Waders starting to move – Dhahran Waste Water Lake

Whilst birding Dhahran Waste Water Lake recently I saw a few waders that are probably early migrants. A good number of Black-winged Stilt were present as was a single Common Sandpiper, birds that have been around for a few weeks but I also saw new birds in the form of a single Common Greenshank and Ruff. The lake itself was little changed from the last few visits with ten Grey Heron, three Western Cattle Egret, three Squacco Heron, two Little Egret and two Great Egret. Another migrant seen was a single Red-rumped Swallow and a Black-necked Grebe was new in as well, but probably a short distant movement as they winter locally. Other water birds seen included a few Black-headed Gulls, a single Steppe Gull, a female Tufted Duck and several Great Cormorants.

Common Sandpiper

Great Cormorant

Great Cormorant

Grey Heron

Grey Heron

Western Cattle Egret

House Crow – Aqua Park

Whilst birding Deffi Park and Aqua Park recently I saw quite a number of House Crow. The House Crow Corvus splendens, as it name suggests is a member of the crow family and is approximately 42–44 cm long (body and tail) and weighs 250–350 grams. Their plumage is glossy black, except for the nape, sides of the head, upper back and breast, which are grey and not glossy. Their bills, legs and feet are black, with males and females being similar, only males being slightly larger and they live for about 6 years in the wild. The species is a recent colonizer of Saudi Arabia, and has a native range extending through the Indian sub-continent from Sri Lanka north to Nepal, west to southern Iran and east to Yunnan in China. On the east coast of Saudi Arabia birds are most often seen long the coast particularly near ports where they became plentiful by the end of the 1980’s but an eradication scheme in the 1990’s decimated their numbers but did not eradicate them completely. In most places House Crow numbers are linked to human population size, due simply to the expanding amount of rubbish generated. Jubail also has a port and House Crow is common in the main parks in the city where the below photos were taken.

 

 

 

Eurasian Spoonbill – Aqua Park

Whilst I was birding Aqua Park I found an immature Eurasian Spoonbill. Unfortunately, it was directly into the sun and although quite close the photos were poor. As a result, I decided to drive around to the other side of the large inlet to get the sun in a better position. Luckily the bird was still present and the photos much better. After a short while some cyclists came by and disturbed the bird, but it only flew a short distance downstream before alighting again. The status of Eurasian Spoonbill has changed over the years in the Eastern Province, with it being regarded as a rare and irregular visitor usually involving immature birds until the end of the 1980’s. Today it is an uncommon visitor in all months to the province. Jubail is the best location to see the species in the Eastern Province, but it is far from guaranteed here being only see on a few days per year. This is the second winter I have seen birds at Aqua Park, so it may turn out to be a good location for them.

Birding Aqua Park – Jubail

Late January I went to Aqua Park to see if the Pied Kingfishers were still present. As soon as I arrived, I heard them calling and saw five birds together in flight over the water. One landed reasonably close and allowed a couple of photos before flying off onto the far side of the estuary. Also on the water were several hundred Slender-billed Gulls, a Squacco Heron, two Western Great Egret. And tens of Western Reef Herons. A male Common Kingfisher was seen along with several Graceful Prinia. And at least two Masked Shrike were in the trees, often dropping to the ground to catch food. Otherwise, it was relatively quiet.

Masked Shrike

Pied Kingfisher

Pied Kingfisher

Western Reef Heron

Graceful Prinia

Great Egret

Great Egret

Great Egret

Desert White – Dhahran Waste Water Lake

Whilst birding Dhahran recently I came across a couple of Desert White Butterfly Pontia glauconome. I have been seeing this butterfly for the last three months in the same area around the Waste Water Lake. It is relatively common in a multitude of overlapping broods that differ from area to area depending on the rains. The Desert White is variable especially with regard to the amount of ‘green’ pigmentation on the underside that can be very heavy to almost absent. This variability can be large and can even occur between generations. It has been a good year for butterflies around the lake with many different spcies seen in good numbers

