Breeding White-cheeked Terns - Jubail

Whilst birding the Jubail area in mid-August the number of White-cheeked Terns present had increased tremendously. Now there are hundreds of adults with well grown young present making a lot of noise. These birds will have bred on the local offshore islands and will stay around for a few more weeks before departing to their wintering grounds to the west. Many birds were sitting around in large groups with others scattered along the shoreline of the flooded sabkha. The pristine plumage of the adults from earlier in the year is now worn and dirty and the birds are not as photogenic but still good to see and appreciate. Some of the first calendar year birds are obviously in fresher plumage.

Breeding Reed Warblers - Jubail

Whilst birding the Jubail area in mid-August the same breeding warblers as seen in early July were noted. The most common warbler was Caspian Reed Warbler, followed by Graceful Prinia and then Clamorous Reed Warbler. As it is now August, the birds are singing infrequently with only Graceful Prinia still singing briefly and making a few contact calls. All birds were seen in the reed growth at the side of a large flooded sabkha area but as the weather was extremely hot and very humid it was not possible to take photos to start with due to the camera lens becoming fogged up with moisture even though I drove the whole way there with no air conditioning in the car and the windows open to try to avoid this issue. I watched these warblers moving about for almost an hour until the humidity got the better of me and I moved off. 

Caspian Reed Warbler

Caspian Reed Warbler

Clamorous Reed Warbler

Graceful Prinia

Graceful Prinia

Graceful Prinia

Golden Grass Mabuya - Jubail

I saw a Golden Grass Mabuya Heremites septemtaeniatus in Jubail recently that ran across a track but stopped under the nearby vegetation allowing me to take a few photographs. I have seen this lizard a few times here over the years but only running fast across tracks and never allowing identification until this sighting. The lizards were formally known as Mabuya aurata and were generally regarded as three subspecies that were recognized on the basis of colour pattern and number of gular and ventral scales. Mausfeld et al. (2002) partitioned the genus Mabuya into four genera and restricted the application of the name Mabuya to the South American clade of these skinks. Therefore the skinks known formerly as M. aurata are assigned with the generic name Heremites. Heremites septemtaeniatus (Reuss, 1834) is the valid name for the populations, which are characterised by third supraocular shield being in contact with the frontal shield and by pattern of four longitudinal rows of small dark spots on the dorsum (the spots can fuse anteriorly and disappear posteriorly). This species is known from Eritrea, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iraq, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkmenistan. I have also seen this species in Dhahran where I live but although common they are rarely seen.

Caspian Reed Warblers breeding - Jubail

Caspian Reed Warblers breed in Jubail with over 100 breeding pairs estimated. The Caspian (Eurasian) Reed Warbler A. s. fuscus is a common passage migrant, with birds now saying throughout the year in Jubail where they are a common breeding species. Small reed warblers with wing lengths as small as 61mm have been noted in Israel and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia as well as Bahrain and Sabkhat Al Fasl, Jubail. These birds have in the past been confused for Blyth’s Reed Warbler Acrocephalus dumetorum due to their short wing length but have not been confirmed to race. The photos below were taken in the early morning where I had found good activity of birds calling and moving around.

Birds of Saudi Arabia - Volume 2 (Arabic version) - Free Download

 

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Birds of Saudi Arabia - Volume 1 (Arabic version) - Free Download

 

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Half Moon Reedbeds – Al Khobar

Whilst birding Half Moon Reedbeds in Al Khobar, it was obvious from the calling birds that Graceful Prinia, Clamorous Reed Warbler and Caspian Reed Warbler were breeding in the reeds. There is a lot of building work going on in the area and bird numbers were low, but apart from the warblers there were a few Black-winged Stilts in the wet areas along with Kentish Plover, six Common Moorhen and a Grey-headed Swamphen. The latter is a species that has extended its range enormously through the Eastern Province reed beds in the last five years and is now resident in the Half Moon Reedbeds. This is a nice little area of reeds, but sadly due to all the building work they probably will not stay in the same state they are now for very long.

Caspian Reed Warbler

Caspian Reed Warbler

Caspian Reed Warbler

Clamorous Reed Warbler

Graceful Prinia

Graceful Prinia

Graceful Prinia-juvenile

Grey-headed Swamphen

Arabian Red Fox – Dhahran Waste Water Lake

When out walking in the early morning at the edge of Dhahran Hills Waste-Water Lake I came across two Arabian Red Fox on the dried-up edge of the lake. I have seen them in this area previously but this time they were far away. I eventually managed to get a bit closer before one saw me and they both ran off. One stopped briefly and looked back at me allowing a photo to be taken before running off into the red beds. They are relatively common but always nice to see in my opinion.

A few herons – Dhahran Waste Water Lake

Whilst birding Dhahran Waste Water Lake there was very little to be seen. The hight of the summer, when only breeding birds and summer visitors are present is always slow. I did see six Grey Herons and the same number of Black-crowned Night Herons sitting on the bank of the drying up lake or in the nearby dead trees. A single Purple Heron flew off at first light and a Western Great Egret was hiding in the reeds. The only other birds seen on the lake were Little Grebe, Eurasian Coot and Black-winged Stilt. The scrub around the pond was devoid of birds with only White-cheeked Bulbul seen. Autumn migration should start soon and I am looking forward to seeing a few more species.

Grey Heron

Black-crowned Heron - juvenile

Black-crowned Heron - adult & juveniles

Black-crowned Heron - juvenile

Libyan Jirds – Khafra Marsh

I left home at 04:00 to go to Khafra Marsh to a site I have seen Libyan Jird at previously. As soon as I reached the location, I noticed the first Jirds on the compact sand near the side of the road where I had seen them before. I stayed looking at the Jirds for an hour or so and during this time the light became better for photographs. Once the temperature started to get too hot, around 07:00 the Jirds started to disappear down their burrows. The underground burrow system of these animals is extensive and often they would go down one hole and reappear shortly after some distance away out of another burrow. The Libyan Jird is one of the most widely distributed species among rodents, ranging across nearly the entire Palearctic Desert Belt from Morocco in Northwest Africa to China. It occupies desert and semi‐desert habitats, generally in areas with stabilized dunes. The subspecies in Saudi Arabia is the Central lineage that also occurs in Jordan and Syria Meriones libycus syrius.