Whilst birding the ‘patch’ last night I found a female Eastern Cinereous Bunting in the same small area as where I found a Black-headed Bunting a couple of years before. This is only the second Eastern Cinereous Bunting I have seen in Saudi Arabia with the first a bird I found in Duffi Park Jubail in late March 2013. This is the second record I know of for Dhahran camp with an earlier bird, a male, seen 14 April 2008 near the spray fields by the cricket field. Unfortunately the light was poor and the bird flighty so the below photo is the best I could manage. I hope the bird stays around so I can get a few decent photos. The species is a scarce passage migrant to the Eastern Province as well as elsewhere in the Kingdom and has been noted in winter in the southwest of the country.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBgt_cSms6dbdXny2u8iUngaYBf0xCxsAdJIRNdJ80HU1q-LiNUmVo-Sg9TREq33EGjLJJJyLP2vchZ5BEhegkl6I2ejpZw-0H2eJxleqN73w8FMuzc2aY7dqdZRb2ZOB7Awoyw1ichjE/s3200/Eastern_Cinereous_Bunting.jpg) |
Eastern Cinereous bunting - female |
Plenty of other migrants were also seen including both species of Bee-eaters. Ten European Bee-eaters were hunting from the telegraph wires along the perimeter fence and three Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters were doing the same but from the trees around the pond. One caught a large dragonfly and spent a while getting it in a good position to swallow. Other migrants seen included a Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin, a Nightingale sp that was seen briefly and not identified to species, seven Common Redstarts, both Willow Warbler and Common Chiffchaff, Common Swifts, six Squacco Herons, one Grey Heron, 10+ Tree Pipits, three Northern Wheatears, three Yellow Wagtails, Ruff, two Common Greenshanks, three Kentish Plovers, Siberian Stonechat, three Woodchat Shrikes and a Turkestan Shrike. All in all a very good evenings birding, but as I have been away from the ‘patch’ for three days I am not sure when all the migrants arrived.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU94Y2MgQcBWxHkDPmusLizouO2WcklyMwqd1mgwBeOvHW4mgGIbrpzc-9TxEodPqho2w53g-Rf-1j_eQtBzxxFmHJd3OrFgmnLjhLyTHK2fW2lN2FwZj6Ag9BW0_A8PNVfzKdNlJT9hQ/s3200/European_Bee-eater.jpg) |
European Bee-eater |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU9ZFmMPgziCJtnLNl_nAT30XQhkI9x4lUM6l4TS_FdmNWt4xl-aFH2U72vLxnpfctc6M0lsDOhylycWRhVVucFv68kmuOIBgs-BrN7DFvF6bUguMBzUgZBzq9tPX2KJRXAPL_JtnClzU/s3200/Blue-cheeked_Bee-eater.jpg) |
Blue-cheeked Bee-eater |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHhWRFnDxAtFRbD4Mu-AZxsD6Pxv1SWM6TzFQurDcyJ1Q1WO7xIrOSPuQ_sCw3DvHkS6F1kCY7eSQHI5DQd3k1Ofew5qjbdJcKDr-M0l59LNauBF88zTwMk0WE3MtYYQDrdhbJIcklY1E/s3200/Blue-cheeked_Bee-eater1.jpg) |
Blue-cheeked Bee-eater |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG-eUzzl8NWfqVLENgn9N_vwo1ytHoAQDrEd0xEa-5WSBvIxtVWN7ZVJN2nfrcmrug8T6jp8g1kZrIANcSeIF0HGZ0gyQGYCCXmXgn17185mbIEErnQczEiegAZRjAKvjKJ3IMO031h28/s3200/Blue-cheeked_Bee-eater2.jpg) |
Blue-cheeked Bee-eater |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGIFQxJtJbAbJgNAaQoo4Xpz5mTibFTXjUiU6YrvM1j37TxINUhz1mtDTF008vwYKChKnsa3w8O63xhowkQmGg4nOk1BsUe9ZqK1-lLR_9looEJUTNXrXQjGWOsZcu2jV0rTAfB_PZFqQ/s3200/Woodchat_Shrike.jpg) |
Woodchat Shrike |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLAmmF0Iih86n300_FKVWCOKaBhSOqXFFY6i-brfgfdBGeDuLpXy7H-hOQNG6ro5QFKUSLCs-0WPnYWyJ7fIPiifzPZ7Ad6GGRTKErx63NXEp4MABPTTrN7YXfqGSC7p-J999_48s1VY4/s3200/Northern_Wheatear.jpg) |
Northern Wheatear - male |