Birds of Saudi Arabia: Little Stint

Showing posts with label Little Stint. Show all posts

29 September 2023

September waders – Jubail

My last visit to Jubail turned up a few waders, but nothing unusual was in amongst them. It is a great location for getting close to the birds, but the harsh sunlight makes getting good photos a challenge, as I normally go to this location after having spent the best early morning hours looking for migrants. The number of waders feeding along the edge of the sabkha was not too high compared to the numbers in August but there were plenty of Black-winged Stilt, Kentish Plover & Little Stint, with a couple of Dunlin and a single Ruddy Turnstone. On the way to the location, I saw a photographed a single Eurasian Curlew, but the light was not good, although the bird was close.

Black-winged Stilt

Eurasian Curlew

Kentish Plover

Little Stint

Ruddy Turnstone

Dunlin

06 September 2023

More Little Stint - Jubail

Little Stint are still present with some birds still in partial summer plumage. The species is an abundant passage migrant and very common winter visitor and is probably the commonest wader seen in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. As they are small, they are not so easy to get good photos of, but the various types of plumage amongst them makes trying to photograph different birds a pleasant pastime. They are quite timid in nature and the best way to get photos for me is to find one, wait some distance from it and let the bird feed along the shoreline until it is in front of the car. If you try to drive up to them, they often fly off leaving you disappointed.

27 August 2023

Little Stints – Jubail

Little Stint numbers are slowly increasing with some birds still in partial summer plumage. This is not such an easy species to photograph well as they are continually on the move feeding on insects and other items, often far from the shoreline. Their relatively small size also means it is important to try to get quite close and they often fly if another bigger wader comes along. Below are my best attempts last weekend, where I saw up to thirty birds feeding along the edge of the flooded sabkha. The species is an abundant passage migrant and very common winter visitor and is probably the commonest wader seen in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia.

25 August 2023

Waders – Khafra Marsh

I visit Khafra Marsh recently and saw a few waders on a small pool. They were a Black-winged Stilt, Kentish Plover and Little Stint. Nearby the breeding Red-wattled Plovers were still around as were the breeding Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters, both rare breeders in Saudi Arabia. Activity was very slow as I arrived at 08:30 and the light was already not good for photography. A few Nanaqua Dove were seen in various places and Graceful Prinia were about but very little else.

Black-winged Stilt

Kentish Plover

Little Stint

Namaqua Dove

Namaqua Dove

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

08 November 2022

Wader numbers dropping - Jubail

Whilst birding Jubail recently it has been noticeable the wader numbers are dropping. The most common wader remains the Little Stint, followed by Dunlin and Black-winged Stilt. Smaller numbers of Common Ringed Plover are still around and only a handful of Common Greenshank. All the Sand Plovers seem to have moved off, but Kentish Plover is still plentiful.