27 March 2015

Crested Honey Buzzard Still in Dhahran – Bird records by mats Ris

Mats Ris a local birdwatcher saw a Crested Honey Buzzard 21 March and managed to get a couple of photos of the bird over Dhahran Hills. This bird has been around for the entire winter as it or another has done in the same place for the last four years. Mats photos that he has kindly allowed me to use on my website look like two different birds but Mats is sure it was a single bird and the photos are of the same individual. The best place for seeing the bird is very early morning, just after first light, as it flys from its roosting area on the golf course. Unfortunately we have never found where it spends the rest of the day so may move out of the camp to feed? Crested Honey Buzzard is a scarce passage migrant and winter visitor to the Kingdom and this winter apart from two birds in Dhahran another has been seen in Jeddah earlier in 2015. Mats also saw Western Great Egret and a juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron at the pool on the golf course. The Western Great Egret has been around for the last two months at least and the Black-crowned Night heron has been see a few times in the last month as well.
Crested Honey Buzzard
Crested Honey Buzzard
Crested Honey Buzzard
Crested Honey Buzzard
Black-crowned Night Heron (left) & Western Great Egret (right)
Black-crowned Night Heron (left) & Western Great Egret (right)