Egyptian Nightjars are now an easily seen
species during the summer months in the Jubail area and one bird has been seen
regularly sitting under the same bush for a couple of months now. It was still
present in its same location on 22 September making this the latest record for
the summer birds as they have all gone by mid-September. All the other birds
seen this simmer, that totalled at least 15 have now departed. The status and
timing of this species is still changing and we are trying to work out when they
arrive and when they depart as well as if they breed. This year has recorded
the earliest arrival date and the latest arrival date but unfortunately not
proof of breeding.
Jem's Birding & Ringing Exploits in the Eastern Province and elsewhere in Saudi Arabia
30 September 2017
28 September 2017
Some spring migrants in northwest Saudi Arabia – Bird record by Euan Ferguson
Euan Ferguson was in Saudi Arabia with a
couple of other birdwatchers in spring 2017, conducting an environmental survey
and found a number of good birds and many migrants in the northwest if the
Kingdom at Sharma on the Red Sea coast and further inland at Dumat. The survey
team added a lot of knowledge to the birds seen in the area showing how
valuable environmental surveys can be. Euan sent me a number of his photos and
has kindly allowed me to use them on my website some of which are shown below.
Bluethroat |
Little Bittern |
Green Bee-eater |
Ortolan Bunting |
Common Quail |
Savi's Warbler |
Spotted Flycatcher |
Turkestan Shrike |
Wryneck |
Black-headed Wagtail |
26 September 2017
Migrants returning - Jubail
Whilst birding Jubail in September the
first real return of migrants was seen. Obvious migrants included European
Bee-eaters and shrikes including Red-backed, Turkestan, Daurian and Woodchat.
Other migrants seen were Northern Shoveller and Isabelline Wheatear with plenty
of Red-throated Pipits flying over. The injured Greater Spotted Eagle is still present
so hopefully, its wing is mending and it will soon be fit to fly. It has been
around for some months now and looks fit and healthy apart from its wing. Unfortunately,
it could not be caught for treatment. We also saw an adult Black-crowned
Night-Heron an unusual species at the location.
Black-crowned Night Heron |
European Bee-eater |
Greater Spotted Eagle |
Isabelline Wheatear |
Northern Shoveler |
Turkestan Shrike |
Woodchat Shrike |
24 September 2017
Decreasing numbers of Egyptian Nightjar - Jubail
The number of Egyptian Nightjars have
decreased from the high of 15 birds to one through the summer months of June to
September. This is the regular case in recent years when all birds leave by mid-September
at the latest and sometimes early September. In 2017 The Egyptian Nightjar Caprimulgus
aegyptius was first seen on 16 June with numbers increasing quickly until
mid-July and then staying stable until late August and dropping into September.
The species remains uncommon in Saudi Arabia but can be seen in summer at both
Jubail and Al Hassa as well as at Khafra Marsh.
23 September 2017
Brown Booby at Sharma – Record by Euan Fergusson
Whilst staying at Sharma, on the Red Sea coast of northwest Saudi Arabia, Euan
Fergusson saw Brown Booby. Brown Booby is an uncommon resident of the Red Sea,
where it mainly occurs offshore. They breed on the Farasan Islands as well as
other islands in the Red Sea and wander north to the Gulf of Akaba in winter. S.
l. plotus is the subspecies we get in Saudi Arabia and it occurs from
the Red Sea and tropical Indian Ocean east to northern Australia and the
central Pacific Ocean. The race plotus is the largest and has
a blackish head and neck almost concolorous with rest of upperpart. Its iris is
grey to yellowish grey with narrower pale yellow outer ring. The bill is
yellowish horn to pale horn with bluish or greyish cast, facial skin and gular
pouch bluish grey to blue, legs pale greenish yellow. The female has an ivory
or pale horn coloured bill, slightly tinged either yellowish or pale greenish.
The facial and gular skin are pale greenish yellow, with the legs coloured like
the facial skin or slightly more greenish. Birds are strictly marine, feeding
mostly in inshore waters. They breed mainly on bare, rocky islands or coral
atolls.
