Mexican Poppy – Wadi Talea

The Mexican Poppy Argemone mexicanais a species of poppy originally from Mexico but now widely naturalized around the world including Saudi Arabia. It is an extremely hardy pioneer plant that is tolerant of drought. It grows in sandy, well-drained soil preferring dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought but not shade. They grow up to 150 cm tall with its stem branched and usually extremely prickly. It exudes a yellow juice when cut and has showy yellow flowers. The leaves are thistle-like and alternate, without leaf stalks, toothed and the margins are spiny. The grey-white veins stand out against the bluish-green upper leaf surface. The stem is oblong in cross-section. The flowers are at the tips of the branches and solitary, yellow and of 2.5-5 cm diameter. This plant and many others were found growing in a normally wet area behind a dam wall in Wadi Talea near Abha in the Asir mountains of southwest Saudi Arabia.

African Paradise Flycatcher - Tanoumah

The African Paradise Flycatcher is an uncommon breeding resident in the Tihamah, Southern Red Sea and wadi bottoms of the Asir as well as the high mountains of the Asir. Most records come from the well watched Abha and Tanoumah areas where birds build a small nest in the fork of a tree and normally lay three eggs. The female does most of the incubating but the male is always in attendance and does some of the work. The young constantly call to the adults and the adults feed the young very frequently with insects. On one day the male is the main food provider but the next day the female does most of the food collecting and feeding. The birds frequent tall juniper trees and prefer good stands of trees and vegetation to the more open areas. Birds are not easy to see in Saudi Arabia so seeing up to six birds in a day, in the Tanoumah area in summer, made for an exciting find.

Desert Mantis – Abha area

I located a single specimen of Desert Mantis Eremiaphila baueriin the bottom of a wide sandy wadi whilst birding the Abha area recently. The insect was extremely difficult to see unless it moved, due to its camouflage. The mantids in Saudi Arabia include both praying mantis and ground mantis, with a total of 46 species known from Arabia. A common species is the cryptically coloured Desert Mantis Eremiaphila bauerialso known as the Ground Mantis. They occur in areas of sand and gravel and can survive in very high temperatures above 40 °C.

Southwest species – Talea Valley

Whilst birding the Talea Valley in summertime it is very hot quite hard work. A few birds breed in the dry and rocky wadi bottom but seeing anything is not that easy. The bright light and high temperatures here make photography difficult and as I almost always arrive at midday, as I go to the Raydah Escarpment at first light, it is even more trying. Good birds can be seen if you persist and below are a few southwestern specialities I saw on my last visit. Arabian Babbler can be seen occasionally as they keep in small flocks and call to each other to keep in contact. Abyssinian White-eyes can occasionally be located in the tall acacia trees in the wadi bottom. Scarcer birds are Dusky Turtle Dove and African Silverbills that come down to drink if there is any free standing water. Cinnamon-breasted Bunting is only present in summer and is not there in winter of spring so presumably moves to lower altitude as it is resident in Saudi Arabia.

Abyssinian White-eye

African Silverbill

Arabian Babbler

Cinnamon-breasted Bunting 

Dusky Turtle Dove

Snake-tailed Fringe-toed Lizard

Whilst birding recently in the Abha area I came across a number of Snake-tailed Fringe-toed Lizard Acanthodactylus opheodurus down a tree filled wadi. The lizards were very active even during the hottest part of the day and where always found near small low-lying plants with hard sandy soil. It is superficially similar to its larger congener Acanthodactylus boskianus, and was described officially in 1980. As its name suggests, this species has a particularly long tail and, in common with other Acanthodactylusspecies, the toes are fringed with scales adapted for running over loose sand. Like other lacertids, the body is long and cylindrical, and the legs are well developed, with the animal having a basic body colour of grey, with seven dark stripes running down the back and sides and a tail tinged red in immatures. They live in a range of arid habitats, including plains with relatively hard sand cover and low hills covered by dense bushes. It is a diurnal lizard and lives in burrows excavated out of hard sand where it remains concealed for all but a few hours of the day. Their burrows not only act as a shelter from predators but also provide refuge from extreme temperatures. The snake-tailed fringe-toed lizard is currently known from the Arabian Peninsula and several other countries in the Middle East, including Jordan, Kuwait and Iraq. 

