07 October 2023

Ducks & Terns – Dhahran Waste Water Lake

My last visit to Dhahran Waste Water Lake produced a few interesting birds with the Ferruginous Ducks still present after more than a week. A single female Garganey was also located in amongst the hundred or so Little Grebes. Hopefully a few more species of duck will arrive over the next month or so. The trouble with photographing the duck at this site is they are always across the far side and never close. The only close photos I ever manage are if the birds are disturbed by mountain bikers or walkers and fly overhead. It is a good location to try to identify a rare duck, however, as they are never really that distant. Waders are still passing with Whimbrel and Kentish Plover of the Cricket Field and Black-winged Stilt and Common Greenshank on the lake edge. Terns are always a common sight at this location with Gull-billed Tern seen every visit and small numbers of Little Tern seem almost every visit. White-winged and Whiskered Terns also occur but less often than the other terns. This visit I saw a single White-Winged and a Single Whiskered Tern. Birds around the lakeside vegetation seemed to be only Eurasian Collared Dove and White-eared Bulbuls.

Common Greenshank

Eurasian Collared Dove

Ferruginous Duck

Ferruginous Duck

Ferruginous Duck

Garganey - female

Garganey - female

White-winged Tern