22 September 2017
Mediterranean Chameleon near Abha – Record by Arnold Uy
Arnold Uy was birding the Abha area
recently and found a Mediterranean Chameleon Chamaeleo chamaeleon. They occur in Saudi Arabia, mainly
down the western side of the country where it can be found from sea level to
1850 metres above sea level in the mountains. The Mediterranean Chameleon, also
known as the Common Chameleon, is a diurnal species that usually varies in
colour from green to dull brown, tan or grey. It has a remarkable ability to
change colour which is done for camouflage, to signal to other chameleons and
to regulate its temperature. Whatever its background colour, the Mediterranean
chameleon generally has two light stripes along each side of its body, with the
stripes often being broken into a series of dashes or spots. They are an
arboreal species that have strong, grasping feet with four toes, two on
each side for grasping branches and a
prehensile tail, used to maintain balance and stability, making it well adapted to living in bushes
and trees. It uses its long, sticky tongue to capture passing prey, that when
extended, can be twice the length of the body. They have very sharp eyesight
and each eyeball is able to move independently of the other and a light crest
of scales along its throat, and a crest of small, serrated scales along its
back and can measure up to 20 - 40 cm long. They are active during the day
and its diet consists mainly of arthropods including grasshoppers, flies, bees,
wasps, and ants. Like other chameleons, the Mediterranean Chameleon is
slow-moving, often with a slight swaying motion to avoid detection by predators, and is a ‘sit-and-wait’ predator that captures
prey with its long, sticky tongue when prey comes within reach. Their range is
the broadest of all chameleon species, extending from northern Africa, Arabia
to southwest Asia and southern Europe. In North Africa and the
Middle East it occurs in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Israel,
Palestine, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Lebanon, Syria Iraq and Iran. They are found in a variety of habitats
including open pine woodland, shrubland, plantations, gardens and orchards and
spends the majority of its time in trees or bushes, preferring dense cover for
camouflage. However, this habit changes during the mating season when males
move to the ground to find a mate and females descend to a lower level of
vegetation.
21 September 2017
White-eyed Gull at Sharma – Record by Euan Fergusson
Whilst staying at Sharma, on the Red Sea
coast of northwest Saudi Arabia, Euan Fergusson saw White-eyed Gull. This
species is almost entirely restricted to the Red Sea with most birds seen in
the Jizan area although they are also common in Jeddah. The White-eyed Gull is
mostly sedentary although it disperses from its breeding sites in the Red Sea
to occur throughout the Red Sea during the non-breeding season. There may also
be some southward and eastward movement during this time, when it is reported
to become scarce in the northern part of its range. Breeding takes place during
the months of June – September where it breeds in loose colonies, on inshore
islands, where it occupies bare rock and sand flats, and usually consists of
fewer than 25 pairs. During the non-breeding season it is usually found in
small groups, but sometimes forms flocks of hundreds or even thousands to
forage and often occurs further out to sea at this time. They eat mainly fish,
but also crustaceans, molluscs, annelids and offal.
20 September 2017
First autumn Ringing tip of year? – Sabkaht Al Fasl
We went ringing for the first time this
autumn on 15 September. This is early for us as the temperatures are very high
still at this time of year. We caught 39 birds of 11 species including
White-throated Kingfisher, Common Kingfisher, Eurasian (Caspian) Reed Warbler,
Clamorous Reed Warbler, Great Reed Warbler, Willow Warbler, Savi’s Warbler, Little
Bittern, Common Redshank, Graceful Prinia and House Sparrow. Common Redshanks
was a new species for us at our ringing site as was White-throated Kingfisher making
it a very good ringing trip. It was a very hot and humid day and taking down
the nets at the end of the session was far from pleasant but the day was still
very enjoyable. We set nets in the same locations each tip with some over water
(catching both new ringing species) and other over land in rides between reed
beds. We set nine nets this trip (7 x 18 metre and 2 x 15 metre).
Common Redshank |
Little Bittern - male |
Willow Warbler |
19 September 2017
Thrush Nightingale at Sharma – Bird record by Euan Ferguson
Euan Ferguson sent me a photograph of
Thrush Nightingale that he saw recently at Sharma, and that he has kindly given
me permission to use on my website. The Thrush Nightingale is an uncommon
passage migrant in the Eastern Province mainly seen from late April to May and
from late August to September. I have only seen a few birds on my local ‘patch’
in Dhahran with all records being in April. I also have not managed to
photograph the species yet. The species status elsewhere is in Saudi Arabia is
similar to that in the Eastern Province with small numbers of records from the
entire country. Earliest records are from mid-March and latest records from early-October.
