Last weekends birding at
Sabkhat Al Fasl at last produced some migrants. Normally by the end of August
good numbers of birds are already passing through the Eastern Province but this
years migration appears to have been delayed for some unknown reason. Up until last weekend we had only seen a
handful of Yellow Wagtails and not much else but this weekend although numbers
were low a few migrant species were seen. These included a couple of Spotted
Flycatchers, 20+ Yellow Wagtails, two Common Whitethroats, Great Reed Warbler,
ten Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters and plenty of Barn Swallows and Sand Martins. No
shrikes were seen though which was a surprise. The majority of bids seen as
normal were herons, waders and terns with plenty of all. An increasing number
of Grey Herons were seen with over 30 birds and a single Purple Heron was the
first of the autumn for me. Three Lesser Short-toed Larks were an unusual sight
for the location seen in the same area where the Egyptian Nightjars have been
all summer. There were still a minimum of six birds present on Friday, meaning
birds have been seen from June to September this year at this location. Other
interesting birds seen included a Common Kestrel, a juvenile Ruddy Turnstone, several
Common Mynas, one Western Cattle Egret the first of the autumn and a good
showing of purple Swamphens.
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| Spotted Flycatcher |
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| Yellow Wagtail |
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| Terek Sandpipe |
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| Ruddy Turnstone - juvenile |
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| Purple Swamphen |
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| Common Kestrel |
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| Blue-cheeked Bee-eater |
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| Egyptian Nightjar |
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| Egyptian Nightjar |
