Common Birds – Tanoumah

Whilst birding the Tanoumah are I managed to photograph a few of the common species that occur there. Mainly ground dwelling birds seen included Arabian Babblers, in small groups as well a two Streaked Scrub Warblers that normally favour the rocky areas, although the one I photographed had jumped down to feed in a small, cultivated field. The large juniper trees held plenty of the endemic Yemen Thrush and smaller numbers of the large Dusky Turtle Dove. The ever-present Palestine Sunbirds were feeding busily on their favourite flowers.

Arabian Babbler

Dusky Turtle Dove

Palestine Sunbird - female

Palestine Sunbird - male

Streaked Scrub Warbler

Yemen Thrush

Yemen Thrush

Both races of Arabian Babbler – Al Namas

Whilst birding the Al Namas area in July I came across Arabian Babblers in nearby areas with different bill colours. In the field guide to the region it says these are different races with the yellow-billed birds the Yemen race. HBW, however, does not mention bill colour as a distinguishing feature between the races. This species is very social and always goes around in small groups often calling loudly to each other. They are very active and not so easy to photograph as they have many pairs of eyes looking for danger and move off if they notice anyone.

Birding Phil’s Fields - Sabya

Whilst looking for Harlequin Quail in Phil’s Fields, of which we found 18 birds, all females with the exception of two calling males we also saw a few other good species. These included specialties such as Zitting Cisticola and Singing Bush Lark which are probably easier to see at this location than anywhere else in the Kingdom. Good number of African Silverbill were located in the fields and nearby edges, often in small flocks and a few Arabian Babbler and Black Scrub Robin were seen on the field margins and surrounding scrub. White-throated Bee-eater were quite common with may juveniles seen both in flight and perched on the ground or small trees. The very high humidity and hot temperatures makes birding this area quite unpleasant but the species seen makes it a very worthwhile exercise.

White-throated Bee-eater

African Silverbill

African Silverbill

African Silverbill

Black Scrub Robin

Arabian Babbler

Birding in the mountains - Abha

Abha is in the mountains of the southwest of Saudi Arabia where the weather is much cooler and wetter than other parts of the Kingdom. As a result, many different species of birds, animals and plants live in the area that are not seen in the area where I live in the east of the country. My last trip to the area allowed me to see and photograph a few species I do not see very often including Arabian Babbler, Little Rock Thrush and Little Swift and as I was there in the breeding season Cinnamon-breasted Bunting, Gambaga Flycatcher and Grey-headed Kingfisher. Another bird I photographed was Laughing Dove, a common bird throughout the Kingdom and seen daily in Dhahran where I live.

Arabian Babbler

Cinnamon-breasted Bunting

Gambaga Flycatcher

Grey-headed Kingfisher 

Laughing Dove

Little Rock Thrush - juvenile 

Little Rock Thrush - adult

Little Swift

October birding – Talea Valley

I went birding in the Talea Valley in mid-October, but very few birds were seen. Many birds appear to move to lower elevations or at least out of the valley at this time of year and common birds in the summer such as Laughing Dove and Dusky Turtle Dove was almost absent. A few good birds were still seen such as five Steppe Eagles and a dark morph Long-legged Buzzard. Arabian Serin, Arabian Wheatear, Yemen Linnet and Shinning Sunbird were Arabian Endemics located during the day but unfortunately the Eurasian Scops owl found by Phil the day before could not be relocated. The wet pool held a Green Sandpiper and a Grey Wagtail with a few House Sparrows and Indian Silverbills coming down to drink with Crested Lark and a single Red-capped Lark.

Arabian Babbler

Northern Wheatear

Eurasian Hoopoe

Grey Wagtail

Grey Wagtail

Grey Wagtail

Little Rock Thrush 

Long-Legged Buzzard 

Long-Legged Buzzard

Montagu's Harrier

Montagu's Harrier

Woodland birding - Billasimer

The tall woodland around Billasimer looked good for birdwatching and as neither Phil or I had birded the area we spent both our available mornings at the location. There are plenty of good looking sites and a few nice tracks that may hold nightjars (Plain and Montane), for which we will look next time in the area. We found a couple of very deep valleys with Philby’s Partidge calling regularly but the birds stayed hidden in the woods and did not fly as normal, so we failed to even see them. Arabian Babblers were common along the edge of the valley and Red-breasted Wheatear were seen on the way into the location. Other birds seen and photographed were Little Rock Thrush, Yemen Thrush and Abyssinian White-eye. Brown Woodland Warbler was common and plenty of Dusky Turtle Doves were seen with a couple of Arabian Magpie as calling and flying up and down the valley.

Abyssinian White-eye

Arabian Babbler

Arabian Babbler

Little Rock Thrush

Yemen Thrush

Birding Wadi Grosbeak – Near Bani Saad

Wadi Grosbeak is a site where Arabian Golden-winged Grosbeak has been see I recent years although when we went this year we failed to find any. The site is good for a number of other species and Arabian Babbler can always be found there in small noisy groups. Another bird regularly seen in the area is Long-legged Buzzard, which are almost always dark phase birds. These are the most common phase in the west rather than the pale birds we see in the East of the Kingdom. Other birds seen were Eurasian Hoopoe, Cinnamon- Breasted Bunting and Streaked Scrub Warbler.

Arabian Babbler

Arabian Babbler

Cinnamon-breasted Bunting

Eurasian Hoopoe

Long-legged Buzzard 

Scrub Warbler

Scrub Warbler

Scrub Warbler

Southwest species – Talea Valley

Whilst birding the Talea Valley in summertime it is very hot quite hard work. A few birds breed in the dry and rocky wadi bottom but seeing anything is not that easy. The bright light and high temperatures here make photography difficult and as I almost always arrive at midday, as I go to the Raydah Escarpment at first light, it is even more trying. Good birds can be seen if you persist and below are a few southwestern specialities I saw on my last visit. Arabian Babbler can be seen occasionally as they keep in small flocks and call to each other to keep in contact. Abyssinian White-eyes can occasionally be located in the tall acacia trees in the wadi bottom. Scarcer birds are Dusky Turtle Dove and African Silverbills that come down to drink if there is any free standing water. Cinnamon-breasted Bunting is only present in summer and is not there in winter of spring so presumably moves to lower altitude as it is resident in Saudi Arabia.

Abyssinian White-eye

African Silverbill

Arabian Babbler

Cinnamon-breasted Bunting 

Dusky Turtle Dove