Four Common Cuckoo & other migrants – Jubail

While birding the Jubail area in May we came across a Common Cuckoo in the very early morning. The bird appeared to be very tiered and allowed us to manoeuvre the car into a good position for photographs. This is a species I have not got many good photos of so I was well pleased with my efforts shown below. During the days birdwatching we found three more Common Cuckoo, indicating they were passing in good numbers overnight. Shrike numbers remained high with 50 seen throughout the day. Most were Red-backed Shrikes with 32 seen. Turkestan Shrike was next commonest with 17 birds and a single Daurian Shrike was also located. Other migrants seen included Barred Warbler, Common Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroat (late bird), Willow Warbler, Eastern Olivaceous Warbler, Spotted Flycatcher, Whinchat, Common Redstart, Yellow Wagtail, Tree Pipit & Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin. A single Red-necked Phalarope was a nice addition to the days total. Egret and heron numbers were much lower than previous weeks suggesting they have moved off or are secretly breeding somewhere. 

Common Cuckoo

Common Cuckoo

Common Cuckoo

Common Cuckoo

Little Bittern - female

Red-backed Shrike - male

Red-backed Shrike - male

Red-necked Phalarope

Turkestan Shrike - male

Turkestan Shrike - male

Red-necked Phalarope - Jubail

Phil Roberts and I found a winter plumaged Red-necked Phalarope on some flooded Sabkha in Jubail in late September. Red-necked Phalarope is an uncommon bird in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, with Jubail the best place in the Province to see them. Bundy’s ‘Birds of the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia’ published in October 1989 states that they are regular in varying numbers on marshy pools in spring but very scarce and irregular in autumn. Records are regular in Kuwait to the north but from the Eastern Province are limited with one record from March, scare in April and regular in May with the peak inland count being 150 birds at Abqaiq in May 1976. As shown they were regular in years gone by but have become increasingly scarce, although in the last seven years birds have been seen each year. Recent sightings have been in February, May, June, August, September and October.

Red-necked Phalarope – Jubail

Phil Roberts and I found a winter plumaged Red-necked Phalaropes on some flooded Sabkha in Jubail in early September. Unfortunately, photos were not easy and I only managed to get a single flight shot that turned into a bit of a mystery photo as its head and most of its bill are hidden. This is the fifth year in a row that we have seen the species in Jubail with recent sightings in February, May, June, August, September and October. This area is undoubtedly the best location for seeing the species in the Eastern Province of the country.

Winter plumaged Red-necked Phalaropes - Jubail

Phil Roberts and I found two winter plumaged Red-necked Phalaropes on some flooded Sabkha in Jubail on 7 October. These two birds were behaving in typical Phalarope manner by spinning around at the same spot feeding. They kept far out on the water making taking photographs very difficult. One bird kept close to a feeding Pied Avocet and the other on its own. Red-necked Phalarope is an uncommon bird in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, with Sabkhat Al Fasl is the best place in the Province to see them. Bundy’s ‘Birds of the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia’ published in October 1989 states that they are regular in varying numbers on marshy pools in spring but very scarce and irregular in autumn. Records are regular in Kuwait to the north but from the Eastern Province are limited with one record from March, scare in April and regular in May with the peak inland count being 150 birds at Abqaiq in May 1976. As shown they were regular in years gone by but have become increasingly scarce, although in the last four years birds have been seen each year. Recent sightings have been in February, May, June, August, September and October.

Two winter plumaged Red-necked Phalaropes - Jubail

Phil Roberts and I found two winter plumaged Red-necked Phalaropes on some flooded Sabkha in Jubail on 26 February. This is the first time I have seen the species in winter plumage in the Kingdom and appears to be the earliest ever record for the Eastern Province. These two birds were behaving in typical Phalarope manner by spinning around at the same spot feeding. They kept quite close to the muddy edge of the flooded sabkha allowing a few photographs to be taken. Red-necked Phalarope is an uncommon bird in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, although Sabkhat Al Fasl is the best place in the Province to see them. Bundy’s ‘Birds of the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia’ published in October 1989 states that they are regular in varying numbers on marshy pools in spring but very scarce and irregular in autumn. Records are regular in Kuwait to the north but from the Eastern Province are limited with one record from March, scare in April and regular in May with the peak inland count being 150 birds at Abqaiq in May 1976. As shown they were regular in years gone by but have become increasingly scarce, although in the last four years birds have been seen each year. Recent sightings have been in May, June, August and September.

