A few returning migrants – Jubail

As September started so did an increasing number of shrikes. The first species to arrive in the autumn are Turkestan Shrike closely followed by Duarian Shrike and then Woodchat Shrike. All were seen in small numbers. Yellow Wagtail numbers started to increase as well with plenty of scruffy looking individuals but also one or two in better plumage such as the one in the photo below. Sand Martins really increased in numbers with several hundred seen in early September mainly flying over but with the occasional bird perched in the reeds. Barn Swallow was also common but numbers remained much lower than Sand Martin. A single Wryneck was a nice sight, perched on the edge of a track by the reed beds. Although I see the species reasonably often it is difficult to get good photos of them. Migrants seen but not photographed included Black-eared Wheatear, Isabelline Wheatear and Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters. Squacco Heron is a migrant but they probably breed nearby so difficult to tell exactly how far they have moved. Numbers of this species are building up again after they departed for the summer months to breed elsewhere. Numbers of Grey Heron are also increasing after the lack of birds during the summer months.

Turkestan Shrike

Woodchat Shrike

Eurasian Wryneck

Yellow Wagtail

Sand Martin

Sand Martin

Grey Heron

Squacco Heron

Slow migration but a good bird - Jubail

Birding Jubail on 1 October proved quite slow with very few migrants seen in the first hour of light. Things picked up slightly, later, with a few good birds seen by the end of the day. The best bird was a Eurasian Hobby perched on a small shrub for a while before departing and not being relocated, which was my first sighting of the species at this location. More common migrants seen were a few Yellow Wagtails, Spotted Flycatcher, Pied Wheatear, Isabelline Wheatear, Blue-cheeked and European Bee-eaters and a Eurasian Wryneck. Herons were around in very large numbers with 500+ Little Egrets, 200+ Squacco Heron, 150+ Grey Heron, four Purple Heron, two Great Egret and a Eurasian Spoonbill. Interesting waders were Marsh Sandpiper and two Pied Avocet with 300+ Caspian Tern and 30+ Gull-billed Tern. Numbers of Purple Swamphen are on the increase with 50+ seen for the first time in many months. Three Ferruginous Duck were a nice record of this uncommon species in Saudi Arabia.

Eurasian Hobby

   Eurasian Wryneck

                                                                     

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. 

Spotted Crake

Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin

Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin

Lesser Whitethroat

Lesser Whitethroat

Eurasian Wryneck

Eurasian Wryneck

Eurasian Wryneck

Common Whitethroat

Common Whitethroat

Some good migrants – Jubail

Whilst birding the Jubail area I came across a number of good migrants throughout the autumn. Birds seldom seen in the area included Eurasian Wryneck and Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush, whilst Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin, Purple Heron, European Roller and Barn Swallow were all seen in higher numbers than usual. Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, Grey-headed Wagtail, Ortolan Bunting and Eurasian Hoopoe were also seen.

Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush

Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush

Purple Heron

Purple Heron

Ortolan Bunting

Grey-headed Wagtail

Eurasian Hoopoe

Eurasian Wryneck

Eurasian Wryneck

European Roller

Barn Swallow

Blue-cheeked Bee-eater

Common Kingfisher

Eurasian Wryneck – Bird record by Liam Brickwood

Liam Brickwood sent me an email recently saying he took the below photographs of a Eurasian Wryneck recently in Saudi Arabia. Liam said he took the photos from his villa on Salwa Garden Village Compound (Riyadh) on 8th February 2019. The bird is probably an early migrant as migration starts very early in KSA. Having said that it is also possible it could have wintered as there are a number of records of probable wintering individuals. Liam kindly allowed me to use his photos on my website which are reproduced below.

Some spring migrants in northwest Saudi Arabia – Bird record by Euan Ferguson

Euan Ferguson was in Saudi Arabia with a couple of other birdwatchers in spring 2017, conducting an environmental survey and found a number of good birds and many migrants in the northwest if the Kingdom at Sharma on the Red Sea coast and further inland at Dumat. The survey team added a lot of knowledge to the birds seen in the area showing how valuable environmental surveys can be. Euan sent me a number of his photos and has kindly allowed me to use them on my website some of which are shown below.

Bluethroat

Little Bittern

Green Bee-eater

Ortolan Bunting

Common Quail 

Savi's Warbler

Spotted Flycatcher 

Turkestan Shrike

Wryneck

Black-headed Wagtail

Quality migrants at Abu Hadriyah – Records by Arnold Uy

Whilst birding the Abu Hadriyah area recently Arnold Uy and found some amazing birds. He very kindly sent me the details and has allowed me to use his photos on my website some of which are shown below. Blue Rock Thrush is an uncommon passage migrant that is commoner in the spring than autumn and a species I personally do not see every year. Eurasian Wryneck has a similar status to Blue Rock Thrush but they are seen slightly more often. Other birds seen by Arnold included Indian (Clamorous) Reed Warbler a species extended it range considerably in the province in recent years. Also seen was Spotted Flycatcher a species that has been passing through in very good numbers this autumn over a broad range.

Blue-Rock Thrush

Eurasian Wryneck

Indian (Clamorous) Reed Warbler

Spotted Flycatcher