A few terns - Al Sahil

As it has been very quiet on the patch recently I decided to go into Al Khobar and look in an area I have not birded before. I went to the large inland lake just off the main Corniche road, called Al Sahil to see if anything was present. As it was a Friday there were quite a few fishermen present but one exposed area of mud at the side of the lake had a good number of terns present. Most of the terns were Lesser Crested Terns and White-cheeked Terns with about fifty of each species but there was also a single Caspian Tern and A single Gull-billed Tern. Many of the terns were resting on the muddy bank but a few other were flying about back and forth to the nearby sea. Good views were obtained and this looks like a good site for later in the year when the duck and herons return on migration. The only problem with this site is it is bordered by two busy roads and is therefore disturbed more than one would like.

Lesser Crested Tern

Lesser Crested Tern

Lesser Crested Tern

White-cheeked Tern

White-cheeked Tern

White-cheeked Tern

White-cheeked Tern

Very few other birds were seen but a second calendar year Black-headed Gull was a little unusual at this time of year and a few Graceful Prinias were in the reeds on the way to the muddy area holding the terns. House Crows were flying over the area as well but not actually using the lake or surrounding habitat.

African Lime Butterfly - Raydah Village

The African Lime Butterfly is a common and widespread Swallowtail Butterfly that gets its common name from its favoured host plant but unlike most swallowtail butterflies, it does not have a prominent tail. It is also known as the Common Lime Swallowtail, Lemon Butterfly, Lime Swallowtail or Citrus Swallowtail. Apart from being tailless it has a wingspan 80–100 mm and above, the background colour is black. A broad, irregular yellow band is found on the wings above, which is broken in the case of the forewing and also has a large number of irregular spots on the wing. The upper hindwing has a red tornal spot with blue edging around it. The Common Lime Swallowtail is perhaps the most widely distributed swallowtail in the world and can be found in Oman, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar eastwards to Austarlia and some Pacific Ocean Islands. The widespread range indicates the butterfly's tolerance and adaptation to diverse habitats where it is found in savannahs, fallow land, gardens, evergreen and semi-evergreen forests and shows a preference for stream and riverbeds.

A trickle of waders – Dhahran Expro Wader Roost

A trip to the Dhahran Expro Wader Roost after work produced a few waders but no real numbers yet. Greater Sand Plover numbers are well into the hundreds now and Lesser Sand Plover numbers are approaching 25 but otherwise numbers are steady. A few Eurasian Curlews and Whimbrels are now starting to return but the big numbers of Little Stint, Curlew Sandpipers and Dunlins have not really started yet with one or two of each species seen along with several Terek Sandpipers and Bar-tailed Godwits.

Bar-tailed Godwit

Black-winged Stilt - adult

Black-winged Stilt - juvenile

Black-winged stilts are still plentiful with a lot of well-grown juvenile birds among the few remaining adults. Other non wading birds of interest included several Indian Reef Herons of both colour morphs, ten Gull-billed Terns and several Slender-billed Gulls.

Indian Reef Heron

Slender-billed Gull

Eurasian Hoopoe becoming more visible – Dhahran Hills

Eurasian Hoopoe is a common and widespread migrant throughout Saudi Arabia. Birds also breed, primarily in the southwest highlands but also in a few other areas including the Eastern Province. As a migrant it generally occurs between February and April and then again from August to October. In the summer months birds are seen less often than in the migration season, particularly when they are nesting, but as soon as young hatch the adults become more visible looking for food for the new youngsters. The breeding season can occur anytime between January and August. The increase in sightings of birds in Dhahran in recent days indicates that a few pairs may have young about, but I have not conclusively seen any yet. Favoured nesting sites in Dhahran are under broken plastic covers for water sprinkler supplies, where birds can nest safely and keep out of the extreme heat of the day. The Eurasian Hoopoe is a favourite bird of many people who live in Dhahran and I receive more questions and comments on this species than any other species that occurs in the region.

A good showing of Arabian Spiny-tailed Lizards – Dhahran Hills

The scrubby desert area has been very good for sightings of Arabian Spiny-tailed Lizard this year. Normally I have only found a couple of active burrows of the animals, but this year I know where seven active sites are in the area. At least one of these has a very large lizard and it can be seen most evenings basking in the warm sun. The temperatures are still in the high 30’s °C or even low 40’s °C even at 16:30 hrs so the lizards like laying around at their burrow entrances during this period. They are shy if you are out walking as they take the shape of a human as danger, but if you are in he car they often allow very close approach. Out of the seven sites where the lizards are currently seen, one has been used for the three seasons I have been in Dhahran. Two different lizards are shown in the photographs below.

Breeding water birds – Dhahran Hills

Birdlife is low at present with very little to see apart fro the regular breeding species. The great thing about doing a ‘patch’ is that the smallest out of place thing can be noticed as you have done the same site so many times and know what is normal and what is not. The breeding water birds are the same this year as last year with the majority of breeders being Common Moorhen and Eurasian Coot. Eurasian Coot numbers are higher this year on the pond with 22 birds, mainly adults but also a few well grown, juveniles. Common Moorhen numbers, however, are lower with less than thirty birds this year compared to over fifty, last year.

Eurasian Coot

Little Grebes have had a tremendous breeding season this year as mentioned in a previous blog, but now a few juveniles are being fed by adults who they remain close to at all times. The juveniles do not look like their parents plumage wise and are stripped when young. The pond looks like a relatively safe place at present as the water levels are high so the Arabian Red Foxes can not walk across and grab any birds and the predatory Grey Heron from the last couple of years is also not present.

