02 December 2012

A few water birds – Dhahran Hills

The wet weather of recent weeks has caused a lot of water to be laying around and quite a few water birds have been seen in various places. The drainage ditch has at least three out of place Common Moorhens and the settling pond still has numerous waders including one Common Greenshank, one Common Redshank, four Wood Sandpipers, one Green Sandpiper, one Common Snipe, two Dunlin and 20+ Little Stints. Cattle Egret numbers continue to increase with at least 60 birds present and the entire flock can be seen just after first light flying out of their roost in the Phragmites reed beds of the percolation pond into the camp. The percolation pond has also be holding a small number of duck in the early morning and late evening with six Northern Pintail, 13 Mallard and a Eurasian Teal. The Great Crested Grebe is now starting its third month of residence and the Grey heron probably its third year? A couple of Daurian Shrikes are still around in the spray Fields and in the shrubs at the edge of the percolation pond. At least five Siberian Stonechats are present in the spray fields but views are never good enough to properly assign them to race.
Common Moorhen 
Mallard
Daurian Shrike
Daurian Shrike