Two Red-necked Phalaropes at Sabkhat Al Fasl – Bird records by Phil Roberts

Phil went to Sabkhat Al Fasl a few days ago and found two Red-necked Phalaropes. Red-necked Phalarope is an uncommon bird in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, although Sabkhat Al Fasl is the best place in the Province to see them. Bundy’s ‘Birds of the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia’ published in October 1989 states that they are regular in varying numbers on marshy pools in spring but very scarce and irregular in autumn. Records are regular in Kuwait to the north but from the Eastern Province are limited with one record from March, scare in April and regular in May with the peak inland count being 150 birds at Abqaiq in May 1976. As shown they were regular in years gone by but have become increasingly scarce, although in the last three years birds have been seen each year. Three years ago there were three sightings in May, June and September and last year three birds were seen on the same small pool and last year in June a bird was seen on the main flooded sabkha, with two more in the same area in August. These are the first sightings this year that I know of. Phil kindly sent me a photograph of the birds and has allowed me to use them on my website. The birds look like a male and female with the female being the brighter plumaged bird in this species as the male spends most of the time sitting on the nest so has duller plumage.

Two Red-necked Phalaropes - Sabkhat Al Fasl

Phil and I went to Sabkhat Al Fasl as normal on Friday and arrived at site at 06:00 hrs just as it was getting light. The weather conditions were not ideal with high humidity and plenty of mist. As a result we went to the main sabkha area first giving the sun a chance to burn off the list and allow better conditions for photography. We saw plenty of waders including thousands of Little Stints, several Greater and Lesser Sand Plovers and a few Marsh Sandpipers, Ruff, Common Redshank and Ruddy Turnstones. The best birds on the sabkha however were 50 Garganey, nine Greater Flamingos and two Red-necked Phalaropes. Red-necked Phalarope is an uncommon bird in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, although Sabkhat Al Fasl is the best place in the Province to see them. They were regular at the site in years gone by but have become increasingly scarce. Last year there were three sightings in May, June and September. All three birds last year were seen on the same small pool but this year in June a bird was seen on the main flooded sabkha, the same area where we had our two birds. The birds seen on Friday were very distant so the photo below was taken of two birds seen at the same site in May 2012.

Red-necked Phalaropes

Little Stint

Red-necked Phalaropes at Sabkhat Al Fasl – Bird records by Dave Kilmister

Dave Kilmister sent me an e-mail saying “I went to Sabkhat Al-Fasl on 28 June. It was quiet, interesting that the flamingos have stayed – I guess the large amount of water after the wet winter and the slowish start to summer has kept them here. The highlight for me was a trio of Red-necked Phalaropes along the powerline road. I didn’t see the lapwing though. There are still plenty of hatchling stilts and plovers running around”. Red-necked Phalarope is an uncommon bird in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, although Sabkhat Al Fasl is the best place in the Province to see them. They were regular at the iste in years gone by but have become increasingly scarce Last year there were three sightings in May, June and September. All three birds last year were seen on the same small pool but this year Dave saw them on the main flooded sabkha. Bundy’s ‘Birds of the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia’ published in October 1989 states that they are regular in varying numbers on marshy pools in spring but very scarce and irregular in autumn. Records are regular in Kuwait to the north but from the Eastern Province are limited with one record from March, scare in April and regular in May with the peak inland count being 150 birds at Abqaiq in May 1976. Summer records are rare so this June bird is noteworthy, although I also saw one in June last year at this site. The photo below was taken on the bird I saw in June last year.

