Springtime - Quraish

May in the Asir is great for birding as most if not all the African breeding species have returned and additional passage migrants can be seen as well as the resident highland birds. We saw a few passage birds including an Olive-tree Warbler, Common Whitethroat, Red-backed Shrike, Turkestan Shrike, Common Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler and Whinchat. African breeders included African Paradise Flycatcher, Violet-backed Starling, Gambaga Flycatcher and African Pipit. Resident species photographed were Arabian Wheatear & Crested Lark. The weather at this time of year is very variable and goes from clear blue skys to thunderstorms in a short period of time. Luckily we made it back to the car just before the rain set in a few hours at lunchtime and where not able to get back out to early evening.

African Paradise Flycatcher - male

African Paradise Flycatcher - male

Arabian Wheatear

Arabian Wheatear

Arabian Wheatear 

Arabian Wheatear

Crested Lark

Two Spur-winged Lapwing - Jubail

Whilst biding the Jubail area I saw two Spur-winged Lapwings along the edge of a wet area. One of the birds appeared to be displaying to the other s there is again the chance they could breed locally. The species is still scarce in the Eastern Province although good numbers have been seen recently in the Haradh area including possible breeding. The species was regarded as a vagrant to the Eastern Province when I arrived eight years ago but is now a scarce visitor that can be seen at any time of year indicating birds may now be resident in small numbers in areas away from Haradh where it appears they are now definitely resident. The birds were not easy to get near with the below photo the best I could do in the poor light conditions.

Toadstool – Khafra Marsh

Whilst birding Khafra Marsh recently I came across a toadstool that I had not seen previously. I have no idea what type it is but it looked quite smart growing out of the sand.

Ehrenberg's Redstart - Jubail

A really smart Common Redstart of the sub-species samamisicus which is often known as 'Ehrenberg's Redstart' was seen in Jubail recently. This sub-species breeds in the southern Balkans and Greece east to Turkmenistan, south Uzbekistan and Iran and winter in north-east Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. They are slightly greyer and darker above, with a large white wing patch, which can be variable in size. The light was poor so I did not get a good photograph but you can see how really smart and different this sub-species looks to the normal Common Redstart.

Whimbrel - Jubail

Whilst birding the Jubail area in early May I can across a Whimbrel. This is not a common species in Saudi Arabia and it occurred to me there could be a very slim chance it could be a Steppe Whimbrel alboaxillaris as one has been claimed in Bahrain in recent years.The timing was not good for Steppe Whimbrel occurring in the Middle East as the prime times should be March to early April and again in July. The fact it was alone was in its favour however. The bird appeared to be very tiered and would walk away, at some distance, when approached. When it flew it did so over a very short distance so we were loathed to disturb it too much. On two occasions when it flew I was able to get a couple of photos of its underwing, and this combined to overall plumage features suggest the bird was a nominate phaeopus. We did not attempt to get closer for better photos due to the apparently tiered nature of the bird. 

Eastern Nightingale - Jubail

An interesting record of an Eastern (Common) Nightingale Luscinia (megarhynchos) golzii was recorded nar Jubail in early May 2019. Eastern Nightingale is sometimes regarded as a separate species from Common Nightingale and breeds in Eastern Turkey, Iran, Turkmenistan, Armenia, Kazakhstan & Afghanistan and they winter mainly in southern Africa.

Identification differences from Common Nightingale include:-

Pale fringes to the terials

Pale fringes to the greater coverts

Pale supercillium (often hard to see in the field)

Upperparts less rusty in tone (often greyish)

Paler underparts

Longer wing and tail lengths

Dunlin in breeding plumage - Jubail

Whilst birding the Jubail area recently I saw a few summer plumaged Dunlin, these birds are supposedly of the subspecies Calidris alpina centralis. I rarely see Dunlin in summer plumage, so took the opportunity to take a few photos and although the light was very poor but I did manage to obtain a few average photos, shown below. C. a. centralis breeds in north-east Siberia from Taymyr Peninsula to Kolyma Delta and winters from the eastern Mediterranean and Red Sea eastwards to southern Asia.

Migrants - Jubail

A steady trickle of migrants have been passing through the Eastern Province in the last couple of weeks with several Red-backed Shrike appearing. Lesser Whitethroat, Spotted Flycatcher, Common Redstart, Pied Wheatear, Tree Pipit and Western Siberian Stonechat were also seen in small numbers. Very few Yellow Wagtails have been around recently compared to recent years but small flocks of European and Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters have been passing over mainly in the early morning.

Red-backed Shrike 

Red-backed Shrike

Common Redsatart

Pied Wheatear

Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin

Tree Pipit

Western Siberian Stonechat

Great Snipe - Jubail

Initially found by Phil Roberts on 6 May it was feeding in a shallow area of flooded sabka. Phil took a number of excellent photos of the bird including with the wings raised showing clearly all the features of Great Snipe. As I had only seen one bird previously in Saudi Arabia at the edge of the percolation pond in Dhahran Saudi Aramco Camp, Dhahran 22 October 2011 I was keen to see if the bird was still around at the weekend. Luckily for me it was still present in exactly the same area and after feeding in the open for some time walked onto the land and rested under a tree where we left it. Great Snipe is the largest of the three species in Western Europe and is 5% to 10% longer and broader-winged and about 10% longer legged, but 10% shorter-billed and marginally shorter-tailed. Great shows more white in the upperwing (all of the wing coverts, including the primary coverts, are fringed white) showing a white-boardered, dark mid-wing panel broader white sides to the tail and darker, more densely barred underwings. It appears bulkier, primarily because of its stouter bill, larger head, greater girth and broader wings giving it more of a ball shape on the ground. The head pattern of the Great Snipe is subtly different from that of the Snipe, with less pronounced striping and the belly shows less white being almost completely barred ith the exception of the central belly. There is extensive white on the outer tail-feathers but this was not visible in the field as the bird did not fly and we did not want to disturb it. It is a rare bird in Saudi Arabia with a single record from KAUST in 2018. Birds of the Riyadh Region (Stagg 1994) stating it is a scarce passage migrant and winter visitor. Passes February to April in ones and twos and again from September to November, sometimes several mingling with G. gallinago. Winter visitors occur December and January. In the Eastern Province, it is a Vagrant with six records of eight birds. One Abqaiq 9-10 May 1976, Three Abqaiq 3-16 September 1977, One Abqaiq 12-13 October 1977, One Abqaiq 30 April 1982, One Dhahran 22 October 2011 and one Jubail 6-10 May 2019.

Passage & Breeding Waders - Jubail

Wader numbers have started to increase again as passage of some species speeds up. Passage waders included good numbers of Wood Sandpiper and Ruff with smaller numbers of summer plumaged Curlew Sandpiper, Dunlin and Little Stint. Terek Sandpiper, Common Ringed Plover and a single Broad-billed Sandpiper were also seen. Regular breeders were seen in good numbers with plenty of Black-winged Stilt around including many well grown juveniles. Kentish Plover were also seen with a few juveniles, another species that breeds locally.

Little Stint

Wood Sandpiper

Black-winged Stilt - juvenile

Curlew Sandpiper