Pharaoh Eagle Owl - Ushaiqer

I found and photographed a Pharaoh Eagle Owl near Ushaiqer, north-west of Riyadh, an uncommon species found in the Saudi Arabian deserts, with this one found under some tall plants growing in a stony desert area. The Pharaoh Eagle Owl is distributed throughout much of North Africa and the Middle East, where they are found in arid habitats, including open desert plains, rocky outcrops and broken escarpments and jabals, mountain cliffs and wadis.

Pharaoh Eagle Owl in flight - Jubail

I found a few photos I took a few years ago of a Pharaoh Eagle Owl in flight so have added them below. The Pharaoh Eagle Owl is distributed throughout much of North Africa and the Middle East, with two recognised subspecies and the smaller, paler and sandier coloured Bubo ascalaphus desertorum appearing to be this subspecies. They are found in arid habitats, including open desert plains, rocky outcrops and broken escarpments and jabals, mountain cliffs and wadis. They are a common breeding resident but despite their size are not easy to locate.

Pharaoh Eagle Owl - Dhahran

The Pharaoh Eagle Owl that was present in Dhahran Hills disappeared for some time as it favoured trees for resting out of the sun were trimmed back. The bird obviously did not move far as after a week or so later I saw it again under a large tree and again perched on the wire fence. These large owls are always a joy to see and never really appear to be too intimidated by humans.

Breeding Pharaoh Eagle Owl – Jubail area

I took a few photos recently of a nesting Pharaoh Eagle Owl. The bird had four young but when I was present only two were seen. A male was seen calling nearby so I did not stay long in order not to disturb the birds. The Pharaoh Eagle Owl is distributed throughout much of North Africa and the Middle East, with two recognised subspecies and the smaller, paler and sandier coloured Bubo ascalaphus desertorum appearing to be this subspecies. They are found in arid habitats, including open desert plains, rocky outcrops and broken escarpments and jabals, mountain cliffs and wadis. 

Pharaoh Eagle Owl - Jubail area

I saw and photographed a Pharaoh Eagle Owl recently in the desert in the Eastern Province. Records suggest it is an uncommon bird in the Saudi Arabian deserts, although it is probably more common than records suggest as they are secretive and well camouflaged. The Pharaoh Eagle Owl is distributed throughout much of North Africa and the Middle East, with two recognised subspecies. The subspecies Bubo ascalaphus ascalaphusoccupies the northern part of the species range, being found in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, northern Egypt and Israel east to western Iraq. By contrast, the smaller, paler and sandier coloured Bubo ascalaphus desertorumcan be found in the Sahara Desert south to Mauritania & Niger and from Western Sahara, east, to Sudan, as well as in Eritrea, Ethiopia and much of the Arabian Peninsula, as far south as northern Oman and as far east as southern Iraq. They are found in arid habitats, including open desert plains, rocky outcrops and broken escarpments and jabals, mountain cliffs and wadis. Most records from Saudi Arabia have been attributed to the pale B. a. desertorumas this bird appears to be, but there appear to be many birds resembling the sub-species B. a. ascalaphusalso in the Kingdom.

Pharaoh Eagle Owl – Jubail area

I saw a pale B. a. desertorum Pharaoh Eagle Owl earlier in the year and took a few photos of it shown below. The Pharaoh Eagle Owl is distributed throughout much of North Africa and the Middle East, with two recognised subspecies. The subspecies Bubo ascalaphus ascalaphus occupies the northern part of the species range, being found in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, northern Egypt and Israel east to western Iraq. By contrast, the smaller, paler and sandier coloured Bubo ascalaphus desertorum can be found in the Sahara Desert south to Mauritania & Niger and from Western Sahara, east, to Sudan, as well as in Eritrea, Ethiopia and much of the Arabian Peninsula, as far south as northern Oman and as far east as southern Iraq. They are found in arid habitats, including open desert plains, rocky outcrops and broken escarpments and jabals, mountain cliffs and wadis. Most records from Saudi Arabia have been attributed to the pale B. a. desertorum.

Semirufus Black Redstart and Pharaoh Eagle Owl at Abu Hadriyah – Bird records by Arnold Uy

Whilst birding at Abu Hadriyah Arnold found a couple of very good birds. Both are found in the region but neither are common or easy to photograph. Semirufus Black Redstart is an uncommon winter visitor to the region whereas Pharaoh Eagle Owl is an uncommon breeding resident. I thank Arnold for sending me the photos and for kindly allowing me to use them on my website.

Eastern Black Redstart

Pharaoh Eagle Owl

Pharaoh Eagle Owl

Two good Owl species near Zulfi – Records by Mansur Al Fahad

Mansur was back in his native Zulfi area mid-November and managed to see some very good birds including two species of Owl of which one would be new for me if I saw one. The first was a Short-eared Owl that is a scarce winter visitor to all areas north of Jeddah, Riyadh and Hofuf. This species is seldom seen in the Eastern Province and I have not managed to locate one myself yet. The second was a Pharaoh Eagle Owl a scarce but widespread breeding resident from Abqaiq, Hofuf, northern Hejaz, Tabuk, Hail and Riyadh, nortwards. Not yet confirmed from Hejaz, Asir and Tihamah. This species is much more regularly seen than Short-eared Owl but are still great birds to see and make a good days birding when one is located. I thank Mansur for sending me his beautiful photographs and for allowing me to use them on my website, two of which are shown below.

