Whilst birding Jubail we saw a good number of various species of waders. There were plenty of Kentish Plover and Little Stints and lesser numbers of Ruff, Marsh Sandpiper, Dunlin, Curlew Sandpiper, Ruddy Turnstone and Lesser Sand Plover. Two Bar-tailed Godwit and Eurasian Oystercatcher were unusual sightings for this location. Numbers have increased significantly from the week before as passage starts to build up.
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| Ruddy Turnstone |
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| Curlew Sandpiper |
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| Curlew Sandpiper |
Whilst birding the Al Uqair area in March we came across a gathering of waders on the beach. This is an excellent place to see Sanderling and this flock held nine birds, and increase from the two seen the prevous visit. A single Greater Sand Plover and a single Kentish Plover were also in the group feeding on the coast. The commonest wader was Ruddy Turnstone with over ten birds. Greater Sand Plover is a common species on passage, with small numbers staying throughout the winter, but it is difficult to get close to them as they are normally out on the tide line or in the flooded sabkha. Kentish Plover and Ruddy Turnstone are common passage migrants and winter visitors with Kentish Plover staying to breed in good numbers. Sanderling is a migratory bird that is a common passage migrant and uncommon winter visitor in Saudi Arabia. It occurs on both coasts during migration (Apr–Jun, Sep–Oct) and occasionally inland, especially in spring but is more common on the west coast than the east coast. It prefers sandy beaches but is also less commonly seen on muddy shores and saline lagoons.
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| Greater Sand Plover |
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| Greater Sand Plover |
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| Kentish Plover |
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| Ruddy Turnstone |
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| Ruddy Turnstone |
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| Sanderling |
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| Sanderling |
My last visit to Jubail turned up a few waders, but nothing unusual was in amongst them. It is a great location for getting close to the birds, but the harsh sunlight makes getting good photos a challenge, as I normally go to this location after having spent the best early morning hours looking for migrants. The number of waders feeding along the edge of the sabkha was not too high compared to the numbers in August but there were plenty of Black-winged Stilt, Kentish Plover & Little Stint, with a couple of Dunlin and a single Ruddy Turnstone. On the way to the location, I saw a photographed a single Eurasian Curlew, but the light was not good, although the bird was close.
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| Black-winged Stilt |
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| Eurasian Curlew |
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| Eurasian Curlew |
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| Kentish Plover |
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| Kentish Plover |
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| Little Stint |
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| Little Stint |
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| Little Stint |
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| Ruddy Turnstone |
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| Dunlin |
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| Dunlin |
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| Dunlin |
My last visit to Jubail last weekend was designed to allow me to photograph any waders that were present. Normally I go to the area where the Egyptian Nightjars are at this time of year but this time, I decided to get to the best wader spot whilst the light was still good to allow me the chance to get some better photos. Although the number of waders feeding along the edge of the sabkha was not too high a saw ten Black-winged Stilt & Kentish Plover, hundreds of Little Stint, two Dunlin, and single Common Sandpiper, Ruddy Turnstone, Common Ringed Plover and Little Ringed Plover. Many of the birds were feeding quite close and although a little flighty they allowed reasonably close approach if you stayed in the car. The trouble with the middle of summer where temperatures are now well over 45 Celsius each day is the light only remains good for photography for the first hour and a half from sunrise. Then the heat haze and bright light make taking photos a challenge and they never come out as well as earlier in the morning. I stayed the entire time with the waders until the light became too strong.
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| Black-winged Stilt |
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| Black-winged Stilt |
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| Common Ringled Plover |
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| Common Ringled Plover |
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| Common Sandpiper |
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| Dunlin |
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| Dunlin |
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| Kentish Plover |
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| Kentish Plover |
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| Little Ringled Plover |
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| Little Ringled Plover |
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| Ruddy Turnstone |
Whilst slowly driving around the flooded sabkha in mid-August I came across a small number of confiding waders. Most were Little Stint with smaller numbers of Lesser Sand Plover, Kentish Plover, Ruddy Turnstone and a single Little Ringed Plover and Curlew Sandpiper. Some of the birds were in partial summer plumage and looking nice in the sunlight. A single Grey Plover was also noted but not photographed. Wader numbers should build up over the next month and hopefully more photos can be obtained, and some different species seen.
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| Curlew Sandpiper |
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| Lesser Sand Plover |
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| Lesser Sand Plover |
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| Lesser Sand Plover |
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| Little Ringed Plover |
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| Little Stint |
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| Ruddy Turnstone |
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| Ruddy Turnstone |
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| Ruddy Turnstone |
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| Ruddy Turnstone |
Waders are still passing through in reasonable numbers some of which are allowing good opportunities for photography. Pied Avocet is a species that is now almost resident in Jubail with breeding birds found the last three years. Dunlin is a species that was common in the 1980’s then became less common but is again increasing in numbers each year. Common Ringed Plover is another common species but the most common wader is Little Stilt with many hundreds seen each visit. Ruddy Turnstone is a less common species but still seen regularly with Lesser Sand Plover another species whose numbers have apparently decreased in recent years.
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| Pied Avocet |
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| Ruddy Turnstone |
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| Little Stint |
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| Little Stint |
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| Little Stint |
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| Dunlin |
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| Dunlin |
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| Common Ringed Plover |