Roughtail Rock Agama‬ (Tabuk) - Record by Viv Wilson

Viv Wilson saw and photographed some Roughtail Rock Agamas in the desert near Tabuk. The Roughtail Rock Agama‬ Laudakia stellio‬ is also known as a Hardim or Star Lizard and is a species of agamid lizard found in Greece, Central Macedonia, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Iraq, northern Saudi Arabia, Cyprus, Jordan and Israel. Like many agamas it can change colour to express its moods. The name ‘stellion’ comes from Latin stellio, stēlio (stelliōn-, stēliōn-), which referred to any spotted lizard, from stella star. It has a flat triangular head and a flat short body with long legs. It hibernates during winter. Its diet consists of mainly insects and plants. They are a rock-dwelling species of lizards inhabiting dry areas and even though it is very cautious and hides as soon as it perceives danger, during the mating season the males defend their territory by putting themselves in prominent positions, displaying their intentions by a characteristic nodding movement of the head. It is a large (up to 30 centimetres), robust lizard with a flattened, spiny body, a wide, triangular head, long legs and a long tail. The neck is particularly spiny, and rows of spines run across the body, flanks and tail and is capable of quite rapid colour changes, typically becoming lighter when warm and darker when cold. Dominant male starred agamas are particularly brightly coloured, often showing reddish-brown, turquoise and tan markings. They are generally light or dark brown to grey or charcoal-coloured, with a series of yellowish, diamond-shaped markings along the back. The throat may be flecked with dark spots, and the tail often has conspicuous bars. However, it is quite variable in appearance across its range, with individuals from some areas having pale yellow or red heads and unspotted throats. They have sharp claws that help it to climb on rocks, walls, buildings and trees.

Pipits – Dhahran Hills

Whilst birding the ‘patch’ a couple of early mornings the last week I have come across a number of pipits. A large number gather at first light to feed along the raised bank by the settling pond and reasonable views can be had of the birds. This is a good place to try to look for one or other of the scarce pipits that may occur in the area, but unfortunately I have not located anything yet. I have, however, seen 30+ Water Pipits regularly here as well as a single Red-throated Pipit, which I have seen on a number of occasions. Tawny Pipit is also regular here, but more so at the edge of the spray fields with the bird photographed below giving a quite unusual call for a Tawny Pipit but looking just like one.

Red-throated Pipit

Red-throated Pipit

Water Pipit

Tawny Pipit

Arabian Red Fox – Dhahran Hills

The last couple of weeks I have been seeing the resident Arabian Red Fox near to the percolation pond on most evenings and morning trips. On a couple of occasions whilst walking I have been within a few metres of the animal, which seemed completely unafraid of my presence. The photographs of the Fox below were taken in the very early morning when I came across one when driving the car around the perimeter of the pond. The Fox did not allow very close approach but was quite content to sit and watch me before running off. A second fox then came along the same route as the first but this one saw the car and turned around and ran off. The Arabian Red Fox is a subspecies of the Common Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) and is native to Arabia. It is highly adaptable and more adapted to desert life than its parent species and is a sandy red colour, with large ears and a much smaller body. The large ears help the fox maintain its body temperature and the fur between its toes, help it prevent burning its feet. They are most active at night and are mainly solitary with well-defined home ranges. They eat rodents, birds and fish which they actively hunt during the night, as well as some desert vegetation and even carrion. Arabian Red Fox can live in various environments including cities, towns, desert, mountains and coastal areas. The animals are so small that they are often confused for Desert Foxes, but the black flash down the chest is an obvious sign the animal is an Arabian Red Fox and not a Ruppell’s Fox.

Eurasian Sparrowhawk – Dhahran Hills

Whilst out birding I found two Eurasian Sparrowhawks chasing each other around the percolation pond, occasionally alighting in the surrounding trees. This is the first time I have seen two birds together in Saudi Arabia and although the species is not uncommon in the winter months they are always good birds to see. Eurasian Sparrowhawk is an uncommon passage migrant and winter visitor from October to April, in small numbers to the Eastern province of Saudi Arabia. Most birds have departed in March and individuals seen in late April and May away from areas where they normally overwinter, are probably passage migrants.

