African Openbill – Wadi Jizan Lake

Phil Roberts and I found an African Openbill at Wadi Jizan (Malaki Dam) Lake on 16 June 2024. A bird was seen for a couple of months up until March but has not been recorded since so it is difficult to know if this is the same bird that has been hiding from view or a different individual. A pair of this species was found on 3 September 2021 and was a new species for Saudi Arabia. Numbers increased to a maximum of 18 birds in summer 2022 decreasing to six in July 2022. Since then, one or two have been occasionally seen in the same area. It is a widely distributed species occurring in Sub-Saharan Africa and western regions of Madagascar, where it is common to locally abundant, although it has a patchy distribution.

African Openbill - Malaki (Jizan) Dam Lake

A pair of African Openbill were found in Malaki (Jizan) Dam Lake on 3 September 2021 a new species for Saudi Arabia. Numbers increased to a maximum of 18 birds in summer 2022 and as we were in the area we looked for them in July 2022. The lake was very dry compared to my previous visit, when I saw them and large numbers of cattle and camel were feeding on the lakeside with associated herders. Birds were few and far between but I eventually managed to find six birds across the lake. We moved around to that side to see if we could get closer but the birds were still distant and then all flew together and rather than coming closer flew in the other direction meaning I could only get distant flight shots. It is a widely distributed species occurring in Sub-Saharan Africa and western regions of Madagascar, where it is common to locally abundant, although it has a patchy distribution.

African Openbill - Malaki (Jizan) Dam Lake

A pair of African Openbill were found in Malaki (Jizan) Dam Lake on 3 September 2021 a new species for Saudi Arabia. Phil Roberts and I had planned a trip to this area for some time and went 12 November. We heard the birds were still around at end of October and went to the area where they had been seen, but initially failed to locate them. On moving around the lake and looking at suitable vantage points we eventually found a single bird. After looking at it for some time it was joined by a second that emerged from behind a large set of reeds. We moved around the lake slightly to try to get closer and then found a third bird.