jpg" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span><p></p>Jem Babbingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05268114140418666748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358886103700182669.post-70054464044362026912024-03-17T04:00:00.001+03:002024-03-17T04:00:00.316+03:00 Abu Sarrah Palaces - Abha<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The Abu Sarrah Palace is one of the most important heritage palaces in Asir region. This palace is located in the village of Al-Aziza in Al-Soudah. It dates back to more than 200 years old, and was built in 1836 B.C. / 1252. This palace stands tall at the top of the Al-Soudah Mountains, with a stunning view of the green agricultural terraces surrounding it. Its gigantic unique design suggests its mission of defending the surrounding villages and homes. The palaces were built in the Asiri architectural style and consist of two buildings, each with 6 floors, and Al-Musalla Fort, which consists of 3 floors. The palaces are owned by Lahiq bin Ahmed Abu Sarrah, one of the most distinguished people in Aseer, and its most famous merchant at that time. In 2018, his grandchildren took over the task of restoring it to be a historical destination that expresses the region’s heritage.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP9lE46292j0QypP7vPrHctuMhP7dzadWE6xeOtSjiUpZ95nF40VlzVNy_tjAFb1PJ-AKdupIVjvp5N6VPlYOCpcsuciWWh2vDonPyymbuRnaaTdaWHxcuSpGt2gg82TY0IOm9V8j9-c3o0zp2pTlbwpDHuzv4bDcjQf0qIQKdlhyWGZcJRgE2zvqGqfUR/s800/Abu_Sarrah_Historical_Palaces1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP9lE46292j0QypP7vPrHctuMhP7dzadWE6xeOtSjiUpZ95nF40VlzVNy_tjAFb1PJ-AKdupIVjvp5N6VPlYOCpcsuciWWh2vDonPyymbuRnaaTdaWHxcuSpGt2gg82TY0IOm9V8j9-c3o0zp2pTlbwpDHuzv4bDcjQf0qIQKdlhyWGZcJRgE2zvqGqfUR/s16000/Abu_Sarrah_Historical_Palaces1.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwXP8Rrr06okXRi3fmwj-3Oxv7eZ7QUanJed-ZAahKgDiyoNsEcDvY_ZQzle6dtMZT5UlBwJUpAwK6mH854R5ZsWW6EPvBS2hP2lPieM_ODUDokHTVRKuU-miwZvkr0GvHuT7_i_qtQs2uE_xJRXJ4MK3kDz1fOdoPTK2bR7HtZkxtTrlwhgpzobyQzD-b/s800/Abu_Sarrah_Historical_Palaces2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwXP8Rrr06okXRi3fmwj-3Oxv7eZ7QUanJed-ZAahKgDiyoNsEcDvY_ZQzle6dtMZT5UlBwJUpAwK6mH854R5ZsWW6EPvBS2hP2lPieM_ODUDokHTVRKuU-miwZvkr0GvHuT7_i_qtQs2uE_xJRXJ4MK3kDz1fOdoPTK2bR7HtZkxtTrlwhgpzobyQzD-b/s16000/Abu_Sarrah_Historical_Palaces2.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiivoWogx3Q_NGHW7mijELhvtNsm8lRUmSVswgTHf5syZX8vD8zewskznac1fqJZNctnELfLwoKERgaJubjWATgwD9yA0hi0DLjBorxIqx6gKmp9LS1jNUmX5o6-CTfHyEW2e7RAMGUhaYmJg2HiRZHcy3KzshwR8ERFIauCsqskxYWkiXqwC7hM7gVL6jN/s800/Abu_Sarrah_Historical_Palaces3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiivoWogx3Q_NGHW7mijELhvtNsm8lRUmSVswgTHf5syZX8vD8zewskznac1fqJZNctnELfLwoKERgaJubjWATgwD9yA0hi0DLjBorxIqx6gKmp9LS1jNUmX5o6-CTfHyEW2e7RAMGUhaYmJg2HiRZHcy3KzshwR8ERFIauCsqskxYWkiXqwC7hM7gVL6jN/s16000/Abu_Sarrah_Historical_Palaces3.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL-52eYkPiNikiSQQnyHJaI2xwoHxTY7ACo7V0_qD_qQA3IoByfXfWnUz1cCFOqCcqNHL_qocWNjzzWl3mTG_qOT7AvumSazMKlJL-paVIqqKWknpuRRH208hoPK4esCCJH-W7hX00dO32MEbHCEX8eM0BBK6wbcsFuoccfFRG_qq6rKcMqY7wi8OevnnE/s800/Abu_Sarrah_Historical_Palaces4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL-52eYkPiNikiSQQnyHJaI2xwoHxTY7ACo7V0_qD_qQA3IoByfXfWnUz1cCFOqCcqNHL_qocWNjzzWl3mTG_qOT7AvumSazMKlJL-paVIqqKWknpuRRH208hoPK4esCCJH-W7hX00dO32MEbHCEX8eM0BBK6wbcsFuoccfFRG_qq6rKcMqY7wi8OevnnE/s16000/Abu_Sarrah_Historical_Palaces4.jpg" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span><p></p>Jem Babbingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05268114140418666748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358886103700182669.post-9838678466379432312024-03-15T04:00:00.000+03:002024-03-15T04:00:00.244+03:00 Residents and migrants – Abha Area<p><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Apart from the endemics the area also held resident African Stonechat, Dusky Turtle Dove, Pale Crag Martin, Fan-tailed Raven, Graceful Prinia, Hamerkop and Long-billed Pipit. Migrants had just started passing through with a few Barn Swallow and lots of Common Chiffchaff seen. Two White-winged Tern in full breeding plumage were seen on one lake visited.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtcXMv2HGqXFWGdkxXGWAyEsZRiey8S8cD6Ni4rmAsUWOpRI5zq-NrlfBSAYcHscHpUjQTN2CZ_LZsh_9_dv_-U3OIcq7DK36YtWLQ8_ahH7Zl16ELd719XQluC1TwP_zb3SldE_a3aCqfj4Da78iqIJ0vqS_3AyGeelcgz3LWDdXGSDa-spYnbSrUYKvD/s900/African_Stonechat2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtcXMv2HGqXFWGdkxXGWAyEsZRiey8S8cD6Ni4rmAsUWOpRI5zq-NrlfBSAYcHscHpUjQTN2CZ_LZsh_9_dv_-U3OIcq7DK36YtWLQ8_ahH7Zl16ELd719XQluC1TwP_zb3SldE_a3aCqfj4Da78iqIJ0vqS_3AyGeelcgz3LWDdXGSDa-spYnbSrUYKvD/s16000/African_Stonechat2.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>African Stonechat</b></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEGmCSQv55d_a9IHeKuJN8CbCkxKZKj07GRrHGdjaNCobviEH5fQwyiazMTRKiefIYYhD47wj3tO-v9ERsWFRuu0N2y7sW5lAMA5XsTfWzDUVzKPbDopfhOryxr0wMhP7imPTY1e5vJewW_ygG8zgIQUfmarxLPiVZu-nJkD9dhOqDGwgumi7DPgdJyOtf/s900/Barn_Swallow.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEGmCSQv55d_a9IHeKuJN8CbCkxKZKj07GRrHGdjaNCobviEH5fQwyiazMTRKiefIYYhD47wj3tO-v9ERsWFRuu0N2y7sW5lAMA5XsTfWzDUVzKPbDopfhOryxr0wMhP7imPTY1e5vJewW_ygG8zgIQUfmarxLPiVZu-nJkD9dhOqDGwgumi7DPgdJyOtf/s16000/Barn_Swallow.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Barn Swallow</b></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoOlhUz72kgLdje1nF2fl59a4PAtPGJkYKrMtP1FvVyTwxzHhMQ9iDvgLcY_BIWnkuTbkdlRYpMGtcTS6pMyL4XQrS8tc3QLgM_N5SoNe2TO3lIwRfOE25U6p0F3POqwkB60i4tjiR_z9uXeVwWQkSbgvi8WqtbPpWcaeFH33AvIkZROLi6n1u9VZWYs4h/s900/Common_Chiffchaff2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoOlhUz72kgLdje1nF2fl59a4PAtPGJkYKrMtP1FvVyTwxzHhMQ9iDvgLcY_BIWnkuTbkdlRYpMGtcTS6pMyL4XQrS8tc3QLgM_N5SoNe2TO3lIwRfOE25U6p0F3POqwkB60i4tjiR_z9uXeVwWQkSbgvi8WqtbPpWcaeFH33AvIkZROLi6n1u9VZWYs4h/s16000/Common_Chiffchaff2.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Common Chiffchaff</b></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0ocOUef6wtjzZeAnSx6wDlbvQppHr6Olps5JWtzQu1f2pnrNTzHlL8NYKSG5w7OiFz5Rprn_r11ncU0OAnxYEQNSBvhSfzzynk0HN2O_pqrT07mMGyLFYp6xzqfgi0BqYYciIhqdSA4dePjGOEaG2EKZ10afBQSmb4HJfaNveFSeJ6qpHB_SywulLnKDw/s899/Common_Chiffchaff5.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="899" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0ocOUef6wtjzZeAnSx6wDlbvQppHr6Olps5JWtzQu1f2pnrNTzHlL8NYKSG5w7OiFz5Rprn_r11ncU0OAnxYEQNSBvhSfzzynk0HN2O_pqrT07mMGyLFYp6xzqfgi0BqYYciIhqdSA4dePjGOEaG2EKZ10afBQSmb4HJfaNveFSeJ6qpHB_SywulLnKDw/s16000/Common_Chiffchaff5.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Common Chiffchaff</b></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjSFQ17YXix2TWqj2EFUAuVspgCDSolQVXqLDrCk08egf1u7sosxRP47FD0U4oyXeDhhwgluiQw5YZP5zBH24f8rsAGXVIyt_5hVLyi4VFwrpiB8IWvu9mZUG3m0sIiJAqovq4zLLWyuQv3nQe4NI8QKGvwVw92jvxOgOw2KquR8p9l996BS9qeg-sSTaC/s899/Dusky_Turtle_Dove.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="899" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjSFQ17YXix2TWqj2EFUAuVspgCDSolQVXqLDrCk08egf1u7sosxRP47FD0U4oyXeDhhwgluiQw5YZP5zBH24f8rsAGXVIyt_5hVLyi4VFwrpiB8IWvu9mZUG3m0sIiJAqovq4zLLWyuQv3nQe4NI8QKGvwVw92jvxOgOw2KquR8p9l996BS9qeg-sSTaC/s16000/Dusky_Turtle_Dove.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Dusky Turtle Dove</b></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaWTAE7k-pR8JDsxKGsEvS3Lc2tqVzCtpxkyvomOYDBTsToGHQwW2EUPY6VjETYonHbN1SW4QVym8c5IxF56UpIgkbj01B_uFMLr_7wVhdtJbb1WF9SoCo_oREeuO56OeFU9yp9X7ZzVNdF0OWJ_FGqR5mMtQ6x2cYMhwttWFGaEl4eoeah1eCmTVnMJZ_/s900/Fan-tailed_Raven.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="599" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaWTAE7k-pR8JDsxKGsEvS3Lc2tqVzCtpxkyvomOYDBTsToGHQwW2EUPY6VjETYonHbN1SW4QVym8c5IxF56UpIgkbj01B_uFMLr_7wVhdtJbb1WF9SoCo_oREeuO56OeFU9yp9X7ZzVNdF0OWJ_FGqR5mMtQ6x2cYMhwttWFGaEl4eoeah1eCmTVnMJZ_/s16000/Fan-tailed_Raven.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Fan-tailed Raven</b></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS6hbhnl6OFNwnCxh4MwvTNo25LpLVrzpYDlmI-Hc04KhacbH2NILF5Pw6_uO3pVytVU8vjapkq3J0fQpvmBkUlLkOvmFoTY0tc4yuz3reez9sh-wtJzEI7zEeBWyctbKv36lYbOmKZ3_jk9u2FaareZSgGTWeTtmAOMHMcGcngLVEuzSEUHZIHdImqQce/s899/Graceful_Prinia1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="899" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS6hbhnl6OFNwnCxh4MwvTNo25LpLVrzpYDlmI-Hc04KhacbH2NILF5Pw6_uO3pVytVU8vjapkq3J0fQpvmBkUlLkOvmFoTY0tc4yuz3reez9sh-wtJzEI7zEeBWyctbKv36lYbOmKZ3_jk9u2FaareZSgGTWeTtmAOMHMcGcngLVEuzSEUHZIHdImqQce/s16000/Graceful_Prinia1.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Graceful Prinia</b></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMCMt4rqA3ehL76XGr0fMcUdv_WZNsAY9pZ7X6OBf9y_Z0XXCuuUDXp3CK7NN0lAbXLXSIihMs_lew4Brw5VmTJIKKiamr6PtD8AkfdJ-6sC8vGb6sxGMp5k_ABEFuSXImkTNGtimRwB0XX1kyzDj0dNs24gt2WvEpusor1667rGPeG16OIgI711T2qspE/s900/Graceful_Prinia2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMCMt4rqA3ehL76XGr0fMcUdv_WZNsAY9pZ7X6OBf9y_Z0XXCuuUDXp3CK7NN0lAbXLXSIihMs_lew4Brw5VmTJIKKiamr6PtD8AkfdJ-6sC8vGb6sxGMp5k_ABEFuSXImkTNGtimRwB0XX1kyzDj0dNs24gt2WvEpusor1667rGPeG16OIgI711T2qspE/s16000/Graceful_Prinia2.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Graceful Prinia</b></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNfMCjjB_H6z4NG6D6I5MBy4mCEndmuF4t7CUM7YGRsb2Q2gdLWapqUd_ifCqJ8zLk4OQVAYdW7DrOJAUYw2iaAW8FilzES8VM5OMojCFLf-873XWZof0tmoYGlYgSO_bQhyrUx9PUQy52J7CsdYGJQmKsrvVBNdxzi7aSAJTiUNGPNkmxIaDR5FNU_nic/s899/Hamerkop.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="899" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNfMCjjB_H6z4NG6D6I5MBy4mCEndmuF4t7CUM7YGRsb2Q2gdLWapqUd_ifCqJ8zLk4OQVAYdW7DrOJAUYw2iaAW8FilzES8VM5OMojCFLf-873XWZof0tmoYGlYgSO_bQhyrUx9PUQy52J7CsdYGJQmKsrvVBNdxzi7aSAJTiUNGPNkmxIaDR5FNU_nic/s16000/Hamerkop.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Hamerkop</b></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuJmJAtFDSh1RRksX7E_K8WQOqfUuFuUG7G0XagvYCF_6RfQK7WHEChvJNb-mkXUCCr-LQuiKSLw6hDlBTbRKE-dGECH2FIGYsIbqc68efKKHPMimfdB02-vUnqG7YlAWYb1VhBwTCj2ofncEiAREzSGmKrKrqUNSFggM4PHC50-ZnSx7hTvbwdaogdni_/s900/Long-billed_Pipit.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuJmJAtFDSh1RRksX7E_K8WQOqfUuFuUG7G0XagvYCF_6RfQK7WHEChvJNb-mkXUCCr-LQuiKSLw6hDlBTbRKE-dGECH2FIGYsIbqc68efKKHPMimfdB02-vUnqG7YlAWYb1VhBwTCj2ofncEiAREzSGmKrKrqUNSFggM4PHC50-ZnSx7hTvbwdaogdni_/s16000/Long-billed_Pipit.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Long-billed Pipit</b></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOIXCbTyWRjho4NP005eKXGAuLRuPCygRHieEDpWBRp5s224mX54eIRHR9nNugpG2FfptIUlgEJfqw6Zf33EhRCJiavpPcwvm_O-eB_n2ktUjdcBLJi1_AuWBsmuxxlg0ZDLMgPmbyvXbeqQTTUr0PybX5C-Tm1flnJ3bmcijgtP66tMTJe099J5oT4l24/s900/Pale_Crag_Martin.