Arabian Spiny-tailed Lizard - Qaryat Al Ulya Pivot Fields

This Arabian Spiny-tailed Lizard was found in Qaryat Al Ulya Pivot Field and had made its burrow in the soft ground where the plants were being planted. This is an unusual place to find them as they are normally associated with burrows in rough sandy gravel areas. The Lizard was a blue colour as it had not warmed up properly when they reach a bright yellow colour like the bottom photograph here taken in the summer of 2012 at Abqaiq on a tarmac road. Spiny-tailed Lizard (Uromastyx spp.) is a medium to large sized, heavily built lizard with a spiny club like tail, which has been likened to a small living dinosaur. They are ground dwelling and live in some of the most arid regions of the planet including northern Africa, the Middle East, Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and north-western India. The generic name (Uromastyx) is derived from the Ancient Greek words ourá (οὐρά) meaning "tail" and mastigo (Μαστίχα) meaning "whip" or "scourge", after the thick-spiked tail characteristic of the species. The Arabian Spiny-tailed Lizard (Uromastyx aegyptia microlepis) is most common in Saudi Arabia and is the one that occurs in the Eastern Province and is generally regarded as a subspecies of the Egyptian Spiny-tailed Lizard (Uromastyx aegyptia). It is locally known to the Arabs as 'Dhub' (Arabic:'‫ضب‬'). The main diagnostic character of the genus is the highly specialised tooth-like bony structure replacing the incisor teeth in the upper jaw in adults. The Arabian Spiny-tailed Lizard can be distinguished from Egyptian Spiny-tailed Lizard (Uromastyx aegyptia aegyptia) by lacking enlarged tubercular scales scattered over the scalation of the flanks, having 149‑193 (mean 171.8) ventral scales rather than 126 – 158 (mean 142). Other features include a smaller scale size and more colourful yellow or greenish colour when warmed-up in adult specimens of Arabian Spiny-tailed Lizard. It is distinguished from Uromastyx leptieni by a different juvenile colour pattern and a higher number of ventrals.

Common Kestrel - Alba Marsh (Bahrain)

Whilst ringing at Alba Marsh Nicole and I heard some gunshots and saw a couple of Bahraini men in a four wheel drive car. We said hello as they passed by and let them know we were ringing in the marsh to prevent any possible accidents happening. They were very friendly and showed us a bird they had just caught elsewhere in Bahrain. It turned out to be a really beautiful adult male Common Kestrel in a large box. I asked if I could photograph the bird and they agreed. They said they were going to train the bird in some way to help attract larger falcons, that they were also hoping to catch, and then use the larger falcons as hunting birds.

Clouded Yellow (Colias croceus) - Qaryat Al Ulya Pivot Fields

At Qaryat Al Ulya Pivot Irrigation fields there were a large number of Clouded Yellow butterflies flying a rung the Alfafa crops. The range of the Clouded Yellow Colias croceus is across Southern and Central Europe to North Africa, Iran and the Arabian Peninsula. In Saudi Arabia it is common at Tuwayq Hills and is abundant in all major cultivated eastern oases such as Al Hassa, Quatif, Taraut Island and Safway, favouring Medicago sativa fields. Pivot irrigation fields are also good areas to find the species. Small isolated populations also exist around Manifa, north of Jubail, on beds of annual winter legumes growing in the hollows between coastal sand dunes with the populations supplemented by migrants. They are 45-54 mm in size and most have an orange-yellow ground with broad black borders to wings. They occurs mainly from December to early May but at Manifa during February and March. It has a characteristic to and fro flight over low vegetation where it frequently settles on sweet basil Ocimum basilicum flowers in oases.

Great Crested Grebe – Dhahran Hills

Whilst birding recently a regular interesting sight has been seeing a Great Crested Grebe on the percolation pond. The Great Crested Grebe is a regular but scarce visitor mainly in the winter between October and March. During November birds are regularly seen away from the coast and I have seen them at various locations around the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia including Taraut Bay, Khafji Marsh, Abu Ali Island and Dhahran Hills percolation pond. The first breeding attempt for the species in Saudi Arabia was on the percolation pond in April to May 1999 when a pair built several nests all of which were unsuccessful due to fluctuating water levels and casual recreational disturbance. Birds have been seen on the pond every year since and some stay well into the summer but no breeding has been noted whilst I have been in Dhahran. This year a pair of birds was present from January to March and a single from August until present whereas in 2011 a pair was seen in March only.

Wing Tagged Griffon Vulture between Tabuk & Sharma - Bird records by Viv Wilson

Viv Wilson from Tabuk in Western Saudi Arabia sent me the following very interesting information and great photographs of Griffon vultures, a species I have not seen in the Eastern Province of KSA or anywhere else in the country for that matter. His report is here along with some of his excellent photos that he has kindly allowed me to use on my website.

