A smart male svecica Red-spotted Bluethroat – Ringing at Sabkhat Al Fasl

Nicole and I went ringing again at Sabkhat Al Fasl. This was our second visit after obtaining permission to ring in the Kingdom and we were hoping for a good catch. We have never caught many birds in our ringing trips in Bahrain, but this site looks like it will produce more birds than our regular site of Alba Marsh in Bahrain. We set five nets and although things were quite slow we ended up with fifteen birds caught although two Common Kingfishers and a Graceful Prinia could not be ringed, as we do not currently have the correct ring sizes for these two species. We did take all measurements before releasing them as these add to the knowledge of the birds of the site. As with last week the most commonly caught species was Indian (Clamorous) Reed Warblers although we also caught Common Chiffchaff, House Sparrow, Pied Wagtail and Red-spotted Bluethroats. Two Indian Reed Warblers and a Bluethroat were trapped that had been ringed last week otherwise all the birds were new. A really smart Lucinia svecica svecica Red-spotted Bluethroat was trapped which is the subspecies from northern Eurasia and can only be identified from male birds in full breeding plumage as this one. They are common passage migrants and winter visitors to reed beds and humid thickets and are more often herd than seen. Plenty of White Wagtails and Water Pipits were around the nets but their amazing eyesight meant that hey could see the nets and flew over or around them.

Red-spotted Bluethroat - svecica

Red-spotted Bluethroat - svecica

Common Kingfisher

White Wagtail

House sparrow - male

Indian (Clamorous) Reed Warbler

Indian (Clamorous) Reed Warbler

Indian (Clamorous) Reed Warbler

Eurasian Bittern again at Tabuk – Bird records by Viv Wilson

Viv was out and about birding his local area of Tabuk again last weekend and saw and photographed a number of good birds. Probably the best of them was a Eurasian Bittern a species that is a scarce winter visitor and passage migrant to Saudi Arabia but is almost certainly under recorded due to its secretive nature. Viv has already seen and photographed the species in Saudi Arabia, having seen one at Tabuk Wetlands 25 October 2013. Most records have been from the northern parts of the country as well as the southwest, with a few from the Eastern Province. Rob Tovey a Saudi Arabian birder, who travels extensively in search of his birds and who has been to the majority of the countries good birding spots, has also seen the species on two occasions in the last few years suggesting they occur in small number each winter. I have failed to find any in my areas of the Eastern Province and I bird the best wetland in the region, so presumably they are not common in the Eastern Province at least where Bundy et al Birds of the Eastern Province 1989 records them as a vagrant.

Eurasian Bittern

Eurasian Bittern

Eurasian Hoopoe

Western Marsh Harrier

Common Kestrel

Red-Spotted Bluethroat

Viv also saw some more common birds of the North-west of the country with Black Kite, Common Kestrel, Western Marsh Harrier, Water Rail, Eurasian Hoopoe and Red-spotted bluethroat of the svecica subspecies from northern Eurasia.