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOIXCbTyWRjho4NP005eKXGAuLRuPCygRHieEDpWBRp5s224mX54eIRHR9nNugpG2FfptIUlgEJfqw6Zf33EhRCJiavpPcwvm_O-eB_n2ktUjdcBLJi1_AuWBsmuxxlg0ZDLMgPmbyvXbeqQTTUr0PybX5C-Tm1flnJ3bmcijgtP66tMTJe099J5oT4l24/s16000/Pale_Crag_Martin.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Pale Crag Martin</b></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo8f6wAR_plKy4zOheybjtJ37DkQOlubvyZv-qb0DBbtiqehZQ39SkIqJlnvXC8HwqrPBftjC_DegRRf_3dEtNy-QXmYUWwyowG8Q1-YrduPQPZ3A3MKNKB5wUg64_2vB4siQBZRjBisOYfwFbb2UzzU__f3sfJeoYmbmNxnYH85dSaP1PXZ1xqbaVG4C6/s899/White-winged_Tern1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="899" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo8f6wAR_plKy4zOheybjtJ37DkQOlubvyZv-qb0DBbtiqehZQ39SkIqJlnvXC8HwqrPBftjC_DegRRf_3dEtNy-QXmYUWwyowG8Q1-YrduPQPZ3A3MKNKB5wUg64_2vB4siQBZRjBisOYfwFbb2UzzU__f3sfJeoYmbmNxnYH85dSaP1PXZ1xqbaVG4C6/s16000/White-winged_Tern1.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>White-winged Tern</b></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEIcbMe0Ss_1fk2LXhd2TUXt2rz-UIMFvDPWqOscUl7W6vXW5K28gc9wPJ-J6y1MfL9jlvTnzAwMStJ7ic8ve529OuaWNE-uJ9QpN4T2YufTexc1dLWTey60RrpeFLqx8GhYR-I75H_toqk8eGjBr_DxVLgBAYzav9oyeXOlDfJBhfsgAzqrNnfCWv_ZYT/s900/White-winged_Tern2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEIcbMe0Ss_1fk2LXhd2TUXt2rz-UIMFvDPWqOscUl7W6vXW5K28gc9wPJ-J6y1MfL9jlvTnzAwMStJ7ic8ve529OuaWNE-uJ9QpN4T2YufTexc1dLWTey60RrpeFLqx8GhYR-I75H_toqk8eGjBr_DxVLgBAYzav9oyeXOlDfJBhfsgAzqrNnfCWv_ZYT/s16000/White-winged_Tern2.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>White-winged Tern</b></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><br /></span><p></p>Jem Babbingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05268114140418666748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358886103700182669.post-74515307976458496152024-03-13T04:00:00.012+03:002024-03-13T04:00:00.142+03:00 Greater Spotted Cuckoo – Al Uqair<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Whilst birding Al Uqair 8 March Phil Roberts saw an unusual bird flying low over the scrubby desert area. It quickly became apparent that the bird in question was an adult Greater Spotted Cuckoo a species nother of us had previously seen in Saudi Arabia. This species is a scarce passage migrant, particularly in early spring (February and March) most often in western regions, from the Tihamah north to Tabuk. It has parasitized nests of House Crow in the Gulf of Aqaba at the head of the Red Sea very close to Saudi Arabia’s border, so breeding could occur in the northwest and has been suspected (but has not been confirmed) in the ‘Asir foothills. There are only three previous records from the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia that I know of, one Abqaiq, 17 February 1976, One Haradh, 1-3 March 1981 and one Abqaiq 11 March 1983.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGIj7BuLo9stRvJzJmxzL7otDblGYGsOAaZ2WnR1adpfiNrY2AKTM1MPNi2gqDw04gJTTS-zs1-LE883Erycg7-jZddv-ncAJTJli0VzU7AuoHRMhueqvggN3y_deo3xJg6Le1hiiflzl-uopIOQ7PsvgucRlJiNJE2bMkyUWh2J4_FYtnkpnFBoEmxVOT/s900/Greater_Spotted_Cuckoo5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGIj7BuLo9stRvJzJmxzL7otDblGYGsOAaZ2WnR1adpfiNrY2AKTM1MPNi2gqDw04gJTTS-zs1-LE883Erycg7-jZddv-ncAJTJli0VzU7AuoHRMhueqvggN3y_deo3xJg6Le1hiiflzl-uopIOQ7PsvgucRlJiNJE2bMkyUWh2J4_FYtnkpnFBoEmxVOT/s16000/Greater_Spotted_Cuckoo5.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWNn-k_fVwx3qfcDIzMbUdnja8UImH2plG2A8qQjs0ALf3hQkAbFuFolX_exS-L5NVQKwb31W2vb2yh7vrMRmdv2E0mlycfgP2s4KCX7DUs35X4fK4xoqAxq2i8QcjKDJTnV4jVMKhJXp244rgHUMZLdipVIvuxzI_WPI-Lj8o9LOAlEh5F6NeUUjrqmfb/s900/Greater_Spotted_Cuckoo4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="599" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWNn-k_fVwx3qfcDIzMbUdnja8UImH2plG2A8qQjs0ALf3hQkAbFuFolX_exS-L5NVQKwb31W2vb2yh7vrMRmdv2E0mlycfgP2s4KCX7DUs35X4fK4xoqAxq2i8QcjKDJTnV4jVMKhJXp244rgHUMZLdipVIvuxzI_WPI-Lj8o9LOAlEh5F6NeUUjrqmfb/s16000/Greater_Spotted_Cuckoo4.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh66BuhtvSmxhYHoPb0hMXcu7OCOSQ70yV9T88EPO5o912sCmcA-_sx7-9UTH7645EpTcN9s630RUUld-9FYf8kZhrAvVNhvB67sVQ9AC80Nc1zguNStBzVq6gtFvJg6W1GcAglNoopZfQkWMqGmEv7SnBr5Ao9odCS8Yxx16ZUiy8vAbZguEkLzmH2iwkH/s899/Greater_Spotted_Cuckoo3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="899" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh66BuhtvSmxhYHoPb0hMXcu7OCOSQ70yV9T88EPO5o912sCmcA-_sx7-9UTH7645EpTcN9s630RUUld-9FYf8kZhrAvVNhvB67sVQ9AC80Nc1zguNStBzVq6gtFvJg6W1GcAglNoopZfQkWMqGmEv7SnBr5Ao9odCS8Yxx16ZUiy8vAbZguEkLzmH2iwkH/s16000/Greater_Spotted_Cuckoo3.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz9GuDBrfkBT0SXddF8vjcjpS8_ygxBt4j6G6_1F7Q2eYSakHuES1VsVdN7HS-trffA2F5wRLL5U-_OyPGmrlhmqo9GJMclHzwQeIDGih5FDucOC69Z2vVJ1C0UjqvmoXrF_8w8xwsT_67W73WUPZXHXfKxFBhfhyphenhyphenOcxn2rPSnVRzIvPPZZMbk3wtFq7Xw/s900/Greater_Spotted_Cuckoo2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="599" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz9GuDBrfkBT0SXddF8vjcjpS8_ygxBt4j6G6_1F7Q2eYSakHuES1VsVdN7HS-trffA2F5wRLL5U-_OyPGmrlhmqo9GJMclHzwQeIDGih5FDucOC69Z2vVJ1C0UjqvmoXrF_8w8xwsT_67W73WUPZXHXfKxFBhfhyphenhyphenOcxn2rPSnVRzIvPPZZMbk3wtFq7Xw/s16000/Greater_Spotted_Cuckoo2.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguFFR8q5llNUUMYSi_s-iBm6HSh2BsBOualmY7ajDLbCP2oTxubUkKVMCoVkf8nJJWyw0hX2kPYBoz1vGzhXH-Ecz4Avg039Lg2jxsM9XzksHJh2twCfOMS1YVjXjOALXWzTKl1ZauVMdVwZsIAJTuCrzduUxasXWuyKuzv9QzNPsbw6QFmB2L-f6UcaRg/s900/Greater_Spotted_Cuckoo1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="599" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguFFR8q5llNUUMYSi_s-iBm6HSh2BsBOualmY7ajDLbCP2oTxubUkKVMCoVkf8nJJWyw0hX2kPYBoz1vGzhXH-Ecz4Avg039Lg2jxsM9XzksHJh2twCfOMS1YVjXjOALXWzTKl1ZauVMdVwZsIAJTuCrzduUxasXWuyKuzv9QzNPsbw6QFmB2L-f6UcaRg/s16000/Greater_Spotted_Cuckoo1.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p></p>Jem Babbingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05268114140418666748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358886103700182669.post-70367024821675478162024-03-11T04:00:00.001+03:002024-03-11T04:00:00.215+03:00 A few endemics – Abha area<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Whilst birding the Abha area recently I managed to photograph a few of the endemics. We saw a number of groups of Arabian Waxbill with up to thirty birds in a group. They never allowed close approach as we were on foot, with the below photo the best I could get. Arabian Wheatears were quite common with both males and females seen. Good numbers of Yemen Linnet and Yemen Thrush were in the large trees but only a single Yemen Warbler could be found</span></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvDYnsE9dQVdHUh7O34i_YAUlo4L016g7Mcwl9dGjEj8FBWJWfrh4QV4Ms8QbD83Mda4bwq3iOatgT3mfM2dBE8MHykW9fscYwdkMscQVKpmEJeLUFVRJfaAQvy4tsYqxmF2QLpxsLNzJYGPh4PF_YF0zELFbhtfPcYqOiC_XyJccHX10NPUqMCF542TYL/s900/Arabian_Waxbill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="599" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvDYnsE9dQVdHUh7O34i_YAUlo4L016g7Mcwl9dGjEj8FBWJWfrh4QV4Ms8QbD83Mda4bwq3iOatgT3mfM2dBE8MHykW9fscYwdkMscQVKpmEJeLUFVRJfaAQvy4tsYqxmF2QLpxsLNzJYGPh4PF_YF0zELFbhtfPcYqOiC_XyJccHX10NPUqMCF542TYL/s16000/Arabian_Waxbill.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Arabian Waxbill</b></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhisxkCH0FBHkXW8EqUk3TMkRrhh7u4RS_LhyphenhyphenHKxz_xMA64kKm1rzz8CZlutOWA3_j_DNLvNzoQ9JsVpFqZ7wmReYgoaf9VrXN7bXXlT2pNxaRroGXiU1gsvVGiwkn2SRFT2N8mfa7KTRjAaomIgTiUfqjrLtXk5-aSSw_6b9Ok0PQ_iTLujGGzMa0l9i04/s900/Arabian_Wheatear_-_female.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhisxkCH0FBHkXW8EqUk3TMkRrhh7u4RS_LhyphenhyphenHKxz_xMA64kKm1rzz8CZlutOWA3_j_DNLvNzoQ9JsVpFqZ7wmReYgoaf9VrXN7bXXlT2pNxaRroGXiU1gsvVGiwkn2SRFT2N8mfa7KTRjAaomIgTiUfqjrLtXk5-aSSw_6b9Ok0PQ_iTLujGGzMa0l9i04/s16000/Arabian_Wheatear_-_female.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Arabian Wheatear - female</b></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7JEYUnC2TEcdvCqelpjuYhbr9O_iq88bm4zusAGj3wUepg95zqFPqXN-uHo6YQNC6nclgxWJNLydTk6vMscDCxLhCDJBsHwkUjaFnsvEFDhQ18rYNAW_hXxgl7X1s6xVw2Cup3M-ruY3_GGbq31hh_pKJvOnp9CeCInN8xTp7Mxil1HkOKXe_ahfpm1OW/s900/Arabian_Wheatear_-_male.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7JEYUnC2TEcdvCqelpjuYhbr9O_iq88bm4zusAGj3wUepg95zqFPqXN-uHo6YQNC6nclgxWJNLydTk6vMscDCxLhCDJBsHwkUjaFnsvEFDhQ18rYNAW_hXxgl7X1s6xVw2Cup3M-ruY3_GGbq31hh_pKJvOnp9CeCInN8xTp7Mxil1HkOKXe_ahfpm1OW/s16000/Arabian_Wheatear_-_male.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Arabian Wheatear - male</b></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD__Br-zLkmkRmaRKcdOis-6NNm890UqkeVxP2ZWWjZBIAnSc7QaQzPi2qFlZXaO05_wGNXfNtDqtIZgWwOkAhOTkMm7JmsE7xXv8rCzxFjeQFXEAtcU3UAWzuoSF8ihEiUuLtt_ahxzIJWpk1DIAERbsP7mKBXgo_e9vxoXOsUi1mqee7Mn8EM32sPysi/s900/Yemen_Linnet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD__Br-zLkmkRmaRKcdOis-6NNm890UqkeVxP2ZWWjZBIAnSc7QaQzPi2qFlZXaO05_wGNXfNtDqtIZgWwOkAhOTkMm7JmsE7xXv8rCzxFjeQFXEAtcU3UAWzuoSF8ihEiUuLtt_ahxzIJWpk1DIAERbsP7mKBXgo_e9vxoXOsUi1mqee7Mn8EM32sPysi/s16000/Yemen_Linnet.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Yemen Linnet</b></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIbboYXSIRW7Rejfe0dYsTy5_DFSUG4vr5GYl3uWAuhvzgpiDuA-lkInW-bPHX5fOeDv6ZrnRRtaDZfitwYQHUwmZZ1M2hqu6rmgl7bWzeOOndNNkVOqellMIChaq4R8V59F2y1GhVDyH6f59hOhJ4aHKOvO0wSBaAO1XDcX8_ybFaa2t_XlMJkCkSLX1U/s900/Yemen_Thrush.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIbboYXSIRW7Rejfe0dYsTy5_DFSUG4vr5GYl3uWAuhvzgpiDuA-lkInW-bPHX5fOeDv6ZrnRRtaDZfitwYQHUwmZZ1M2hqu6rmgl7bWzeOOndNNkVOqellMIChaq4R8V59F2y1GhVDyH6f59hOhJ4aHKOvO0wSBaAO1XDcX8_ybFaa2t_XlMJkCkSLX1U/s16000/Yemen_Thrush.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Yemen Thrush</b></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZGl82tKhhWtK2drsf4R8G_KFCFi594akn1mYPwuUaV4GRMqK6ZKI0Xm7_HPCQBdZ14-JCGNFYJMQ-9uTP51oKwdF02RQV89V1wC-75D3Sp0siUAPoWIjGZBWhoL2Ay2E57rD4b1bRPiyf_0qOvGQNgSpVYLh1HOYhOgg-guJKKxP1ZFfJBi-5X-GP73IW/s900/Yemen_Warbler.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZGl82tKhhWtK2drsf4R8G_KFCFi594akn1mYPwuUaV4GRMqK6ZKI0Xm7_HPCQBdZ14-JCGNFYJMQ-9uTP51oKwdF02RQV89V1wC-75D3Sp0siUAPoWIjGZBWhoL2Ay2E57rD4b1bRPiyf_0qOvGQNgSpVYLh1HOYhOgg-guJKKxP1ZFfJBi-5X-GP73IW/s16000/Yemen_Warbler.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Yemen Warbler</b></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></p>Jem Babbingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05268114140418666748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358886103700182669.post-15560664576992353552024-03-09T04:00:00.009+03:002024-03-09T04:00:00.163+03:00Arabian Green Bee-eater – Tendaha Dam<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Whilst birding at Tendaha Dam, near Khamis Mushait, Southwest Saudi Arabia I came across some Arabian Green Bee-eaters. It has a status as a common breeding resident in central and western areas of the Kingdom. This species is widely spread from the Riyadh area and central Saudi Arabia across to the Red Sea coast in the west of the Kingdom. There are two subspecies</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Merops cyanophrys cyanophrys</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">southern Israel, western Jordan and western & southern Arabia and</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Merops cyanophrys muscatensis</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">central Saudi Arabia, eastern Yemen, United Arab Emirates and Oman. The differences between the two subspecies are very subtle with the following the main points.