Horwoodia dicksoniae – Dibdibah Plains

Whilst looking for lars in the Dibdibah palins of northern Saudi Arabia I found a very strongly scented plant growing on the sand all on its own. I had no idea what it was so asked Irene Linning an expert in Arabian plants who told me it was probably Horwoodia dicksoniae an annual herb with pinnately lobed leaves, up to 40 centimetres high. Leaves ovate to oblong. Flowers in terminal racemes, strongly fragrant, petals purple or violet. Silicles orbicular, glabrous and glossy when mature. They grow on stable sandy to silty soils often overlying hard rock plains. They occur mainly in the northwest of the Eastern Province. I thanks Irene for her help with the identification of this plant.

Desert Lark - Jabal Nayriyyah

On a quick trip to Jabal Nayriyyah I saw a pair of Desert Larks of the pale azizi race. Birds occur throughout Saudi Arabia gradually becoming paler towards the east. A. d. azizi occurs in northeast Saudi Arabia around the Hufuf and Shedgum areas and is the palest race with pale creamy plumage. To get to the Jabal Nayriyyah site take the Abu Hadryah highway from Dhahran/Dammam/Al Khobar towards Jubail and Khafji. At the Sabkhat Al Fasl turnoff in Jubail continue straight on towards the Kuwait border. After 66 kms turn left towards Nayriyyah on route 85 and continue past Nayriyyah and after about 20 kilometres you will see the jabals off to the right.

Another Black Scrub Robin - Sarrar, Eastern Province

Whilst birding the Sarrar area of the Eastern Province Phil Roberts and I found two Black Scrub Robin Cercotrichas podobe a species that has only been recorded five times in the Eastern Province making this sixth record as posted about earlier. Amazingly we then found a third bird some kilometres further down the main road in some woodland around a large pivot irrigation field. After posting the first post and informing Arnold Uy he mentioned that they are commonly seen in the farms around Al Hassa so it looks almost certain they have now colonized the Eastern Province and are spreading west. It will be interesting to see how long it is until I see one in Dhahran. There current status as a vagrant to the province clearly needs updating.

Bonelli’s Eagle – Dhahran Hills

Whilst birding the Dhahran Camp area I saw a juvenile Bonelli’s Eagle Hieraaetus fasciatus fly low over my head. The species is a rare migrant to all areas of the Kingdom and is possibly a winter visitor to Tihamah, Hejaz and Asir. Records from the Eastern province are as a vagrant with the only records being a first year at Dhahran 2-9 January 1981, one Dhahran 4-27 February 1981, one captured exhausted 20 kilometres south of Safaniya 14 July 1984, one at Qatif 11 December 1991, a juvenile in flight at Jabal Nariyyah 25 January 2007 and a juvenile Sabhka al-Fasl 10 December 2015.

Twenty-four Red-wattled Lapwing at Shaybah – Bird records by Arnold Uy

Arnold Uy sent me a message to say he had found an amazing twenty-four Red-wattled Lapwing near Shaybah in late February. This is the third time the species has been found in the Empty Quarter and may indicate breeding, especially due to the numbers involved. The species is rare in Saudi Arabia with the following records all the birds I know about. In Riyadh & Central Arabia, birds were seen in January 1977, within the Riyadh city boundary; one was seen 1 November 1985 near Mansouriyah; one on 2 December 1988 and another January 1989 on farmland adjacent to the lower reaches of the Riyadh watercourse and another on 4 November 1989 at the Riyadh watercourse. One was on Thumamah dairy farm 16-22 January 1994. One individual wintered at Thumamah between 5 November 1999 and 17 February 2000 & from 27 January onwards it was present at the old dairy farm. A second individual was seen at Al Safi Dairy Farm on 25 January 2001. In the Empty quarter Up to five birds were seen on three days at Sabkha 40 in 2010 where there was suitable breeding habitat present. An adult was at Sabkhat Al Fasl 15 February 2014, an adult was at Dhahran Saudi Aramco camp 1 June 2014 and one juvenile Sabkhat Al Fasl 8 June 2014. An adult Shaybah 8 mrch 2016. This species is resident at wetlands in eastern Arabia (United Arab Emirates), and is gradually colonizing westwards. So far it has not yet been recorded to breed in Saudi Arabia. In the Eastern province it is regarded as a rare passage migrant and winter visitor and there have been seventeen records prior to this one of single birds from October to December (especially November), but also January, April, June and July. I would like to thank Arnold for sending me the details as well as allowing me to use his photos on my website. The photos were taken using a mobile phone.

