The first male Pied Kingfisher of the autumn – Sabkhat Al Fasl

As mentioned previously there has been a major arrival of Pied Kingfishers into Eastern Arabia this winter including a minimum of ten birds at Sabkhat Al Fasl. All the birds photographed and the one seen by me have been females with this bias towards females also occurring with Common Kingfishers at this location. On 15 November I saw three Pied Kingfishers including two females but I also saw the first male recorded this year. Males have a thin breast band under the thick breast band, whereas females just have a single thick breast band. The birds gave excellent views perched on a dead bifurcated branch were they sat waiting for any signs of small fish below. It was possible using the car as a hide to get very close to the birds without frightening them and I spent a lot of time watching them fishing from their perch. The male seen is only the second record of a male I know of in Saudi Arabia (but there must surely have been more?) with the other male being a bird in the Riyadh area a couple of years ago. The three birds I saw looked very settled and were catching plenty of small fish so, hopefully, will stay for the remainder of the winter.

Grey-headed Swamphen in Dammam – Bird records by Arnold Uy

Purple Swamphen is not a rare bird in the Eastern Province and large numbers can be seen at its main breeding site of Sabkhat Al Fasl. Although this has traditionally been the only site to see them. Phil Roberts and I also found a second breeding site for the species at Khafrah Marsh a couple of years ago and other birds have been seen at Dhahran Percolation Pond and Ash Shargiyah Development Company Farm in recent times, so it looks like the species may be extending its range as these are the only sites in the whole of Saudi Arabia. Arnold Uy sent me some details and a couple of photos of a Grey-headed Swamphen he saw on a small wetland in Dammam. He mentioned the bird was used to people and allowed close approach. This location is close to Dhahran but 125 kilometres south of the main site of Sabkhat Al Fasl again indicating the species is spreading out from its traditional core area. I thank Arnold for allowing me to use the photos on my website some of which are reproduced below.

International Space Station over Tabuk – Record by Viv Wilson

Viv Wilson who lives in Tabuk is very good at taking photos of the night sky and has recently sent me a few photos of the International Space Station he saw one evening whilst out in the desert.

Two satellite tagged Sociable Lapwings in Saudi Arabia – details from Amazing Journey Website

There are currently as of 11 November 2015 two Sociable Lapwings in the northwest of Saudi Arabia. These birds have been satellite tracked as part of the Birdlife International tracking scheme to try to find out about their migration routes and wintering areas. Birdlife named their birds and two of them are in Saudi Arabia (see below map). Vyan is in the northwestern corner of Saudi Arabia and Canan further northeast, with many of the remaining birds being tracked now in Sudan. All the information above and the map have been taken from the Amazing Journey Website http://www.birdlife.org/sociable-lapwing/2015/11/maysa-and-tesfaye-both-in-pakistan

African Lime Butterfly in Tabuk – Record by Viv Wilson

Viv Wilson found an African Lime Butterfly near Tabuk and sent me a few photographs of it. This is a difficult butterfly to take photos of as they are always on the move and never settle for more than a brief second. 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 that can be seen on the second photograph below. 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 Australia 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.

Pied Kingfishers – Bird records by Mohammed Alruqaya

As mentioned previously there appears to have been a significant influx of Pied Kingfishers into the eastern part of Arabia in late October and early November 2015. Below are a number of photographs taken by Mohammed Alruqaya at Sabkhat Al Fasl that are reproduced below with his permission and remain his copyright.

Plain Nightjar in the Tanoumah area – Bird record by Khalifa Al Dhaheri

The below photographs were taken by Khalifa Al Dhaheri in the Tanoumah area of the Asir mountains at about 2100 metres above sea level in early June 2015. Initially I thought the birds were Montane Nightjars but on closer inspection changed my mind to Plain Nightjar. As a result I sent the photos to Nigel Cleere who wrote the main Nightjars book and he replied with the following “The photo appears to be of Plain Nightjar C.innornatus, although it does seem to be a particularly well marked individual. Many are much plainer on the upperparts, especially on the wing coverts.” Plain Nightjar has been seen much more frequently this year in Saudi Arabia from Abha north tot Taif. Phil Roberts and I heard Montane Nightjar calling one night in June 2015 in the area this bird was seen suggesting that both species occur in the area. I am grateful t both Khalifa for allowing me to see and use his photos on my website and to Nigel Cleere for helping clarify the identification.