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Merops cyanophrys cyanophrys<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Green colours less bronzy and more blue-tinged<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Forehead, eyebrow and throat blue<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Gorget deep and less well defined<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Tail streamers short and pointed<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Merops cyanophrys muscatensis<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Paler<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">More yellowish and less blueish above and below<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Breast band narrower<span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhC529nZSIOkrnFKhbbFtZHO4hfFnaZUbqUMDwhIvic-E-64XcXG8vDEWF7tsLUMcqcVz-Tpbz1XmdefA4J2oaN86orqq_SqqyGFXCDnPasrX-iuLebNMfJkWtuKL8Oyy8eMKST1wo-Qcfylblm9ubgiVT_zP9zH2cNjxe0UVUeWKxCcLxlEsHNmTpCbbk/s899/Arabian_Green_Bee-eater4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="899" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhC529nZSIOkrnFKhbbFtZHO4hfFnaZUbqUMDwhIvic-E-64XcXG8vDEWF7tsLUMcqcVz-Tpbz1XmdefA4J2oaN86orqq_SqqyGFXCDnPasrX-iuLebNMfJkWtuKL8Oyy8eMKST1wo-Qcfylblm9ubgiVT_zP9zH2cNjxe0UVUeWKxCcLxlEsHNmTpCbbk/s16000/Arabian_Green_Bee-eater4.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGhr3JxbT1pKwty5PQj_nSn9aISAhwfVEJSp03eTJzSdQYJsWN3tirN235xJ0hePkKydnAPFmPYGwr7EOwpyYNvIw3tuKRE_g36JPgc1mBMF2l8GZAKfs2EYdAWiKeCkhsE_I8NgvPowkNEGC9tI8vQibgNHtOjAgOPSlgSw5CmC-tRdLT9Gl7G0o65cvh/s900/Arabian_Green_Bee-eater3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGhr3JxbT1pKwty5PQj_nSn9aISAhwfVEJSp03eTJzSdQYJsWN3tirN235xJ0hePkKydnAPFmPYGwr7EOwpyYNvIw3tuKRE_g36JPgc1mBMF2l8GZAKfs2EYdAWiKeCkhsE_I8NgvPowkNEGC9tI8vQibgNHtOjAgOPSlgSw5CmC-tRdLT9Gl7G0o65cvh/s16000/Arabian_Green_Bee-eater3.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs-UydBsuZ9ww8Q4blGnOzepXoVs2Zi_TnBtV8r2UQ9jshzUpT3lz15tuiOhM2wn_j6mAWdjsfBxGymQ8kTnAs3rKfh1YbQ3SHjBAta7Z3IaiS3pBwRGOxd1rv0yNrJ1oJRg-fwGgBbJrnb4F5Ed1spqGjN5UO8H5HVXzRpjf5322HRMykr5zfLzIE_oPW/s900/Arabian_Green_Bee-eater2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs-UydBsuZ9ww8Q4blGnOzepXoVs2Zi_TnBtV8r2UQ9jshzUpT3lz15tuiOhM2wn_j6mAWdjsfBxGymQ8kTnAs3rKfh1YbQ3SHjBAta7Z3IaiS3pBwRGOxd1rv0yNrJ1oJRg-fwGgBbJrnb4F5Ed1spqGjN5UO8H5HVXzRpjf5322HRMykr5zfLzIE_oPW/s16000/Arabian_Green_Bee-eater2.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzIeTqDYGroLB6HdZeU9J-s-h2uupFrIe_dZpWwkHBkFcnItTQwaJpUUkG7wddPKzFvcpXsWGUd7YTqq9ATWjhEX0uCA80Rui2gmamyZekCOxQXG_Cml2JA456g8OUQCVYZvKoIh4BppPVkFpB0nZ0c4F7cmKwd2bffeSvsFPvUdGCc0CvPbMMwmQIp35W/s900/Arabian_Green_Bee-eater1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzIeTqDYGroLB6HdZeU9J-s-h2uupFrIe_dZpWwkHBkFcnItTQwaJpUUkG7wddPKzFvcpXsWGUd7YTqq9ATWjhEX0uCA80Rui2gmamyZekCOxQXG_Cml2JA456g8OUQCVYZvKoIh4BppPVkFpB0nZ0c4F7cmKwd2bffeSvsFPvUdGCc0CvPbMMwmQIp35W/s16000/Arabian_Green_Bee-eater1.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p></p>Jem Babbingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05268114140418666748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358886103700182669.post-9311052149635412642024-03-07T04:00:00.011+03:002024-03-07T04:00:00.135+03:00 Record numbers of Red-knobbed Coot – Khamis Mushait area<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The first Red-knobbed Coot</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Fulica cristata</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">for Saudi Arabia at Sabkhat Al Fasl on 22 May 2015 and since then a handful of records have been recorded at Al Bahah and Abha in Saudi Arabia. I found a group of 26 birds near Abha 8 - 12 July 2022 which was easily the largest gathering of birds seen in Saudi Arabia with all birds apparently adults. Winter 2023-2024 has produced the largest counts ever with high counts of 112 birds at Tendaha Lake and a further 39 birds nearby at Atwad Dam, both locations near Khamis Mushait. We saw 143 birds in a day at these two locations with a few young birds seen at Tendaha Dam where chicks have also been noted this winter showing breeding is now occurring. The species appears to now be a scarce resident breeder in Saudi Arabia. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEBDlxr7MurZgi2e-Scd9sd2i3kkoBI8bsGf4cNFaMTy8wG22VBmylOd8VAav2UHkOjXdRV5TrA5OLoJrt-NNEeHbbJKYhZkO_NYjjt_O6wmyudKY0CUf8trwPJrgRN0n-N74qKqj5dXmtfzVvEGfDAeOPXyK2GSqYsmMmmQ7IBF5uKWx3WOIqPjO5imOK/s900/Red-knobbed_Coot1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="599" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEBDlxr7MurZgi2e-Scd9sd2i3kkoBI8bsGf4cNFaMTy8wG22VBmylOd8VAav2UHkOjXdRV5TrA5OLoJrt-NNEeHbbJKYhZkO_NYjjt_O6wmyudKY0CUf8trwPJrgRN0n-N74qKqj5dXmtfzVvEGfDAeOPXyK2GSqYsmMmmQ7IBF5uKWx3WOIqPjO5imOK/s16000/Red-knobbed_Coot1.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzIH_c1nhkN5hd-4rXZ37IO99HdIudj0KR9nSlVztCYa4sbxhND8zeN9H3bsBJvir9q5vTDWpAUASpv63O2rBCHZKtObAIBddX-Ba8fkLZzgkD-npv8-9QACHBayqMrlDZqlov2-hwuHAOPSOeoq3F_5dfZaQdbiEq2pf2v5se3xjatn1hvo8cMLBUuEFV/s900/Red-knobbed_Coot2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzIH_c1nhkN5hd-4rXZ37IO99HdIudj0KR9nSlVztCYa4sbxhND8zeN9H3bsBJvir9q5vTDWpAUASpv63O2rBCHZKtObAIBddX-Ba8fkLZzgkD-npv8-9QACHBayqMrlDZqlov2-hwuHAOPSOeoq3F_5dfZaQdbiEq2pf2v5se3xjatn1hvo8cMLBUuEFV/s16000/Red-knobbed_Coot2.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQO2Vps-p2v2k19Gi60-A-FAH-k9wsOyLjftUAnuvEBcjvyb3CaDX4jXbTfgoQ0Q1BtDyX3uTPFIdIaOB3b7H_cQvCRHQDgkBaDrcbW_jLdbThyphenhypheniRxG8cDme0uPRluqxPcddny2KbeeikNlvt8DAZzftkbCx5ZYiFkfkTr75TtVBMRHQGBULlQk58zdn08/s899/Red-knobbed_Coot3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="899" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQO2Vps-p2v2k19Gi60-A-FAH-k9wsOyLjftUAnuvEBcjvyb3CaDX4jXbTfgoQ0Q1BtDyX3uTPFIdIaOB3b7H_cQvCRHQDgkBaDrcbW_jLdbThyphenhypheniRxG8cDme0uPRluqxPcddny2KbeeikNlvt8DAZzftkbCx5ZYiFkfkTr75TtVBMRHQGBULlQk58zdn08/s16000/Red-knobbed_Coot3.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6H5e7hwru0YHwPwePzejWSXjV0C8STI3bVXI9Y2CAAzH7F_Ophc58Mt5sL1M2urJa_nu-Y5FzEoAQ7hZ8O5zMvL7spdfmVFLQubQh_14E_KrYSJoNkDHW994kH56J5C16qhngTUo5eaD9RGnUG7NTIFlx6q_I2BvxBsPu4UqRbDJF9vvuniIWxAF2bsEB/s16000/Red-knobbed_Coot11.jpg" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span><p></p>Jem Babbingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05268114140418666748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358886103700182669.post-70291140094067533862024-03-05T04:00:00.007+03:002024-03-05T04:00:00.130+03:00 Arabian Spotted Eagle Owls – Abha<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Whilst in Abha in late February, Phil Roberts and I managed to see and photograph an Arabian Spotted Eagle-owl. We saw three birds but one was perched on some overhead lines and allowed very close views. Even when a car drove underneath it, it remained in place and once we had taken a few photos we also left it in the same location. Birds are resident near the Red Sea coast north to Jeddah and can be seen in the Tihamah and Asir areas including Najran and Hejaz north to Taif. Other birds have been seen in a wooded wadi eight kilometres east of Wadi Juwwah in April and near Tanoumah at various times of year. It is a rather small eagle-owl with long, erect ear-tufts quite tawny coloured. They use a variety of habitats, from rocky outcrops in desert to woodland with sparse ground cover: particularly favours areas with mosaic of low hills, grassland and scrub; prefers semi-open woodland, and rocky hills with scattered trees and bushes; also found in thorn savanna; avoids dense forest. From sea level up to c. 2100 metres. It has recently been split from African Spotted Eagle Owl and now has an isolated range in South-west Saudi Arabia, South-west Yemen and north-east to southern Oman.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyrzVXec8PULSvY0m3HqO-CXenEuvFBZd8c4JAtGioQR0jrxVjKI2Ewpf-7yYOcUrG6tR1ghX3hAsnse3SqLd4wNbEezJkMSGwbWDzb7gLCU6FrJu36eL-rnNYImBrcyHmbyBCduM_i8TQKJ-oFpi_JEQpINBNzG-FfNzcbUqYmOtmateHxIwkJOxKbgdj/s900/Arabian_Spotted_Eagle_Owl1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyrzVXec8PULSvY0m3HqO-CXenEuvFBZd8c4JAtGioQR0jrxVjKI2Ewpf-7yYOcUrG6tR1ghX3hAsnse3SqLd4wNbEezJkMSGwbWDzb7gLCU6FrJu36eL-rnNYImBrcyHmbyBCduM_i8TQKJ-oFpi_JEQpINBNzG-FfNzcbUqYmOtmateHxIwkJOxKbgdj/s16000/Arabian_Spotted_Eagle_Owl1.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVa-RMEk1TCiWX82SbEhL3KYJ_ypCNVIbCobBWjxoT6Iw-N3A34k-2_mIrHbo1kYb4rL0f_u5Ac_Yjp6nHCRrM0RzNqqgcZY5l6wcvv_EDlnIkRgPFnpW5tiFHmbDX75Q5ydFvF5cfkE4LDKd6hBwAW_3FoFhdIvEjAYmn3FlPKU9Ng-gXmHlC8G1JFu26/s16000/Arabian_Spotted_Eagle_Owl3.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWxP1CxHZdI99uRJaQOpX_n4A9a15yc_1VlSEcoNfxnADPKmTZPGCEso6H8sErRDEaSmGDM2NF2Dc0tSvrhBrrBAaQyIPgSJSvXulH8koyFs9GTtOEAuZ1UB3E_gFfdCwoNBp6R1pTjtYZbxmKHklgl8TXnJiCzzITzNj_ptYiaF7V1k3a0xxV2z3go7c5/s900/Arabian_Spotted_Eagle_Owl4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWxP1CxHZdI99uRJaQOpX_n4A9a15yc_1VlSEcoNfxnADPKmTZPGCEso6H8sErRDEaSmGDM2NF2Dc0tSvrhBrrBAaQyIPgSJSvXulH8koyFs9GTtOEAuZ1UB3E_gFfdCwoNBp6R1pTjtYZbxmKHklgl8TXnJiCzzITzNj_ptYiaF7V1k3a0xxV2z3go7c5/s16000/Arabian_Spotted_Eagle_Owl4.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV_bFoOTFs1D68yN1dQbOiOqW5Iaq5DWsa5U77Is2retFTbkSIMhMTC6bLuo8099I1c7GDmM9v_JI6kthgl-mpiLizh0RUY0CBVZlVift8ehdUBS0Ao_mxTFiFD-SzEOTc7k_cvnABU97gw7pw3hPIs4QtuvurU8aMAuMHWfVqVo5eAnWJ944xSLDXgbNJ/s16000/Arabian_Spotted_Eagle_Owl6.jpg" /></a></div><br /> <p></p>Jem Babbingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05268114140418666748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358886103700182669.post-83676798612472882382024-03-03T04:00:00.004+03:002024-03-03T04:00:00.308+03:00 Pied Kingfisher – Dhahran Waste Water Lake<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The Pied Kingfisher at Dhahran Waste Water Lake, found at the start of the year, is still present on the lake in its favourite spot of some dead twigs under a large green tree on the water’s edge. It has now been present for more than two months and may stay for a few more weeks before departing back to its breeding area. It is possible to get quite close to the bird on foot if you keep hidden behind the tree, but as soon as the bird notices you it flies off.