Birds of Saudi Arabia: Spotted Flycatcher

Showing posts with label Spotted Flycatcher. Show all posts

01 October 2024

Late September at Dhahran Cricket Field

Whilst birding the Dhahran Hills Cricket field at the end of September I saw a few interesting birds. Western Cattle Egrets are back in good numbers and Eurasian Hoopoe numbers have increased significantly with migrant birds joining the local breeding birds. Another species that has been seen in higher-than-normal numbers is Black-winged Stilt with tens of birds on almost all grassy areas in the compound. Resident species seen included Common Myna, Eurasian Collared Dove and Crested Lark. Migrants noted have included Woodchat Shrike, Lesser Grey Shrike, Spotted Flycatcher and Northern Wheatear.

Black-winged Stilt

Common Myna

Crested Lark

Eurasian Collared Dove

Eurasian Hoopoe

Spotted Flycatcher

Western Cattle Egret

Woodchat Shrike

31 May 2024

A few migrants – Al Uqair

Whilst birding Al Uqair last visit the number of migrants had decreased significantly although there were still a few birds about. Red-backed Shrikes were the commonest bird seen with tens of individuals scattered around. Several Spotted Flycatchers were also seen along with a single Whinchat. Other interesting birds included several Common Redstart, Daurian Shrike, Masked Shrike and Spanish Sparrow. The nearby coast had very few birds bit a single Greater Sand Plover and several Kentish Plover were seen on the tideline.

Common Redstart

Daurian Shrike

Greater Sand Plover

Kentish Plover

Masked Shrike

Red-backed Shrike

Spanish Sparrow

Spotted Flycatcher

Whinchat

17 May 2024

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

Barred Warbler

European Bee-eater

Laughing Dove

Pallid Swift

Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin

Sand Martin

Spotted Flycatcher

22 November 2023

Late Spotted Flycatcher – Uqair

Whilst birding the date palms along the coast at Al Uqair in mid-November I saw a small flycatcher perched in one of the date palms. It looked superficially like a Red-breasted Flycatcher but on closer approach turned into a Spotted Flycatcher. This is easily the most common flycatcher in Saudi Arabia but is a passage migrant with birds not generally seen after late October. Apart from this bird there was relatively little around with a few White-eared Bulbuls and House Sparrows some resembling hufuae subspecies. Graceful Prinia was heard singing in a few locations and otherwise there was very little. On the ocast we saw a few waders with one Greater Sand Plover, two Dunlin and several Kentish Plover. Five large white-headed gulls were seen all of which appeared to be Steppe Gulls but they did not allow close approach and flew almost immediately we tried getting closer.

Spotted Flycatcher

Kentish Plover

14 May 2023

Hundreds of Shrikes – Jubail

Birding the Jubail area in early May produced a good number of migrants. On arrival it became apparent there were plenty of shrikes around and by the end of the day I had counted 142 Red-backed Shrikes, 12 Lesser Grey Shrikes and six Daurian Shrikes. Although shrikes are common in Saudi Arabia on passage this was an exceptional number for a single day and single location. Warblers seen were mainly Willow Warbler and Barred Warblers with a few Common Whitethroat. Other migrants included a few European Bee-eaters flying over calling, several Spotted Flycatchers, several small groups of Ortolan Bunting and four Whinchat. Yellow Wagtails were seen in various locations in several large groups with most birds being male thumbergi. A single Common Nightingale and two Rufous-tailed Scrub Robins were also seen. Wader numbers are building again with most birds being Little Stints and Kentish Plovers.