Dammam Port seafront area

One evening looking at Dammam Port waterfront area produced a few birds. House Crows were common with fifty plus seen standing on the water edge and nearby areas. They are common near many ports as they probably came to the Kingdom by boar originally. A single White-winged Tern was feeding in the fading light and two Black-necked Grebes were far offshore in front of several thousand Slender-billed Gulls. A good variety of waders were seen including Ruff, Marsh Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, Grey Plover, Lesser Sand Plover, Greater Sand Plover, Spotted Redshank, Common Redshank, Kentish Plover, Common Ringed Plover, Curlew Sandpiper, Eurasian Curlew and Dunlin. A few Greater Flamingo were offshore with several flying around and landing after a while.

White-winged Tern

White-winged Tern

White-winged Tern

White-winged Tern

House Crow

Greater Flamingo

Greater Flamingo

Summer Breeders & Visitors – Jubail

Whilst in the Jubail area recently I photographed a number of the common breeding species as well as a few summer visitors. I managed to find a good place to stop and try to photograph Clamorous Reed Warbler as I heard a number of birds calling loudly. They find a nice reed and slowly move up the reed stem to get in a good position for calling their distinctive very loud call. This sometimes gives a good opportunity to photograph the birds. In the reeds there were plenty of Grey-headed Swamphen, a bird that I love seeing. They are far from elegant when they fly and try to land in the reeds but are great birds to see and watch. They have been expanding their range markedly in the Eastern Province over the last few years and can now be seen in many places. Little Terns breed in the area now and I managed to find a pair in a good position for photographs. Black-winged Stilts also breed commonly in the area with this one below against a nice sandy background. Non-breeding species seen include Caspian Tern, which is common bird year-round and the much scarcer Lesser Crested Tern. Greater Flamingo has bred at this location in previous years but only fifteen birds are currently present so looks unlikely this year.

Little Tern

Little Tern

Greater Flamingo

Grey-headed Swamphen

Grey-headed Swamphen

Grey-headed Swamphen

Lesser Crested Tern

Lesser Crested Tern

Black-winged Stilt

Black-winged Stilt

Clamorous Reed Warbler

Clamorous Reed Warbler

Birding Aqua Park – Jubail

Phil Roberts and I went to Aqua Park to see if the cold weather had brought any birds down. We arrived at first light and walked to the end of the park where we saw a Eurasian Sparrowhawk in an aerial battle with a Common Kestrel. We also saw a Western Marsh Harrier in the same area along with two Common House Martins. We then went to the waterside where I saw a Pied Kingfisher flying down the estuary as well as a Striated Heron, an unusual bird in the Eastern Province. Also flying over the water were a few Slender-billed Gulls, a Squacco Heron and a Western Great Egret. On the water itself were three Greater Flamingo and three Eurasian Spoonbill. Further down the park in a tree on the edge of the water we found four Pied Kingfisher along with presumably the same Striate Heron as seen earlier in flight. A small group of Spanish Sparrow were in the reeds along with Clamorous Reed Warbler. At least one but probably two Masked Shrike was in the park as were two Eurasian Hoopoe.

Western Great Egret

Slender-billed Gull

Slender-billed Gull

Slender-billed Gull

Eurasian Sparrowhawk - juvenile

Eurasian Sparrowhawk - juvenile

Eurasian Sparrowhawk - juvenile

Eurasian Spoonbill

Eurasian Spoonbills

Eurasian Spoonbills

Greater Flamingo

Some winter species – Jubail

The last couple of visits to Jubail have produced a number of wintering Daurian Shrikes. This is a good area to find this species in winter, where they like to keep close to the dense reedbeds. Squacco Heron and Little Egret numbers are again building with birds seen in good numbers almost always out in the flooded areas in reeds or shrubs. The flooded areas are now becoming wetter and Greater Flamingo numbers are increasing although still at a relatively low level of less than 50 birds. Slender-billed Gull numbers have also decreased markedly over the last few weeks dropping from thousands to less than a hundred. These species will all stay around for the entire winter in varying numbers. Other good birds seen included a single Black-necked Grebe and a single White-throated Kingfisher, a species which is now certainly resident in very small numbers in the area.

Daurian Shrike

Greater Flamingo

Squacco Heron

Slender-billed Gull

Slender-billed Gull

Slender-billed Gull

Slender-billed Gull

Slender-billed Gull

Some different migrants - Jubail

Migration has been a little slow this autumn but a few birds are passing through. Last visit to Jubail produced good numbers of Barn Swallow and Sand Martins mainly in flight over the reed beds but a couple of Barn Swallows perched nicely in a stick allow the below photos to be taken. A single European Turtle Dove was in a small bush with three European Collared Doves. As I approached the three European Collared Doves flew off leaving the European Turtle Dove for me to try to get pictures. The trouble was that branches or leaves were always in the way but as I have not seen this species at all this year I took a few photos of the bird. Later a single Lesser Short-toed Lark was noted in amongst the bushes that were also holding two Egyptian Nightjar, the last ones of the year. A single European Bee-eater was perched in the reeds and the first few returning Greater Flamingo were noted out on the flooded Sabkha. 

European Bee-eater

European Turtle Dove

Greater Flamingo

Lesser Short-toed Lark

Barn Swallow

Barn Swallow

A few migrants - Jubail

Birding the Jubail area in late August produced a few migrants including three Common Cuckoos, Turkestan Shrike, a group of seven Garganey, Barn Swallow, House Martin and several Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters. A few waders were seen including Ruddy Turnstone a species that is not commonly seen and the scarce Spur-winged Plover of which we saw three together. Resident species included Greater Flamingo and Grey-headed Swamphen. The reed beds had many Indian (Clamorous) Reed Warblers and Gracful Prinias. Migration is just picking up and hopefully many more birds will be seen in the coming weeks.

Garganey

Greater Flamingo

Grey-headed Swamphen

Grey-headed Swamphen

Ruddy Turnstone

Greater Flamingo flocks – Jubail

Whilst birding the Jubail area recently I recorded plenty of Greater Flamingos in several large groups. Numbers possibly amounted to over three thousand birds, a good count to the location. I also saw Grey-headed Swamphen a species that breed in the area as well as the less common Purple Heron and Spanish Sparrow. Wintering Daurian Shrikes were around in good numbers as well but otherwise it was relatively quiet.

Greater Flamingo

Greater Flamingo

Grey-headed-Swamphen 

Grey-headed-Swamphen

Purple Heron

Purple Heron 

Spanish Sparrows

Daurian Shrike