18 September 2017
Ringing White-throated Kingfisher – Sabkaht Al Fasl
Whilst ringing on 15 September we trapped
and ringed a White-throated Kingfisher. This is a scarce visitor to the Eastern
Province although they may have bred in Jubail this year. Since 2012 birds have
been seen regularly mainly in the Jubail to Dhahran areas. Sabkhat Al Fasl has
had quite a few records recently with three birds wintering at the site in
winter 2014-2015. Up until the end of last century it was regarded as a vagrant
but its status has changed with more records since 2000. It was a big surprise
to see the bird fly into the net whilst we were checking the final nets set
over a small area of water. I had seen White-throated Kingfisher in a number of
areas around this site over the years but never in this particular spot. This
was a first ringing record for us and almost certainly for Saudi Arabia as
well. The bird was in wing moult as can be seen from the bottom photo.
17 September 2017
Red-necked Phalarope – Jubail
Phil Roberts and I found a winter
plumaged Red-necked Phalaropes on some flooded Sabkha in Jubail in early
September. Unfortunately, photos were not easy and I only managed to get a
single flight shot that turned into a bit of a mystery photo as its head and
most of its bill are hidden. This is the fifth year in a row that we have seen
the species in Jubail with recent sightings in February, May, June, August,
September and October. This area is undoubtedly the best location for seeing
the species in the Eastern Province of the country.
16 September 2017
African Olive Pigeon at the Raydah Escarpment – Bird record by Arnold Uy
Arnold Uy recently went to the Raydah
Escarpment near Abha and found a relatively tame African Olive Pigeon Columba
arquatrix. This is a scarce to uncommon species although it is a local
breeder in the southwest highlands. It is not entirely clear if birds are
resident although HBW states it is, as there is only one record from the months
of December to February. It is a large pigeon,
about the size of a European Woodpigeon and is predominantly dark grey with
obvious white speckles on breast and wing-coverts. The females are a bit duller
than the males. The iris is pale yellow to light brown, the bare skin around
the eye, cere, bill and legs are bright yellow, which is conspicuous and
diagnostic even in flight. They feed on fruits of various trees, including Podocarpus,
Prunus
and Ficus
species and are patchily from Eritrea south through eastern Democratic Republic
of Congo and Tanzania to southern South Africa. There are other populations in southwest
Saudi Arabia and nearby northern Yemen and west Angola.The species was
discovered as a new species for Saudi Arabia in the mid 1980’s. JENNINGS, M. C.
1986. The Olive Pigeon Columba arquatrix on Jebel Suda, Asir Province: a
new bird species for Saudi Arabia and the Arabian Peninsula. J. Saudi Arab.
Nat. Hist. Soc. (2)6:35-36. Arnold did very well to get such a good photo of
the bird as they are difficult to see at the best of times. Arnolds photo is
shown below and he has kindly given me permission to use it.
13 September 2017
Arabian Woodpecker – Record by Arnold Uy
Whilst birding the Raydah Escarpment last
week, Arnold found and photographed an Arabian Woodpecker Dendrocopos dorae. This is an uncommon but widespread resident of
the south-west highlands, Jebal Souda plateau on the dry east side as well as
at Raydah Farm on the Raydah escarpment and Wadi Jaw at 1350 m are good areas
to find the species as Talea Valley near Abha, the areas around Tanoumah and
around Al Baha. Birds are usually associated with acacia trees but can be found
in a variety of wooded habitats. The species also occurs in the Tihama at Jebal
Gaha and Raith. The Arabian Woodpecker is a rather small, olive-brown
woodpecker with white bars across its wings and red patch on the rear of the
head of a male. Both sexes show a pale red patch down the centre of the belly.
It has a distinct call which accelerates and, then descends “kek-kek-kek-kek-kek-kek”.
