Migrants passing – Jubail area

The last few weeks a few more migrants have been passing through with plenty of warbler seen. Most have been Eurasian Blackcap, Lesser Whitethroat and Barred Warbler but also a few Eastern Olivaceous Warbler have been seen and one or two Asian Desert Warblers. Wheatears have also arrived with Black-eared and Pied being the most numerous with the Asian Desert Warblers almost always associated with the Wheatears feeding in close proximity to each other. Eurasian Bee-eaters and Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters have also been plentiful with small groups seen regularly over the last few weeks. Shrikes have been seen in small numbers but many less than previous years. Woodchat Shrike has been the commonest with a few Mauryan Grey Shrikes also seen with the odd Red-backed Shrike also present. 

Asian Desert Warbler 

Barred Warbler

Blue-cheeked Bee-eater

Eastern Olivaceous Warbler

Mauryan Grey Shrike

Pied Wheatear

Pied Wheatear

Woodchat Shrike

Birds of prey eating Fat Sand Rats near Jubail - Records by Arnold Uy

Arnold Uy has been seeing Fat Sand Rats at a location near Jubail for most of the winter but reported that recently a large number of birds of prey as well as other birds were in the area probably eating the animals. Species seen included Greater Spotted Eagle, Eastern Imperial Eagle, Common Kestrel and Long-legged Buzzard. Last week Arnold sent me some great photos of a Common Kestrel eating one of the rats and has kindly allowed me to use them on my website. I am still yet to see these rats so hope a few survive until I have the chance to try and locate them.

Common Kestrel

Common Kestrel

Common Kestrel 

Mauryan Grey Shrike

Fat Sand Rat

Winter visitors and passage migrants – Haradh

Phil Roberts and I went to Haradh recently and found plenty of good birds despite the temperature being 1 degrees Celsius the coldest day for many years in the region as well as a bitingly cold northerly wind. Some birds were winter visitors such as Mallard, Northern Lapwing, Desert Wheatear, Eastern Imperial Eagle and Tawny Pipit whilst others were spring migrants such as Common Redstart, Common Chiffchaff, Mauryan Grey Shirke. We also saw a few interesting resident species such as Long-legged Buzzard, Spur-winged Plovers that appear to have colonized the pivot irrigation and farm areas of Haradh in recent years as well as Spanish Sparrows and Namaqua Doves. A few winter harriers were still present including Marsh Harrier and Pallid Harrier and there were plenty of Common Kestrels as well.

Mauryan Grey Shrike

Desert Wheatear

Eastern Imperial Eagle

Greater Hoopoe Lark

Mallard

Northern Lapwing

Spur-winged Lapwing

Tawny Pipit

Birding the pivot fields – Haradh

The winter months are a good time to visit Haradh pivot irrigation fields as they hold a lot of good birds at this time of year. Large numbers of wintering Harriers, particularly Western Marsh Harrier and Pallid Harrier occur here and I saw well over thirty birds of both species during my visit. Another group that frequents the fields in winter are Lapwings and I saw at least 26 Spur-winged Lapwing a species that has started using the fields only in the last few years and well over 350 Northern Lapwings the second largest group ever seen in the Kingdom. Western Cattle Egrets are beginning to use the fields in good numbers in recent years and we saw well over 300 birds feeding in the short cut fields. Other good birds seen along the field edges included Asian Desert Warbler, Desert Wheatear, Common Kestrel and several Mauryan Grey Shrikes and a single Southern Grey Shrike. All in all I had a great days birding these fields and saw plenty of good birds. These fields hold a lot more birds than similar fields closer to my home of Dhahran so the longer journey is well worth the effort.

Western Marsh Harrier - male

Pallid Harrier

Western Cattle Egret

Northern Lapwing

Asian Desert Warbler 

Mauryan Grey Shrike

Desert Wheatear

Common Kestrel

Desert birds and migrants - Haradh

Whilst birding the NADAC Farm area of Haradh 14 October I saw some good desert birds and migrants. One of the first birds seen was an Eastern Morning Wheatear, which was good as birds have only just started returning for the winter and I have not seen one at this location before. Other migrants included a few Common Kestrels hunting over the pivot irrigation fields and a Collared Pratincole was along one field edge. Several shrikes were seen including good numbers of Daurian Shrikes, Turkestan Shrikes and Mauryan Grey Shrike. Birds seen in the desert included, Namaqua Doves, Greater Hoopoe-Lark and Black-crowned Sparrow Larks with possibly over 100 birds seen, easily the largest number I have seen at one time in the Kingdom.

Eastern Mourning Wheatear

Eastern Mourning Wheatear

Common Kestrel

Daurian Shrike

Greater Hoopoe-Lark

Greater Hoopoe-Lark

Collared Pratincole

Black-crowned Sparrow Lark

Namaqua Doves

A few migrants in Dhahran – Records by Paul Wells

Migration has started picking up, and now there is a break in the very high humidity it allowed Paul to take his camera out. Paul has been seeing shrikes for the last week or so including Woodchat, Turkestan and Mauryan Grey Shrike. Paul has also been seeing a number of hirundines for several weeks that were impossible to photograph, but were mainly Sand Martins. Also seen and photographed were Greater Short-toed Larks a species not so commonly seen in Dhahran although common in the spray fields nearby. Kentish Plover was another species seen by Paul with many birds passing through the region at present.

Woodchat Shrike

Mauryan Grey Shrike

Greater Short-toed Lark

Kentish Plover

Mauryan Grey Shrike Dhahran – Bird record by Paul Wells

Paul Wells was birding in Dhahran when he came across a Mauryan Grey Shrike (formerly Steppe Grey Shrike). Mauryan Grey Shrike Lanius lahtora is an uncommon winter visitor to the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia in small numbers and a common passage migrant from late February to early April with most birds seen in March and again in September and October. After this month wintering individuals obscure passage birds so it is difficult to define the actual period of passage migrants. They prefer open habitat with sparse trees on which they perch looking for food. I thank Paul for sending me the details and allowing me to use his photograph of the bird on my website which is reproduced below.

Fewer birds but still good - Ash Shargiyah Development Company Farm

Whilst birding Ash Shargiyah Development Company Farm, near Jubail on 11 September 2015 Phil and I saw a few good birds even though the numbers were considerably reduced from the previous weekend. Probably the best bird excluding the Short-toed Eagle and Juvenile Montagu’s Harrier was a Wryneck seen on the edge of a pivot irrigation field. Plenty of birds like the edges of the fields with Yellow Wagtails and Wheatears common. There were three species of Wheatear including Isabelline, Northern and Pied from commonest to least common. Up to 15 Greater Hoopoe Larks were still present but the number of Greater Short-toed Larks had dropped considerably with only one seen. We saw two Eurasian Turtle Doves a species we had not seen the previous week as well as five species of shrike Woodchat Shrike, Daurian Shrike, Turkestan Shrike, Mauryan Grey Shrike and Lesser Grey Shrike. The commonest birds were Eurasian Bee-eater and Eurasian Hoopoe. A single Spotted Flycatcher and Lesser Whitethroat were seen in the trees by the side of the road.

European Bee-eater

Eurasian Hoopoe

Greater Hoopoe Lark

Greater Hoopoe Lark

Yellow Wagtail

Yellow Wagtail

Yellow Wagtail

Spotted Flycatcher

Lesser Grey Shrike

Mauryan Grey Shrike