Three Red-necked Phalaropes (Sabkhat Al Fasl) – Bird records by Phil Roberts

Phil Roberts went to Sabkhat Al Fasl on 14 September and saw three Red-necked Phalaropes on the scrape area. These are the third records of the species this year at the site which is good as although they are regular here they have not been seen for a couple of years. Birds were seen in May, July and September. The photographs below were taken by Phil who kindly sent them to me and gave me permission to use them on my website. The copyright of the photographs remains with Phil.

Red-necked Phalarope

Red-necked Phalarope

Phil also went again to the same site on 28 September and mentioned there were more migrants including Daurian and Turkestan Shrike, a few Yellow Wagtails, a flock of 30 European Bee-eaters, a Wryneck, 4 Marsh Harriers and a Common Quail, plus all the usual suspects.

Adult female Red-necked Phalarope – Sabkhat Al Fasl

Whilst at Sabkhat Al Fasl yesterday I found another Red-necked Phalarope, this time a smart looking adult female. This is the second time I have seen the species at Sabkhat Al Fasl this spring/summer with the first sighting two male types 23 May. Unusually female Red-necked Phalaropes are brighter than males as the male sits on the eggs and is therefore duller in plumage. There are only a few species where this is the case and generally females have the duller plumage. All three birds have been on the same smallish flooded area by the water pumping station, although the water levels are falling fast here now. Bundy’s ‘Birds of the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia’ published in October 1989 states that they are regular in varying numbers on marshy pools in spring but very scarce and irregular in autumn. Records are regular in Kuwait to the north but from the Eastern Province are limited with one record from March, scare in April and regular in May with the peak inland count being 150 birds at Abqaiq in May 1976. Summer records are rare so this June bird is noteworthy. I managed to get a few better photographs this time than in May including one flight shot as the bird flew a short distance to stand on the mud rather than catching mosquitos as it had been doing previously.

Red-necked Phalarope – Sabkhat Al Fasl

Whilst birding at Sabkhat Al Fasl yesterday I found two Red-necked Phalaropes feeding on a smallish flooded area by the water pumping station. This is only the second time I have seen the species in Saudi Arabia and the first time in the spring. The previous record was a single bird seen on 5 August 2011 at Al Khobar on a small roadside pool by the Dammam / Al Khobar Wader Roost South. Bundy’s ‘Birds of the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia’ published in October 1989 states that they are regular in varying numbers on marshy pools in spring but very scarce and irregular in autumn. It seems likely that a large number that winter in the Arabian Gulf and northern Indian Ocean area overfly the region with a record of 10,000 birds 40 kilometres west of Bahrain and close to the Saudi Arabia coast 27 March 1980. Records are regular in Kuwait to the north but from the Eastern Province are limited with one record from March, scare in April and regular in May with the peak inland count being 150 birds at Abqaiq in May 1976.

The two birds I saw were behaving in a typical Phalarope manner turning around in circles on the water in search of food and picking insects off the waters surface in a fast and active manner. This is a new species for me at Sabkhat Al Fasl although I know Phil has had at least one sighting here in the past.

Red-necked Phalarope - Dammam - Al Khobar Waste Land Area

After our unsuccessful attempts at birding on Tarut Island and Saihat yesterday we returned to the Dammam - Al Khobar Wader Roost South but the tide was extremely high and no areas were left for birds to roost on. As a result many birds were on the waste land area behind the sea with Eurasian Curlew, Whimbrel and Greater Sand Plover on the sand areas. Many birds had also been pushed up onto a large pool and here Phil Roberts located a Red-necked Phalarope which was a new species in Saudi Arabia for me and the first time Phil has seen one in the autumn. It was also the first time he had seen one away from Sabkhat Al Fasl (Jubail). On this pond were two Green Sandpiper, twelve Lesser Sand Plover, Six Greater Sand Plover, eight Whimbrel, three Eurasian Curlew, ten Little Stint, two Black-winged Stilt and six Kentish Plover. Also on the waste land were a few pairs of Black-crowned Sparrow Lark and a single Greater Hoopoe Lark. The Black-crowned Sparrow Lark where trying to keep cool by staying in the shadows of the small rocks and laying in small depressions that they had made.

 Red-necked Phalarope

 Black-crowned Sparrow Lark (male)

 Black-crowned Sparrow Lark (female)