Jabal al-Lawz

In early October Phil Roberts and I went to Tabuk for the weekend to look at Jabal al-Lawz. This is a mountain located in northwest Saudi Arabia, near the Jordan border, above the Gulf of Aqaba at 2580 metres above sea level. It is Saudi Arabia’s second highest mountain after Jebal Soudah near Abha in the southwest of the Kingdom. Its name means the mountain of almonds, but I certainly did not see any almonds or virtually any other vegetation excepting a few Juniper trees. Geologically it is a light-colored, calc-alkaline granite that is intruded by rhyolite and andesite dikes, which generally trend eastward. Claims have been made by some writers such as Bob Cornuke, Ron Wyatt and Lennart Moller that this is the real biblical Mount Sinai, but these have subsequently been questioned by others. The mountain is very beautiful, but it is not possible to get to the top as a closed security gate prevents access. When we arrived, before first light, signs said not to enter past the gate. We waited until security came and asked permission to enter but were refused, so had to stay on the lower slopes.

Caspian Terns fishing - Jubail

Caspian Tern is a common sighting in Jubail where they can be seen in almost any wetland area from the coast inland to flooded sabkhat areas like Sabkhat Al Fasl and Khafra Marsh. Although common, numbers seen rarely exceed ten although late in the summer, around September, numbers can exceed 150 birds mainly out on flooded sabkha. The last trip to Jubail was good for Caspian Terns with up to one hundred sitting around and more birds flying up and down a flooded area by the side of the road. These birds put on quite a nice display flying past the car on a number of occasions and doubling back past the car again. There was a small shoal of tiny fish near the shore and the terns were occasional dropping into the water to catch them. This allowed a few attempts at inflight photography as well as some attempts to get birds in the water. Some of the results are shown below.

White-tailed Lapwing – Jubail

Whilst birding the Jubail area on 29 September Phil and I came across a White-tailed Lapwing. This is a scarce passage migrant that has sometimes wintered. The Jubail area and Dhahran are the two best areas for locating the species in the Eastern Province, but having said that I have only seen White-tailed Lapwing once in the Jubail area. White-tailed Lapwing records scattered throughout the Kingdom but the Tabuk area having the majority of recent records. Records from the Eastern Province are very scarce with less than annual sightings in recent years although this may partly be due to lack of observers. They are great waders with very district pattern in flight. Birds are normally not easy to get close too and this one was no exception.

A few water birds – Jubail

Jubail, as it is close to the Arabian Gulf is a good place to see water birds. Terns are always present and this time of year they are mainly Caspian Terns, Gull-billed Terns and migrant White-winged Terns. Duck can sometimes be seen if the disturbance levels are low including Northern Shoveler, Eurasian Teal and Garganey. Other birds that are common are herons with Little Egret and Indian Reef Heron being the most common at this time of year. Three of the more unusual Glossy Ibis were also seen recently. Large numbers of gulls use the area in winter but at present Slender-billed Gulls are the only gulls seen in any numbers.

Caspian Tern

Caspian Tern

Caspian Tern 

Northern Shoveler

Slender-billed Gull

Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters and more – Jubail

There have been numerous small flocks of Bee-eaters passing over Jubail in recent weeks most of them European Bee-eaters. Recently a few Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters have been seen including some birds that have spent time perched on the ground or any other perches they could find. I found two birds sitting on a potentially not so comfortable barbed wire perch. They remained on the perch allowing close views, suggesting they may have been fresh in tired migrants. Although the perch is not so photogenic the desert background makes the colours of the birds stand out nicely. The species is a common passage migrant through the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia with good numbers of birds passing in the spring as well as the autumn.

