Birds of Saudi Arabia: Common Whitethroat

Showing posts with label Common Whitethroat. Show all posts

02 June 2024

Not much visible – Khafra Marsh

Whilst birding Khafra Marsh the last couple of weekends I have not really seen very much at all. The temperature is now very high, and birds are few and far between at most sites. I did see a few migrants in the form of Wood Sandpiper at a small pool formed by all the recent rain and a Red-backed Shrike and Common Whitethroat in the scrubby areas. A Blue-cheeked Bee-eater was present on the same place es the breeding birds from last hear so looks like it may well be breeding again. Eurasian Collared Dove and Graceful Prinia are resident breeders that were the only birds seen in good numbers.

Common Whitethroat

Eurasian Collared Dove

Graceful Prinia

Red-backed Shrike

Wood Sandpiper

17 May 2024

Common Whitethroat arriving – Dhahran Waste Water Lake

The scrubby areas around the Waste Water Lake at Dhahran are attracting quite a few migrants. Barred Warblers are common and in early May the first Common Whitethroats appeared in Dhahran, some giving good views. The lake is a good place to see birds flying around catching insects with lots of Pallid Swifts, Sand Martins and Barn Swallows all in small groups. The below photo of the Pallid Swift shows a large full crop, full of insects it has caught. European Bee-eaters have been moving through in good numbers and are mainly seen in flight rather than perched. They sometimes use the overhead power lines for perching, but the light is never good when I see them there for photographs. Other birds seen in good numbers around the lake include Laughing Dove, Spotted Flycatcher and Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin, of which some of the latter will stay and breed.

Common Whitethroat

Barred Warbler

European Bee-eater

Laughing Dove

Pallid Swift

Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin

Sand Martin

Spotted Flycatcher

14 May 2023

Hundreds of Shrikes – Jubail

Birding the Jubail area in early May produced a good number of migrants. On arrival it became apparent there were plenty of shrikes around and by the end of the day I had counted 142 Red-backed Shrikes, 12 Lesser Grey Shrikes and six Daurian Shrikes. Although shrikes are common in Saudi Arabia on passage this was an exceptional number for a single day and single location. Warblers seen were mainly Willow Warbler and Barred Warblers with a few Common Whitethroat. Other migrants included a few European Bee-eaters flying over calling, several Spotted Flycatchers, several small groups of Ortolan Bunting and four Whinchat. Yellow Wagtails were seen in various locations in several large groups with most birds being male thumbergi. A single Common Nightingale and two Rufous-tailed Scrub Robins were also seen. Wader numbers are building again with most birds being Little Stints and Kentish Plovers.

Common Whitethroat

Lesser Grey Shrike

Ortolan Bunting

Red-backed Shrike

Spotted Flycatcher

Whinchat

Willow Warbler

Yellow Wagtail - thunbergi

08 October 2021

Amazing migration – Az Zulfi

From September 23 – 25, we had an amazing number of migrants in and around some parks in Az Zulfi. Phil Roberts and I spent three days in Zulfi over the Saudi National Day weekend with Graham Gordon. It was amazing birding with hundreds of migrants in the parks and gardens. I have not seen numbers like this ever before and certainly not in Saudi Arabia. These numbers have not been recorded in Az Zulfi either as far as I am aware. In one park alone we saw 75+ Common Whitethroat, 20 Lesser Whitethroat, 5 Barred Warbler, 5 Great Reed Warbler, 5 Reed Warbler, 2 Garden Warbler, 5 Wryneck, 3 Masked Shrike, 3 Rufous Scrub Robin, 3 Black Scrub Robin, 2 Willow Warbler, 2 Spotted Flycatcher, Spotted Crake, Black Redstart and Eastern Orphean all jumping about on the grass lawns or in the trees, but mainly on the lawns. In a nearby park were smaller numbers of Common Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroat, Reed Warbler, Great Reed Warbler, Menetries’s Warbler, Blue-rock Thrush, Red-backed Shrike, Great Grey Shrike, 40 European Bee-eaters and six Spur-winged Lapwing. On 25 September about 50% of the birds had moved on but still tens of birds were present, with numbers of Lesser Whitethroat increasing despite most species departing overnight. It was incredible birding and will be back in the spring to see what other migrants could be seen. The parks were well watered and relatively quiet first thing in the morning, allowing birds to feed freely under the tress and in the grass.