Sand Martin – Dhahran Percolation Pond

Whilst birding the Percolation Pond in Dhahran in late October I managed to photograph a single Sand Martin, a species I seldom get the chance to photograph. The top photograph the bird is the process of trying to catch a flying insect. The bird was alone in a group of over twenty Barn Swallows, Sand Martin is a very common passage migrant throughout Saudi Arabia with over 2,000 recorded at Dawmat al-Jandal reservoir, Northwest Saudi Arabia in April one year. A few occur in winter, but these may be late passage birds rather than true wintering individuals. Summer records are rare, and breeding has not been recorded.

Common Whitethroat arriving – Dhahran Waste Water Lake

The scrubby areas around the Waste Water Lake at Dhahran are attracting quite a few migrants. Barred Warblers are common and in early May the first Common Whitethroats appeared in Dhahran, some giving good views. The lake is a good place to see birds flying around catching insects with lots of Pallid Swifts, Sand Martins and Barn Swallows all in small groups. The below photo of the Pallid Swift shows a large full crop, full of insects it has caught. European Bee-eaters have been moving through in good numbers and are mainly seen in flight rather than perched. They sometimes use the overhead power lines for perching, but the light is never good when I see them there for photographs. Other birds seen in good numbers around the lake include Laughing Dove, Spotted Flycatcher and Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin, of which some of the latter will stay and breed.

Common Whitethroat

Common Whitethroat

Common Whitethroat

Barred Warbler

European Bee-eater

European Bee-eater

European Bee-eater

Laughing Dove

Laughing Dove

Pallid Swift

Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin

Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin

Sand Martin

Spotted Flycatcher

Spotted Flycatcher

Spotted Flycatcher

A few returning migrants – Jubail

As September started so did an increasing number of shrikes. The first species to arrive in the autumn are Turkestan Shrike closely followed by Duarian Shrike and then Woodchat Shrike. All were seen in small numbers. Yellow Wagtail numbers started to increase as well with plenty of scruffy looking individuals but also one or two in better plumage such as the one in the photo below. Sand Martins really increased in numbers with several hundred seen in early September mainly flying over but with the occasional bird perched in the reeds. Barn Swallow was also common but numbers remained much lower than Sand Martin. A single Wryneck was a nice sight, perched on the edge of a track by the reed beds. Although I see the species reasonably often it is difficult to get good photos of them. Migrants seen but not photographed included Black-eared Wheatear, Isabelline Wheatear and Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters. Squacco Heron is a migrant but they probably breed nearby so difficult to tell exactly how far they have moved. Numbers of this species are building up again after they departed for the summer months to breed elsewhere. Numbers of Grey Heron are also increasing after the lack of birds during the summer months.

Turkestan Shrike

Woodchat Shrike

Eurasian Wryneck

Yellow Wagtail

Sand Martin

Sand Martin

Grey Heron

Squacco Heron

Summer Sand Martins – Jubail

Sand Martin is a very common passage migrant throughout Saudi Arabia with over 2,000 recorded at Dawmat al-Jandal reservoir, Northwest Saudi Arabia in April one year. A few occur in winter, but these may be late passage birds rather than true wintering individuals. Summer records are rare, and breeding has not been recorded, but this year up to ten birds have been around continually this spring and summer and I noticed a juvenile in amongst them. This is probably a bird that has bred in a nearby country rather than one from Saudi Arabia itself, but we will never know for sure. I contacted Yoav Perlman in Israel who mentioned fresh juveniles have occurred in Israel in May, but no nests have been found and they assume these to breed close to Israel if not in Israel itself. The photos below are of a few of the birds I managed to photograph on 18 July, but their fast flight, heavy hand held lens and incredibly high temperatures made photographing them very difficult with the ones below my best efforts.

More migrants at Sabkhat Al Fasl – Bird records by Mohammed Al-Ruqaya

Mohammed Al-Ruqaya sent me a few more photos of his last trips to Sabkhat Al Fasl where he photographed a number of passage migrants. Probably the best bird was an Egyptian Nightjar a species that has been seen in high numbers at the site this year with the largest single count for the Kingdom of 15 recorded in August. Other good birds included European Roller, a species that has had a very good autumn passage this year with many more birds than normal being seen throughout the northern part of the country at least. Woodchat Shrike is another species where much larger numbers than normal have been seen this autumn again throughout most of the north of the country. Passage waders have been slowly increasing I numbers of the last few weeks and Mohammed photographed a Ruddy Turnstone, one of the least common of the waders but still seen in small numbers of ten or so on most visits during the autumn migration season. Hirundine numbers have also been increasing with mixed flocks of Sand Martins and Barn Swallows seen around the location with Mohammed amazing photo of a banking Sand Martin showing a barn Swallow in the background to emphasise the point. Squacco Heron numbers on the other hand have been decreasing since their very large numbers of late July and early August but there are still plenty of adult and juvenile birds around.

Egyptian Nightjar

European Roller

Woodchat Shrike

Ruddy Turnstone

Sand Martin & Barn Swallow

Squacco Herron

Savi’s Warbler trapped and ringed – Sabkhat Al Fasl

Whilst ringing on 26 September we caught a Savi’s Warbler. Savi’s Warbler has a status as a rare migrant to all areas of Saudi Arabia but the number of records of birds seen, heard singing or trapped whilst I have been in the Eastern Province in the last four years makes the true status as an uncommon migrant in both spring and autumn. This is the second Savi’s Warbler trapped and ringed at this site in 2014 and we caught and ringed four birds in Bahrain in two years ringing there, where it previously had a status as a vagrant.  Although it was extremely hot for ringing we managed to catch a few birds including Yellow Wagtail, House Sparrow, Eurasian Reed Warbler, Little Bittern (Females & Juvenile), Graceful Prinia, Indian Reed Warbler, Great Reed Warbler and a Sand Martin. Yellow Wagtail and Sand Martin were new ringing species for us so although numbers were not particularly high we had a good mornings ringing before it became too hot to continue at 40 degrees Celsius.

Savi's Warbler

Savi's Warbler

Savi's Warbler

Yellow Wagtail 

Sand Martin

Graceful Prinia

Great Reed Warbler

House Sparrow - adult male

Little Bittern - adult female