Birding Either Mangroves - Either

Either Mangrove is a potentially very important natural mangrove lagoon west of Sabya in the southwest of the Kingdom on the Red Sea coast. It holds one of the only known populations of ‘Mangrove White-eye’ a little known white-eye that may be part of the Abyssinian White-eye complex or possibly an unknown species? It is also a site where I found Collared Kingfisher last year, so I went back looking for the two species in June 2016. On arrival I saw a pair of Collared Kingfishers sitting in the mangrove trees and occasionally calling as they often do. The birds were not frightened by my presence and flew close by to catch crabs and small fish on a number of occasions. Other birds on the water included Pink-backed Pelicans, with two fishing and four resting on a lagoon creek. A few Striated Herons were also fishing along the coast but little else apart from Indian Reef Herons. The mangroves held calling Mangrove Reed Warblers, Clamorous Reed Warblers and African Collared Doves but little else of note.

Collared Kingfisher

Collared Kingfisher

Collared Kingfisher

Pink-backed Pelican

Pink-backed Pelican

Ringing Collared Kingfishers at Either Mangroves - Either

Whilst ringing at Either Mangroves to the west of Sabya I trapped and ringed a male and female Collared Kingfisher Todirhamphus chloris. Other birds were seen flying around the ringing site and perching in the trees. The Collared Kingfisher is a common breeding resident of Mangrove stands in the Red Sea coast from Amaq south to Sabya. Birds probably occur further north and south but have not been proved there as of yet. Recently I checked the mangroves at Either, west of Sabya and found at least two pairs of Collared Kingfishers. This is very encouraging as this is a habitat and range restricted species in Saudi Arabia with Either being the southernmost currently know site for the species in the Kingdom. Collared Kingfisher is a common breeding resident in southwest Saudi Arabian Mangrove forests, but has a restricted range and a preference for habitat that is under serious threat in the Kingdom. It is a medium-sized kingfisher with variable plumage pattern with the male showing a white supraloral spot and a black mask extending in a narrow band across hindneck, white collar, greenish-blue crown and upperparts, brighter blue rump, blue wings and tail and white underparts. The upper mandible is grey-black with the lower mandible yellowish-horn with dark brown cutting edges and tip. The female has slightly duller plumage. The birds have a loud, ringing or harsh “kee-kee-kee-kee” call, repeated 3–5 times and can perch for long periods, with little activity, 1–3 metres above the ground. They feed mainly on crustaceans such as crabs but also on small fish. The below photos show a male bird in top four photographs and a female in bottom four photos.

Rare and unusual birds seen in Saudi Arabia in second half of 2015

Two new species for Saudi Arabia Fulvous Whistling Duck Dendrocygna bicolor & Lesser Whistling Duck Dendrocygna javanica were found together on Malaki Dam Lake 3 September. Eight Harlequin Quail Coturnix delegorguei were in a large field near Jizan 30 June including at least two males, a species that has not been recorded in Saudi Arabia for many years. Two Greater Flamingo Phoenicopterus roseus were well inland at a wetland near Tabuk 25 September and an immature Black Stork Ciconia nigra was present at the same place 16 October. 26 Abdim’s Storks Ciconia abdimii were at Sabya Waste Water Lagoons near Jizan 29-30 June. Three Eurasian Spoonbill Platalea leucorodia were at Sabkhat Al Fasl 21 August and a Black-headed Heron Ardea melanocephala was at Sabya Waste Water Lagoons near Jizan 3 September a species now becoming a regular at the location. A flock of a minimum of 250 Western Great Egrets Ardea alba were at Sabkhat Al Fasl 27 November, the highest ever count of this species in the Kingdom. 

Abdim's Stork

A juvenile Great White Pelican Pelecanus onocrotalus was at KAUST 25-27 November. A flock of at 46 Sociable Lapwing Vanellus gregarious were near Tabuk 20 - 27 November the largest flock recorded in the Kingdom in recent years, with another two satellite tagged birds wintering near the Jordon boarder. A moulting adult Pacific Golden Plover Pluvialis fulva at Sabkhat Al Fasl 21 August and two juvenile Caspian Plovers Charadrius asiaticus were there 28 August. A male Greater Painted Snipe Rostratula benghalensis was at Sabya Waste Water Lagoons near Jizan 30 June one of only two know sites for the species in the Kingdom.

