Waders on the Cricket Field – Dhahran

Waders are still feeding on the Cricket Field at Dhahran with the regular three Whimbrel seen every day with these birds unable to get used to the people who use the field and fly well before anyone get close to them. Kentish Plover numbers vary from several individuals to over fifty, with the large numbers presumably migrants. A Lesser Sand Plover was present for a single day and ruff occasionally drop in and stay for a couple of days before moving off. Three Little Stint were also present on one day as was a Common Snipe. Yellow Wagtail were around in good numbers still but much reduced from the hundreds of previous weeks.

Kentish Plover

Kentish Plover

Ruff

Ruff

Whimbrel

Whimbrel

Whimbrel

Whimbrel

Whimbrel

Yellow Wagtail

Yellow Wagtail

Yellow Wagtail

Yellow Wagtail

Yellow Wagtail

Yellow Wagtail

Yellow Wagtails and more – Dhahran Cricket Field

I have been visiting the cricket field each morning before work and seeing a few interesting birds. The two Whimbrel have been joined by a third bird and two Ruff were also around for a day. Fifty Kentish Plover early one morning was ahigh count for the site. Yellow Wagtail numbers have been high with 75-100 birds present but they are normally only present first thing in the morning and again in the evening when the temperatures are cooler. Resident Common Myna are around in very large numbers as are Eurasian Hoopoe that will include migrants with the resident birds at this time of year. A couple of Grey Heron flew over one day and Gull-billed Terns have been seen flying around on a few occasions.

Yellow Wagtail

Yellow Wagtail

Yellow Wagtail

Yellow Wagtail

Whimbrel

Whimbrel

Whimbrel

Eurasian Hoopoe

Eurasian Hoopoe

Common Myna

Whimbrels – Dhahran Cricket Field

Below are two photos of one of two Whimbrel I have been seeing on the Dhahran Cricket Field over the last week. I have been trying to get photos of birds on the ground as well as in flight to check the wing pattern, especially the underwing for signs of Steppe Whimbrel. Neither bird had the typical pale underwings associated with Steppe Whimbrel, but I will keep persevering. Trying to take photos of the birds in flight was quite difficult when on my own, as the birds just run away and keep their distance. On occasions a runner or dog walker would flush the birds and if very lucky they would sometimes fly over me or circle around allowing some photos. The birds are seen first thing in the morning and again after work at 16:15 hrs and if last year is repeated numbers should increase over the next couple of weeks.

A few migrants – Al Uqair

Whilst birding the Al Uqair area last weekend we saw a few migrants. A Lesser Grey Shrike was a little unusual, with three other shrike species seen including Great Grey, Red-backed and Daurian. Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin may have been a migrant or alternatively one of the breeding birds from earlier in the year. Other signs of migration included a few Barn Swallows and several Greater Sand Plover on the coast. A single Whimbrel was quite early and about ten Greater Hoopoe Larks were a seen in an area where we had not seen this type of number before. The coast had a couple of White-cheeked Tern and a single Little Tern along with Kentish Plover. Migrations should start in earnest in the next week or so which I am looking forward to.

Whimbrel

Whimbrel

Whimbrel

Greater Hoopoe Lark

Whimbrel – Dhahran Cricket Field

A few single Whimbrel have been seen on the Cricket Field during April but they have kept their distance and have not shown thier underwing patterns to try to work out if there is anything interesting about them. I wanted to get a photo of the underwing pattern of the bird in flight to check for signs of Steppe Whimbrel. Trying to take photos of the bird flying was quite difficult, as it just run away and keep its distance, but luckily for me a walker frightened the bird and I managed to get a few flight shots. Although the bird has quite a pale underwing the underwing pattern does not show anything too unusual meaning it is a normal Whimbrel subspecies we get in the Eastern Province.

First spring Whinchat & Lesser Grey Shrike – Dhahran Football Field

Whilst birding the Dhahran Football field in mid-April area recently I saw my first records this year of Whinchat and Lesser Grey Shrike. Both these species are seen each year in Dhahran but only on one or two days in the spring. Migration of shrikes has been good through Dhahran this year with the majority being Turkestan and Daurian Shrikes but also Woodchat, Great Grey and Masked Shrikes have been seen. Other migrants seen have been a few Northern Wheatear, a species seen rarely in Dhahran, tens of Eurasian Hoopoe and one Whimbrel 

Eurasian Hoopoe

Lesser Grey Shrike

Lesser Grey Shrike

Northern Wheatear

Northern Wheatear

Whimbrel

Whinchat

Whinchat

Whinchat

Whimbrel with markings on P5 – Dhahran

 Whilst trying to get some good photos of the Whimbrels on the cricket field in Dhahran in the autumn I have noticed of the eight birds present, at least four different birds have markings on P5. I assume all our birds are nominate phaeopus and these photos refer to juvenile birds. From a photograph in Campbell, O, S. Lloyd & G Allport. 2022. A record of juvenile Steppe Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus alboaxillaris from the United Arab Emirates. Sandgrouse 44: 389-408. It mentions at Plate 9. Nominate phaeopus is usually unmarked on P5 and critical analysis of flight shots indicated that this feather had four (right wing) and at least three (left wing) tiny white spots on the outer web on the fifth primary (counting outwards, hence innermost primary is the first). These would have been impossible to detect in field views. Based on field work in Mozambique, it appears that all adult alboaxillaris have this feature, but very few nominate birds do (Allport 2017). From my limited sample here, it looks like this point may not be so useful in juvenile birds and it may only really refer to adults? A larger sample is required, however, to draw any firm conclusions. As a result, I sent my findings to Gary Allport the authority on Steppe Whimbrel, and he commented as follows “At the moment no texts mention it as a feature for juvenile phaeopus but I can quite imagine it being more frequent in juvenile birds. Also bear in mind that these features probably cline west-east so if you’re drawing on a population from further east they may show different characters from those in Maputo. The full picture is likely to be quite complicated!”.

Marked P5

Marked P5

Unmarked P5