Birds of Saudi Arabia: Western Marsh Harrier

Showing posts with label Western Marsh Harrier. Show all posts

20 December 2024

Winter birding – Dhahran Waste Water Lake

The Waste Water Lake in Dhahran has now started to get some regular winter species. The land around the lake is well vegetated but has been seriously lacking birds in the last couple of months. Now a few wintering species are turning up with Bluethroat and Daurian Shrike seen on every visit. Indian Silverbill are busy collecting nesting material and Graceful Prinia are singing loudly again after being quiet for a few months. Two Western Marsh Harrier are using the reeds for resting in and a minimum of three Eastern Stonechat are around, all in one small area with the regular Eurasian Sparrowhawk busy trying to catch any of the unwary birds. The lake itself has a few water birds with a juvenile Purple Heron, Western Cattle Egrets and Western Great Egret present. A few Gull-billed Tern are still present and Common Black-headed Gull drop in in very small numbers each day. Eurasian Collared Dove are again common in the area after reducing in number during the summer months.

Daurian Shrike

Eastern Stonechat

Eurasian Collared Dove

Eurasian Sparrowhawk

Purple Heron

Western Cattle Egret

Western Great Egret

Western Marsh Harrier

29 January 2024

Northern Lapwings – Al Asfar Lake

An early morning trip to Al Asfar Lake in January produced a few good birds including about ten Northern Lapwings. This is a common wintering species in the correct areas, mainly large pivot fields but also occurs in small numbers in wetland areas such as Al Asfar Lake. Other waders included three Bar-tailed Godwits, and good numbers of Ruff and Common Redshank. This location is an excellent site for Western Marsh Harrier where more than twenty birds spend the winter. Most are juvenile/female types but one or two males can occasionally be seen. Eagles were seen in small numbers with three Greater Spotted Eagles and a single Bonelli’s Eagle, perched on the electricity pylons. Several Daurian Shrikes are wintering at the location and a Pied Kingfisher was also seen in flight and perched briefly, adding to the locations where this species has been seen this winter. Two Great Grey Shrikes and two Tawny Pipits were about the best of the other species seen.

Northern Lapwing

Western Marsh Harrier

Greater Spotted Eagle

06 October 2023

Western Marsh Harrier – Dhahran Cricket Field

Whilst birding Dhahran Cricket Field an immature male Western Marsh Harrier flew in and landed on the field. It stayed for a while until it was disturbed and flew a short distance. They start returning mid-September and stay all winter leaving again in April with almost all the Western Marsh Harriers we see are female type birds. This species is not very easy to photograph on the ground as they are very timid and normally fly well before you can get close enough to attempt photography. I was in the car when this bird flew in so was quite a distance but still got a couple of reasonable photos.

14 March 2023

Normal birds - Dhahran Waste Water Lake

Whilst birdwatching around the Waste Water Lake in Dhahran recently I have been seeing the same species continually. The lake has a good gathering of Common Black-headed Gull which occasionally attract one or two passing Steppe Gull. They normally just fly in and fly off but occasionally settle briefly for a wash. The three Glossy Ibis are still present and have now been around for almost three months. They are always timid and never really allow close views, which is surprising as they have been around for so long and seldom get disturbed. Two Western Marsh Harrier are also present, that have also been around for months now and flew so close to me I could only just fit them in the photos. The number of Great Cormorant has decreased markedly over the winter with only a few tens remaining from the several hundred of their peak numbers with some birds are coming into fine breeding plumage. Overhead can be seen several Pallid Swift some of which drop down lower over the water but I have not seen any drinking water of wetting their feathers in the lake yet. Another species that fly over quite regularly is Rose-ringed Parakeet, a common species in Dhahran camp but one not so easily seen elsewhere. Eurasian Collared Dove is also a common species in Dhahran and can be seen flying over or perched on the nearby trees and shrubs around the lake.

Common Black-headed Gull

Glossy Ibis

Eurasian Collared Dove

Pallid Swift

Western Marsh Harrier

Steppe Gull

Rose-ringed Parakeet

28 February 2023

Migrants and Winter visitors – Dhahran Hills

At the edge of the Wastewater Lake in Dhahran Hills is some nice scrubby area that has been planted with native trees and bushes. These have become established and are holding a few birds. Delicate Prinia are singing from many areas but are not so easy to photograph and the cover is good for Indian Silverbill. I saw a single Hulme’s Whitethroat on one occasion, that was very mobile and although it came out into the open a few times, I never managed to get photos of it in a good position. A pair of Eastern Stonechat have been around for a few weeks, but I have never managed to get good photos or see the plumage details properly. Caspian Reed and Calmorous Reed Warblers have both started to sign loudly in the last week and Common Myna and Eurasian Collard Dove have been seen flying over or perched in the trees in the area. Three Western Marsh Harrier are around and at one stage I saw two in an aerial battle. One of the birds seems to have jessies attached to it, so looks like it was captured by hunters at some stage. The last week I have also seen both Common and Pallid Swift flying over the lake, but they are normally high up and don’t give the opportunity for decent photos.