Caspian Plover

Greater Painted Snipe

Three Grey-headed Swamphen Porphyrio poliocephalus were at Ash Shargiyah Development Company Farm, Fadhili, near Jubail 4 September, proving the species still occurs at this new site with others at Dammam second industrial city in Oct indicating the species is extending its range from its core area of Sabkhat Al Fasl, Jubail. A Black-winged Kite Elanus caeruleus caeruleus was present at Malaki Dam Lake 3 September the first confirmed record of this African subspecies for the Kingdom, although all previous SW records were assumed to have been this race. Another, of the Asian subspecies Elanus caeruleus vociferous was present at Ash Shargiyah Development Company Farm, Fadhili, near Jubail 4 September only the third record for the Eastern Province all of which have been this subspecies. The first records for the Riyadh region were at Al Hayer early Oct until 18 October at least. A Cinereous Vulture Aegypius manatees was at Rabigh Dam 11 December. At least 17 Greater Spotted Eagles Clanga clanga were at Sabkhat Al Fasl 20 November the highest single day count for the site. A fresh juvenile Bonelli’s Eagle Aquila fasciata was at Sabkhat Al Fasl 10 December a vagrant to the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. A male Diederik Cuckoo Chrysococcyx caprius was at Al Atta, near Bani Saad 3 July and was 450 kilometres north of its previous most northerly Saudi Arabian location, extending its breeding range considerably. The highest single count of Egyptian Nightjar Caprimulgus aegyptius recorded in Saudi Arabia was 15 at Sabkhat Al Fasl 14 - 28 August in the same place where 13 were seen in August – September 2014. A pair of Plain Nightjar Caprimulgus inornatus were near Taif in the evening of 4 July a rarely recorded summer breeding species, although records have also occurred this summer from Najran northwards to Taif, so appears to be much commoner than previously realised. A White-throated Kingfisher Halcyon smyrnensis was at Sabkhat Al Fasl 14 August to 27 November at least, an unusual date but possibly one of the birds that wintered into 2015 remaining through the summer and another was at Rabigh Dam 11 Dec. Nine Collared Kingfisher Todirhamphus chloris were trapped and ringed in a small area of Al Qahma Mangroves 29 Jun showing the species is locally common within its restricted range and habitat choice. A female Pied Kingfisher Ceryle rudis was at Sabkhat Al Fasl 23 October with numbers increasing to twelve by 5 December, the largest gathering of the species ever recorded in the Kingdom with at least four staying until the year end and with another female near Dhahran 12 December.

Collared Kingfisher

Pied Kingfisher

Four Blanford’s Short-toed Lark Calandrella blanfordi were at Sallal Al Dahna near Tanoumah 1 September. Two ‘mangrove’ white-eye sp Zosterops (abyssinicus?) sp, an as yet unidentified White-eye, were at Either Mangroves, Jizan Province 26 June, one of which was trapped and ringed with two further birds at Al Qahma Mangroves 28 June. A European Robin Erithacus rubecula was at Sabkhat Al Fasl 1-31 December at least with a second bird there 9 December. A Thrush Nightingale Luscinia luscinia was at Sabkhat Al Fasl 2 October with up to five White-throated Robin Irania gutturalis at KAUST in late August an unusual record from this locality. A Collared Flycatcher Ficedula albicollis was at Al Mefah Park, Tanoumah 1 September a species still regarded as a vagrant to the Kingdom. A number of sightings of the Arabian endemic subspecies of African Pipit Anthus cinnamomeus eximius in the Al Mefah Park, Tanoumah area during June to September are the first Saudi Arabian confirmed records since 1990 of this little known subspecies. Three Arabian Golden-winged Grosbeak Rhynchostruthus percivali, two adults and a juvenile, were seen near Bani Saad 3 July until late July with five birds seen at another location close by in late July. A Little Bunting Emberiza pusilla
was at Sabkhat Al Fasl 19 December only the second record for the country.

Collared Kingfisher – Red Sea Mangroves

The Collared Kingfisher Todirhamphus chloris is a common breeding resident of Mangrove stands in the Red Sea coast from Amaq south to Sabya. Birds probably occur further north and south but have not been proved there as of yet. Recently I checked a number of good mangrove areas between Either, west of Sabya, and Amaq, north of Al Birk, and found Kingfishers in all of them. This is very encouraging as this is a habitat and range restricted species in Saudi Arabia. Collared Kingfisher is a common breeding resident in southwest Saudi Arabian Mangrove forests, but has a restricted range and a preference for habitat that is under serious threat in the Kingdom. The subspecies occurring in Saudi Arabia is currently recorded as T. c. abyssinicus that occurs from the southern Red Sea coasts from north-east Sudan to north-west Somalia and in to western Arabia. It is a medium-sized kingfisher with variable plumage pattern with the male showing a white supraloral spot and a black mask extending in a narrow band across hindneck, white collar, greenish-blue crown and upperparts, brighter blue rump, blue wings and tail and white underparts. The upper mandible is grey-black with the lower mandible yellowish-horn with dark brown cutting edges and tip. The female has slightly duller plumage. The birds have a loud, ringing or harsh “kee-kee-kee-kee” call, repeated 3–5 times and can perch for long periods, with little activity, 1–3 metres above the ground. They feed mainly on crustaceans such as crabs but also on small fish.

