Steppe Buzzard – Dhahran Waste Water Lake

Whilst birding the Dhahran Waste Water Lake 30 November I came across a single Steppe Buzzard Buteo Buteo vulpinus. I did not see the bird as it was sitting on the ground behind some scrub, but as it took off I got a few relatively close photos of it in flight, although it was into the sun slightly so not the best photographs. This is the first time I have seen the species in November as they normally occur on migration. It has a status in Saudi Arabia of an uncommon passage migrant and winter visitor that passes in March and April and again in September and October, merging with the occasional winter visitors which may appear in any months between the autumn and spring movements. I do not see this species often on my local patch but this is the second one this year after a bird in May 2024.

Steppe Buzzard – Dhahran Waste Water Lake

Whilst birding the Dhahran Waste Water Lake 18 May I came across a single Steppe Buzzard Buteo Buteo vulpinus. I did not see the bird as it was sitting on the ground behind some scrub but as it took off I got a few clse photos of it in flight although it was not in the nest position to show off all its plumage. This is the first time I have seen the species in the area for quite a few years so was very pleased with the sighting and it is later by almost a month than all my previous records in the Eastern Province. Steppe Buzzard is an uncommon passage migrant and winter visitor that pass in March and April and again in September and October, merging with the occasional and sparse winter visitors which may appear in any or all months between the autumn and spring movements. 

Winter species in Riaydh – Al Hair

Whilst birding Al Hair 10 February I saw a few common wintering species. This included Greater Spotted Eagle which favours the wet areas of the Al Hair river and occurs only from September to May. The White-throated Kingfisher which is a resident breeder and can be seen perched on overhead power lines and trees. A rarer species but still not uncommon was the Desert Finch which were seen in fields and on power lines in small numbers. Eastern Stonechat was seen in a couple of places along with Eastern Black Redstart. The pivot fields were quiet but had very large flocks of Spanish Sparrow and up to ten Western Marsh Harriers including a couple of male birds. Another bird of prey frequenting the pivot fields was a Steppe Buzzard. We failed to find any Streaked Weaver, which is normally common in the area, but it was dryer than normal so possibly this was the reason. The only other thing worth mentioning was a large group of well over one hundred Common Snipe, all of which flew before any photos could be obtained.

Desert Finch

Eastern Stonechat

Eastern Stonechat

Eastern Stonechat

Eastern Stonechat

Greater Spotted Eagle

Greater Spotted Eagle

Greater Spotted Eagle

Steppe Buzzard

Steppe Buzzard

Steppe Buzzard

Spanish Sparrow - female

Western Marsh Harrier

Western Marsh Harrier

Western Marsh Harrier

Western Marsh Harrier

White-throated Kingfisher

Steppe Eagle and Steppe Buzzard – Dumat Al Jandal

Whilst birding Dumat Al Jandal area in winter we came across an Steppe Eagle and a Steppe Buzzard sitting on a pivot irrigation structure. The birds both flew as we stopped the car, even though we were quite a distance from the birds, and then proceeded to have a bit of a scuffle in the air. The Steppe Eagle dwarfed the Steppe Buzzard but it was the Buzzard that was the aggressor. After several minutes, they split up and went their separate ways. Although we saw another Steppe Eagle on the trip this was the only Steppe Buzzard we saw. 

Steppe Buzzard - Jubail

Whilst birding the Jubail area recently I came across a single Steppe Buzzard Buteo Buteo vulpinus. This is the first time I have seen the species in the area so was very pleased with the sighting. Steppe Buzzard is an uncommon passage migrant and winter visitor that pass in March and April and again in September and October, merging with the occasional and sparse winter visitors which may appear in any or all months between the autumn and spring movements. 

Black Bush Robin and more near Tabuk – Bird records by Viv Wilson

Viv sent me a few photos a week or so ago of birds he has seen in the Tabuk area and I have only just managed to get time to add them to my website. One bird was a Black Bush Robin a bird that is not seen in the Eastern Province but one that is expanding its range north and east so hopefully will occur here soon. They currently reach the Riyadh area but no further East. As always Viv saw a number of different species of birds of prey including Pallid Harrier, Common Kestrel and Steppe Buzzard. He also continued a good run of sightings of Citrine Wagtail, a species recently regarded as scarce but now has a changed status of uncommon throughout the Kingdom. Viv also mentioned that they are now pumping water back into his old wetland area as well as maintaining wet areas in the new area where he photographed a few Black-winged Stilts.

Black Bush Robin

Black-winged Stilt

Citrine Wagtail

Common Kestrel

Common Kestrel

Pallid Harrier 

Steppe Buzzard

Birds of prey near Tabuk – Records by Viv Wilson

Viv has been taking a lot of good photos of birds of prey in recent weeks including large numbers of Steppe Eagle and Common Kestrel. There are also a lot of Black Kites about and much smaller numbers of both Steppe Buzzard and Long-legged Buzzard. Much larger numbers of all species of birds of prey pass through the northwest of the Kingdom when compared to the Eastern side, as many pass down the west side of the Red Sea and into Africa via the Bab-el-Mandeb straights or alternatively spend the winter in the Arabian Peninsula. I have to say I would love to see the numbers and species of birds of prey Viv sees each year in my part of Saudi Arabia, but alas I have t make do with a handful of each species.

Black Kite

Black Kite

Common Kestrel

Steppe Buzzard

Steppe Buzzard

Steppe Eagle

Steppe Eagle