Birds of Saudi Arabia: Little Ringed Plover

Showing posts with label Little Ringed Plover. Show all posts

11 May 2024

Birds in around & over – Dhahran Waste Water Lake

The last few visits to the Waste Water Lake during April and early May have produced a few new birds. A number of breeding Little Ringed Plover have been seen and heard calling and flying around suggesting they have young about. House Crows are now being seen in good numbers around the pond and nearby Cricket Fields. At least two Crested Honey Buzzards are still present and may well stay for the summer as they have done in the past few years. Migrants include Daurian and Red-backed Shrikes the later of which were not seen until late April which is quite late as they are normally seen early April and very occasionally in March. European Bee-eaters have been flying over in reasonably good numbers with flocks of twenty plus birds seen on many occasions. They are often heard calling before they are seen. Another migrant seen in larger numbers than normal this year has been Northern Wheatear, whilst Tree Pipit has been recorded less frequently than in recent years.

Little Ringed Plover

Northern Wheatear

Red-backed Shrike

Tree Pipit

Crested Honey Buzzard

Crested Lark

Daurian Shrike

European Bee-eater

10 September 2023

A few migrants – Khafra Marsh

I visited Khafrah Marsh in early September to see what migrants had dropped in. This is a large wetland area near Jubail and on the water itself where 17 Grey-headed Swamphens. This is the largest number I have seen at this location where they were first seen only a few years ago. A black-tailed Godwit was on the water’s edge with a few Kentish Plover. On a small pool were a single Little Ringed Plover, a Kentish Plover and two Namaqua Doves and a Yellow Wagtail also dropped in whilst we were there for a short while. I quick walk through a rough grassy area with small tamarisk shrubs produced three Egyptian Nightjars, and a Great Grey Shrike but very little else.

Egyptian Nightjar

Great Grey Shrike

Kentish Plover

Little Ringed Plover

Namaqua Doves

Yellow Wagtail

Yellow Wagtail

31 August 2023

Waders – Jubail

My last visit to Jubail last weekend was designed to allow me to photograph any waders that were present. Normally I go to the area where the Egyptian Nightjars are at this time of year but this time, I decided to get to the best wader spot whilst the light was still good to allow me the chance to get some better photos. Although the number of waders feeding along the edge of the sabkha was not too high a saw ten Black-winged Stilt & Kentish Plover, hundreds of Little Stint, two Dunlin, and single Common Sandpiper, Ruddy Turnstone, Common Ringed Plover and Little Ringed Plover. Many of the birds were feeding quite close and although a little flighty they allowed reasonably close approach if you stayed in the car. The trouble with the middle of summer where temperatures are now well over 45 Celsius each day is the light only remains good for photography for the first hour and a half from sunrise. Then the heat haze and bright light make taking photos a challenge and they never come out as well as earlier in the morning. I stayed the entire time with the waders until the light became too strong.

Black-winged Stilt

Common Ringled Plover

Common Sandpiper

Dunlin

Kentish Plover

Kentish Plover

Little Ringled Plover

Ruddy Turnstone

19 August 2023

Returning Waders – Jubail

Whilst slowly driving around the flooded sabkha in mid-August I came across a small number of confiding waders. Most were Little Stint with smaller numbers of Lesser Sand Plover, Kentish Plover, Ruddy Turnstone and a single Little Ringed Plover and Curlew Sandpiper. Some of the birds were in partial summer plumage and looking nice in the sunlight. A single Grey Plover was also noted but not photographed. Wader numbers should build up over the next month and hopefully more photos can be obtained, and some different species seen.

Curlew Sandpiper

Kentish Plover

Lesser Sand Plover

Little Ringed Plover

Little Stint

Ruddy Turnstone

Ruddy Turnstone

19 May 2022

Breeding Little Ringed Plover - Jubai

Whilst birding Jubail in mid-May I came across a pair of breeding Little Ringed Plovers with a small chick. This species has started to breed commonly in the Jubail area with many pairs seen daily but this is the first chock of the year that I have recorded. The chicks are very skilful at hiding when disturbed so I may have overlooked them in previous weeks. The species is an early passage migrant with small numbers seen from January through to early May, breeders remaining through the summer and more migrants arrive in August to October. A few birds stay until November and exceptionally December and they often occur on pools and lagoons sometimes well away from the coast. The prefer inland freshwater locations often well away from the coast and breed in open areas with sandy or shingle banks close to streams, freshwater and treated wastewater lagoons. Breeding numbers appear to be increasing in the Eastern Province over the last few years with birds seen in many different locations.

23 May 2021

Breeding Birds – Jubail

While birding the Jubail area in early May we came across obvious signs of breeding of a few species. Little Terns were sitting on eggs in one area of partially dried up sabkha and Black-winged Stilts were nesting in good numbers in similar habitat. One nest seen without an adult on had one egg and another had four eggs. Little Ringed Plovers were seen in many areas with well-grown young also seen and Kentish Plovers were seen performing their distraction display to move us away from a very young chick only a few days old. Signs of Black-crowned Night Heron breeding with adults and juveniles seen for the third week running and the Spur-winged Lapwing is in the same area where I think it may have a mate sitting on eggs. Some of these birds are unusual breeders such as Black-crowned Night Heron and Spur-winged Plover and others common. This is the first time we have seen Little Tern sitting on eggs but they are seen every year with young juveniles in the same area.