Eurasian Scops Owl – Dhahran Main Camp

Chris Boland a birdwatcher who lives in Dhahran saw a Scops Owl at very close range in his garden on the evening of 6 November and sent me a message the next day saying he would look for it again that evening and let me know if it was still present. I got a text at 18:45 saying the bird was still present in the trees and shrubs of his garden and was using the satellite dish to sit on. I went around with my camera and flash gun to see if I could relocate it and saw it almost immediately sitting on the grass but it flew and landed in a tree very near to me. My first views gave me the impression it was a Pallid Scops Owl but they are not so easy to tell apart from grey phase Eurasian Scops Owls. After a couple of brief views Chris came out with a torch and saw the bird again sitting on the grass. This time it flew only a short distance and landed in a palm tree where I was able to take a few photographs of it. It move around a little before eventually flying over to another garden. We have two Scops Owls in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabian, Eurasian Scops Owl and Pallid Scops Owl. Both are seldom seen with Eurasian Scops Owl being an uncommon passage migrant and Pallid Scops Owl being a scarce passage migrant and winter visitor. I have only seen one Eurasian Scops Owl in Saudi Arabia on 26 August 2015 when I found one in my garden in Dhahran Hills. I was unable to photograph that bird so the shots I got of this one made up for things. This bird although not straight forward to identify was a Eurasian Scops Owl of the subspecies O. s. turanicus that occurs in Iraq, western and northern Iran and southwest Turkmenistan east to northwest Pakistan. Winters south of the Sahara from south Mauritania eastwards to Eritrea, south to southern Cameroon, Kenya and Somalia. This subspecies is mainly a long-distance migrant, leaving the breeding grounds from August onwards; most reach Afrotropical savanna regions in winter; return migration occurs from late March. I would like to thank Chris for letting me know about the bird and texting me to let me know it was still present the next day and various birders including Oscar Campbell, Mark Smiles, Yoav Perlman and Hadoram Shirahai for help with the identification.

Eurasian Scops Owl a new Saudi species for me – Dhahran Hills

Whilst coming out of my house at lunchtime on 26 August I flushed a small owl from under our hedge. The bird flew up and into our large tree that grows in the front of the house and although my binoculars were in the car I could still see the bird was a Scops Owl. We have two Scops Owls in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabian, European Scops Owl and Pallid Scops Owl. Both are seldom seen with Eurasian Scops Owl being an uncommon passage migrant and Pallid Scops Owl being a scarce passage migrant and winter visitor. I quickly got my binoculars, found the bird again and could see it was a Eurasian Scops Owl, but it was quite nervous and would not stay in one place for long. I got my camera but then could not relocate the bird so as I needed to go back to work I put the camera back in the house. Then on the way back out I saw the owl again in the same tree but had not time to try to photograph it. I could not see the bird again despite looking each, morning, evening and night for it but there is a small chance it may still be about. Eurasian Scops Owl was a new species for me in Saudi Arabia and thus for my 'patch' as well, a lucky sighting in my garden. As a result of the above I failed to photograph the bird so am using an excellent photo of the species taken in Saudi Arabia by Mansur Al Fahad, who kindly gave me permission to use the photo some time ago when he saw the species himself.

Eurasian Scops Owl near Zulfi – Bird records by Mansur Al Fahad

The Eurasian Scops Owl is a very small owl that is an uncommon passage migrant and is strictly nocturnal. They can sometimes be found roosting in dense foliage during the day but a sharp eye is needed to locate them. This Scops Owl was seen about 60 kilomentres northeast of Zulfi in Al Haski Vale where Acacia trees were present and was found with the help of a Hunter (Abdullah al Mohatresh) who informed Mansur about it. These photos were sent to me by Mansur Al Fahad and were taken in the north of the Kingdom in early October (Hajj holiday) 2014. Masur has kindly allowed me to use the photos on my website which are reproduced below.

Some bird records from Dhahran and Abqaiq from the 1980’s – Bird records by Cliff Peterson

Cliff Peterson a birder who birded extensively in Saudi Arabia in the 1980’s has sent me a number of photographs, taken on film but converted to digital images.  I have selected a number of unusual species most of which I have not seen, or not taken photos of in Saudi Arabia. I appreciate the time Cliff has taken to convert the photos to digital and send them to me

Eastern Greylag Goose - This pair was present in Dhahran's Lanhardt Lake (now replaced by the percolation pond) 9 November 1985 to 26 January 1986.  Initially four birds arrived 9 November 1985 but then two of the four birds disappeared.

Ruddy Shelduck - This species frequented the Abqaiq lagoons (now fenced off I understand) and was recorded in a all months between 29 October to 20 May during 1982-1985.  Thirty-seven were counted 12 January 1984.

Western White Stork - Nine birds were found at Dhahran's Lanhardt Lake 27 August 1984 and lingered for a few days.

Eurasian Bittern - This species appeared sporadically at Abqaiq Lagoons with a maximum of 4 present 20 October 1983.  All other records were in March.

European Scops Owl - This was a wild bird that someone pulled out of a shrub in Dhahran May 1983.  It was later released.  We never saw another.

Rose-ringed Parakeet - Commonly found in Dhahran Main Camp. I also saw this bird in Qatif and Abqaiq. I had flocks up to eight and they were conspicuous due to their color and call.  My thinking is that the population size was likely limited by nesting cavities.  I have one picture of a pair using a large conduit alongside a power pole as their cavity. This image is of the male.

Eurasian Golden Oriole - This male sang every morning from the acacia trees over our house in Dhahran. It was present 16 April until we departed on leave 16 June 1984. Until the time we departed, no female appeared. I've several other records from April-May and September to October every year we were in KSA.  This was the best shot I was able to get he was quite shy.