06 July 2021

Juvenile Egyptian Nightjars – Jubail

Whilst birding the Jubail area in May we saw two juvenile Egyptian Nightjars. The plumage was very fresh with neat white fringed coverts forming neat lines across the wing with the birds staying around for at least a week. A few weeks later we found up to nine adult birds in wing moult. Breeding has long been suspected at this location and the fact that last year birds were proved to have bred in Qatif in KSA and juveniles were seen in Jubail with the young and adult remaining together suggests these birds are local rather than from elsewhere in the nearby region.