Birding Alsharaf Park - Tanoumah

Alsharaf Park is a beautiful park in Tanoumah with the highest oeak in the area in it. It has excellent habitat nearby and plenty of the resident common species can be seen. Dusky Turtle Dove is common as is Yemen Thrush that can be heard calling commonly in the area. Brown Woodland Warbler is a common bird but one that is difficult to get excellent views of as it is normally deep in cover. White-spectacled Bulbul, however, perch out on the open frequently, often along the roadside. Violet-backed Starling is a summer breeding visitor and not too easy to photograph which is the same for African Shikra. Fan-tailed Raven are often seen flying over the large rocks calling.

Brown Woodland Warbler

Dusky Turtle Dove

Fan-tailed Raven

Fan-tailed Raven

Gambaga Flycatcher

Shikra

Violet-backed Starling

White=spectacled Bulbul

Yemen Thrush

Yemen Thrush

Birding Wadi Tarj

Wadi Tarj is a location close to Tanoumah with a dam and reservoir. The water areas are quire disappointing on our visits but the valley with acacia and wet pools holds lots of birds of various species. We spent a morning and an afternoon birding this location and saw a few Gambaga Flycatcher, African Silverbill, White-spectacled Bulbul, Cinnamon-breasted Bunting, Arabian Warbler and Palestine Sunbird. Crested Lark, Eurasian Hoopoe and Long-billed Pipit were actively feeding on the ground with Arabian Green Bee-eater catching plenty of food in the air along with a few Little Swifts and Pale Crag Martin. Grey-headed Kingfisher were common, one of which caught a small snake, and Arabian Babbler and Ruppell’s Weaver were also about in small numbers. On the way out we located an adult and juvenile Arabian Wheatear.

Arabian Wheatear

Arabian Wheatear

Palestine Sunbird

Gambaga Flycatcher

Cinnamon-breasted Bunting

Cinnamon-breasted Bunting

White-spectacled Bulbul

Quraish Valley – Tanoumah

Whilst birding a valley on the outskirts of Tanoumah near the village of Quraish I came across a few good birds. There were plenty of common species such as Laughing Dove and White Spectacled Bulbul, some summer visitors such as Violet-backed Starlings and a few good south-west highland resident species such as Shikra and Palestinian Sunbird. Shikra is a scarce breeding resident of the southwest of Saudi Arabia with a few scattered records of migrants elsewhere. Nets were set at one point and Yemen Thrush and Little Rock Thrush trapped.

Laughing Dove

Little Rock Thrush

Palestine Sunbird

Shikra

Violet-backed Starling

White-spectacled Bulbul

Yemen Thrush

Birds from Taif – Bird records by Beth Cumming

Beth Cumming sent me some photographs of birds taken in the Taif area recently. Many were from the area near the Intercontinental Hotel and included Eurasian Hoopoe, Common Kesrtrel, Shining Sunbird, White-spectacled Bulbul, Green Bee-eater, Palestinian Sunbird and Common Myna. I thank Beth for allowing me to use the photo on my website some of which are shown below.

Eurasian Hoopoe 

Shining Sunbird

White-spectacled Bulbul

Green Beeeater

Palestinian Sunbird

Common Myna

Birding the Raydah Escarpment near Abha – Bird records by Munzir Khan

Munzir went birding to the southwest of the Kingdom on 27 June and went to the Raydah Escarpment. This is a site near Abha and is the best place to see Arabian Partridge first thing in the morning along the roadside. Driving down the escarpment is good but the road is very steep. Common endemics seen at this site include Yemen Linnet, Yemen Thrush and Arabian Wheatear along the roadside. Arabian Serin can be seen at the farm and the village at the bottom of the escarpment. Munzir sent me some of his photos taken there and has kindly allowed me to use them on my website some of which are shown below.

Arabian Partridge

African Grey Hornbill

Blackstart

Cinnamon Breasted Bunting

Little Rock Thrush

White-spectacled Bulbul

Birding Tanoumah – Tanoumah

The Tanoumah area is probably the best area in the country for seeing the endemic species. It holds all the endemics occurring in Saudi Arabia with the exception of Arabian Golden-winged Grosbeak as well as the three subspecies often also regarded as species, Arabian Magpie, Arabian Spotted Eagle Owl and Arabian Green Bee-eater. I saw all the endemics and the three subspecies with the exception of Arabian Partridge on my last visit to the area and saw the Arabian Partridge at the Raydah Escarpment near Abha as well. Apart from all the endemics, there are many other southwest specialities such as Arabian Warbler, Brown Woodland Warbler, Dusky Turtle Dove, Gambaga Flycatcher, Little Rock Thrush, Spectacled Bulbul and Tristram’s Starling. As the area is in the high mountains at around 2000 metres above sea level, some other interesting birds such as Alpine Swift and Rock Dove may be seen. As the tempertures are much lower in the mountains than the nearby plains and coast it is possible to spend the entire day birdwatching on foot making for a pleasant and enjoyable day in the field. 

Yemen Thrush

Yemen Warbler

Philby's Partridge

Tanoumah

Arabian Warbler

Arabian Wheatear

Arabian Wheatear

Brown Woodland Warbler

Dusky Turtle Dove

Gambaga Flycatcher

Little Rock Thrush

White-spectacled Bulbul

Rock Dove

Tristram's Starling