16 February 2021

Large numbers of Great Cormorant - Dhahran Hills

Large numbers of Great Cormorant can be seen in the very early morning flying into the lake site in Dhahran, from their roosting areas nearby, each winter day. Some of the birds just come and wash, briefly fish and fly off with others staying all day in the area. The birds gather in large numbers and fish together catching large numbers of Tallapia in the lake often pushing them to a shallow area to make catching them easier. The species is a common winter visitor to the Eastern Province where thousands have roosted in the trees nearby in recent winters. They are also abundant in coastal waters from September through March including the Jubail and the Half Moon bay area of the Arabian Gulf.