Red-tailed Wheatear still present – Dhahran Hills

A trip to the ‘patch’ today produced the Red-tailed Wheatear again. This time the bird had moved some distance from it’s normal area to the large rocks along the perimeter road. Again the light was poor as it was late evening but the bird was close and I managed to get one decent photos before it flew off further from the car. The bird has been about for three weeks now and hopefully will stay longer. A couple of new birds for the year were seen today, a Common Kestrel chasing Rock Doves and Feral Pigeons over the nearby airbase and two Marsh Sandpipers on the settling pool. Other waders on the pool included a Wood Sandpiper and 15 Black-winged Stilts and a lone Black-headed Gull was keeping them company. The spray fields held one Siberian Stonechat, two Daurian Shrikes and five Tawny Pipits and the percolation pond had five Gadwall. 20+ Pallid Swifts were again over the pond as it was getting dark.

Red-tailed Wheatear

Daurian Shrike

Pallid Swifts – Dhahran Hills

A trip to the ‘patch’ in the hope of something new in after the cold weather of the last few days produced a surprise in the shape of a flock of 50 plus Pallid Swifts. Although a local breeding species mainly in the desert where they frequent rocky outcrops, caves and fissures, the species is generally absent after this period in the area. In recent years birds have taken to nesting on buildings using ledges to nest against as is the case at KFUPM in Dhahran. Very little is known about their movements after the breeding season, although large numbers are sometimes seen inland over evaporation lagoons. Numbers are scarce in the coastal zones of the Eastern Province with the best counts coming from Abqaiq lagoons and Dhahran percolation pond where small groups are occasionally seen occasionally up to fifty birds. Passage birds are seen in good numbers in March and September. A careful check of the group was made ensuring no Alpine Swifts were present. Trying to photograph the fast moving swifts is difficult and trying to combine this with getting the exposure correct is almost impossible. I have a few shots below showing how difficult it is to correctly judge the exposure of the birds, even if you can get them in the picture. I thought a few duck may have arrived on the percolation pond, particularly as the water levels are so high, but all I could find was the five Gadwall that have been present for the last two weeks. The cold weather and strong north-westerly wind kept most other birds low, with only one Daurian Shrike and a Eurasian Sparrowhawk with its freshly killed Crested Lark prey of note in the spray fields.

More Daurian Shrikes – Dhahran Hills

An increase in number of Daurian Shrikes has been quite noticeable in the Eastern Province in the last couple of weeks with good numbers seen at both Sabkhat Al Fasl and Dhahran recently. Most birds are young or females although a few adult males have also been seen. The lack of daylight in the evening when birding has made photography difficult but I managed to photograph this bird in the late evening light with reasonable results. Other new birds seen on the ‘patch’ recently include a couple of nice adult male Siberian Stonechats, a significant increase in the number of Tawny Pipits and very large numbers of White Wagtails, approaching 200 birds. A single Isabelline Wheatear was the first bird of this species I have seen in 2013 and the Red-tailed Wheatear remains in the same area of the camp.

Increasing numbers of Large White-headed Gulls – Abqaiq Landfill

An early morning trip to Abqaiq Landfill resulted in very large numbers of Large White-headed Gulls (LWHG) as well as Common Black-headed Gulls. The recent cold weather may have brought new birds to the area as numbers were at least twice as high as the last time I visited a month ago. Many of the birds are now immature birds whereas previously they had mainly been adults. The mix of birds remains similar with approximately 80% Steppe Gulls, 20% Heuglin’s Gulls, three Caspian Gulls and one Armenian Gull with 2000+ LWHG and 3000+ Common Black-headed Gulls. Despite extensive searching I failed to locate any Baltic Gulls and no other birds of interest were seen. I did manage to find an area where the birds were resting allowing good views through the scope, and my knowledge of the site has improved, hopefully, making it easier to view the birds on my next trip there. Other landfill sites in the area have held both Greater Spotted Eagles and Eastern Imperial Eagles in the past but I have not seen either of these species on my trips to this site. It may be too far inland? Or possibly is not conveniently positioned next to a wetland ara where the birds like to spend the winter? The only other birds of note I saw on the Landfill were a Common Kestrel, two Desert Wheatears and several Crested Larks. As last time numerous Rock Doves and Feral Pigeons were also present.

Steppe Gull - adult winter

Steppe Gull - 2nd Calendar Year

Heuglin's Gull - adult winter

Heuglin's Gull - sub-adult winter

Common Black-headed Gull - adult winter

Common Black-headed Gull - 2nd Calendar Year

Red-tailed Wheatear again - Dhahran Hills

I have been trying to see and photograph the Red-tailed Wheatear that I saw a few days ago in recent days. I have seen the bird each time I have visited the ‘patch’ but it has been quite mobile and until yesterday did not allow me to get any decent photographs. Yesterday I saw the bird on the main track to the percolation pond by the scrubby desert and managed to get a few decent shots. Mike Pope a birder from Kuwait, who was visiting Saudi Arabia, mentioned to me he had seen the bird a few days before I saw it in roughly the same place. He did not manage to get any photos, which is a pity as he is an excellent photographer. Red-tailed Wheatear is meant to be a confiding species allowing close approach, but this bird did not read the manual and is tricky to get near.