Bottom of Raydah Escarpment in summer

I was at the bottom of the Raydah Escarpment in late June and the number of birds was significantly less than in May. There were a lot less African Grey Hornbill and Violet-backed Starlings but White-throated Bee-eaters had arrived that were not present in early May. The number of Bruce’s Green Pigeons remained high and a few Ruppell’s Weavers were building nests. A single Black-crowned Tchagra was seen at a location where I saw my only other sighting in the Kingdom. Grey-headed Kingfishers were seen and heard a number of times with one bird allowing some reasonable photos to be taken of it. 

Grey-headed Kingfisher

Grey-headed Kingfisher

Bruce's Green Pigeon

Bruce's Green Pigeon

Long-billed Pipit

White-throated Bee-eater

White-throated Bee-eater

Bosk's fringe-toed lizard – Abha area

Whilst birding recently in the Abha area I came across two Bosk's fringe-toed lizard Acanthodactylus boskianus both were near to vegetation of low-lying shrubs. This is the most widespread species of its genus as well as the largest Acanthodactylus species throughout its range, measuring 16-23 centimetres in total length, which includes all of Saharan North Africa and the Middle East including Arabia (widespread in Saudi Arabia), the Levant and Mesopotamia (including the Turkish border), as well as north- western Iran. It has a long, cylindrical body and well developed legs and is known as a fringe-toed lizard due to the presence of a series of scales on the fingers that provide traction for running over loose sand. The general body colour of this species ranges from darkish or silvery grey, to yellow or reddish brown, with seven contrasting dark, brown longitudinal stripes that run the length of the back. With age, these stripes generally fade away or become grey in colour. It frequents a range of stony and sandy environments and is sometimes common in rocky areas with some shrubs. They excavate burrows in hard sand, some of which are equipped with multiple entrances to allow quick retreats and act as a nightly resting place and as a refuge from periods of intense heat. They emerge from their burrows around mid-morning. It is a voracious predator and eats a wide variety of small insects and other invertebrates. 

Record count of Egyptian Nightjar – Jubail

Egyptian Nightjars are now an easily seen species during the summer months in the Jubail area but this year the numbers are higher than ever with sixteen birds seen. Birds generally turn up in early June and depart in late September with records of early and late birds occurring every year for the past few years. This year I have been away in the southwest of the Kingdom for much of the summer so this is my first trip to count them. Numbers have increased almost every year since they were first found in 2006. It is quite likely birds breed in the area or very nearby but I have not had any confirmation of this yet. The photos below show a number of different birds. You can get very close to them in the car without disturbing them as they are convinced their camouflage can hide them from anything.

Anderson's Rock Agama – Abha area

Whilst birding recently in the Abha area I came across a few Anderson's Rock Agama Acanthocercus adramitanus. The species is endemic to the Arabian Peninsula, where it is found in west and south Arabia, from Taif (Saudi Arabia) in the north to Dhofar (Oman) in the east. Its range includes Oman, Yemen, and southwestern Saudi Arabia. It is common in Saudi Arabia where it occurs on rocks in mountainous areas and is found to around 2,000 metres above sea level. Populations can be found on vertical rocks, rock steps and amongst boulders often in the vicinity of water. They can occur in precipitous wadis surrounded by dense vegetation, with the animals usually seen on the top of boulders. They do not however require water, obtaining moisture from their insect prey. They are sexually dimorphic, with males often taking on a vivid colouration of blue and orange during display, but a duller light brown with faded orange tail colour when blending in to the environment. The males were very visible due to their bright breeding colours but the females are dull and always stayed high up on the boulders.

Steppe Eagles - Abha

Whilst in Abha in April, Phil Roberts and I came across a number of Steppe Eagles that have presumably wintered in the area. These birds will soon be moving back to their breeding areas and are quite late stayers. Steppe Eagle is a common migrant and winter visitor to the south-west, northern Hejaz and Central Arabia where up to 1000 birds have been recorded in a small area. They breed from the Black Sea eastwards across central Asia to Mongolia and migrate to winter south to southern Africa and southern Asia. They pass through the Middle East in large numbers on migration. The juvenile birds shown below have wide even width whitish bands on the trailing edges and centre of the underwings and on the tail tip. They also have a uniformly coloured body and wing-coverts and whitish under-tail coverts. Whitish tips to the greater upperwing coverts and secondaries form bands across, and trailing edges to, the upperwings. They also have whitish uppertail coverts.