Little Grebe - adult & juvenile

Little Grebe - juvenile

Pitted Beetle – Dhahran Hills

The Pitted Beetle Adesmia cancellata is becoming more obvious by the day at present and is a day active desert beetle that is common throughout Arabia and very common in Dhahran. It can be found anywhere there is vegetation and it feeds off organic debris from plants. It has many physical problems to contend with in the hot deserts where it lives, including extremes of temperature, low humidity, shortage or absence of free water, and the environmental factors that accentuate these - such as strong winds, sand-storms, lack of shade, rocky and impenetrable soils. Nevertheless, Pitted Beetle is among the most successful animals of the desert, and often the only ones to be seen during the day. They are able to withstand thermal extremes that would rapidly cause the death of most other arthropods including insects. They have remarkably low rates of transpiration and can withstand a considerable reduction in the water content of their tissues. Generally, black beetles are extremely well adapted to live under very hot and dry conditions. The genus Adesmia belongs to the type of "fast runners" which can reach speeds of one meter per second. They use their long legs to lift their body well clear of the hot ground, and increase the clearance as the temperature rises. Interestingly these beetles seem to not be liked by the many species of Shrikes that pass through the area on migration and I have never seen one being eaten even though they are common and quite obvious. Other beetles are regularly taken but not this species for some reason.

Lesser Sand Plover numbers increasing – Dhahran Expro Wader Roost

As the weekend changed in Saudi Arabia from Thursday and Friday, to Friday and Saturday I got an extra day off work. As a result I went to the Dhahran Expro Wader Roost to see if anything interesting had turned up. The tides have been very high recently and today a lot of waders had been pushed up onto the roosting area. Most were Greater Sand Plovers, numbering at least 300 birds, but there were also four Ruddy Turnstones, several Lesser Sand Plovers, three Terek Sandpipers and a Little Stint. At least fifty Common Redshanks made up the rest of the flock but they kept at the very back of the flock.

Lesser Sand Plover

Greater Sand Plover

Greater Sand Plover

Greater Sand Plover

Terek Sandpipers

Breeding Black-winged Stilts and Kentish Plovers were still about in good numbers but there was no sign of the Green Sandpipers that I saw a couple of days previously. The only other birds there that were not waders were a single Little Tern and five Gull-billed Terns.

Black-winged Stilt

Kentish Plover

Kentish Plover - chick

Gull-billed Tern

The breeding season – Al Jarrim Island South (Bahrain)

Here are a few photographs of what it is like on Al Jarrim Island South. The island has hundreds of breeding Bridled Terns and Lesser Crested Terns. Approximately 250 pairs of Bridled Tern and 5000 – 6000 Lesser Crested Terns breed on the island with the Lesser Crested Terns laying their eggs out in the open on sandy areas. There were three different colonies of Lesser Crested Terns and the sound of the birds when flying around was deafening. When the chicks hatch they form large crèches and are guarded by a few adults.

Lesser Crested Tern Colony

Bridled Tern

Bridled Terns, on the other had, lay a single egg (normally), under a shrub or bush and when the young hatch they hide very well under these shrubs. They have to be extracted carefully as they generally choose the spiniest bush to hide under. Below is an unusual sight of what appears to be a blue coloured egg of a Bridled Tern. The egg to the right is a normally patterned egg but the blue one is very unusual.

Bridled Tern Egg

Bridled Tern

Bridled Tern

Both species were at various stages of development with some Bridled Terns still sitting on eggs and others with almost full-grown young. The Bridled Terns have had an early breeding season this year as birds last year were not at this stage of development until about three weeks later.

Lesser Crested Tern eggs

Lesser Crested Tern egg

Lesser Crested Tern - newly hatched chick

Lesser Crested Tern chicks

Lesser Crested Tern - adult with fish for its young

Lesser Crested Terns were mainly sitting on eggs although several thousand very small young were in crèches at various places on the island. Contrary to the Bridled Terns the Lesser Crested Terns were probably a week later in their development than last year, although again both species appear to have had a good breeding season.

Blandford's Agama – Sabkhat Al Fasl

On my last trip to Sabkhat Al Fasl I found a Blandford's Agama running along the ground by the track. It found a small plant and tried to hide, thinking that by keeping still and having good camouflage it would not be found. I crept right up to the lizard without it moving and took a couple of photographs of it with my macro lens from a few centimeter away. I left it still in the same place, as I did not want to draw attention to it from unfriendly foes. The summer months of June, July & August are the best time to see these lizards in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia and Sabkhat Al Fasl appears to be a very good site for them.

Blandfords Agama Trapelus ruderatus ranges from northeastern Jordan and southern Syria, through northern and eastern Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait and southern and central Iran as far south as Shiraz (Rastegar-Pouyani 2000). The species occurs from close to sea level to around 1,000 metres above sea level. It can be moderately common in suitable habitat. This ground-dwelling species is associated with low shrubs (Nitraria) on the fringe of sandy dunes in arid areas and in sandy desert areas. It can sometimes be found perching on bushes but is not found in modified areas. Initially I identified this as a Yellow-spotted Agama Trapelus flavimaculatus but Mansur Al-Fahad kindly pointed out this was in fact a Blanford's Agama Trapelus ruderatus because of the lines on its back which are missing on Yellow-spotted Agama.