Plain Nightjar

Plain Nightjar

Schmidt's Fringed-toed Lizard – Sabkhat Al Fasl

Whilst ringing at Sabkhat Al Fasl I found a Schmidt's Fringed-toed Lizard Acanthodactylus schmidti near the car and took a couple of photogrpahs of it. Schmidt's Fringed-toed Lizard is one of the most abundant species in the genus Acanthodactylus found in Saudi Arabia and occupies sandy plains, dunes and sabkhas (salt flats), particularly in areas of scrubby vegetation. It was named after Karl Patterson Schmidt, with a type locality of Dhahran, Saudi Arabia and it can be distinguished by the exceptionally long fourth toe found on each of its rear feet. As its name suggests it has 'fringes' of elongated scales along the sides of each toe, which are thought to provide better traction on loose sand. It has a light brown or coffee coloured back that is richly speckled with oval-shaped, pale or white spots and can grow to 18 centimetres in length. They have a cylindrical body with smooth, rectangular scales on the belly that are arranged in well-defined rows and scales on the head that are larger than those on the rest of the body. Little is known about the biology of the species but it is thought that its main prey is ants and when prey is located they instantly go rigid, suddenly quiver their tail and strike. It is a diurnal species that digs burrows in the sand among the roots of vegetation and is found throughout the Arabian Peninsula including Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, southeast Iraq and south-west Iran.

Greater Flamingo’s Al Khobar – Bird records by Arnold Uy

The Greater Flamingo is an uncommon but widespread migrant and winter visitor to all coasts with a few in summer. Numbers have increased steadily over the last ten years with birds common in certain key locations such as Sabkhat Al Fasl. Small numbers are also seen every winter in the Al Khobar area where Arnold Uy took the below photos that he has kindly allowed me to use on my website. The birds spend much of the time far out from the coast and only really come close to shore when the tide is fully in. Numbers at key sites have reached 5000 birds in recent years and even some inland records have been noted from both Riyadh and Tabuk. A bird with a plastic ring was seen at Al Khobar a few years ago that had bred in Turkey so presumably this is where most of birds originate from and would explain the occurrence of some inland birds.

Plain Tiger – Record by Vinu Mathew

The below photograph of Plain Tiger Danaus chrysippus was taken by Vinu Mathew and sent to me. fVinu kindly allowed me to use it on my website. This butterfly was first depicted in an Egyptian tomb 3,500 years ago, making it the first ever butterfly to be recorded in history. Its striking tawny-orange colouration serves as a warning to predators that this species is distasteful, which ultimately deters predators from attacking. Male butterflies are slightly smaller than females with the males identified by the presence of a black scent-producing pouch located in the lower-centre of the hind wing; on the underside of the wing it appears as a white-centred black patch. In addition, the males have a pair of brush-like organs hidden within the abdomen, which are used in reproduction. The Plain Tiger has an extensive range and can be found throughout the Old World tropics, from Africa to Southeast Asia as well as Australasia. Recently it has been discovered that there are three subspecies; Danaus chrysippus chrysippus is found in Asia and tropical Africa, Danaus chrysippus alcippus ranges from the Cape Verde Islands, across Africa to Oman and Saudi Arabia, and Danaus chrysippus orientis is predominantly found in tropical Africa and the surrounding islands including Madagascar and the Seychelles. They inhabit open, fairly arid areas and unlike other members of the Danaus genus, the Plain Tiger often flies in open sunlight, even at the hottest point of the day.