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRzLuMkJSeapdOujYNbKAIqU1okUzVRF_i6ERDWA8E1sBplRur0ZuuJH4m1TQCR0zI9_ddDlN4F5XQI6DcxDnj6tt6TEtp_ivIY7VLmtl3K78aW9-i_aGH3e1rXLHdVc_ziplq4gn7hjzL-Gx9P25pIlDufxvtjteHIQGozf3HgQzJgN6U-nKnbvv7glau/s899/Pied_Kingfisher1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="899" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRzLuMkJSeapdOujYNbKAIqU1okUzVRF_i6ERDWA8E1sBplRur0ZuuJH4m1TQCR0zI9_ddDlN4F5XQI6DcxDnj6tt6TEtp_ivIY7VLmtl3K78aW9-i_aGH3e1rXLHdVc_ziplq4gn7hjzL-Gx9P25pIlDufxvtjteHIQGozf3HgQzJgN6U-nKnbvv7glau/s16000/Pied_Kingfisher1.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0ez4oAlvAa0cjLUySWLCgfBlOogtXoYlHCq9vM82SQM5dXIFmqA8Ez5uqnJDs0t-2bfB_dAxey3TauAJ9M6jitr9Ra97WuFBfIJop9ONWrEcPc0hqCO-a-U8xoNPPvMMdgerWpAuS1xIw2TmNQRHVTVYeefXtkMbo1QQ_9_U_I3QeLE5UyGWolb8dQ-0u/s900/Pied_Kingfisher2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0ez4oAlvAa0cjLUySWLCgfBlOogtXoYlHCq9vM82SQM5dXIFmqA8Ez5uqnJDs0t-2bfB_dAxey3TauAJ9M6jitr9Ra97WuFBfIJop9ONWrEcPc0hqCO-a-U8xoNPPvMMdgerWpAuS1xIw2TmNQRHVTVYeefXtkMbo1QQ_9_U_I3QeLE5UyGWolb8dQ-0u/s16000/Pied_Kingfisher2.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSZI7KMC5zxx5g3OB3opFwOB3FhmeeWYMNJx_yEhTKAdD6cQ7UJFRaoCiYdp6KikuQUaBr57cImyZONtqqsQ9RIrOJdUB7TXZfXc0RE2Z8noInxBSiEMzca1cieQq6cIR4yia4ikxW7czSG7-SKFsp3rPzVeBiyuAhg2Np7muRiK41WnNBOeh0wvEk-1Gt/s900/Pied_Kingfisher3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSZI7KMC5zxx5g3OB3opFwOB3FhmeeWYMNJx_yEhTKAdD6cQ7UJFRaoCiYdp6KikuQUaBr57cImyZONtqqsQ9RIrOJdUB7TXZfXc0RE2Z8noInxBSiEMzca1cieQq6cIR4yia4ikxW7czSG7-SKFsp3rPzVeBiyuAhg2Np7muRiK41WnNBOeh0wvEk-1Gt/s16000/Pied_Kingfisher3.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmJ5z0NdE5J1G8pPRrPO16uy3Dnb9jYfBJggwcqk1fl5ayvxI_SzRUAEqz5JY2Tz0PJ8YCTwL9MK7NIbbo3JNxZqieW5VJ8y5iZSmq6TjKsbd3ew-eRGSDL8jXKiVYyC5zMzbrBEHG5kF923XU5uReC01Mr_VoIFCu7kcuTFD5SmjmcThKDX_C47vxn_QJ/s900/Pied_Kingfisher4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="599" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmJ5z0NdE5J1G8pPRrPO16uy3Dnb9jYfBJggwcqk1fl5ayvxI_SzRUAEqz5JY2Tz0PJ8YCTwL9MK7NIbbo3JNxZqieW5VJ8y5iZSmq6TjKsbd3ew-eRGSDL8jXKiVYyC5zMzbrBEHG5kF923XU5uReC01Mr_VoIFCu7kcuTFD5SmjmcThKDX_C47vxn_QJ/s16000/Pied_Kingfisher4.jpg" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span><p></p>Jem Babbingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05268114140418666748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358886103700182669.post-35168718235237974972024-03-01T04:00:00.005+03:002024-03-01T04:00:00.170+03:00Booted Eagle – Dhahran Waste Water Lake<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I found my first ever Booted Eagle for my local patch in February, flying over between the lake and the golf course. It was dark phase bird but was distinct even at distance. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The species is a vagrant to the Eastern Province with eight records, although appears to be seen more regularly in the last few years. In the Kingdom as a whole it is mainly a scarce passage migrant en-route to Africa via the Bab al-Mandab Strait in Yemen. An increasing number of records in December and January, however, indicate it is now also a rare winter visitor, with the majority of these records in the northwest of the Kingdom. They breed from northwestern Africa and Iberia to Mongolia and winter south in sub-Saharan Africa and India.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigYLpq8J52_apx41UCu3fUkOyTqzTyRrxhHej9CPaIvcuyheVq3G9BXuUYyD6XZVvwOn-38K4mwcOcp93H6oOgPlA8zUV4i99FGV28m00ks0Td0KkbL7BqIMiIyGSUfmSHsw3cYjMgeTxQpYHbCJp-3dQFeYCTYEcZAHG8jdVGSAu7oLjMIzEo-QloQ8Ce/s900/Booted_Eagle1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="599" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigYLpq8J52_apx41UCu3fUkOyTqzTyRrxhHej9CPaIvcuyheVq3G9BXuUYyD6XZVvwOn-38K4mwcOcp93H6oOgPlA8zUV4i99FGV28m00ks0Td0KkbL7BqIMiIyGSUfmSHsw3cYjMgeTxQpYHbCJp-3dQFeYCTYEcZAHG8jdVGSAu7oLjMIzEo-QloQ8Ce/s16000/Booted_Eagle1.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLdVQev8CQKHbomyVs1KSnANw6wcepM1jl5tmnpqL6hXqOj-HWB_bHCKY40diV20lBEikk8ZO0XFIkbqc_xipiyCKtWj6vY7whv0EJ1j6LbzyRBr1tQeOGukhFXgft2h2lUJucGgjahRJWMRohklw-JffAaYcBqRnHVzBg9d7Tm4PlLAwuHxbv3AyjBu-9/s900/Booted_Eagle2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLdVQev8CQKHbomyVs1KSnANw6wcepM1jl5tmnpqL6hXqOj-HWB_bHCKY40diV20lBEikk8ZO0XFIkbqc_xipiyCKtWj6vY7whv0EJ1j6LbzyRBr1tQeOGukhFXgft2h2lUJucGgjahRJWMRohklw-JffAaYcBqRnHVzBg9d7Tm4PlLAwuHxbv3AyjBu-9/s16000/Booted_Eagle2.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0yt2TnTkvzpWvWJnJFGMXht2jBnwYoRD1cT3_x1WBrpXWgaYk76JPkZ0Z-V2Uk5t8ufeIbI8IB-nnrJvbQPoDLUZUrfHmK69uO0di4_gyWi9jrwsW3OpJC9QTDypArnBRrL-Ma7Qu8HGz5qjzJWKo1Kzj2YtrIuKIZCPepyqqiZZSJH40sRn00iatSvPJ/s899/Booted_Eagle3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="899" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0yt2TnTkvzpWvWJnJFGMXht2jBnwYoRD1cT3_x1WBrpXWgaYk76JPkZ0Z-V2Uk5t8ufeIbI8IB-nnrJvbQPoDLUZUrfHmK69uO0di4_gyWi9jrwsW3OpJC9QTDypArnBRrL-Ma7Qu8HGz5qjzJWKo1Kzj2YtrIuKIZCPepyqqiZZSJH40sRn00iatSvPJ/s16000/Booted_Eagle3.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD2kmtcw5gYpismz_Y0v2g4vWAvJ8K11f8uCE-LJHV14-LFTxR-5S1xs-z2QVfty61GHMnEC2tBsamGjchyzz6oQr_7v2hu2qWXVFolw9gsYoMSViUtnCoYqihsYke6d8_29IMsYQ7QUNSsQzFroQT_ILrMcshFeb_lw_QqvjJSzVSELh1c01CEkusFZ03/s899/Booted_Eagle4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="899" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD2kmtcw5gYpismz_Y0v2g4vWAvJ8K11f8uCE-LJHV14-LFTxR-5S1xs-z2QVfty61GHMnEC2tBsamGjchyzz6oQr_7v2hu2qWXVFolw9gsYoMSViUtnCoYqihsYke6d8_29IMsYQ7QUNSsQzFroQT_ILrMcshFeb_lw_QqvjJSzVSELh1c01CEkusFZ03/s16000/Booted_Eagle4.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinVtK3YlTCHAS59KU6TT4rCm3vDbGgyrXYCM87Lv5bn6bgI4E-iDe96stjCjK80MUPNehU0pwhWbqFYU6zYr-21CWMtmZtUDgUdzePqIAHgEgbNPPzqCHCXk3q_s-6F39QTRIMJ8IPtQcr3WiNiOviBlUBljH9SicQt_eTTd2rMKUgP3uY2n1IfMLGZmRN/s898/Booted_Eagle5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="898" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinVtK3YlTCHAS59KU6TT4rCm3vDbGgyrXYCM87Lv5bn6bgI4E-iDe96stjCjK80MUPNehU0pwhWbqFYU6zYr-21CWMtmZtUDgUdzePqIAHgEgbNPPzqCHCXk3q_s-6F39QTRIMJ8IPtQcr3WiNiOviBlUBljH9SicQt_eTTd2rMKUgP3uY2n1IfMLGZmRN/s16000/Booted_Eagle5.jpg" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span><p></p>Jem Babbingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05268114140418666748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358886103700182669.post-65337695370850754632024-02-24T04:00:00.012+03:002024-02-24T04:00:00.143+03:00 Northern Shoveler – Dhahran Percolation Pond<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Whilst birdwatching at the Dhahran Percolation over the last couple of months there has been varying numbers of Northern Shoveler from one hundred to a maximum of 175. This is one of the commonest ducks to occur at this location, but it is always nice to know the birds are in a safe place where no harm will befall them. In Saudi Arabia it has bred rarely but is mainly a common passage migrant and common winter visitor (Oct-Mar) where it occurs widely across the Kingdom.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHkVJ1ruouZoBsMJ-9FgIcL29wyxFbOOfLUPkEsm0f_jXN8tBMe7xGkIjtWgXkMfk5Yxjg8SnmyWn2dKPgRxsuYZg3Cw-uIJtnPPwfpeWGgenKc1eJyFc9LnaoAIYHKRVh2UcZC01ZHfiXnmIi6sb_pVUhTjbBg5Bj6dxvNE37OueFUpwHiNHMAZzYYIvh/s900/Northern_Shoveler1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHkVJ1ruouZoBsMJ-9FgIcL29wyxFbOOfLUPkEsm0f_jXN8tBMe7xGkIjtWgXkMfk5Yxjg8SnmyWn2dKPgRxsuYZg3Cw-uIJtnPPwfpeWGgenKc1eJyFc9LnaoAIYHKRVh2UcZC01ZHfiXnmIi6sb_pVUhTjbBg5Bj6dxvNE37OueFUpwHiNHMAZzYYIvh/s16000/Northern_Shoveler1.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiItvlBSa-VCUVaJ7dnUsJuLL0CYh9__LyyDuPRmZPmXPju92JGHsPTf_cX03l02Zfe_iVIULsR15m7scHUQFG7DsJwuOVHwR4kLQ9ijt1gT0-sszndFyd-jy3ivmzopp6W_45YVkHpAO_qwVDO4VKnKpXHZrYCVU3FtAJ7yBskqRLsGdg3ZIUKUKCXIWpL/s900/Northern_Shoveler2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiItvlBSa-VCUVaJ7dnUsJuLL0CYh9__LyyDuPRmZPmXPju92JGHsPTf_cX03l02Zfe_iVIULsR15m7scHUQFG7DsJwuOVHwR4kLQ9ijt1gT0-sszndFyd-jy3ivmzopp6W_45YVkHpAO_qwVDO4VKnKpXHZrYCVU3FtAJ7yBskqRLsGdg3ZIUKUKCXIWpL/s16000/Northern_Shoveler2.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV5HXSTh1ONCLX2gUT99CfvNQD6lccJ8a3zChNhlyWYLUcHB_SdtSfi6mOcMt0t7XlKel7sAXRgMizXHrGWA3ztyS5x__gWyUSJjjiC4sKnkU4Z4jy-A-nv_kMc1XoJOEaMHvQd7vUExCxoDSjYzoAUijuLwKjBQjyvEbgh8Jxo07NFyuYD0TS2oFvTm8r/s900/Northern_Shoveler3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="599" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV5HXSTh1ONCLX2gUT99CfvNQD6lccJ8a3zChNhlyWYLUcHB_SdtSfi6mOcMt0t7XlKel7sAXRgMizXHrGWA3ztyS5x__gWyUSJjjiC4sKnkU4Z4jy-A-nv_kMc1XoJOEaMHvQd7vUExCxoDSjYzoAUijuLwKjBQjyvEbgh8Jxo07NFyuYD0TS2oFvTm8r/s16000/Northern_Shoveler3.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivACNcihJIcGr4pC6zAXnNU7tFZZGzqirDCcGAVxd1XE2rWmJXPsWVmE-j4ZF54_Tr3KkzbfSSi_QtIB3b9HxBbbn-QDQuaRZ33JtFxyGO4AfrVdKuhA7k_l9DHNon5mCSoa-K6mA3m6TJ_NWO4mElzvoYqhkcG2U0IJvg0YzZygr4qjN6dEqoCvSc4aG4/s900/Northern_Shoveler4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivACNcihJIcGr4pC6zAXnNU7tFZZGzqirDCcGAVxd1XE2rWmJXPsWVmE-j4ZF54_Tr3KkzbfSSi_QtIB3b9HxBbbn-QDQuaRZ33JtFxyGO4AfrVdKuhA7k_l9DHNon5mCSoa-K6mA3m6TJ_NWO4mElzvoYqhkcG2U0IJvg0YzZygr4qjN6dEqoCvSc4aG4/s16000/Northern_Shoveler4.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_4CkRQ67BleSPMqVSHiuDAN84PlqgKutg201grAERANjil9xrBlbagkRh6CFxnBIIKEhlIwYJDLs-BUISN24W2urt7Hb7tGL3XJgVABJy6w10aXk-_m4yK-pO04320uR7qr9FWEiv7V2QVOv4DHk3q1xjxSy3Wad16m_kSnBPqsCCjz_LTG9yRsrGpBAw/s900/Northern_Shoveler5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="599" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_4CkRQ67BleSPMqVSHiuDAN84PlqgKutg201grAERANjil9xrBlbagkRh6CFxnBIIKEhlIwYJDLs-BUISN24W2urt7Hb7tGL3XJgVABJy6w10aXk-_m4yK-pO04320uR7qr9FWEiv7V2QVOv4DHk3q1xjxSy3Wad16m_kSnBPqsCCjz_LTG9yRsrGpBAw/s16000/Northern_Shoveler5.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPoP_XBDKMIxQMSAp6Wzm9dFW7Fj_f6VmCLtcZGk1LWd1h41D2hlQATwPjiG8hfKJ6IHmvSOOBtsapBOvlHs2G9nXFO7oW04u4M7PEDNZ5IYLd_YJsa-2R42Y2jazcK51XA9Z6ezgjE9mMS7rlTPEPtcLQl1iLwmxp1-cJ2ejyNBgTEdItQ79R41q0Cq8Z/s900/Northern_Shoveler6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPoP_XBDKMIxQMSAp6Wzm9dFW7Fj_f6VmCLtcZGk1LWd1h41D2hlQATwPjiG8hfKJ6IHmvSOOBtsapBOvlHs2G9nXFO7oW04u4M7PEDNZ5IYLd_YJsa-2R42Y2jazcK51XA9Z6ezgjE9mMS7rlTPEPtcLQl1iLwmxp1-cJ2ejyNBgTEdItQ79R41q0Cq8Z/s16000/Northern_Shoveler6.jpg" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span><p></p>Jem Babbingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05268114140418666748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358886103700182669.post-2634861250717778132024-02-22T04:00:00.018+03:002024-02-22T04:00:00.143+03:00Crested Honey Buzzard - Dhahran Waste Water Lake<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Just after first light I saw a Crested Honey Buzzard fly over and land on the ground some distance away. I slowly walked over to the area it appeared to land in and managed to find it on the ground. Unfortunately, it did not stay long as it was disturbed by some mountain bikers but only flew a short distance and landed on a bank. It stayed here for a while and then flew, luckily almost straight past me as I was hidden behind a tree. It then circled around a little and flew off over the golf course. This bird has been around since mid-September in Dhahran a location where they have spent the last ten years at least wintering. It is not certain if the birds now stay all summer as well, but summer records are becoming more common. The status, of Crested Honey Buzzard in Saudi Arabia is a scarce passage migrant and winter visitor that also occurs rarely in summer. Most records are from the Eastern province in winter and spring with additional records in the west of the country throughout the year, a location where they may well now be breeding.