27 January 2015

Sallal al-Dahna near Tanoumah Southwest Saudi Arabia – Bird records by Phil Roberts

Whilst in the southwest of Saudi Arabia Phil visited Sallal al-Dahna a upland valley at 1955 metres above sea level on the outskirts of Tanoumah 11 December 2014. This is a favoured location to see Arabian (Asir) Magpie that is generally regarded as a sub-species of Eurasian Magpie but sometimes treated as a separate species. They are becoming increasingly rare with the total population estimated to be between 135-500 birds. The valley holds mature acacia and Juniper trees and has a permanent water supply at one end. Here Phil managed to see and photograph te following species: Arabian Magpie, Little Rock Thrush and Song Thrush. A very unusual record was a Steppe Eagle was taken along the road from Tanoumah to Abha around 30km from Tanoumah. This species is a passage migrant to the country and is particularly common in this region on migration but is not a winter visitor. As this record was mid-December it appears to have decided to winter in the area rather than continue its migration onwards to Africa.
Arabian Magpie
Arabian Magpie
Arabian Magpie
Arabian Magpie
Little Rock Thrush
Little Rock Thrush
Song Thrush
Song Thrush
Steppe Eagle
Steppe Eagle