Birding Al Namas

Most birders birding the Asir go to Tanoumah for their birds driving through Al Namas, but Al Namas has some good birds to offer for those who stop. There are a number of small valleys inland from the main road that are well worth exploring. These hold the most northerly Arabian Magpies as well as Arabian Woodpecker and Arabian Partridge. Some of the less easy to see warblers are plentiful here including both Yemen Warbler and Arabian Warbler. Little Owl can be seen as can other woodland birds such as Little Rock Thrush with both Grey-headed Kingfisher and White-throated Bee-eater using the tall trees as lookout perches for their prey.

White-throated Bee-eater

Yemen Warbler

Yemen Warbler

Yemen Warbler

Little Rock Thrush

Little Rock Thrush

Little Rock Thrush

Arabian Warbler

Birding in the mountains - Abha

Abha is in the mountains of the southwest of Saudi Arabia where the weather is much cooler and wetter than other parts of the Kingdom. As a result, many different species of birds, animals and plants live in the area that are not seen in the area where I live in the east of the country. My last trip to the area allowed me to see and photograph a few species I do not see very often including Arabian Babbler, Little Rock Thrush and Little Swift and as I was there in the breeding season Cinnamon-breasted Bunting, Gambaga Flycatcher and Grey-headed Kingfisher. Another bird I photographed was Laughing Dove, a common bird throughout the Kingdom and seen daily in Dhahran where I live.

Arabian Babbler

Cinnamon-breasted Bunting

Gambaga Flycatcher

Grey-headed Kingfisher 

Laughing Dove

Little Rock Thrush - juvenile 

Little Rock Thrush - adult

Little Swift

October birding – Talea Valley

I went birding in the Talea Valley in mid-October, but very few birds were seen. Many birds appear to move to lower elevations or at least out of the valley at this time of year and common birds in the summer such as Laughing Dove and Dusky Turtle Dove was almost absent. A few good birds were still seen such as five Steppe Eagles and a dark morph Long-legged Buzzard. Arabian Serin, Arabian Wheatear, Yemen Linnet and Shinning Sunbird were Arabian Endemics located during the day but unfortunately the Eurasian Scops owl found by Phil the day before could not be relocated. The wet pool held a Green Sandpiper and a Grey Wagtail with a few House Sparrows and Indian Silverbills coming down to drink with Crested Lark and a single Red-capped Lark.

Arabian Babbler

Northern Wheatear

Eurasian Hoopoe

Grey Wagtail

Grey Wagtail

Grey Wagtail

Little Rock Thrush 

Long-Legged Buzzard 

Long-Legged Buzzard

Montagu's Harrier

Montagu's Harrier

Woodland birding - Billasimer

The tall woodland around Billasimer looked good for birdwatching and as neither Phil or I had birded the area we spent both our available mornings at the location. There are plenty of good looking sites and a few nice tracks that may hold nightjars (Plain and Montane), for which we will look next time in the area. We found a couple of very deep valleys with Philby’s Partidge calling regularly but the birds stayed hidden in the woods and did not fly as normal, so we failed to even see them. Arabian Babblers were common along the edge of the valley and Red-breasted Wheatear were seen on the way into the location. Other birds seen and photographed were Little Rock Thrush, Yemen Thrush and Abyssinian White-eye. Brown Woodland Warbler was common and plenty of Dusky Turtle Doves were seen with a couple of Arabian Magpie as calling and flying up and down the valley.

Abyssinian White-eye

Arabian Babbler

Arabian Babbler

Little Rock Thrush

Yemen Thrush

Quraish Valley – Tanoumah

Whilst birding a valley on the outskirts of Tanoumah near the village of Quraish I came across a few good birds. There were plenty of common species such as Laughing Dove and White Spectacled Bulbul, some summer visitors such as Violet-backed Starlings and a few good south-west highland resident species such as Shikra and Palestinian Sunbird. Shikra is a scarce breeding resident of the southwest of Saudi Arabia with a few scattered records of migrants elsewhere. Nets were set at one point and Yemen Thrush and Little Rock Thrush trapped.

Laughing Dove

Little Rock Thrush

Palestine Sunbird

Shikra

Violet-backed Starling

White-spectacled Bulbul

Yemen Thrush

Birding Wadi Thee Ghazal – Taif

Wadi Thee Ghazal is an excellent site on the outskirts of Taif that is always a great place to see some of the Arabian Endemics. Arabian Wheatear, Yemen Thrush and Arabian Serin are normally easy to find at the site and other southwestern specialities such as Little Rock Thrush can be located quickly. The dry wadi bottoms are normally very good for locating good birds with the chance of seeing Arabian Waxbill among other species. We did not locate this species this visit, however.

Arabian Wheatear - juvenile

Arabian Wheatear - female

Little Rock Thrush

Yemen Thrush

Three species of Rock Thrush in one morning – Tanoumah

Whilst birding the Tanoumah area in Mid-October Phil Roberts and I saw all three species of Rock Thrush that occur in Saudi Arabia in a single morning. We located both Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush and Little Rock Thrush in a well-vegetated valley with the first species an uncommon passage migrant and the second a common breeding resident. We then went to Salah Al Dana and located a male Blue Rock Thrush on a pile of waste rocks and earth. This species is an uncommon passage migrant and one I had not seen in the southwest previously. Rock Thrush are always great to see as apart from their beautiful plumage they also have great character.