Short-eared Owl

Pharaoh Eagle Owl

Pharaoh Eagle Owl near Jeddah – Records by Ajmal Thaha

Ajmal Thaha saw and photographed a Pharaoh Eagle Owl on 11 November. It is uncommon in the Saudi Arabian deserts but they Ajmal went to the Hejazi desert  around 50 km from Jeddah and found one. The Pharaoh Eagle Owl is distributed throughout much of North Africa and the Middle East, with two recognised subspecies. The subspecies Bubo ascalaphus ascalaphus occupies the northern part of the species range, being found in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, northern Egypt and Israel east to western Iraq. By contrast, the smaller, paler and sandier coloured Bubo ascalaphus desertorum can be found in the Sahara Desert south to Mauritania & Niger and from Western Sahara, east, to Sudan, as well as in Eritrea, Ethiopia and much of the Arabian Peninsula, as far south as northern Oman and as far east as southern Iraq. They are found in arid habitats, including open desert plains, rocky outcrops and broken escarpments and jabals, mountain cliffs and wadis. Most records from Saudi Arabia have been attributed to the pale B. a. desertorum but there appear to be many birds resembling the sub-species B. a. ascalaphus. I thank Ajmal for allowing me to use his photograph on my website which is shown below.

Pharaoh Eagle Owl – Bird record by Husain Alfraid

I received an e-mail from Husain Alfraid, who has an interest in photographing birds and wildlife. He mentioned that for the past couple of years a fellow birder and photographer and Husain have been closely watching a Pharaoh Eagle Owl nesting. This year there were two young but only one survived. The birds were photographed in the Jubail area and Husain has kindly allowed me to publish his photo on my website which is shown below. The Pharaoh Eagle Owl is distributed throughout much of North Africa and the Middle East, with two recognised subspecies. The subspecies Bubo ascalaphus ascalaphus occupies the northern part of the species range, being found in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, northern Egypt and Israel east to western Iraq. By contrast, the smaller, paler and sandier coloured Bubo ascalaphus desertorum can be found in the Sahara Desert south to Mauritania & Niger and from Western Sahara, east, to Sudan, as well as in Eritrea, Ethiopia and much of the Arabian Peninsula, as far south as northern Oman and as far east as southern Iraq. They are found in arid habitats, including open desert plains, rocky outcrops and broken escarpments and jabals, mountain cliffs and wadis. Most records from Saudi Arabia have been attributed to the pale B. a. desertorum but there appear to be many birds resembling the sub-species B. a. ascalaphus. The bird photographed by Husain appears to be a typical ascalaphus desertorum.

Pharaoh Eagle Owl near Jubail – Bird records by Phil Roberts

Whilst birding near Jubail Phil found a juvenile Pharaoh Eagle Owl Bubo ascalaphus sitting on a track. The bird flew along the track and eventually landed right next to Phil’s car where it was too close to focus his camera on at one stage. Presumably as this is quite a young juvenile the birds must breed somewhere close by? The species is a scarce but widespread breeding resident from areas including the Rub’ al-Khali (Empty Quarter), Abqaiq, Hufuf, northern Hejaz, Tabuk, Hail, Riyadh and northern areas such as Harrat al Harrah Reserve. It also appears to be a winter visitor in small numbers to Northern, Eastern and Central areas of Saudi Arabia.  The bird shows all the important features of Pharaoh Eagle Owl of mottled tawny upperparts and head; creamy-white underparts with light black streaks on upper-breast and barred but unstreaked lower-breast, belly and flanks; good dark frame/boarder to the facial disk; small ear tuffs. Phil's photos are shown below for which he has kindly given me permission to use.

Pharaoh Eagle Owl & more near Tabuk – Bird records by Viv Wilson

Viv Wilson went out birding around the Tabuk area last weekend and saw a number of good birds including a couple of surprises. He found a Pharaoh Eagle Owl in a tree near his favourite wetland, which was a few kilometres away from where he had seen one a few weeks previously, so could well have been a different bird. Another surprise for Viv was the return of the White-tailed Lapwing flock that spends some winters in the area, with at least eight birds seen together. In the desert Viv found a male Desert Wheatear as well as a few Common Kestrels and also three Griffon Vultures a species not seen so frequently in the Kingdom.

Pharaoh Eagle Owl

Pharaoh Eagle Owl

Pharaoh Eagle Owl

White-tailed Lapwing

White-tailed Lapwing

White-tailed Lapwing

Common Kestrel

Common Kestrel

Desert Wheatear

Pharaoh Eagle Owl near Tabuk – Bird records by Viv Wilson

Whilst birding near Tabuk, Viv Wilson found a Pharaoh Eagle Owl Bubo ascalaphus sitting in a tree. Interestingly Lou Regenmorter also saw a Pharaoh Eagle Owl sitting in a tree in a similar area a few years earlier. The species is a scarce but widespread breeding resident from areas including the Rub’ al-Khali (Empty Quarter), Abqaiq, Hufuf, northern Hejaz, Tabuk, Hail, Riyadh and northern areas such as Harrat al Harrah Reserve. It also appears to be a winter visitor in small numbers to Northern, Eastern and Central areas of Saudi Arabia.  The bird shows all the important features of Pharaoh Eagle Owl of mottled tawny upperparts and head; creamy-white underparts with light black streaks on upper-breast and barred but unstreaked lower-breast, belly and flanks; good dark frame/boarder to the facial disk; small ear tuffs.