Ghayfa Heritage Village is situated in the Nafud desert dune landscape outside Al Zulfi. It is probably one of the most beautiful historical villages in the Kingdom and has some renovated as well as other non-renovated buildings. Its position in a small wadi with large red dunes all around make it a spectacular sight. As it is not mentioned in many places it is not visited often but is well worth the effort if a chance arises.
While birding the Jubail area in May we came across a Common Cuckoo in the very early morning. The bird appeared to be very tiered and allowed us to manoeuvre the car into a good position for photographs. This is a species I have not got many good photos of so I was well pleased with my efforts shown below. During the days birdwatching we found three more Common Cuckoo, indicating they were passing in good numbers overnight. Shrike numbers remained high with 50 seen throughout the day. Most were Red-backed Shrikes with 32 seen. Turkestan Shrike was next commonest with 17 birds and a single Daurian Shrike was also located. Other migrants seen included Barred Warbler, Common Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroat (late bird), Willow Warbler, Eastern Olivaceous Warbler, Spotted Flycatcher, Whinchat, Common Redstart, Yellow Wagtail, Tree Pipit & Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin. A single Red-necked Phalarope was a nice addition to the days total. Egret and heron numbers were much lower than previous weeks suggesting they have moved off or are secretly breeding somewhere.
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| Common Cuckoo |
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| Common Cuckoo |
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| Common Cuckoo |
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| Common Cuckoo |
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| Little Bittern - female |
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| Red-backed Shrike - male |
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| Red-backed Shrike - male |
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| Red-necked Phalarope |
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| Turkestan Shrike - male |
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| Turkestan Shrike - male |
Ushaiqer is approximately 200 km north-west of Riyadh and is one of the oldest towns in the Najd region of Saudi Arabia and was a major stopping point for pilgrims coming from Kuwait, Iraq and Iran to perform Hajj or Umrah. Historical Ushaiqer belongs to the Tamim tribe although other tribes lived there as well. The heritage village has 400 old mud houses and 25 mosques some restored and some still untouched and there is a museum which displays various relics and pieces from the village. It is surrounded by a thick wall with massive towers and wide doors made of tamarisk wood and is divided into districts and bisected by groves of palm trees, and includes a cluster of beautifully renovated houses. These offer a great example of Najdi architecture, with its distinctive triangular windows and roofs, and ornately carved wooden doors. Some still bear the names of the families who lived there. It belongs to the Tamim tribe and one of the Tamim governor’s houses can be visited. Other tribes lived there as well, such as Al-Sheikh (The family of Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahab) and Al-Thani (rulers of the State of Qatar).
Sahal Shanavas and Mohammed Safeer went to Khafrah Marsh, near Jubail, birdwatching on 6 May 2021 and found two Eurasian Golden Oriole. These are uncommon passage migrants in late April and early May but not easy to photograph well and in some years not seen at all. This year, 2021, has been a good year for sightings, with many records throughout the Eastern Province. Sahal sent me the below photographs that he took, which are much better than my best efforts, and has given me permission to publish them on my website, for which I am very grateful.
Whilst birding the Harrat Al Harrah area in January 2021 I came across many signs of Arabian Wolf Canis lupus arabs although I did not see any living individuals. The rangers told me Arabian wolves are distributed throughout the reserve, with den sites, shelters and sign on all major jabals. They also said animals range widely, and the tracks I saw suggest this is the case as footprints were found in many different areas with soft substrates. The Arabian Wolf is a subspecies of Grey Wolf which lives on the Arabian Peninsula, the Negev Desert, the Sinai Peninsula, and Jordan. It is the smallest wolf subspecies, and a desert-adapted subspecies that normally lives in small groups. It is omnivorous, eating carrion and garbage, as well as small to medium-sized prey. The Arabian subspecies of the Grey Wolf is widely distributed in the Arabian Peninsula from sea level to more than 2000 m of elevation, encompassing a diversity habitat types that include deserts to scrublands.
