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| Steppe Eagle (left) & Eastern Imperial Eagle (right) |
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| Eastern Imperial Eagle |
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| Steppe Eagles |
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| Steppe Eagle |
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| Steppe Eagle |
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| Black Kite |
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| Common Kestrel |
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| Pallid Harrier - male |
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| Black Kite |
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| Black Kite |
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| Western Marsh Harrier |
10 Nov 2013
Birds of Prey (Tabuk) – Bird records by Viv Wilson
Viv Wilson has taken a few
nice photos of Birds of Prey in Tabuk during the last few weeks. He travelled out west from
Tabuk and found an animal carcass on the side of the road that was attracting
the attention of Steppe Eagle and Eastern Imperial Eagle. Steppe Eagle Aquila
nipalensis is a common migrant
and winter visitor to the south-west, northern Hejaz and Central Arabia where
up to 1000 birds have been recorded in a small area. It is an uncommon winter
visitor to other regions such as the Eastern Province but is commoner in the
north than the south of this region. Birds
are normally seen between late -September and mid-April. Eastern Imperial
Eagle Aquila heliaca is an uncommon but regular winter visitor to Central Arabia, Tabuk and the Gulf
with up to four birds seen together. Records
are mainly between mid-October and late March.
Other birds of prey he saw
included a nice male Pallid Harrier, Common Kestrel and Black Kites, a species
which can be seen in very large numbers in the area at the right time of year.
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Is that first one in flight a Black Eared Kite?
ReplyDeleteLaurie -
Laurie,
DeleteThe first bird in flight is a juvenile and thus difficult to judge if it is a Black-eared Kite or not. The adult sitting on the pole also has some resemblence to Black-eared Kite but lacks the normal streaking on the breast and probably has too dark a head (I would have liked it to be a bit paler). I have asked Viv to try to get some more photos of the birds near him as I too was interested in whether they may be Black-eared Kites.
Cheers
Jem