19 September 2016

First breeding record of Greater Flamingo for Saudi Arabia – Jubail

In summer this year Phil Roberts and I found the first confirmed breeding record of Greater Flamingo for Saudi Arabia. We saw up to 30 adults and two very young juveniles (unable to fly) near Jubail. Birds have been around all summer with unto 4000 in April and several hundreds during the entire summer. We did not see any nest mounds although there are a number of structures that may be nests out on the sabkha. The juveniles are too small to fly so must have been born at SAF. The record was sent to Mike Jennings who confirmed it as the first breeding record for the Kingdom but mentioned nest building had been seen in a nearby area previously but no confirmed breeding.
Breeding Greater Flamingo

Breeding Greater Flamingo

Breeding Greater Flamingo