19 December 2019

A few interesting birds - Jubail

A trip to Jubail recently resulted in a good collection of birds. Many winter visitors are now back and a few late migrants are still moving so anticipation was hgh for something good. Although nothing too exciting turned up I did see a few good birds. Western Cattle Egret is not recorded so often in Jubail so three birds together was interesting. They occur commonly in Dhahran but not so in Jubail to the north. A few winter species were present including Watr Pipit, Daurian Shrike, Greater Spotted Eagle, Gadwall and Pintail. Desert Wheatear is common in the surrounding areas of desert but not seen often in Jubail itself so a nice male was a good record. Waders included Dunlin, Wood Sandpipers and Little Stint. The resident Grey-headed Swamphen were about in good numbers as were Squacco Heron which probably breed in the area but are certainly winter visitors as numbers build up in November and December.
Western Cattle Egret
Western Cattle Egret
Daurian Shrike
Daurian Shrike
Desert Wheatear
Desert Wheatear
Dunlin
Dunlin
Gadwall
Gadwall
Little Stint
Little Stint
Squacco Heron
Squacco Heron
Squacco Heron
Squacco Heron