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFkZ6LEPXTWDRI02DjjIrI5JRCtL9Pdq0YAkOwNNJkNGp7zsuVh5LV7WMCcK1LuDXJxNmSVWi-CJA9cgmJc_Q8Xi3n5iIFHXKxanRbb4hQc4-92tL06Wcwek1G0KvAJWkVEx1SlIRAsw6APxAInGh2kPOl-9LpgTCR072DkO04xGQhtDJZ1w4UgyM6qPXY/s900/Crested_Honey_Buzzard1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFkZ6LEPXTWDRI02DjjIrI5JRCtL9Pdq0YAkOwNNJkNGp7zsuVh5LV7WMCcK1LuDXJxNmSVWi-CJA9cgmJc_Q8Xi3n5iIFHXKxanRbb4hQc4-92tL06Wcwek1G0KvAJWkVEx1SlIRAsw6APxAInGh2kPOl-9LpgTCR072DkO04xGQhtDJZ1w4UgyM6qPXY/s16000/Crested_Honey_Buzzard1.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR0OR_VlcbmEDwf1k24uI6eyk0W8gjZsLyovYrEptjPFvmM9Nyxxl-GE7lmS5kmNjJi1Gc0Lxf-xPmdBtWUHGn78IddMxe1cUBJLCeIiFV4Fq3N3xSoqBdFUXYXEFF0k_5iJvP7TmsrFNZDTufxyPut1MQc2jroKSr9mocMZZqRgP7no7c_b9BJh7qTn7O/s16000/Crested_Honey_Buzzard12.jpg" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span><p></p>Jem Babbingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05268114140418666748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358886103700182669.post-72692975512582675982024-02-20T04:00:00.017+03:002024-02-20T04:00:00.158+03:00 Greater and Lesser Sand Plovers – Al Uqair<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Whilst birding the Al Uqair area in mid-February I came across two Greater Sand Plovers and a single Lesser Sand Plover feeding on the coast. There was a track along the water’s edge allowing me to get close in the car without disturbing them. Greater Sand Plover is a common species on passage, with small numbers staying throughout the winter, but it is difficult to get close to them as they are normally out on the tide line or in the flooded sabkha. The Lesser Sand Plover is a common passage migrant, uncommon winter visitor and rare summer visitor that are found along the coast from August to May.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtJ2lOvx6Ps9mefP_hfSz0-8scs_-v76sFDrUhV2nQ9uPUSMcvSfuUDgmxbKas81b9xOzSl96Z8QDXS5fzG2hyR9O06ddB8ZnPSzSolKtwMnZoAW-P-LoFqQHMY5swPni4lgVqnK0q1JI0ecJhyE-LgYAPL65D-eKwqbjOre9UC85t5elJOTzI0CEzA2p2/s900/Greater_Sand_Plover1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtJ2lOvx6Ps9mefP_hfSz0-8scs_-v76sFDrUhV2nQ9uPUSMcvSfuUDgmxbKas81b9xOzSl96Z8QDXS5fzG2hyR9O06ddB8ZnPSzSolKtwMnZoAW-P-LoFqQHMY5swPni4lgVqnK0q1JI0ecJhyE-LgYAPL65D-eKwqbjOre9UC85t5elJOTzI0CEzA2p2/s16000/Greater_Sand_Plover1.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="899" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH8BWk3UJmz3T3C_UY9tUI9DjC3EmFYh3pKNlUNwiMg7rvh5XSjVIU_M8lhURiAE4VA80iv9p0i4yvMjXP_8HjWPlAyyNr6b2uAacfvV3KMuWzj1I_NTJ6_JU8zOsDQ170JXQaQc3ia0rENrBKtUJ8eHkGXm6aqEzHnCoHKloE6VNC8R-SRXso-yWgX4KY/s16000/Greater_Sand_Plover3.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXxKOu8ZbCj4X08McAmV8_PU3RhJ3k8A_M7b6AXrk5Mur9vjNpUOdF2JoNgEEZb5UwrnuIvG7jg1vjxi2VOdsxuFL24I7vMYkWZ7qsz5ysbmIO_racSh66Apqe7-KsGpukwFG06Xd4EPPsUGP9nZFM8gQzVMPUmAFtihezrRIIO4pEYMV_39eX0EO53rTH/s900/Greater_Sand_Plover4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXxKOu8ZbCj4X08McAmV8_PU3RhJ3k8A_M7b6AXrk5Mur9vjNpUOdF2JoNgEEZb5UwrnuIvG7jg1vjxi2VOdsxuFL24I7vMYkWZ7qsz5ysbmIO_racSh66Apqe7-KsGpukwFG06Xd4EPPsUGP9nZFM8gQzVMPUmAFtihezrRIIO4pEYMV_39eX0EO53rTH/s16000/Greater_Sand_Plover4.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVtJi_aRIDoT53J_78T9gg1hyofC8OHdn068A5aNSYM4duKy48W9t_qXAVAOHXYKLpApug4uSR0ed9UkLAQ-h1vcvhWATDQKC2pMWD3gFK2sKzugZ9xRHowhrWOfBggduMJgrn_B21kRuF3kOG3y-pD6lb66Y-ya20-mXPVE7ImlQGTnZ1n5AGobj0zwEs/s900/Greater_Sand_Plover5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVtJi_aRIDoT53J_78T9gg1hyofC8OHdn068A5aNSYM4duKy48W9t_qXAVAOHXYKLpApug4uSR0ed9UkLAQ-h1vcvhWATDQKC2pMWD3gFK2sKzugZ9xRHowhrWOfBggduMJgrn_B21kRuF3kOG3y-pD6lb66Y-ya20-mXPVE7ImlQGTnZ1n5AGobj0zwEs/s16000/Greater_Sand_Plover5.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7b_LLpjuNTJGeHwFByD2sRw90sMYQPZOAJP8xmWHd6-E2d0kii14RltdFeu9X2ZAoUwJXOl0UXipk_6RCeWF6Ir9AUADnBZ17bOIKYrW9_7Ho5ABVHULGaxtpXOpVzcDc99rrFGFUC-40Oz5iBa_uRPVagdoGB_WJkx2jQAylgcAigEqs1trznqa8mi1O/s900/Greater_Sand_Plover6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7b_LLpjuNTJGeHwFByD2sRw90sMYQPZOAJP8xmWHd6-E2d0kii14RltdFeu9X2ZAoUwJXOl0UXipk_6RCeWF6Ir9AUADnBZ17bOIKYrW9_7Ho5ABVHULGaxtpXOpVzcDc99rrFGFUC-40Oz5iBa_uRPVagdoGB_WJkx2jQAylgcAigEqs1trznqa8mi1O/s16000/Greater_Sand_Plover6.jpg" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></p>Jem Babbingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05268114140418666748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358886103700182669.post-48166814144255079642024-02-18T04:00:00.009+03:002024-02-18T04:00:00.133+03:00 Sanderling – Al Uqair<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">At first light, along the main beach at Al Uqair, I came across a couple of Sanderling feeding along the edge of the beach. The bird was feeding actively as they always seem to do making getting good photos a little tricky. The Sanderling is a migratory bird that is a common passage migrant and uncommon winter visitor in Saudi Arabia. It occurs on both coasts during migration (Apr–Jun, Sep–Oct) and occasionally inland, especially in spring but is more common on the west coast than the east coast. It prefers sandy beaches but is also less commonly seen on muddy shores and saline lagoons. This is the third winter I have found Sanderling in Al Uqair, so looks like it is a regular wintering location. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9N5871J7bK-dixSpTjzqVC7ifRl68cBTFYnuevtYB9WhYIpLMuFZrV6lqzsZGtENiJj0J3hI0ugyn13G235ZnFOuuipQMeTRke3hfEpdhDRnEy14BEJETf4RzVfRgZJUJM2wlE4llo4bN8Uri_NvHdwlKGnroB8FuvmLvDpeJye4wJWdiPoO941oHwJEf/s900/Sanderling1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9N5871J7bK-dixSpTjzqVC7ifRl68cBTFYnuevtYB9WhYIpLMuFZrV6lqzsZGtENiJj0J3hI0ugyn13G235ZnFOuuipQMeTRke3hfEpdhDRnEy14BEJETf4RzVfRgZJUJM2wlE4llo4bN8Uri_NvHdwlKGnroB8FuvmLvDpeJye4wJWdiPoO941oHwJEf/s16000/Sanderling1.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwd0iehalOSADqIMT7lhThbV_NQuJ6O_ho9hxhcx3HV3mEfXBRxFnV3sZLkZKHLOjXw4SP8nJ_9NP6luIoluvLbVpgzlkjDh76uUBY9h9RB7k65QTpjuY2PDvBIoWCzlqM02M-e0tNUxXNIo1Z0BNOB42lojDIg4fGFQnQRei7LRJsrU65OCuKhITuoKJ5/s899/Sanderling2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="899" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwd0iehalOSADqIMT7lhThbV_NQuJ6O_ho9hxhcx3HV3mEfXBRxFnV3sZLkZKHLOjXw4SP8nJ_9NP6luIoluvLbVpgzlkjDh76uUBY9h9RB7k65QTpjuY2PDvBIoWCzlqM02M-e0tNUxXNIo1Z0BNOB42lojDIg4fGFQnQRei7LRJsrU65OCuKhITuoKJ5/s16000/Sanderling2.jpg" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span><p></p>Jem Babbingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05268114140418666748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358886103700182669.post-35840975533149722882024-02-16T04:00:00.012+03:002024-02-16T04:00:00.149+03:00 Steppe Gulls – Al Uqair<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">At first light, along the main beach at Al Uqair, I came across a couple of Steppe Gulls. Although Steppe Gull is common, it is not often possible to get close views, as they spend time out on the islands in Half Moon Bay. Abqaiq rubbish dump is a good place to see them but has become very difficult to access in recent years. Steppe Gull</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">barabensis</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">, is a taxon making up approximately 80-90% of the large white-headed gulls in Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. These birds leave their steppe breeding grounds in August and are thought to migrate along the coast of the Caspian Sea, then cross northwest Iran, through the Tigris valley and on to the Arabian Gulf. They start appearing in the Jubail, Dhahran and Al Uqair areas from mid-August and build in number through the winter. It is a common passage migrant and very common winter visitor from mid-August to April.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1Ec10v_L_dFjm1n5Ux6oaHKZlUli_NhChhBzBDdp80REBFxsyTjO0m-f98d8m4jvaj0ufLFfiIixcHQHwI8JXavCsXmilEZWk0Qg50sCSDAHHeLWZmnTRwoTocS4od3RDsliuuaBHMFj2C7IVU54UIlvpQPtoAwWuLwNizkXxM9pZhrg3rD56oIXSndm7/s900/Steppe_Gull1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1Ec10v_L_dFjm1n5Ux6oaHKZlUli_NhChhBzBDdp80REBFxsyTjO0m-f98d8m4jvaj0ufLFfiIixcHQHwI8JXavCsXmilEZWk0Qg50sCSDAHHeLWZmnTRwoTocS4od3RDsliuuaBHMFj2C7IVU54UIlvpQPtoAwWuLwNizkXxM9pZhrg3rD56oIXSndm7/s16000/Steppe_Gull1.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span><p></p>Jem Babbingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05268114140418666748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358886103700182669.post-13425658897000518252024-02-15T04:00:00.001+03:002024-02-15T04:00:00.221+03:00 Desert Hyacinth – Al Uqayr<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Whilst birdwatching near Al Uqayr in February I saw a large number of Desert Hyacinth</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Cistanche tubulosa.</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> The Desert Hyacinth is a widely distributed annual that produces a dense pyramid spike of bright yellow flowers topped by maroon-tinted buds. The yellow flowers do not smell very nice and flies are attracted to the smell and carry the pollen on their legs from plant to plant helping with pollination. They are parasitic, one of several such plants in Arabia, and live off other plants to gain their nutritional needs, as they have no green parts or leaves to synthesize chlorophyll directly. The many tiny seeds may remain dormant for years until the roots of the host plant are close enough to trigger germination. It is one of the showiest plants of Eastern Arabia with bright yellow, dense column of flowers sometimes approaching one metre in height. It has varying flower colour with the flowers either tightly packed in the spike or loose. They are widespread on sandy or sandy-silty ground and can tolerate saline environments as well as disturbed conditions, so are often seen growing near roads or tracks in the desert or along the shores of the Arabian Gulf. They flower from early January to early April each year.