Young Camels – Salwa

Camels are quite a common sight in the deserts of Saudi Arabia and they come in all sorts of different colours. I have taken numerous photos of them over the years against their desert backgrounds, with these ones quite young animals, although their mother was close by to ensure they were safe from harm. No matter how many times I see camels I am always happy to see more. They are extraordinary creatures, but it is wise to keep some distance from them as they can be a bit temperamental if you get too close.

Camel in a Pivot irrigation field – Qarryat Al Ulya

Camels are, as you would imagine, quite a common sight in the deserts of Saudi Arabia and they come in all sorts of different colours. I have taken numerous photos of them over the years against their desert backgrounds but last month I found a group feeding on a stubble field adjacent to a large pivot irrigation field. This gave me the chance to take a photo of a white camel against a green rather than whitish background and the result came out reasonable well, I think. No matter how many times I see camels I am always happy to see more. They are really beautiful creatures from a distance, although they can be a bit temperamental if you get too close to them.

Nabors Arabia Rig 70 - Ain Dar

I went to Nabors Arabia Rig 70 in Ain Dar for work on Wednesday, which allowed me to drive through quite a large expanse of true desert habitat. As I was working I did not stop many times but if I saw a bird I checked to see what it was. This did not hamper my work as I hardly saw any birds with the exception of a couple of Crested Larks and a few Rock Dove. After driving almost the entire distance from the office to the rig site, which took one hour and fifteen minutes we saw a bird fly across the road that I immediately identified as a Greater Hoopoe Lark ue to its distinctive wing pattern. A quick roadside stop allowed me the chance to take a photo of the bird but it was distant. I jumped over an oil pipeline and the bird, which was joined by a second, ran over a sand dune. This allowed me to creep up the dune and take a single photograph before the bird saw me and ran away. Luckily the shot turned out to be quite good - see below.

Greater Hoopoe Lark

The only other thing of interest we saw in the desert on our drive was a huge flock of sheep numbering at least 500 and hundreds of camels scattered all over the desert in varying numbers. Below are a few shots of camels seen on the journey.