Birding Alsharaf Park - Tanoumah

Alsharaf Park is a beautiful park in Tanoumah with the highest oeak in the area in it. It has excellent habitat nearby and plenty of the resident common species can be seen. Dusky Turtle Dove is common as is Yemen Thrush that can be heard calling commonly in the area. Brown Woodland Warbler is a common bird but one that is difficult to get excellent views of as it is normally deep in cover. White-spectacled Bulbul, however, perch out on the open frequently, often along the roadside. Violet-backed Starling is a summer breeding visitor and not too easy to photograph which is the same for African Shikra. Fan-tailed Raven are often seen flying over the large rocks calling.

Brown Woodland Warbler

Dusky Turtle Dove

Fan-tailed Raven

Fan-tailed Raven

Gambaga Flycatcher

Shikra

Violet-backed Starling

White=spectacled Bulbul

Yemen Thrush

Yemen Thrush

Residents and migrants – Abha Area

Apart from the endemics the area also held resident African Stonechat, Dusky Turtle Dove, Pale Crag Martin, Fan-tailed Raven, Graceful Prinia, Hamerkop and Long-billed Pipit. Migrants had just started passing through with a few Barn Swallow and lots of Common Chiffchaff seen. Two White-winged Tern in full breeding plumage were seen on one lake visited.

African Stonechat

Barn Swallow

Common Chiffchaff

Common Chiffchaff

Dusky Turtle Dove

Fan-tailed Raven

Graceful Prinia

Graceful Prinia

Hamerkop

Long-billed Pipit

Pale Crag Martin

White-winged Tern

White-winged Tern

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

Birding Billasmer

Whilst birding the western mountains we visited Billasmer looking for Arabian endemics. We managed to located two Arabian Magpie, Arabian Wheatear and small flocks of Yemen Linnet but not much else. Other common birds seen included Laughing Dove, Dusky Turtle Dove, Gambaga Flycatcher and Little Owl. Little Owl is a species not easy to see in the Kingdom but the arwa of An Namas and Billasmer seems a reliable and regular place to see them since we first discovered birds here several years ago.

Dusky Turtle Dove

Gambaga Flycatcher

Laughing Dove

Little Owl

Yemen Linnet

Dusky Turtle Dove

Whilst birding the southwest of the Kingdom at various times from spring through summer I came across good numbers of Dusky Turtle Dove. Numbers have been much higher this year than any previous years I have been to the southwest. The species is a breeding resident in the Asir notably the Abha and Jebel Soudah areas. It is thought birds may move to lower elevations in winter as it has been found in the extreme southwest in January. I have seen them in various habitats including ploughed fields, valleys with tree cover, farms on the Raydah Escarpment and juniper covered slopes.

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

Birding Tanoumah – Tanoumah

The Tanoumah area is probably the best area in the country for seeing the endemic species. It holds all the endemics occurring in Saudi Arabia with the exception of Arabian Golden-winged Grosbeak as well as the three subspecies often also regarded as species, Arabian Magpie, Arabian Spotted Eagle Owl and Arabian Green Bee-eater. I saw all the endemics and the three subspecies with the exception of Arabian Partridge on my last visit to the area and saw the Arabian Partridge at the Raydah Escarpment near Abha as well. Apart from all the endemics, there are many other southwest specialities such as Arabian Warbler, Brown Woodland Warbler, Dusky Turtle Dove, Gambaga Flycatcher, Little Rock Thrush, Spectacled Bulbul and Tristram’s Starling. As the area is in the high mountains at around 2000 metres above sea level, some other interesting birds such as Alpine Swift and Rock Dove may be seen. As the tempertures are much lower in the mountains than the nearby plains and coast it is possible to spend the entire day birdwatching on foot making for a pleasant and enjoyable day in the field. 

Yemen Thrush

Yemen Warbler

Philby's Partridge

Tanoumah

Arabian Warbler

Arabian Wheatear

Arabian Wheatear

Brown Woodland Warbler

Dusky Turtle Dove

Gambaga Flycatcher

Little Rock Thrush

White-spectacled Bulbul

Rock Dove

Tristram's Starling