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYU3LJjOvPNqghTOsCfWDfEOMeSq_KDhCd02d5x0IkI1UMpF7u0Qc4SMOCJ_e4cQ5l-momzOh45JdxM1UZzvHBJVe_2_g7KbBONiZ7dGWE2TCl4Xm2IkwgwXniRpo8s-HMLMrYra9YQbsLxNYcH2pcI2RCRq7HsO61Wx2k0Qfz4RG0RIlDROl2pqAiNYTG/s600/Desert_Hyacynth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYU3LJjOvPNqghTOsCfWDfEOMeSq_KDhCd02d5x0IkI1UMpF7u0Qc4SMOCJ_e4cQ5l-momzOh45JdxM1UZzvHBJVe_2_g7KbBONiZ7dGWE2TCl4Xm2IkwgwXniRpo8s-HMLMrYra9YQbsLxNYcH2pcI2RCRq7HsO61Wx2k0Qfz4RG0RIlDROl2pqAiNYTG/s16000/Desert_Hyacynth.jpg" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span><p></p>Jem Babbingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05268114140418666748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358886103700182669.post-79938543437767972182024-02-14T04:00:00.010+03:002024-02-14T04:00:00.245+03:00 Heuglin’s Gulls – Al Uqair<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Whilst birding the Uqair area recently I went to an area of public beach where a few gulls were feeding on discarded food. There were many Slender-billed Gull but a few Large White-headed Gulls appeared to be mainly Heuglin’s Gulls. These birds appear in very fresh plumage as they breed later than other large gulls. Two of the Heuglin’s Gulls were much darker plumaged than the others in the group but were not Baltic Gull which would be even darker, typically showing no contrast between upperparts and primary ground colour. This subspecies almost always shows extensive neck streaking. This is not the commonest Gull in Saudi Arabia, with about 8% to 10% of all LWHG being this taxon.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBgYj1dEr7O4EwNlOtgrqp7UtHyIqHQQw9mP28jzfToZNM039jN6HJLKvtpMDkHQ8lXFFzqY359OuNUbeEJbMP1teIFLDPUo-qjfncPKO4fFzc8tCKXPriFeDbvl6ShFmaQ6LUz9kqgqig_bVQCNpdpiK8FwV1DjyA-F6_MhUGjnCyMPh6HTykUIFZXzWL/s900/Heuglins_Gull1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="599" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBgYj1dEr7O4EwNlOtgrqp7UtHyIqHQQw9mP28jzfToZNM039jN6HJLKvtpMDkHQ8lXFFzqY359OuNUbeEJbMP1teIFLDPUo-qjfncPKO4fFzc8tCKXPriFeDbvl6ShFmaQ6LUz9kqgqig_bVQCNpdpiK8FwV1DjyA-F6_MhUGjnCyMPh6HTykUIFZXzWL/s16000/Heuglins_Gull1.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYX6IyE_Rt8aA7o8vKO85i9mSAVJ83UVUHYUQ35aDzoed_a5Vl554yTI0bQ84Y8deA6RuVB9XAmD7Z4a2L0TK0J3exOgFxyRli6BhP-zRHtLxH5Rt5MToqBMofiVJo7CVPGHFfgtKbmvqpyc7ZBODzJOvhNyvG-s-3IJtbW3P3W1lmXv-lIFWvrGxKsw74/s899/Heuglins_Gull2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; 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text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqYKR_sbuqnxYoEYgT_5L7wjGYeRaRvV94p8K75zGLaDVwg14nRdjR82V1JYva_Jn_O3pzzJQ6Ri9YhtbEvcRW-awYk4l1MJ7MAa_o1kbsUFFTUu8c6SZlWxC591ULdONpOo6UhS55jzcJndPK8mylEqgyBn6cMhIJejJjIqEuKjEOLEF4FFLYTGofx_FX/s900/Heuglins_Gull10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="599" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqYKR_sbuqnxYoEYgT_5L7wjGYeRaRvV94p8K75zGLaDVwg14nRdjR82V1JYva_Jn_O3pzzJQ6Ri9YhtbEvcRW-awYk4l1MJ7MAa_o1kbsUFFTUu8c6SZlWxC591ULdONpOo6UhS55jzcJndPK8mylEqgyBn6cMhIJejJjIqEuKjEOLEF4FFLYTGofx_FX/s16000/Heuglins_Gull10.jpg" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span><p></p>Jem Babbingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05268114140418666748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358886103700182669.post-66336935530359300692024-02-13T04:00:00.001+03:002024-02-13T04:00:00.251+03:00Red Thumb – Al Uqayr<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Whilst birding Al Uqayr near Al Hassa I found some Red Thumb</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Cynomorium coccineum</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">, in the same area where I saw some last year, but two months earlier in the year. This plant is a parasitic, leafless plant without chlorophyll. It is a fleshy, reddish, club-shaped perennial herb that can grow up to 30 centimeters high and is parasitic on the roots of desert shrubs. It is only visible above ground during its spring flowering period. The flowering stems may emerge from the ground singly but more often they are grouped several together. The interflorescence is dark-red to purplish and is made up of minute scarlet flowers that may be male or female. Flies are attracted by the smell given off from the plant and are thought to be pollinators of the plant which once pollinated turns black. They grow on sandy, saline, ground. The plant is known as 'tarthuth' by the Bedouin and is also known as Maltese Fungus and Desert Thumb and is used in many herbal medicines around the world. Due to its' dark red colour it was thought to be able to cure aneamia and other blood-related diseases and dried spikes were carried by the Crusaders in order to treat wounds. Research being carried out into the plants' actual medicinal properties seems to provisionally confirm several of the traditional uses with extracts of the herb appearing to inhibit HIV, improve blood flow and lower blood pressure.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg94Tt3XEHih7ztf59Hsc2njbXw1bKUJ0zOI-SnUb2YjiiVYSgBW6gAM4ZthuhUKYOTi47GGEd84PzW_-Waox44JBpeVXju3_QzBD9l0CZeqtSkeFhZBlntLGnf2ih5TG4eD25XZngMyb3qN6BKHG7DD-Cnt_8A2ZXpVQZBsd28vMIK1ziINcljPTn6bryq/s900/Red_Thumb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="599" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg94Tt3XEHih7ztf59Hsc2njbXw1bKUJ0zOI-SnUb2YjiiVYSgBW6gAM4ZthuhUKYOTi47GGEd84PzW_-Waox44JBpeVXju3_QzBD9l0CZeqtSkeFhZBlntLGnf2ih5TG4eD25XZngMyb3qN6BKHG7DD-Cnt_8A2ZXpVQZBsd28vMIK1ziINcljPTn6bryq/s16000/Red_Thumb.jpg" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span><p></p>Jem Babbingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05268114140418666748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358886103700182669.post-1047839344603972842024-02-11T04:00:00.001+03:002024-02-11T04:00:00.287+03:00 Wintering Daurian Shrike – Dhahran Waste Water Lake<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I have been seeing the same Daurian Shrike throughout the winter in the scrubby areas at the edge of the Waste Water Lake. The bird has been seen catching insects, lizards and once a small bird and normally sits on top of the trees that Saudi Aramco have planted in the area. Many of these native trees are now growing well and are tall enough to give the shrike a good lookout post to sit on. Its main hunting method is to drop down on any unsuspecting insect or lizard and then fly back up to its perch to eat its prey. Daurian Shrike is a common passage migrant and common, but local, winter visitor to central and coastal areas of Saudi Arabia. They prefer bushy areas near wetlands, farmland and parks and gardens.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifodYvSjDeUM-_ZwVn8CkcVruKNegJEf2fEh_TlortwXw-HA5XvWtVzgjCvNE078A2w02Cv83fQduSsnyYVQc7-7grbGJRwEOHLruErqmgEsPStTXKnLGHGTx7aVIrF3YHrkFd3pVCwSn5CDwGSytckSQWuYZ-VC1fw_KHLvGgiAIK3Z3s_YHpQpCxYO1j/s899/Daurian_Shrike.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="899" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifodYvSjDeUM-_ZwVn8CkcVruKNegJEf2fEh_TlortwXw-HA5XvWtVzgjCvNE078A2w02Cv83fQduSsnyYVQc7-7grbGJRwEOHLruErqmgEsPStTXKnLGHGTx7aVIrF3YHrkFd3pVCwSn5CDwGSytckSQWuYZ-VC1fw_KHLvGgiAIK3Z3s_YHpQpCxYO1j/s16000/Daurian_Shrike.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>Jem Babbingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05268114140418666748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358886103700182669.post-29450229416647274122024-02-09T04:00:00.001+03:002024-02-09T04:00:00.136+03:00 Common Chiffchaffs – Dhahran Waste Water Lake<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I recently saw a number of Common Chiffchaff in a large depression with tall Mesquite trees in. As the birds were quite active in the very early morning I went down to try to obtain photographs of them and I stayed in this are for an hour or so. Unfortunately, the birds were staying well in cover and only occasionally venturing out in the open, but too quickly for my reactions to get photos. I managed to photograph one bird out in the open and another in the trees and failed with all other attempts. In Saudi Arabia Common Chiffchaff is a very common passage migrant and common winter visitor that is widespread across much of the Kingdom. Spring passage occurs from late February and peaks in early March with good numbers throughout this month, decreasing rapidly through April and only occasional stragglers until late May. Migrants can occur anywhere, but favour areas with Tamerisk, Acacia, Mesquite, small farms containing palms and cultivated fields and gardens. Winter numbers are much lower than those on passage, but birds are still common mainly in parks and areas with large trees, particularly Acacia & Mesquite, where they tend to stay high in trees and their calls can be heard commonly, from November to March.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzq3Bd2u_arLgG9G7L431YI6BXpk_WVW3biZ-ynzMQNZcYjkhDUb0StFsxvr9vzUsgCy8iZIDiLEsg0-6VLbGdbeXgKBIiM0OqYamP4WXLWDUGahGXngMgjkWXBVCuu8bgA1IXpHsjYXDNg7iDcQRUeoJgwXlMcUAoUkX3CxLRpgdn5CjSDm_nf-oOhnDx/s900/AW0I1499.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzq3Bd2u_arLgG9G7L431YI6BXpk_WVW3biZ-ynzMQNZcYjkhDUb0StFsxvr9vzUsgCy8iZIDiLEsg0-6VLbGdbeXgKBIiM0OqYamP4WXLWDUGahGXngMgjkWXBVCuu8bgA1IXpHsjYXDNg7iDcQRUeoJgwXlMcUAoUkX3CxLRpgdn5CjSDm_nf-oOhnDx/s16000/AW0I1499.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh87YPE7TpjGoJkqF8v1QEfFqC3od18O7EfBKtuqE91GjSgtiD8as4Ts9X5K3gohV2cKQbacDqwFmmxdoyzAegQZj-BKodLiF-jLYzvDBTkkq82xg1cxsfJoyLXayPiIB6uM5Lav4Rg45-28k8uvmZ9PMWNLR4Qnogau7nXCVmGPGuDYnLrIpywj_7C-BO0/s899/AW0I2105.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="899" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh87YPE7TpjGoJkqF8v1QEfFqC3od18O7EfBKtuqE91GjSgtiD8as4Ts9X5K3gohV2cKQbacDqwFmmxdoyzAegQZj-BKodLiF-jLYzvDBTkkq82xg1cxsfJoyLXayPiIB6uM5Lav4Rg45-28k8uvmZ9PMWNLR4Qnogau7nXCVmGPGuDYnLrIpywj_7C-BO0/s16000/AW0I2105.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTGcdBx8XvQZGXCXVYR2A0nJgPgekpPMCeRvZq2zF9B5Hbmsx4310FbKEqz8ln7spJQNoARmmyxVZoBrzoTOoC7c1zQDc4V-uEX-JtrhURI1vS5e1mkoPyOrbVqSU_W_JgxbOKdrSf4s2EFpvgyyf5Ela3f_T2cmB39Sp19KOmoQ4BuU-_smvx0MM1_ySf/s900/AW0I2106.