A few migrants – Al Uqair

Whilst birding Al Uqair last visit the number of migrants had decreased significantly although there were still a few birds about. Red-backed Shrikes were the commonest bird seen with tens of individuals scattered around. Several Spotted Flycatchers were also seen along with a single Whinchat. Other interesting birds included several Common Redstart, Daurian Shrike, Masked Shrike and Spanish Sparrow. The nearby coast had very few birds bit a single Greater Sand Plover and several Kentish Plover were seen on the tideline.

Common Redstart

Daurian Shrike

Greater Sand Plover

Kentish Plover

Masked Shrike

Red-backed Shrike

Red-backed Shrike

Red-backed Shrike

Red-backed Shrike

Spanish Sparrow

Spotted Flycatcher

Spotted Flycatcher

Spotted Flycatcher

Whinchat

Some good migrants – Al Uqair

I forgot to post these photos taken recently at Al Uqair where wesaw a lot of good migrants. The best birds for us were a male Semi-collared Flycatcher and three White-throated Robins with good numbers of Masked Shrikes at the small date plantation. The magic barbed wire fence held lots of birds as always with European Roller, Turkestan and Great Grey Shrikes and Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush amongst the best. Migration seems to finally have arrived and im looking forward to seeing if anything unusual turns up this spring.

Masked Shrike

Masked Shrike

Masked Shrike

Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush

Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush

Semi-collared Flycatcher

Turkestan Shrike

Turkestan Shrike

White-throated Robin

White-throated Robin

European Roller

Great Grey Shrike

Great Grey Shrike

Great Grey Shrike

Birding Aqua Park – Jubail

Late January I went to Aqua Park to see if the Pied Kingfishers were still present. As soon as I arrived, I heard them calling and saw five birds together in flight over the water. One landed reasonably close and allowed a couple of photos before flying off onto the far side of the estuary. Also on the water were several hundred Slender-billed Gulls, a Squacco Heron, two Western Great Egret. And tens of Western Reef Herons. A male Common Kingfisher was seen along with several Graceful Prinia. And at least two Masked Shrike were in the trees, often dropping to the ground to catch food. Otherwise, it was relatively quiet.

Masked Shrike

Pied Kingfisher

Pied Kingfisher

Western Reef Heron

Graceful Prinia

Great Egret

Great Egret

Great Egret

Birding Deffi Park in winter

Deffi Park in the winter is an excellent place to see Crested Honey Buzzard that have been wintering there every winter for the past six years. The last couple of times I have been I have seen a Crested Honey Buzzard but they have not been very confiding. I also saw an active bee nest in the park, the food that the Crested Hone Buzzards prefer. The park is also one of the best places in the Eastern Province to see Masked Shrike in the winter where up to three birds spend the winter. Apart from a number of Common Chiffchaff the only other interesting species was Red-throated Pipit where up to seven birds were seen feeding on the grass along with two Water Pipits.

Crested Honey Buzzard

Honey Bee nest

Masked Shirke

Red-throated Pipit

Red-throated Pipit

Red-throated Pipit

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

Shrikes still passing - Jubail

As the previous week I started seeing shrikes as soon as we got to the location and by the end of the day we had seen five different species (Red-backed Shrike, Turkestan Shrike, Daurian Shrike, Masked Shrike and Lesser Grey Shrike) with some birds looking like freshly arrived migrants. The make up of the shrikes was slightly different to last week as I saw 87 Red-backed Shrike, one Turkestan Shrike, one Daurian Shrike, one Masked Shrike and two Lesser Grey Shrikes. This is the second largest number of Red-backed Shrikes I have seen in a day here in Saudi Arabia and they were basically everywhere you looked. It was a great days birding with so many shrikes and other migrants and the close views made it even more rewarding.

Red-backed Shrike

Red-backed Shrike

Masked Shrike