Pallid Swift – Dhahran Waste Water Lake

An early morning trip to Dhahran Waste Water Lake in January produced a few good birds including the Red-wattled Lapwings still present. The lake still held two Tufted Duck and a small number of Great Cormorant, although significantly less than last year. Egrets and herons included two Squacco Heron, one Great Egret, thee Little Egret and ten Grey Heron. Several Daurian Shrikes are wintering at the location and the Pied Kingfisher was also seen in flight, hovering, and perched briefly. A small number of Pallid Swift are still around, dropping down occasionally to drink from the lake. Graceful Prinia are now singing again, with males calling from a lot of different locations. This species has increased significantly in numbers over the last ten years and is now a common sight when out at any time of year. Another species that is singing commonly around the lake is the Crested Lark, a common resident breeder. 

Pallid Swift

Crested Lark

Crested Lark

Crested Lark

Crested Lark

Creat Cormorant

Little Egret

Tufted Duck

Tufted Duck

Arabian Red Fox - Dhahran

When out walking in the rough scrubby area near to Dhahran Hills Waste-Water Lake recently I came across an Arabian Red Fox. This fox was quite wary and kept its distance and never came fully out into the open. They are relatively common in Dhahran and can be seen most weeks of the year if you look in the right areas, particularly around Dhahran Hills golf course. The Red Fox is currently recognized as a single species and has the widest natural distribution of any terrestrial carnivore, possibly any terrestrial mammal (excluding humans). Its range spans approximately 70 million square kilometres encompassing much of Europe, Asia and North America and extending into North Africa, with an introduced population in Australia. The Arabian Red fox has very large ears for its size and is very thin and sandy coloured compared to the European Red Fox, and they look very different.

Northern Lapwings – Al Asfar Lake

An early morning trip to Al Asfar Lake in January produced a few good birds including about ten Northern Lapwings. This is a common wintering species in the correct areas, mainly large pivot fields but also occurs in small numbers in wetland areas such as Al Asfar Lake. Other waders included three Bar-tailed Godwits, and good numbers of Ruff and Common Redshank. This location is an excellent site for Western Marsh Harrier where more than twenty birds spend the winter. Most are juvenile/female types but one or two males can occasionally be seen. Eagles were seen in small numbers with three Greater Spotted Eagles and a single Bonelli’s Eagle, perched on the electricity pylons. Several Daurian Shrikes are wintering at the location and a Pied Kingfisher was also seen in flight and perched briefly, adding to the locations where this species has been seen this winter. Two Great Grey Shrikes and two Tawny Pipits were about the best of the other species seen. 

Northern Lapwing

Northern Lapwing

Western Marsh Harrier

Western Marsh Harrier

Greater Spotted Eagle

Mediterranean Tiger Blue – Dhahran Waste Water Lake

Whilst walking around the Waste Water Lake in Dhahran in mid-January I saw a Mediterranean Tiger Blue Tancus rosaceus butterfly. These butterflies are not common in the Dhahran area but can sometimes be seen in the early part of the year until April. They are small at approximately 18-22 mm in size. It is like Little Tiger Blue Tarucus balkanicus but the underside of the hind-wing line proximal to spots is broken at the veins. The upperside of the wing of the male is blue with fewer spots, whilst the females are hard to separate. The family Tarucus is commonly known as Blue Pierrots and the caterpillars are typically feed on Zizyphus, a genus of spiny shrubs and small trees in the Buckthorn family and are attended by ants.

Very few birds – Al Uqair

My most recent trip to Al Uqair resulted in very few birds. It is not very good for shorebirds, even though it looks good and is on the coast. This trip I saw a single Eurasian Curlew and a small flock of flying Common Redshank and Common Greenshank. On the coast were a small number of House Sparrow, lots of White-eared Bulbul and two Great Grey Shrike. The most unusual bird was a flying Long-legger Buzzard, a species that is uncommon in the region but one I had not seen at this site before.

Eurasian Curlew

Eurasian Curlew

Great Grey Shrike

House Sparrow