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTGcdBx8XvQZGXCXVYR2A0nJgPgekpPMCeRvZq2zF9B5Hbmsx4310FbKEqz8ln7spJQNoARmmyxVZoBrzoTOoC7c1zQDc4V-uEX-JtrhURI1vS5e1mkoPyOrbVqSU_W_JgxbOKdrSf4s2EFpvgyyf5Ela3f_T2cmB39Sp19KOmoQ4BuU-_smvx0MM1_ySf/s16000/AW0I2106.jpg" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span><p></p>Jem Babbingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05268114140418666748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358886103700182669.post-11979759961970348892024-02-07T04:00:00.005+03:002024-02-07T04:00:00.238+03:00 Pied Kingfisher – Dhahran Waste Water Lake<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I found a Pied Kingfisher at Dhahran Waste Water Lake on 1 January 2024 and the bird was still present on my last visit at end of January. It has a favourite spot of some dead twigs where it is regularly seen but it has now taken to perching in various other areas including the reeds on the far side of the lake. This makes it slightly more difficult to see although it does fly up and down the lake and hover over the water occasionally. This is an unusual record for Dhahran where I have only seen it twice before this bird, but it appears to be a good year for the species with others seen in Jubail (seven), Nariyah (two), Riyadh and Yanbu in 2024. This bird is attracting a number of photographers and others interested in birds to the lake which will hopefully, in turn, turn up more interesting species.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtdfB6V-Lbm7ucH7Imtt0BwGwxP1GMYcrmuHg-els96AwbWqVkCh9bhWKOYduHti46edZTfzS9T2sSElUPpIarDkuzS6emZWxaCJc6XSoXZ5L-aE4-ybRn1OG6rDxNOLX0DekJFdm3wceQytaBngvhpGDm8t-_jglX9xATerOwnCLLlb0iElK6kLravy_F/s900/Pied_Kingfisher1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="599" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtdfB6V-Lbm7ucH7Imtt0BwGwxP1GMYcrmuHg-els96AwbWqVkCh9bhWKOYduHti46edZTfzS9T2sSElUPpIarDkuzS6emZWxaCJc6XSoXZ5L-aE4-ybRn1OG6rDxNOLX0DekJFdm3wceQytaBngvhpGDm8t-_jglX9xATerOwnCLLlb0iElK6kLravy_F/s16000/Pied_Kingfisher1.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlS-NQdTqMrcmQSfWlVedR_33k36qpWBleIYNI5O69pI82ImSpeE30wCLSfmgsJnGoa6yEeMqAROAmNzN4wAMoVyELeDY_0ubzmy13tWjaEUaAzCy2NdfU9EoKMiZN1inMueWcQJ1-MzGwKhsDmAcQt3qihdHqIzBXryWGjwolcboprVhGmdu10zqmxlzo/s899/Pied_Kingfisher2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="899" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlS-NQdTqMrcmQSfWlVedR_33k36qpWBleIYNI5O69pI82ImSpeE30wCLSfmgsJnGoa6yEeMqAROAmNzN4wAMoVyELeDY_0ubzmy13tWjaEUaAzCy2NdfU9EoKMiZN1inMueWcQJ1-MzGwKhsDmAcQt3qihdHqIzBXryWGjwolcboprVhGmdu10zqmxlzo/s16000/Pied_Kingfisher2.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMZrTmNx9m2ztsEvvhaGmz9xD5Ahgb1XT9ymefpWyXhDWcpvmgzToukB2u97dbvSTFHaEkj4L21z6xa8ubPUuleHFcoakTLtBnv1628iDWvaPnUeFjT42JL9TCNnseBgOj9lnmhzkKXCdVKIJGn8jZaHKphqlVpqJ2qUPoZfy2sMpYupTEJT4J4YXDEQvz/s900/Pied_Kingfisher3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="599" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMZrTmNx9m2ztsEvvhaGmz9xD5Ahgb1XT9ymefpWyXhDWcpvmgzToukB2u97dbvSTFHaEkj4L21z6xa8ubPUuleHFcoakTLtBnv1628iDWvaPnUeFjT42JL9TCNnseBgOj9lnmhzkKXCdVKIJGn8jZaHKphqlVpqJ2qUPoZfy2sMpYupTEJT4J4YXDEQvz/s16000/Pied_Kingfisher3.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMu_nTUEi4jJpOZhuBkzDQpAVIjOWWy_P6XphTmxJRIdDf3Qe5kKcozVAzkeF-I_4pOe2zAK4Eor1vCX6qY13Me3iqYkk0pbpqB7_a7AWQ0TNxyYhxXr_sunkn9XTPmU3zcuX_s-002A_hdh6KnfGvXryDN4wUUYrfpIF4EkxCOA-RdQb5K2V7LcAmhj5c/s898/Pied_Kingfisher4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="898" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMu_nTUEi4jJpOZhuBkzDQpAVIjOWWy_P6XphTmxJRIdDf3Qe5kKcozVAzkeF-I_4pOe2zAK4Eor1vCX6qY13Me3iqYkk0pbpqB7_a7AWQ0TNxyYhxXr_sunkn9XTPmU3zcuX_s-002A_hdh6KnfGvXryDN4wUUYrfpIF4EkxCOA-RdQb5K2V7LcAmhj5c/s16000/Pied_Kingfisher4.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgidsQmAF0SPr8rXaXE7cw5C9NSGIstncqHgyTUVENsNJgcVT08VAeGFS-D5WiOJ6rzNAkP4C9WH_IWoZoNj27BtpRLDnTqP2yd4pAbac19nU2_E-UaymUtKDbow84e1QzixPqSj9qVmHwyARCsjfIKUjLemngTrqo79VFnoGRr2dYgut4JAcyvkKymJlT9/s900/Pied_Kingfisher5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgidsQmAF0SPr8rXaXE7cw5C9NSGIstncqHgyTUVENsNJgcVT08VAeGFS-D5WiOJ6rzNAkP4C9WH_IWoZoNj27BtpRLDnTqP2yd4pAbac19nU2_E-UaymUtKDbow84e1QzixPqSj9qVmHwyARCsjfIKUjLemngTrqo79VFnoGRr2dYgut4JAcyvkKymJlT9/s16000/Pied_Kingfisher5.jpg" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span><p></p>Jem Babbingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05268114140418666748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358886103700182669.post-46152773471713021082024-02-05T04:00:00.018+03:002024-02-05T04:00:00.329+03:00 Waders starting to move – Dhahran Waste Water Lake<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Whilst birding Dhahran Waste Water Lake recently I saw a few waders that are probably early migrants. A good number of Black-winged Stilt were present as was a single Common Sandpiper, birds that have been around for a few weeks but I also saw new birds in the form of a single Common Greenshank and Ruff. The lake itself was little changed from the last few visits with ten Grey Heron, three Western Cattle Egret, three Squacco Heron, two Little Egret and two Great Egret. Another migrant seen was a single Red-rumped Swallow and a Black-necked Grebe was new in as well, but probably a short distant movement as they winter locally. Other water birds seen included a few Black-headed Gulls, a single Steppe Gull, a female Tufted Duck and several Great Cormorants.</span></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQpc_WWIekqFBjVPtVJTPgojxpcAsnM0wvd4L6xLN4w5uAMCZtaLXQDniI05rdPNSWgcQHHGdqf1ucf356tlG_CJW2lr8S8lQndNYYhj2vpJRObL4joxPF7bYD7Ur76fweKyN6jvW0VVx2tAQBxoDiIXxJm4WygDTcoRFl-hQWfSJS__AUZgmMNoafuMUc/s900/Common_Sandpiper.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQpc_WWIekqFBjVPtVJTPgojxpcAsnM0wvd4L6xLN4w5uAMCZtaLXQDniI05rdPNSWgcQHHGdqf1ucf356tlG_CJW2lr8S8lQndNYYhj2vpJRObL4joxPF7bYD7Ur76fweKyN6jvW0VVx2tAQBxoDiIXxJm4WygDTcoRFl-hQWfSJS__AUZgmMNoafuMUc/s16000/Common_Sandpiper.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Common Sandpiper</b></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfvczxBTA4UdeJQJvB5LVOxwSKhJEPUcr9ELeXFIx_LbK2rUeWcFT8701gQAB0zYiz3Rmy7dQ1-AslP5-yljMJL9z2NU5JbaQ46yYNbw0kz53KfgBQ2n8_VYg8raRe-8atRUgBuhbRw8nEyOiGThHqBW5abs4zCAv_uIlDCWUVfO3SNx0n6JZf11YtTzJi/s900/Great_Cormorant1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfvczxBTA4UdeJQJvB5LVOxwSKhJEPUcr9ELeXFIx_LbK2rUeWcFT8701gQAB0zYiz3Rmy7dQ1-AslP5-yljMJL9z2NU5JbaQ46yYNbw0kz53KfgBQ2n8_VYg8raRe-8atRUgBuhbRw8nEyOiGThHqBW5abs4zCAv_uIlDCWUVfO3SNx0n6JZf11YtTzJi/s16000/Great_Cormorant1.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 700;">Great Cormorant</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZW6Y7EUarJDUiGKvXZ3aGIZ8pkpN4Hs2AOWfhE8a5H_DosnsqlE-1qcKT46W9H4ZXRLKcXwvxSOvmCdHieCOiyEDCnZzlcnM4z_FUSW4TwU5SeB3KEul_JJpTS1wbmSAjdg7pWoudoOauvjaCvz1Zn8omNLBIzWuvud8FhpAkfx99bw3qe-R5IqcTuSAK/s900/Great_Cormorant2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZW6Y7EUarJDUiGKvXZ3aGIZ8pkpN4Hs2AOWfhE8a5H_DosnsqlE-1qcKT46W9H4ZXRLKcXwvxSOvmCdHieCOiyEDCnZzlcnM4z_FUSW4TwU5SeB3KEul_JJpTS1wbmSAjdg7pWoudoOauvjaCvz1Zn8omNLBIzWuvud8FhpAkfx99bw3qe-R5IqcTuSAK/s16000/Great_Cormorant2.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 700;">Great Cormorant</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy3CKHALcRnHP70ak8CMaqzIb3Whe65NkSGIGh1utfXFPZ2kKgT1FWgXH98QSZxg5fbj2G5Ob8t_VbP2o_Jd3WhlwkkHSiG4vNBgI-oRnvH8bc6KhAJcF_mUQrxgIsipKxbZYczQCELnryB21nNEIF9JtNWP3BFOC_em2xtjJAp2CKxFm9nYcGanZPfp6N/s900/Grey_Heron1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy3CKHALcRnHP70ak8CMaqzIb3Whe65NkSGIGh1utfXFPZ2kKgT1FWgXH98QSZxg5fbj2G5Ob8t_VbP2o_Jd3WhlwkkHSiG4vNBgI-oRnvH8bc6KhAJcF_mUQrxgIsipKxbZYczQCELnryB21nNEIF9JtNWP3BFOC_em2xtjJAp2CKxFm9nYcGanZPfp6N/s16000/Grey_Heron1.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 700;">Grey Heron</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF2Yd1_yniWil0JgJtMXRB3-yw7DfQrAef6OZwdXIZfFny8noh2_PhJ7EtLVM9Cd-Scf0sA0-we8NP3wxBoX8pC2nDx3f03oMiolRhzE6rw9TLcBUcxY2TJhIYRIcbYqDHIC23Aekizo3va9NBfpHfzMmyAq6JKGHF_ICSOllVlb9wpsSq6pG2qES_gcaW/s900/Grey_Heron2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF2Yd1_yniWil0JgJtMXRB3-yw7DfQrAef6OZwdXIZfFny8noh2_PhJ7EtLVM9Cd-Scf0sA0-we8NP3wxBoX8pC2nDx3f03oMiolRhzE6rw9TLcBUcxY2TJhIYRIcbYqDHIC23Aekizo3va9NBfpHfzMmyAq6JKGHF_ICSOllVlb9wpsSq6pG2qES_gcaW/s16000/Grey_Heron2.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 700;">Grey Heron</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0z5KtLclNx-nhq65YKR1kPnVtoTmYwan3DP3NKu0nBoUL1sLM_2Jyf0rCTcAV_Wq_brNzpmS_dFkCOKidMbkfscX0KHUXR2qN3jss-f7eQUrKT-F__9zXJ4J78SbaNwNzQq100vPf2lfBwgNKhpiTdmsXbpLIZYwEyiPgpCZN7IDRwshr29Giq3V4kyeN/s900/Western_Cattle_Egret.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="599" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0z5KtLclNx-nhq65YKR1kPnVtoTmYwan3DP3NKu0nBoUL1sLM_2Jyf0rCTcAV_Wq_brNzpmS_dFkCOKidMbkfscX0KHUXR2qN3jss-f7eQUrKT-F__9zXJ4J78SbaNwNzQq100vPf2lfBwgNKhpiTdmsXbpLIZYwEyiPgpCZN7IDRwshr29Giq3V4kyeN/s16000/Western_Cattle_Egret.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Western Cattle Egret</b></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></p>Jem Babbingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05268114140418666748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358886103700182669.post-42648163578738187622024-02-04T04:00:00.003+03:002024-02-04T04:00:00.393+03:00 House Crow – Aqua Park<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Whilst birding Deffi Park and Aqua Park recently I saw quite a number of House Crow. The House Crow <i>Corvus splendens</i>, as it name suggests is a member of the crow family and is approximately 42–44 cm long (body and tail) and weighs 250–350 grams. Their plumage is glossy black, except for the nape, sides of the head, upper back and breast, which are grey and not glossy. Their bills, legs and feet are black, with males and females being similar, only males being slightly larger and they live for about 6 years in the wild. The species is a recent colonizer of Saudi Arabia, and has a native range extending through the Indian sub-continent from Sri Lanka north to Nepal, west to southern Iran and east to Yunnan in China. On the east coast of Saudi Arabia birds are most often seen long the coast particularly near ports where they became plentiful by the end of the 1980’s but an eradication scheme in the 1990’s decimated their numbers but did not eradicate them completely. In most places House Crow numbers are linked to human population size, due simply to the expanding amount of rubbish generated. Jubail also has a port and House Crow is common in the main parks in the city where the below photos were taken.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoOj_3MraqyirNM0BZ9y63_Ey4j_ReapQ6EOg-UGCOBnbA78djZ4NE9pMt8YPbZ4lxKmqb-Nwwmb2YITHhjqLUbA_BorFn6zSNEECx6b5nwhWPMgJDbqbUnIV9I2KSva7Zx1VWTREZU0VGyBSrldh8mcQTlrfB4Jr9wS-HOC1QQQMCTDSRhg-Kx3E-9KO-/s900/House_Crow1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="599" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoOj_3MraqyirNM0BZ9y63_Ey4j_ReapQ6EOg-UGCOBnbA78djZ4NE9pMt8YPbZ4lxKmqb-Nwwmb2YITHhjqLUbA_BorFn6zSNEECx6b5nwhWPMgJDbqbUnIV9I2KSva7Zx1VWTREZU0VGyBSrldh8mcQTlrfB4Jr9wS-HOC1QQQMCTDSRhg-Kx3E-9KO-/s16000/House_Crow1.