Temminck’s Stint and more – Jubail

In early September I saw a nice Temminck’s Stint along a wet ditch in Jubail. Unfortunately it was not very photogenic and the below poor photo is the only one I managed. The species is a passage migrant and winter visitor that is a regular migrant in small numbers almost always away from the coast. It occurs in April and May and again from September to November. Some birds do winter in very small numbers at some suitable inland sites such as Sabkhat Al Fasl near Jubail.

Arabian Skittering Frog – Talea’a Valley

Whilst birdwatching the Talea’a Valley we found a large pool of water with several Arabian Skittering Frogs. This is only the second time I have seen this frog in Saudi Arabia. The Arabian Skittering Frog or Arabian Five-fingered Frog Euphlyctis ehrenbergii a species of frog in the Dicroglossidae family found in Saudi Arabia and Yemen. It has previoulsy been treated as a subspecies of the Skittering Frog Euphlyctis cyanophlyctis, but is now considered as a valid species. The frog is restricted to areas of permanent and temporary water in the Red Sea coastal region of Yemen and Saudi Arabia. An aquatic species, it can also be present in irrigated area where it is extremely common or abundant. It has an altitudinal range from sea level to 2,400 metres above sea level and lays its eggs in water. The species may aestivate during the dry season, meaning it spends the hot or dry period in a prolonged state of torpor or dormancy.

Gambaga Flycathcer - Tanoumah

Whilst birdwatching at Tanoumah in southwest Saudi Arabia, in the Asir mountains we saw plenty of Gambaga flycatchers. We were there in the summer and a number of juvenile birds were seen being fed by their parents. Juveniles are very spotted and are not depicted in the field guide to the region but were easily identified as they were being fed by adults. The species is a locally common breeding resident of the Hejaz and Asir mountains and prefers bushy areas particularly acacia scrub. It is restricted to the southwest of the Kingdom, but is easily seen on every visit, as well as Africa.

Eastern Bordered Straw - Record by Mansur Al Fahad

Mansur has recently sent me a few moths he has caught near Riyadh and managed to identify. One such moth was Heliothis nubigera. The english name for this is the Eastern Bordered Straw a species of moth of the Noctuidae family. It is found in all kind of arid areas in the Palaearctic. The wingspan is 35–40 mm with adults on wing year round. There are probably two generations per year.

World Shorebirds Day – Dammam Wader Roost

The World Shorebirds Day was created with the following aims:

To raise public awareness about the need to protect shorebirds and their habitats throughout their life cycles;

To raise public awareness about the need for ongoing shorebird research;

To connect people with shorebirds through important shorebird sites around the world;

To get shorebird enthusiasts to introduce shorebirds to more birdwatchers;

To raise awareness about the need for increased funding for shorebird research, monitoring and conservation.

World Shorebirds Day is held every year on the 6th of September or the weekend closest to this date. All waders are counted and sent in for collating with hundreds of different sites in different countries being counted on the same day. Phil Roberts and I count the waders along the Dammam seafront near to the Dammam Wader Roost where a reasonable number of waders can be counted. This year the commonest wader was Dunlin with good numbers of Bar-tailed Godwits and Lesser Sand Plovers also seen. The largest flock of Ruddy Turnstones I have seen in the Eastern Province was counted with 45 birds present. Waders counted in single figures included Ruff, Black-winged Stilt, Kentish Plover and Pied Avocet and unusual bird for this area although commoner in Jubail to the north.

Dunlin

Bar-tailed Godwit

Lesser Sand Plover

Pied Avocet

Ruddy Turnstone

Ruff

Yemen Thrush - Tanoumah

Whilst birding the Tanoumah area in summer 2016 I saw a good number of Yemen Thrushes Turdus menachensis including a pair of adults feeding a very young juvenile on the ground. I am not certain if the bird could fly as it was very young but the parents were in close attendance and hopefully it made it to adulthood. The Yemen Thrush is endemic to the southwest Arabia and in Saudi Arabia occurs in the highlands of the Asir mountains where it is a locally common breeding resident in Juniper, especially the Jebel Soudah area. It is mainly seen between 2000 – 3000 metres.

More waders along AlKhobar Corniche – Bird records by Arnold Uy

Arnold Uy went again to AlKhobar Corniche the day after he saw good numbers of waders there. This time Arnold managed to find a few different waders including a very confiding Terek Sandpiper. Arnold also saw a few juvenile White-cheeked Terns, birds that will be departing the Saudi Arabian coast in the next week or so as well as a few Indian Reef Herons, resident birds that are commonly seen along the coastline. Arnold kindly allowed me permission to use his photos on my website some of which are shown below.

Terek Sandpiper

Terek Sandpiper

White-cheeked Tern

Indian Reef Heron

Metopoceras omar moth - Record by Mansur Al Fahad

Mansur has recently sent me a few moths he has caught near Riyadh and managed to identify. One such moth was Metopoceras omar that has a number of subspecies, with the one occurring in Saudi Arabia Metopoceras omar felix. This subspecies also occurs in Cyprus, Egypt, Sinai, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Saudi-Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Oman and eastern Africa. Metopoceras omar is a moth of the Noctuidae family and is widespread through the Palearctic from northwestern Africa to the Near East and Middle East. Adults are on the wing from January to April. There is one generation per year and it is an exclusively “extreme desert” species.

Waders along AlKhobar Corniche – Bird records by Arnold Uy

Whilst birdwatching along the Khobar Coniche Arnold Uy found good numbers of waders. I was birding the Jubail area at the same time and although saw different species to Arnold it was obvious waders were on the move. Arnold took some amazing photos of various species including Ruddy Turnstones, Curlew Sandpipers and Common Redshank. All three of these species as=re common passage migrants with Ruddy Turnstone the least common but still plentiful at the correct time of year. The whole coastline of Taraut bay is excellent for waders but it is not so easy to get close up views like Arnold has managed. Arnold has allowed me permission to show some of his photos on my website which can be seen below.

Ruddy Turnstone

Ruddy Turnstone

Ruddy Turnstone

Common Redshank

Curlew Sandpiper

Pale Small-branded Swift - Record by Mansur Al Fahad

Mansur Al Fahad sent me a some photos of Pelopidas thrax from the Riyadh area that he has kindly allowed me to use on my website. It is known as the pale small-branded swift, millet skipper or white branded swift and is a butterfly belonging to the family Hesperiidae. It is found in Greece, western and south-western Turkey, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Arabia, Africa, Kashmir (northern Pakistan) and the far east. In Greece, it is only known from Samos and Rhodos, where it is found at altitudes of sea level to 75 meters and where adults are on wing in June.