Cold Weather - Dhahran Hills

Cold weather reached Dhahran on Thursday night with temperatures in the early morning down to 6 degrees Celsius. This caused a bit of a change of activity for many of the local birds with Rock Doves fluffing up their feathers to keep warm rather than panting to loose heat. It also attracted a large number of Black-headed Gulls and Large White-headed Gulls (LWHG) to the percolation pond. These birds spent some time in the early morning bathing prior to flying off to their feeding grounds. Most of the LWHG were Steppe Gulls (85%) with Heuglin’s Gulls 13% and Caspian Gull (2%). A few duck were also present on the pond with seven Gadwall, nine Mallard and a single Wigeon which is the first one I have seen for a few weeks. The cold weather has also coincided with an increase in numbers of Great Cormorants roosting at the pond where numbers have now reached 50 birds. This is well short of last year’s 2000 but an increase from the one or two that have been here for most of the winter. I am hoping the cold weather will bring in some more good birds from further north as Israel has had a very cold spell with lots of snow falling.

Rock Dove

Caspian Gull - adult winter

Steppe Gull - adult winter 

Great Cormorant

Squacco Heron with dark primary tips – Dhahran Hills

In the early morning I found a Squacco Heron sitting on the edge of the settling pond. It flew off immediately but luckily landed on the barbed wire fence behind me. I took a photo of the bird and got one shot of it in flight also before it flew off. The bird looked like a Squacco Heron, albeit with a dark mantle, which a number of birds in the winter in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia have. In flight though the bird had obviously dark tipped primaries a feature normally associated with Indian Pond Heron. When I got home I looked at the photos and although reasonably confident the bird was a Squacco Heron I asked a few people, including Tommy Pedersen and Oscar Campbell from the United Arab Emirates what they thought. Indian Pond Heron occurs each winter in the United Arab Emirates so was interested to hear what the guys there thought. Both Tommy and Oscar thought the bird was a Squacco Heron with the following some points as to why they thought this:

• Little streaking on the neck, if it was an Indian Pond Heron with this amount of streaking the bird would have been in more summer like plumage.
• Streaking not extending far enough down the neck for Indian Pond Heron and not extending across the breast, as is the case in Indian Pond Heron.
• Creamy orange undertones to the neck are more typical of Squacco Heron.
• Lack of loral bar.
• Amount of dark on the primaries is variable in both species.

My understanding that Squacco Heron had white primaries (with some birds showing only slight dark on the primaries) and Indian Pond Heron dark tipped primaries is obviously not correct and all the main features of a bird needs to be seen as above and also:

• Dark loral stripe
• Bill should be thicker and blunter tipped
• Dark Mantle colour showing some purple hints

Thanks to Tommy and Oscar for their help - I now have a better idea as to what to look for when faced with a possible Indian Pond Heron.

Jaffa Groundsel – Sabkhat Al Fasl

Whilst birdwatching at Sabkhat Al Fasl at the weekend I came across a couple of nice clumps of Senecio glaucus which is an annual plant that grows in the desert and is also known as Jaffa groundsel or Buck’s horn groundsel. They are found in sandy soil of coastal plains and Gulf islands as well as steppes and are native to a large area of the Middle and Far East including Saudi Arabia. The plants were growing next to the main open water area on the extreme edge of where the water level was currently reaching. They made a very nice splash of colour in an otherwise drab surrounding and are a common and widespread plant in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia.

Meadow Pipits – Dhahran Hills

An early morning trip to the ‘patch’ produced a large numbers of Wagtails and Pipits. There were at least 100 White Wagtails and 50+ Water Pipits with about six Meadow Pipits also associating with them. Their favourite place is the rough ground by the settling pond where the birds gather at first light before dispersing. First light is also a good time to see Arabian Red Fox when they are out hunting and one was seen running along the edge of the main track leading to the Percolation pond, an area where I see these animals frequently. The pond had a single Great Crested Grebe and five Mallards still along with large numbers of Large White-headed Gulls (LWHG) dropping in to bah before moving off to their feeding areas. Most of the LWHG’s were Steppe Gulls (90%) with 10% Heuglin’s Gulls and only three Caspian Gulls. Plenty of Black-headed Gulls were also bathing on the pond at the same time as the LWHG making quite a spectacle.

Meadow Pipit

White Wagtail

Water Pipit

Heuglin's Gull

Plenty of Daurian Shrikes - Sabkhat Al Fasl

Whilst birding at Sabkhat Al Fasl I became aware there was a lot more Daurian Shrikes around the location than on my previous visit. There were in fact many new birds seen including two very early Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters and a flock of over 30 Eurasian Skylarks which is a very high count for this site. At least nine Daurian Shrikes were seen with most being immature or female birds with the exception of one male. Bluethroat numbers were also up with at least six birds seen and many tens heard calling from the reeds and undergrowth. Three male Siberian Stonechats were present along with a single female and 50 plus Water Pipits and White Wagtails. Plenty of Western Marsh Harriers were still about including a single young male and seven Greater Spotted Eagles with one adult. Gull numbers were very high with 1000+ Large White-headed Gulls including 85% Steppe Gulls, 10% Heuglin’s Gulls and 5% Caspian Gulls seen and over 500 Common Black-headed Gulls were also seen. Water levels were very high and the flooded sabkha is now inundated with water. 18 Common Shelducks were seen here along with six Eurasian Teals and 100+ Pied Avocets.

Daurian Shrike

Black-necked Grebe

Siberian Stonechat

Black-headed Gull

Greater Spotted Eagle

Western Marsh Harrier