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhluXXhi3OhIref44FVIyzZl2cYvxgraExb79Q2GO87CqsqFj_4PUfav9gbwGlASmSlCh_KPGoQt41c3l5guRNcrEEpW65lIX3KQDW4m36Rvnt2e1qs3BNNh0yK3v1cL3JJOQrL82tEBC1X-4NZLlZr1nY_Rd2CcCnuYUAfxVa9NeDij_uv_RM0QdFpQOL4/s900/House_Crow2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhluXXhi3OhIref44FVIyzZl2cYvxgraExb79Q2GO87CqsqFj_4PUfav9gbwGlASmSlCh_KPGoQt41c3l5guRNcrEEpW65lIX3KQDW4m36Rvnt2e1qs3BNNh0yK3v1cL3JJOQrL82tEBC1X-4NZLlZr1nY_Rd2CcCnuYUAfxVa9NeDij_uv_RM0QdFpQOL4/s16000/House_Crow2.jpg" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>Jem Babbingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05268114140418666748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358886103700182669.post-27745105696281623102024-02-03T04:00:00.006+03:002024-02-03T04:00:00.249+03:00 Eurasian Spoonbill – Aqua Park<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Whilst I was birding Aqua Park I found an immature Eurasian Spoonbill. Unfortunately, it was directly into the sun and although quite close the photos were poor. As a result, I decided to drive around to the other side of the large inlet to get the sun in a better position. Luckily the bird was still present and the photos much better. After a short while some cyclists came by and disturbed the bird, but it only flew a short distance downstream before alighting again. The status of Eurasian Spoonbill has changed over the years in the Eastern Province, with it being regarded as a rare and irregular visitor usually involving immature birds until the end of the 1980’s. Today it is an uncommon visitor in all months to the province. Jubail is the best location to see the species in the Eastern Province, but it is far from guaranteed here being only see on a few days per year. This is the second winter I have seen birds at Aqua Park, so it may turn out to be a good location for them.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkX7BWuT8OR7RoLeom5rPvx1lYn8dIXcFvVPRIN3XHFpj7oUyNBP9rHO7sH2UkP-vCWFfIhlNWEUu_0XHQO5NIcq45vaKyB9vuNGPEMXR-jq-aJOCrAcjfUQIej-VIRR9idXPDRq5jt1Il-XmxN9ocpa_L-FCh4Qw3LfOCNQm4BPg3y2kbEHpjzkeG2Das/s900/Eurasian_Spoonbill1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkX7BWuT8OR7RoLeom5rPvx1lYn8dIXcFvVPRIN3XHFpj7oUyNBP9rHO7sH2UkP-vCWFfIhlNWEUu_0XHQO5NIcq45vaKyB9vuNGPEMXR-jq-aJOCrAcjfUQIej-VIRR9idXPDRq5jt1Il-XmxN9ocpa_L-FCh4Qw3LfOCNQm4BPg3y2kbEHpjzkeG2Das/s16000/Eurasian_Spoonbill1.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrdg0oIg1foNSik7I2Knz-vDhQMnW5EVYCwgg4Gq5wZmZoEQSnaditNZYP1IMVtsdqWwtOygmB_Q0fBuTBBlMuiVi415uj_90wGWQKBrhXMk8YlFmi7cia3RP6yYlnb2f47yCe1sv4WE7jj4F9-qzU9W5VefViuQlmkZctKOimPlA5Tl4cQclQ5ooNAPFG/s899/Eurasian_Spoonbill2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="899" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrdg0oIg1foNSik7I2Knz-vDhQMnW5EVYCwgg4Gq5wZmZoEQSnaditNZYP1IMVtsdqWwtOygmB_Q0fBuTBBlMuiVi415uj_90wGWQKBrhXMk8YlFmi7cia3RP6yYlnb2f47yCe1sv4WE7jj4F9-qzU9W5VefViuQlmkZctKOimPlA5Tl4cQclQ5ooNAPFG/s16000/Eurasian_Spoonbill2.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiijFVf62BEiL-StOLc-ruiruI6ZK3cAZ_X63huavviAnVUuqURmbV2Hge6q_VdRolEiGKJ4YwNYUDqK4geXZMhmomwNsnLKVCCC9rNmlnbYPd9Fv5N93guNKOSOUGFFCM7iAJ1K6oMDYVndsdaAMXem1LAf4Wx5VQKm3Dq9E4jUWvsd0f3KnHbOoFlGvCl/s899/Eurasian_Spoonbill3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="899" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiijFVf62BEiL-StOLc-ruiruI6ZK3cAZ_X63huavviAnVUuqURmbV2Hge6q_VdRolEiGKJ4YwNYUDqK4geXZMhmomwNsnLKVCCC9rNmlnbYPd9Fv5N93guNKOSOUGFFCM7iAJ1K6oMDYVndsdaAMXem1LAf4Wx5VQKm3Dq9E4jUWvsd0f3KnHbOoFlGvCl/s16000/Eurasian_Spoonbill3.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXPu2NGkC1oPyVCF5tKazlbMKNnWT4ppsDsxRUbYHfWoQhLThyphenhyphenRCum0kkQJ61h2lgZw6IOXfzjzVxP8I_5yaQbUFHrzFAeMtBKHHFLv39WES8LYqBAVPywH0BxhKl0uTqj5obtahZK6_ltm2GobzC9xg98wT_0Odf5jDvPD-vbE787Cgo0hY7K2OVhdFRV/s900/Eurasian_Spoonbill4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="599" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXPu2NGkC1oPyVCF5tKazlbMKNnWT4ppsDsxRUbYHfWoQhLThyphenhyphenRCum0kkQJ61h2lgZw6IOXfzjzVxP8I_5yaQbUFHrzFAeMtBKHHFLv39WES8LYqBAVPywH0BxhKl0uTqj5obtahZK6_ltm2GobzC9xg98wT_0Odf5jDvPD-vbE787Cgo0hY7K2OVhdFRV/s16000/Eurasian_Spoonbill4.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq_vDnXByZGpWWn3_dNMtC2pL11SsL7G0boKudZG8WChPs06hAhG21A5eZfQLLFowIeUuoJYVVObq-i651ncwgZgWLiFnMA2QLsMVA55lrVs9B6W3GJxwOXk2I1vAGjfA98bDhtondx5PcJhvHofAEXCHYi4qCGdtKUOCE0RXpjZaK3LKx6rj1Ssp6P0pk/s900/Eurasian_Spoonbill5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="599" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq_vDnXByZGpWWn3_dNMtC2pL11SsL7G0boKudZG8WChPs06hAhG21A5eZfQLLFowIeUuoJYVVObq-i651ncwgZgWLiFnMA2QLsMVA55lrVs9B6W3GJxwOXk2I1vAGjfA98bDhtondx5PcJhvHofAEXCHYi4qCGdtKUOCE0RXpjZaK3LKx6rj1Ssp6P0pk/s16000/Eurasian_Spoonbill5.jpg" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span><p></p>Jem Babbingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05268114140418666748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358886103700182669.post-65695781251574713072024-02-02T04:00:00.030+03:002024-02-02T04:00:00.137+03:00 Birding Aqua Park – Jubail<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Late January I went to Aqua Park to see if the Pied Kingfishers were still present. As soon as I arrived, I heard them calling and saw five birds together in flight over the water. One landed reasonably close and allowed a couple of photos before flying off onto the far side of the estuary. Also on the water were several hundred Slender-billed Gulls, a Squacco Heron, two Western Great Egret. And tens of Western Reef Herons. A male Common Kingfisher was seen along with several Graceful Prinia. And at least two Masked Shrike were in the trees, often dropping to the ground to catch food. Otherwise, it was relatively quiet.</span></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYtp9qfY5b7ChsAmNTU_-fuRXjOIMV_UAOwUMfhuH88sGAu9kOAddLX4WHSMYVwibxsI5E1JEvNoPwhDO1yxU-Ou36WAltJcp42lpKsdtP2kjKS9Y-nuuCYm4P9xI-xCVBGgwaqY6oGti4rfeWPTnoXgztJOaXwG2zqY1Q3CYlzZY3KuLrZK6AeZw0f8Kl/s900/Masked_Shrike.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYtp9qfY5b7ChsAmNTU_-fuRXjOIMV_UAOwUMfhuH88sGAu9kOAddLX4WHSMYVwibxsI5E1JEvNoPwhDO1yxU-Ou36WAltJcp42lpKsdtP2kjKS9Y-nuuCYm4P9xI-xCVBGgwaqY6oGti4rfeWPTnoXgztJOaXwG2zqY1Q3CYlzZY3KuLrZK6AeZw0f8Kl/s16000/Masked_Shrike.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Masked Shrike</b></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFblsjYu6xNyw8-azOBeWplesRrZ11tNyMssxzDEJbhUaABMhTs1URtgyhst2dDiGmv240kJPe7yahnkVUWZsTYOCqvjeJc4cQga26pFkYr1nj7TAQap0yv2oi2aPZZP5q4jv77jV4-UuerE-2HGnsjZ0YMFvIMp2kOT-jUvIu2u_m1IBxON2LAnJvAulP/s898/Pied_Kingfisher1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="898" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFblsjYu6xNyw8-azOBeWplesRrZ11tNyMssxzDEJbhUaABMhTs1URtgyhst2dDiGmv240kJPe7yahnkVUWZsTYOCqvjeJc4cQga26pFkYr1nj7TAQap0yv2oi2aPZZP5q4jv77jV4-UuerE-2HGnsjZ0YMFvIMp2kOT-jUvIu2u_m1IBxON2LAnJvAulP/s16000/Pied_Kingfisher1.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Pied Kingfisher</b></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfW9qhv_-zJeWMW61Fp5WC_uIesTHA3jzJwzgVrVcnGGo0jGomDctTol8DlxoTFhYB7nIgTuu9JZwXciE88TEq_nAAR8PIGfHunkK-px-gopAhligN1NbwtdB5lXDGbBqxVdWsnpOmHO0G4dMDPVl7BhUwmjs42-7_AwFjpNz3QDGrX-t_ucqcOLlmvMpF/s900/Pied_Kingfisher2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="599" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfW9qhv_-zJeWMW61Fp5WC_uIesTHA3jzJwzgVrVcnGGo0jGomDctTol8DlxoTFhYB7nIgTuu9JZwXciE88TEq_nAAR8PIGfHunkK-px-gopAhligN1NbwtdB5lXDGbBqxVdWsnpOmHO0G4dMDPVl7BhUwmjs42-7_AwFjpNz3QDGrX-t_ucqcOLlmvMpF/s16000/Pied_Kingfisher2.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Pied Kingfisher<br /><br /></b></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRD5a00gADjA0iXrGysWrnOhhB9Mwzs7JkLlwrwYxubuqowsWGQ8Q-t1_DZ5p_mE8JGsxEl0YfJXB9poEsklqqQuRs2PDtxNd3TMG_xCnqZSGzFjrJiW1gqwDBzvKUf0NPfTU48jlhWvcXwla16gmJcGeMpxJxJlo9-cDDHgV-YVB31kPR26h8i1rGFm9r/s900/Western_Reef_Heron.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="599" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRD5a00gADjA0iXrGysWrnOhhB9Mwzs7JkLlwrwYxubuqowsWGQ8Q-t1_DZ5p_mE8JGsxEl0YfJXB9poEsklqqQuRs2PDtxNd3TMG_xCnqZSGzFjrJiW1gqwDBzvKUf0NPfTU48jlhWvcXwla16gmJcGeMpxJxJlo9-cDDHgV-YVB31kPR26h8i1rGFm9r/s16000/Western_Reef_Heron.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Western Reef Heron</b></td></tr></tbody></table></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge0oCPEJv4hz-UCSixCS0kfzhE79VcHwucNqkqs08sO9d_K1q3cKb7H9-_7aRK6Ulwvaqa4xXXwjvzf_skV-Bqr-p4h5SYWK1hi-aLrBEplJR3jXomPZUUZJ3zOqWzZDIPN0mgr0h4t0RX7r5QSWVdYzF6WRfxF0s8vpL8kCPe1NLLYcIwNmrc-rAq46bH/s899/Graceful_Prinia2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="899" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge0oCPEJv4hz-UCSixCS0kfzhE79VcHwucNqkqs08sO9d_K1q3cKb7H9-_7aRK6Ulwvaqa4xXXwjvzf_skV-Bqr-p4h5SYWK1hi-aLrBEplJR3jXomPZUUZJ3zOqWzZDIPN0mgr0h4t0RX7r5QSWVdYzF6WRfxF0s8vpL8kCPe1NLLYcIwNmrc-rAq46bH/s16000/Graceful_Prinia2.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Graceful Prinia</b></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9EIS1N3hsGgMWXEwVG2EmvkQDOxnnBUf-Z78y-YPC30VTBWxadBaq4T-EnzyXhVeNm8GwkkIHXTNh1i2vV63qraPwPTC-08pVBTchK7JUAfBjJM3F464tM4ryWh1b4-1qovFCRC4iYjXtoUNtppbnhyphenhyphen7jg71S9sG-0W6BajpHrM8EUSqgs8mNgs8QyG0l/s900/Great_Egret1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9EIS1N3hsGgMWXEwVG2EmvkQDOxnnBUf-Z78y-YPC30VTBWxadBaq4T-EnzyXhVeNm8GwkkIHXTNh1i2vV63qraPwPTC-08pVBTchK7JUAfBjJM3F464tM4ryWh1b4-1qovFCRC4iYjXtoUNtppbnhyphenhyphen7jg71S9sG-0W6BajpHrM8EUSqgs8mNgs8QyG0l/s16000/Great_Egret1.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Great Egret</b></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFz3aTzyaMIbzARLPA5-Uhegap1y2gj9bdQPUXVoJrtODimv2WetLzozZSayP5KqObQbQX3vzTjsT29oC4Or_IH1UPDMXHGJBmFGG_CObwSz9Z2TNUYKqJt6xSxMWnK1-dvEVIVkKipTZr0Z1ZPgvydDYhjfkQ2oVGs5u-lnH1CIJ-GdDIJMe7H7dqAlxa/s899/Great_Egret2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="899" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFz3aTzyaMIbzARLPA5-Uhegap1y2gj9bdQPUXVoJrtODimv2WetLzozZSayP5KqObQbQX3vzTjsT29oC4Or_IH1UPDMXHGJBmFGG_CObwSz9Z2TNUYKqJt6xSxMWnK1-dvEVIVkKipTZr0Z1ZPgvydDYhjfkQ2oVGs5u-lnH1CIJ-GdDIJMe7H7dqAlxa/s16000/Great_Egret2.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Great Egret</b></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijBm-12GWVQT_zJBmoZ4OWd_SLUrgib99bFLZ73FPbzbPNii8E2-TlDNayfA_cUhqv4pOnyRqXIAI6gfywrJUeJzm_dWVYCNM_UJFPWtTkuC8BoafZhGfdYD-mDAxekfyezj1i7J3i9wrs4gKUajpl97Js1rgRPCUXIABh27btzHqNWVPgKBjkqp_cXg3Q/s900/Great_Egret3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijBm-12GWVQT_zJBmoZ4OWd_SLUrgib99bFLZ73FPbzbPNii8E2-TlDNayfA_cUhqv4pOnyRqXIAI6gfywrJUeJzm_dWVYCNM_UJFPWtTkuC8BoafZhGfdYD-mDAxekfyezj1i7J3i9wrs4gKUajpl97Js1rgRPCUXIABh27btzHqNWVPgKBjkqp_cXg3Q/s16000/Great_Egret3.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Great Egret</b></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span><p></p>Jem Babbingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05268114140418666748noreply@blogger.com