White-spotted Bluethroat – Dhahran Waste Water Lake

Whilst birding Dhahran Waste Water Lake in late March I came across a very smart male White-spotted Bluethroat Luscinia svecica cyanecula. It was sitting in a tall tree but ufortunately the light was not in a good position for photogrpahs so the ones below are all I managed. The White-spotted Bluethroat is a scarce passage migrant to the region, unlike the Red-spotted Bluethroat Luscinia svecica svecica which winters in good numbers. The White-spotted Bluethroat breeds locally in central & southern Europe wintering mainly in west & central Africa with a few in the Middle East (mainly Israel) and north-east Africa. Identification of the Bluethroat sub-species is very difficult unless you see a male in breeding plumage. 

White-spotted wintering in Saudi Arabia - Sabkhat Al Fasl

Whilst ringing at Sabkhat Al Fasl on Friday 23 February 2018 we caught a male White-spotted Bluethroat Luscinia svecica cyanecula which was a retrap of a bird caught earlier. The White-spotted Bluethroat is a scarce passage migrant to the region, unlike the Red-spotted Bluethroat Luscinia svecica svecica which winters in good numbers. This is only the fourth time we have caught this subspecies in Saudi Arabia. The White-spotted Bluethroat breeds locally in central & southern Europe wintering mainly in west & central Africa with a few in the Middle East (mainly Israel) and north-east Africa. Identification of the Bluethroat sub-species is very difficult unless you see a male in breeding plumage. As a result, many birds seen in the winter months are indeterminate as to sub-species so unless you re-catch a bird in the spring that was caught in the winter it is not generally possible to tell if White-spotted Bluethroats winter in Saudi Arabia. This White-spotted Bluethroat was originally trapped on 17 November 2017 but as the bird was not in breeding plumage it was not identified as a White Spotted Bluethroat. This shows that this bird has spent the winter in Saudi Arabia indicating that the subspecies winters in Saudi Arabia. We also caught a White-spotted Bluethroat in Bahrain in March that had originally been caught in the winter showing that birds also winter in Bahrain at least occasionally.

White-spotted and Red-spotted Bluethorats trapped & ringed again – Sabkhat Al Fasl

Last weekend ringing we caught three Red-spotted Bluethroats and a single White-spotted Bluethroat. I had heard a number of Bluethroats calling from the reeds and scrub but towards the end of the ringing session we had not caught any and then on the last net round we caught four birds in a single round. One of these birds was a re-trap from 14 February 2014 that was also re-trapped on 31 January 2015. This shows the bird is site faithful for its wintering area and was caught in exactly the same place all three times. One Red-spotted Bluethroat was a new bird and the other another retrap originally caught the week before. The White-spotted Bluethroat was only the second of this subspecies we have caught in Saudi Arabia with the first being the weekend before. Bluethroats will start to move out very soon so it will be interesting to see if we catch any next weekend, if the wind stays calm enough for ringing. Care has to be taken when identifying White-spotted Bluethroats as a few of the Red-spotted Bluethroats appear to be White-spotted until the breast feathers are blown revealing some faint red colouration at the base of the white breast spot feathers.

Red-spotted Bluethroat

Red-spotted Bluethroat

Red-spotted Bluethroat

Red-spotted Bluethroat

White-spotted Bluethroat

White-spotted Bluethroat

White-spotted Bluethroat

White-spotted & Red-spotted Bluethroats trapped and ringed - Sabkhat Al Fasl

Whilst ringing at Sabkhat Al Fasl on Friday 13 March we caught a male White-spotted Bluethroat Luscinia svecica cyanecula which is a scarce passage migrant to the region, unlike the Red-spotted Bluethroat Luscinia svecica svecica which winters in good numbers. This is the first time we have caught this subspecies in Saudi Arabia. The White-spotted Bluethroat breeds locally in central & southern Europe wintering mainly in west & central Africa with a few in the Middle East (mainly Israel) and north-east Africa. Identification of the Bluethroat sub-species is very difficult unless you see a male in breeding plumage. As a result many birds seen in the winter months are indeterminate as to sub-species so unless you re-catch a bird in the spring that was caught in the winter it is not generally possible to tell if White-spotted Bluethroats winter in Saudi Arabia. We did catch a White-spotted Bluethroat in Bahrain in March that had originally been caught in the winter showing that bird at least did winter in Bahrain that year and it will be interesting to see if we can prove they winter in Saudi Arabia as well as we re-catch a few Bluethroats each winter that winter at the site and re-caught on this year that wqs originally ringed by us in winter 2013-14.

White-spotted Bluethroat

Red-spotted Bluethroat

Red-spotted Bluethroat

Red-spotted Bluethroat

Pied Kingfisher a new ‘patch’ species – Dhahran golf course

A Pied Kingfisher was found on a small pool on the edge of the golf course a Dhahran on 13 February and as this was a new species for me on the ‘patch’ I went to have a look for it first thing in the morning the next day. Although I saw some god birds during this visit I failed to find the Pied Kingfisher. I was then busy with the family until late afternoon when I decided to have another look for the bird. This time I was successful and the Kingfisher was busy feeding at the pond. It would often come by and do its normal hovering over the water before flying off and landing in the top of a tall acacia bush. Pied Kingfisher is a scarce winter visitor to the Eastern Province and although I have seen the species before in the Eastern Province I had until this sighting not do so on my local birdwatching area so I was very happy with this record. Unfortunately the light was poor for taking photographs as it was cloudy and there was a lot of dust still in the air from the previous days strong winds. Other good birds seen included a female Common Kingfisher and several Clamorous Reed Warbler and a Bluethroat that may have been a White-spotted Bluethroat. Recent records from the Eastern Province have included as many as six Pied Kingfishers 25 February 1999, outside Al Jubail, a single present at Sabkhat Al Fasl 6 November to 1 December 2011 and one at Al Fanateer marina, Jubail 24 January 2014.

Pied Kingfisher

Pied Kingfisher

Pied Kingfisher

Pied Kingfisher 

Pied Kingfisher

Pied Kingfisher

Common Kingfisher

Common Kingfisher

Bluethroat

White-spotted Bluethroat – Dhahran Hills

A very early morning walk around the percolation pond looking for migrants turned up a few birds but nothing too spectacular. The best bird seen was an adult male White-spotted Bluethroat that is a scarce passage migrant through the area. This may possible be due to the fact that it is only safe to identify adult male birds in breeding plumage and these are normally only in full breeding plumage in the spring.  This is the second one I have seen this spring with another at the other end of the pond a couple of weeks ago, although there is a chance this may have been the same bird? Other migrants seen included ten Common Chiffchaffs, two Pallid Swifts and four Barn Swallows. A Lesser W hitethroat may well have been a migrant also, but a few birds winter in the area also. A Turkestan Shrike was a migrant as was its close relative the Daurian Shrike . Apart from these birds there was little else of note to be seen.

White-spotted Bluethroat

Common Chiffchaff

Daurian Shrike

Daurian Shrike