Pallid Swift still – Dhahran Waste Water Lake

Numbers of Pallid Swift have dropped significantly over the last few weeks with only five birds being seen in recent days. These are still allowing good photos to be taken of them, however. House Crow numbers are increasing again with tens being seen on every visit. The scrub now has Lesser Whitethroat and Graceful Prinia calling continually with several Red-spotted Bluethroat doing the same. A minimum of five Eastern Stonechat are present around the lakeside vegetaion and tens of resident White-eared Bulbul are also making lots of noise calling to each other.

Pallid Swift

Pallid Swift

Pallid Swift

Pallid Swift

Pallid Swift

Pallid Swift

Pallid Swift

Pallid Swift

Eastern Stonechat

Eastern Stonechat

Great Cormorant

House Crow

White-eared Bulbul

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 at the Lake – Dhahran Waste Water Lake

The summer in Saudi Arabia is very hot with few birds about. The Waste Water Lake in Dhahran has many fewer birds than the other seasons but birds can still be seen if you stick at it. A few Pallid Swift are flying around, often dropping down to to the water to drink or wet their breast feathers. Graceful Prinia, European Reed Warbler and Clamorous Reed Warbler are the only warblers seen recently all of which are calling loudly from the reeds. Herons are still present about in ones or twos with Great Egret, Squacco Heron, Grey Heron, Little Egret and Purple Heron all seen along with the more common (now) Little Bittern. Common species seen regularly in the scrub and around the lake include White-eared Bulbul and House Crow.

Graceful Prinia

Great Egret

House Crow

Pallid Swift

Pallid Swift

Purple Heron

Squacco Heron

White-eared Bulbul

Birding the scrubby area – Dhahran Waste Water Lake

Whilst birding the scrubby area next to Dhahran Waste Water Lake in March it was very apparent that the number of Common Chiffchaffs were increasing. Birds were scattered around the area but mainly preferring the larger trees. The birds were completely silent with not a single call heard whilst I was in the area. One the other hand Graceful Prinia were calling continually from the tops of reeds or trees and are now getting ready to start breeding. A single Lesser Whitethroat was also seen. Interesting birds flying over included a Crested Honey Buzzard and a few House Crow.

Common Chiffchaff

Common Chiffchaff

Common Chiffchaff

Common Chiffchaff

Crested Honey Buzzard

Crested Honey Buzzard

Graceful Prinia

House Crow

Lesser Whitethroat

Lesser Whitethroat

House Crow – Aqua Park

Whilst birding Deffi Park and Aqua Park recently I saw quite a number of House Crow. The House Crow Corvus splendens, as it name suggests is a member of the crow family and is approximately 42–44 cm long (body and tail) and weighs 250–350 grams. Their plumage is glossy black, except for the nape, sides of the head, upper back and breast, which are grey and not glossy. Their bills, legs and feet are black, with males and females being similar, only males being slightly larger and they live for about 6 years in the wild. The species is a recent colonizer of Saudi Arabia, and has a native range extending through the Indian sub-continent from Sri Lanka north to Nepal, west to southern Iran and east to Yunnan in China. On the east coast of Saudi Arabia birds are most often seen long the coast particularly near ports where they became plentiful by the end of the 1980’s but an eradication scheme in the 1990’s decimated their numbers but did not eradicate them completely. In most places House Crow numbers are linked to human population size, due simply to the expanding amount of rubbish generated. Jubail also has a port and House Crow is common in the main parks in the city where the below photos were taken.

 

 

 

Wintering species and first migrants – Deffi Park

Whist birding Deffi Park in mid-February we saw the normal wintering and resident species. Common Myna is plentiful in the park but a species I seldom photograph, and the warblers seen were several calling Chiffchaffs and Lesser Whitethroats. Another species that winters and can be heard calling is Masked Shrike and this trip I managed to take a couple of photos of one bird. House Crow is very common in Jubail and plenty are in residence in Deffi Park. They are normally seen perched on top of tall lampposts or flying over so one sitting in a tree was a better spot for a photo. The first migrants were also seen in the form of eight Red-throated Pipits that were feeding on a grassy area of the park. We often see Crested Honey Buzzard in this park but this last time we could not locate any, although I am sure they will still be around somewhere nearby.

Common Myna

Common Myna

House Crow

Masked Shrike

Masked Shrike

Red-throated Pipit

Red-throated Pipit

Two invasive species becoming commoner – Dhahran Hills

Whilst birding the Dhahran Hills area recently I came across good numbers of both House Crow and Common Myna. House Crow is native to the Indian Subcontinent but has spread around the Indian Ocean by self-colonization, often hitchhiking on ships and is most often found near port cities It was first recorded in Saudi Arabia in 1980 near Dhahran and is a uncommon breeding resident in the Kingdom although locally common in certain areas such as Dhahran. Numbers appear to be increasing with up to fifty birds seen together on occasions. Common Myna is one of the world’s three most invasive bird species; it was first recorded in Saudi Arabian cities in 1984 and has since established large self-sustaining populations. In Saudi Arabia it has a status as a common breeding resident