Corn Bunting - Sarrar

Whilst birding the Sarrar area at then end of February I found a singing Corn Bunting. I could hear the bird singing but could not locate it, but after some time and moving around to try to pinpoint it I saw it at the edge of a large pivot irrigation field sitting on the ground. The Corn Bunting is an uncommon and irregular winter visitor to the Eastern Province and a bird I see infrequently. Although I have seen birds in Dhahran I mostly see them in the large pivot fields to the north around Qaryat Al Ulya Qaryat. This bird was well south if these fields showing that they can be found around any pivot field in the winter if conditions are right. The bird was very happy singing and allowed close approach and was even in the same place thirty minutes later when I went past the area again.

Bladderdock – Dhahran Hills

The Bladderdock Rumex vesicarius is an abundant annual found on rocky land and shallow sand. It is most noticeable when fruiting, when it bears large, long clusters of papery winged fruits that are often pink, red or pale straw in colour. Sandwiched between the wings is the seed. The leaves are glabrous and slightly succulent. They are the favorite food of the Striped Hawkmoth caterpillar, which in a rainy year, can be seen feeding on these plants in large numbers. Its height is up to 35 centimetres and it has been used in traditional medicine to cure stomach complaints and toothache.

Masked Shrike - Sarrar

Whilst birding the Sarrar area at then end of February I found a smart Masked Shrike Lanius nubicus. The bird appeared to be a freshly arrived migrant as there had been a big fall of passerines in the area and it allowed close approach even when on foot, although the timing suggests it may have been a wintering bird. As a result I managed to get a few good photographs of the bird. The Masked Shrike is an uncommon migrant to all areas of Saudi Arabia with a few birds wintering in the southwest and rarely in the Eastern Province. Most birds are seen on migration mainly in April, May and September although there are a few summer records in June with early migrants in late March and late migrants in early October.

Two Black Scrub Robin - Sarrar, Eastern Province

Whilst birding the Sarrar area of the Eastern Province Phil Roberts and I found two Black Scrub Robin Cercotrichas podobe a species that has only been recorded five times in the Eastern Province making this sixth record. The species is apparently extending its range north and east. Although very rare in the Eastern Province, they are an uncommon breeding resident along the Red Sea north to Yanbu, the Tihamah, Asir, Hejaz, and Northern Hejaz to 160 km north of mecca. They are not found on the juniper summits of mountains in Asir or Hejaz but are regularly seen as far east as Riyadh. The fact that the two birds appeared to be a pair suggests the species may have finally spread as far as Sarrar and colonized the area as we saw one in a similar area last year.

Plain Tiger – Al Khafah

I saw a number of Plain Tiger Danaus chrysippus in Al Khafah recently and managed to photograph one shown below. The Plain Tiger is a medium-sized butterfly with a wingspan of about 7–8 centimetres. The body is black with many white spots and the wings are tawny, the upper side brighter and richer than the underside. Background color and extent of white on the forewings varies somewhat across the wide range. They occur from Africa and southern Europe, eastwards via Sri Lanka, India, and Myanmar to China, Java and Sulawesi. The butterfly is distasteful to predators and therefore flies slowly and leisurely, generally close to the ground and in a straight line giving a would-be predator ample time to recognise and avoid attacking it. They can be seen throughout Saudi Arabia but appear more common in the southwest than the Eastern Province.