It is the only woodpecker breeding in Arabia, has a typical woodpecker
undulating flight, and only drums weekly and infrequently. They occur locally
in the Red Sea foothills and western uplands of south-west Arabia, from the
Yeman boarder to 26°N in Saudi Arabia. It is generally uncommon to rare where
it occurs with approximately 0.1-1.0 mature individuals per km2. The total
population is therefore inferred to be fewer than 10,000 mature individuals and
it is classified as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List 2006 as it has a small
population of less than 10,000 mature birds, which is likely to be declining as
a result of excessive cutting and lopping of trees for charcoal, firewood and
fodder. Birds occur in a wide variety of fragmented woodland-types, from sea
level up to 3,000 metres on mountain slopes, including: groves of fig Ficus,
date-palm Phoenix or pandan Pandanus at lower altitudes; subtropical, evergreen
riparian forest; traditional shade-coffee plantations and well-developed
succulent shrubland at middle-altitudes; woods, groves and parklands of Acacia,
Juniperus, Olea and Dracaena at higher altitudes (often on slopes terraced for
agriculture); and old-established orchards in the highlands. Breeding records
(February-May) are restricted to the highlands (1,450-2,400 m) with the
nest-site being a small hole excavated in the trunk or major branch of a large
tree. Arnold’s photo is shown below and I thank him for allowing me to use it
on my website.
11 September 2017
Nubian Nightjar at Sharma – Bird record by Euan Ferguson
Euan Ferguson was in Saudi Arabia with a couple of
other birdwatchers in spring 2017, conducting an environmental survey and found
a Nubian Nightjar at Sharma in the far northwest coast of the Red Sea. This
species is resident and breeds in the lowlands from the Yemen boarder to the
Hijaz in Sadui Arabia where it has been seen northwards to KAUST north of
Jeddah. There are, however, no records from as far north in the Kingdom as
Sharma and it is interesting to now if this was a migrant of a resident in the
area. Hopefully more records will occur in the area and shed more light on the
situation. Where it is found it is locally common and favours rocky or stony
areas with some vegetation although they have also been seen in sandy areas
with vegetation. The best location for seeing the species is in the southwest
near Jizan. I thank Euan for sending me the details of this bird and allowing
me to use his excellent photo on my website.
09 September 2017
Harlequin Quail – Near Jizan
Whilst birding the area just north of Jizan on 7-8
July 2017 I saw at least six Harlequin Quail Coturnix delegorguei with
many other birds calling. This species had not been recorded in Saudi Arabia
for many years, until I found some in the same area in 2015. On the 6 July Phil
Roberts and I flushed a male and female bird and got very good flight views as they
flew a long distance across a field. We were there at around midday when it was
very hot and no calling birds were heard. The next day we went back first thing
in the morning to see if birds were calling and heard a minimum of ten calling
birds out of which we managed to see six including five males and a female.
They would run very quickly from one area of cover to another but luckily one
male ran, stopped in a slightly open area, called a couple of times, and ran
off again. This brief stop to call allowed me to get a couple of photographs of
it that are shown below. As far as I am aware, these are the first photographs
of the species ever taken in Saudi Arabia. This is even more important as the race
that occurs in southwest Saudi Arabia is C. d. Arabica and only occurs
in SW Saudi Arabia and Yemen and the records are outside the migration season
for this species. This subspecies is slightly paler than other races but is thought
by some to possibly not be a valid subspecies, although is recorded as one by
the IOC and in the Handbook of Birds of the World (HBW). HBW states, however,
“race arabica, only slightly paler than others, possibly not valid, as
most records in its range considered probably migrants from Africa; further
study needed”. The male has a very distinctive head pattern being a combination
of black-and-white, black breast and chestnut flanks with the female being
similar to Common Quail although the size of the birds is slightly smaller.
They favour open grassland with scattered bush cover and cultivated areas and
have apparently been recorded in all months in southwest Saudi Arabia, mainly
in the late 1900’s, where they are assumed to be resident.