Ringing at Al Qahma

After ringing at Either Mangroves for two days we moved further north to Al Qahma Mangroves to see if we could catch Collared Kingfisher and Mangrove White-eye sp here. We ringed for two days at this site again from before first light to around midday, using five 18 metre mist nets, when it became too windy to continue. We failed to catch the White-eye here but did catch nine Collared Kingfishers. This ringing site was very small being about 100 metres by 150 metres showing the high number of Collared Kingfishers at the location. We trapped and ringed 42 birds of six species at this location including 19 Mangrove Reed Warblers, nine Collared Kingfishers, six Ruppell’s Weavers, four Clamorous Reed Warblers, three African Collared Dove and one Striated Heron. Despite not trapping the White-eye here we did see two birds on both days showing the species occurs here in very small numbers. This was a new location for the White-eye sp and has added a further piece of information to the growing knowledge of this bird.

Mangrove Reed Warbler

Mangrove Reed Warbler

Mangrove Reed Warbler

Ruppell's Weaver

Ruppell's Weaver

Collared Kingfisher

More Collared Kingfishers - Amaq Lagoons

After seeing Collared Kingfisher, a bird restricted to the mangrove patches in the southwest of the Kingdom, at Al Qahma and Either Mangroves, I decided to go north past Al Birk and look at a site near Amaq. Here there are two large lagoons surrounded by mangroves and both looked good for the species. One lagoon is south of Amaq and the other north and both sites held birds with a minimum of two seen at each location. Although the species is restricted in habitat and area of Saudi Aramco they appear plentiful in the area they do occur in which is great news. Most birders go the the same couple of sites to see the species and this two new sites plus Either Mangorves have extended the species range and known locations. The northern site is fenced off and no access is currently possible from the main road, but if you backtrack to the south lagoon and use the coastguard track you can enter the location through an open gate into the fenced area. The locations also held a few Greater Flamingos, Pink-backed Pelicans and various waders including Crab Plover, Lesser Sand Plovers and Common Redshanks. Terns seen included Caspian Terns, Gull-billed Terns, Lesser Crested Terns and two Swift Terns.

Collared Kingfisher

Collared Kingfisher

Collared Kingfisher

Collared Kingfisher

Greater Flamingo

Lesser Crested Tern

Pink-backed Pelican

Al Qahma Mangroves

Shuqaiq Mnagroves (17 48.20N, 41 53.20E) is an area of mangroves on the southern Red Sea shore about 20km north of Shuqaiq. It is a shallow bay with large intertidal mudflats and stands of mangrove but little activity was occurring first thing in the morning on the day of our visit 4 July. As a result we travelled further north towards Al Birk on the main road looking for mangroves as we went and when we found any we tried to access the area by driving down any track that you can find to get near to the mangrove areas and then getting out of the car and walking around listening for calls. We eventually found a good area of mangroves just south of Al Qahma (17 57.856N, 41 40.841E). As a result we travelled further north towards Al Birk on the main road looking for mangroves as we went and eventually found a very nice large stand. The mangrove areas are accessed by driving down any track that you can find to get near to them and then getting out of the car and walking around listening for calls.

Collared Kingfisher

Collared Kingfisher

We drove down to the site we found and started looking in the mangroves when a loud series of calls alerted us to the presence of Collared Kingfisher and after a short while we had seen four birds with others calling. These mangroves had more crabs present than I have ever seen and as crabs are the primary food of Collared Kingfisher conditions looked ideal. The birds were seen in flight and occasionally perched in the mangroves themselves but did not allow us close approach. 

Goliath Heron

Greater Sand Plover

Purple Heron

Sooty Gull

Whilst looking for the Collared Kingfishers and scanning the edge of the mangroves we also found a Goliath Heron perched in the mangroves, presumably driven there by the rising tide. Other good birds seen at the site included Sooty Gull, Striated Heron, Crab Plover, Greater Sand Plover, Indian Reef Heron, Purple Heron and African Collared Dove.