"I enjoyed an overnight stay in the desert on the 17th October with Paul ( Indiana) Hancock, his wife Anji Hancock, and Paul Chapman. A very enjoyable night sitiing around the campfire. A cloudy night, mostly, so my astronomical viewing was limited. The next day on our desert travel's we came upon a Rock outcrop, which we have named, Vulture Rock. As Paul H tell's me, it is the first time he has seen that many Griffon Vultures, normally the birdlife is fairly scarce when they trip around the place. Anyway this Vulture, H59, was born sometime during 2010 and was originally caught in Gamla NR (Northern Israel) on 4th August 2012. It was seen again in the Judea Desert, near Masada, and trapped again in Negev Mt near Sde Boker on 10th September 2012 and now sighted by our group and photographed about midway between Tabuk and Sharma on 18th October 2012. I have been informed of other Griffon's in the area, but unfortunately, none were sighted on our last trip on 1st November 2012. Previously, we have sighted a lonely Egyptian Vulture in a similar area".

Photographs of birds taken by Viv look like there is another bird wing tagged with H58 which was tagged at the same time as H59 at Negev Mt near Sde Boker on 10th September 2012. This bird was born in 2011. I thank Ohad Hatzofe for the ringing/taging information on these birds.

The Griffon Vulture was a widespread resident visitor in western and south-west regions of Saudi Arabia but recently numbers have declined significantly and it now no longer breeds in many areas that it once did. It is also an occasional migrant and winter visitor to northern areas of the country with a few birds ringed in Israel occurring in Saudi Arabia. One is the bird mentioned above and a second was a bird fitted with a transmitter at Carmel Hills, north-west Israel in August 2002 that was subsequently tracked between Jeddah and Al Madinah. Yoav Perlman also informed me of two additional birds from Israel fitted with transmitters that are currently in northern Saudi Arabia.

European Nightjar in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia & Bahrain (Part 3)

European Nightjar Caprimulgus europaeus unwini (1st year female) Badan, Bahrain – 28th October 2008 used with kind permission of Brendan Kavanagh



European Nightjar Caprimulgus europaeus unwini (1st year female) Badan, Bahrain – 28th October 2008 used with kind permission of Brendan Kavanagh



European Nightjar Caprimulgus europaeus unwini (1st year female) Badan, Bahrain – 28th October 2008 used with kind permission of Brendan Kavanagh



European Nightjar Caprimulgus europaeus unwini (1st year female) Badan, Bahrain – 28th October 2008 used with kind permission of Brendan Kavanagh



European Nightjar Caprimulgus europaeus unwini (1st year female) Badan, Bahrain – 28th October 2008 used with kind permission of Brendan Kavanagh

This note was spurred by the above photographs of a bird caught and ringed in Bahrain in 2008 originally thought to be an Egyptian Nightjar. The plumage details and measurements of the bird do not fit Egyptian Nightjar (wing 193 - 216) although it does fit a European Nightjar of the grey type C. e. unwini & C. e. sarudnyi as well as juvenile C. e. meridionalis. Juvenile birds are the smallest of all the races with C. e. meridionalis adults from Italy measuring 188.5 - 191.5 & juveniles 174.5 and C. e. europaeus from Britain (the smallest population of this subspecies) measuring adult 196.1 +/-5.3 & juvenile 188.9 +/- 8.6 (BTO ringing data). No birds have been assigned to subspecies in Saudi Arabia to my knowledge, although World Bird Info says C. e. europaeus, C. e. meridionalis & C. e. sarudnyi occur. All the records and photographs of Saudi Arabian birds I have seen refer to nominate C. e. europaeus, with the exception of an ‘unwini’ type winter record mentioned earlier. I would assign the above bird to the subspecies C. e. unwini showing that the race passes through Eastern Arabia at least. I saw one European Nightjar on 5th May 2011 in Dhahran, Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia that appeared to be a greyish form but it was late in the evening and the light was poor (see photo below) and it was not possible to get detailed plumage characteristics in the field. If anyone has any thoughts on this one please leave a comment below.



European Nightjar Caprimulgus europaeus ssp? Dhahran, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia – 5th May 2011



European Nightjar measurements

Some interesting data from Chokpak Pass ringing station, Kazakhstan (420 31'N 700 38'E) which is situated in Kazakhstan in the Western Tien Shan, between Zabaglytau (Talassky Alatau) and Boroldai (Karatau) ridges. Maximum altitudes of Zabaglytau are 2700-2900 m a.s.l., and Boroldai - 1500-1700 m a.s.l. The pass, where the ringing station is located, is the narrowest place between the Talassky Alatau and Karatau, being no more than 7-9 km wide & is the highest point of the inter-mountain valley at 1200 . a.s.l. The countryside is made up of relatively plain steppe plots used as arable land (90%) for cereals, vegetables etc. Original bunch grass steppe covers much of the slopes of the smaller peaks. Forest plantations occur as lines along the borders of fields and roads.

European Nightjar subspecies that pass through Chokpak Pass, Kazakhstan in spring and autumn

The above information shows the subspecies that pass through Kazakhstan in spring and autumn and should give at least an indication of what birds might be passing through Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.