07 September 2017
Sooty Gulls – Jizan Fish Market
As I am very interested in gulls, we stopped at
the fish market in Jizan where we knew from past experience that photography
was possible. We only managed to get there late one evening and again in the
early afternoon but saw plenty of gulls at both times. Many wait around on the
ground for fish waste to be thrown out and then a huge melee breaks out as all
the gulls go for the waste at the same time. Sooty Gulls present were almost
entirely adult birds. The species is a partial migrant or nomad with most
populations undergoing southern post-breeding dispersal movements in
September-November. The species breeds in the summer and usually nests colonially
but forages alone. The species inhabits coasts and inshore islands and is
hardly ever seen inland or at freshwater. It is found at harbours and ports,
and forages inshore, in intertidal zones up to 10 km beyond reefs. It nests on
coastal or inshore coral islands preferring smaller outer islands of old coral
that are sparsely vegetated, rocky and sandy, preferably protected from the
ocean by live reef. They feed mainly on dead fish and fishermen's offal, as
well as tern eggs and chicks turtle hatchlings prawns and small fish.
06 September 2017
Arabian Toad-headed Agama – Record by Vinu Mathew
Vinu kindly sent me a photo of an
Arabian Toad-headed Agama that he took near Al Kharj and has allowed me to use
on my website. The Arabian toad-headed agama Phrynocephalus arabicus, locally known as Sabahbah is also known as
the chisel-teeth lizards due to the compressed, fused teeth being firmly
attached to the upper jaw, unlike most other lizards which have loosely
attached teeth. These lizards are also known as the chameleons of the Old World
due to their striking ability to change their body colour. They typically have
a wide, strong, flattened body, covered in rough skin with overlapping scales,
and a long, flattened tail which is rounded at the base. The Arabian
toad-headed agama is a fairly small lizard that is highly adapted to life on
loose sand. It has no external ear openings and fringes of long scales around
the eyes keep out sand grains. The head is short and broad with a deep forehead
and snub nose. It is highly variable in colour with various patterns of black,
white and reddish markings, and it tends to match the colour of its background.
As such, lizards found on pale coastal sands tend to be paler and less
patterned than those lizards on red, inland sands. All variations, however,
retain a black tip on the underside of the tail which, when raised, is used in
visual signals. Scurrying across the sand, seeking out its insect prey, the
Arabian toad-headed agama is active in all but the hottest hours of the day.
During the hottest periods, it will stand high on extended legs to limit
contact with the sand, balancing on fingertips and heels while using the tail
as a prop. It may remain dormant during cold winter day. The Arabian
toad-headed agama is able to sink rapidly into the sand by vibrating the body
in a process called ‘shimmy burial’, and it uses this behaviour to escape from
predators or create a nocturnal shelter. This species ranges from southeastern
Jordan into the Arabian Peninsula, including much of Saudi Arabia, the United
Arab Emirates, Oman (except the mountainous areas) and Iran (known only from
the Mesopotamian Plain in the vicinity of Ahvaz). It is not known from Iraq. It
occurs from sea level to around 1,000 m asl. They live in desert regions and
are found in areas of soft, wind-blown sand but can also occur on harder and
drier substrates with sparse vegetation. It is not found in rural agricultural
areas.
05 September 2017
Waders and Terns – Jizan Corniche
Whilst birding the southwest of Saudi Arabia in
July I spent a few hours looking at Jizan Corniche. This is an excellent area
for birding and has a fantastic small inlet which waders and other water birds
get pushed up at high tide. Good views of the birds can also be had here and we
saw plenty of species including Common Redshank, Common Greenshank, Whimbrel,
Eurasian Curlew, Terek Sandpiper, Eurasian Spoonbills some in breeding plumage
and Pink-backed Pelican. The commonest birds seen here were Crab Plover and
Bar-tailed Godwits although a few Ruddy Turnstones and Greater Sand Plovers
were also present. Indian Reef Herons were along the shore and a couple of
Striated Herons were also present. A few gulls were also seen with Baltic Gull,
Sooty Gull and White-eyed Gull being commonest. A Western Osprey was on a post
out at sea, several Saunder’s Terns and one or two Gull-billed Terns were also
out to sea.
African Collared Dove |
Crab Plover |
Crab Plover |
Eurasian Spoonbill |
Eurasian Spoonbill |
Pink-backed Pelican |
Pink-backed Pelican |
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