While birding in Kafrah marsh on 30th April, Jibin Jayan with a friend Sahal came across a European Roller sitting on some fencing poles. They observed its activity and searched for more birds but found only the one photographed below. It was half an hour before sunrise and Jibin managed to get some excellent photographs, which are shown below and published with Jibin’s kind permission. This is not the first time Jibin has seen and photographed European Roller at this locality which is a good site for seeing them in April and May.
Whilst birding the Harrat Al Harrah area in January 2021 I came across at least two Lemon White Elphinstonia charlonia also known as Greenish Black-tip. This species is an annual butterfly form the family Pieridae, which can stay in paupal diapause for up to five years, with its appearance meaning there had been local rain. It has a range mainly in northern Africa, the Middle East and occasionally the southern Iberian Peninsula, especially Spain.
Whilst birding Jubail at end of April, a number of migrants were recorded including more than sixty shrikes. The majority of shrikes were Red-backed Shrikes although good numbers of Turkestan Shrikes were also seen along with five Lesser Grey Shrikes. These were my first records of the spring for Lesser Grey Shrike, one of the least common of the passage migrant shrikes through the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. Apart from shikes, the wader numbers were still quite good particularly for Wood Sandpiper with Ruff also seen in small numbers. A Common Nightingale was seen briefly along with Spotted Flycatchers, Yellow Wagtails and Common Redstarts. The Spur-winged Plover was still present in the same place, hopefully indicating breeding is taking place and plenty of Common and Clamorous Reed Warblers were singing. Resident Grey-headed Swamphens were seen in good numbers including well grown young. Slender-billed Gulls were still around and terns seen included Gull-billed, Little, Caspian, White-winged and White-cheeked.
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| Grey-headed Swamphen - Juvenile |
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| Red-backed Shrike |
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| Red-backed Shrike |
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| Red-backed Shrike - male |
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| Turkestan Shrike |
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| Wood Sandpiper |
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| Wood Sandpiper |
The wreckage of a restored Consolidated PBY-5A Catolina United States Navy seaplane, built in San Diego, California in the 1930’s can be found on the Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia, near Ras Al-Sheikh Hameed. The plane was bought from the US Navy by Thomas Kendall, a retired businessman, who converted it to a luxury flying yacht. In the spring of 1960 Mr Kendall took a pleasure trip around the world with his wife and children together with his secretary and her son. On the 22 March 1960 they landed at the Strait of Tirana and anchored the aircraft a short distance from the shore to spend the night there. They heard someone shouting but did not pay any attention and subsequently in the afternoon of the following day, they were attacked with machine guns and automatic firearms from a headland nearby as they did not have relevant permits and were mistaken for Israeli commandos. Mr Kendal tried to start the Catalina but only managed to move it about 800 metres, where it ran aground on a coral reef. The firing lasted 30 to 40 minutes and more than 300 shots hit the aircraft. The fuel tanks were perforated, and 4000 litres of fuel poured from the holes but miraculously the aircraft did not catch fire. The sea was only about 1.5 metres deep and all aboard managed to leave the aircraft and reach the shore. On the beach they were captured by a group of Bedouins attached to the Saudi Arabian army and were taken to Jeddah, interrogated and finally set free with the help of the American Ambassador.
Whilst birding Deffi Park at end of April, quite a number of migrants were recorded including a number of new species for the park for me. The most common migrant was Spotted Flycatcher, with plenty of both male and female Common Redstart also located. Shrikes were seen in good numbers with both Turkestan and Red-backed located along with a female White-throated Robin, all of which I had not seen previously in this park. Willow Warbler numbers were well done on previous weeks with only a single bird seen feeding on the ground by the small watercourse as were European Bee-eaters. A Crested Honey Buzzard was seen taking off from the ground but quickly flew off. This is a late date for this species in Saudi Arabia with most wintering birds departing by early April.
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| European Bee-eater |
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| Spotted Flycatcher |
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| Crested Honey-Buzzard |