Garganey – Jubail

Whilst birding the Jubail area recently I came across a number of Garganey Anas querquedula. The species is a common migrant to all areas of the Kingdom with often hundreds seen together. A few birds also occur in the winter months. Birds of the Riyadh Region (Stagg 1994) stated they are a spring and autumn passage migrant, generally numerous. Occasional winter visitor in variable numbers. Passes February to early May, peaking late March/early April with flocks sometimes exceeding 100. Return passage is much lighter and occurs mid-August to late October with groups seldom exceeding 20. In the Eastern Province, it is a common passage migrant, rare summer and scarce winter visitor. Generally, they occur during spring migration from mid-February to late May with peak numbers in early March. Numbers are much more common during autumn migration which occurs from late August to mid-October with a peak in September when flocks of twenty plus birds are quite frequent. Records are rare between late May and late August and only small numbers are seen in the winter months of November to early February. Birds normally occur on freshwater lakes, pools and lagoons away from the littoral although in autumn birds are sometimes seen on the shoreline and occasionally they have even been seen on the sea. Birds normally stay at some distance from the shore  as they are frightened of possible hunters but luckily for me one flew right past and landed close to the shoreline allowing some photos to be taken before it was frightened off by a passing security vehicle.

Young Golden Jackal in Jubail – Record by Phil Roberts

A month or so ago Phil Roberts found a young Golden Jackal C. aureus aureus in Jubail and managed to take a single photo. As Phil nor I had seen Golden Jackel in Saudi Arabia we were not sure if it was one, or just a hybrid dog. After asking a number of people for help it was concluded the animal was a Jackal. The golden jackal is a medium-sized predator and omnivore. It is a widely distributed canid, mainly in tropical, sub-tropical and southern temperate areas in East and North Africa, SE Europe, Asia Minor, Caucasus, Middle East, parts of Arabian peninsula, Iraq, Iran all Indian sub-continent and Sri-Lanka to Burma and Thailand. In this huge range jackals occupy all types of habitat except extreme deserts and dense forests. It is the most northerly and most widely distributed of the three jackal species (C. adustrus, C. mesomelas, C. aureus) and is the only jackal species that occurs outside the Sub-Saharan Africa. Phil's photo is shown below and I am thankful to him for allowing me too use it on my website.

Beema Yellow Wagtail – Jubail

Whilst birdwatching the Jubail area at the end of September I came across a small group of Sykse's Yellow Wagtail beema. The Yellow Wagtail is a common passage migrant through the whole of Arabia with many thousands passing through the Eastern Province alone. Birds are common in the spring migration period but less common in autumn and nice plumaged birds like the one in the photo below are not common during this period. As the birds are constantly on the move looking for food they are not easy to get good photos of and as this one was seen just after first light the light was low making fast shutter speeds difficult to obtain. The birds were feeding with a small group of Greater Short-toed Larks a species they favour associating with whilst on passage in the Eastern Province.

Juvenile Western Osprey - Jubail

Whilst birding the Jubail area on 22 September I came across a Western Osprey. Initially it was seen flying over the reed beds but soon disappeared from view. After a few minutes, the bird was seen again in flight but this time flew and landed on a post nearby. Unfortunately, the bird was directly into the sun and no photos could be taken. I move the car to a different track but the bird flew but landed again on a similar post further down the track. Western Osprey is uncommon at the location but is a regular passage migrant as well as resident breeding species in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. Birds breed on islands along all coasts of the Kingdom where they are also a migrant sometimes occurring far inland. Birds of the Riyadh Region by Stagg 1994 mentions it is a passage migrant and winter visitor, in small numbers, that passes from March to April then again in September and October.

Only one Egyptian Nightjar remaining – Jubail

Egyptian Nightjars are now an easily seen species during the summer months in the Jubail area and one bird has been seen regularly sitting under the same bush for a couple of months now. It was still present in its same location on 22 September making this the latest record for the summer birds as they have all gone by mid-September. All the other birds seen this simmer, that totalled at least 15 have now departed. The status and timing of this species is still changing and we are trying to work out when they arrive and when they depart as well as if they breed. This year has recorded the earliest arrival date and the latest arrival date but unfortunately not proof of breeding.