Zaabal Castle – Sakaka

On top of a mountain, the highest point in the area, in the city of Sakaka in northwest Saudi Arabia sits Zaabal Castle. The castle is believed to have been built 200 years ago, but some structures are said to date back to the 1st-century Nabataean era dated from the first century BC to the first century AD. The fort consists of a reservoir and four cylindrical towers, five metres high, that are connected by a single wall and is built of stone and mud. The castle sits on top of a water well system that spans the entire city and has been a source of supply to the city’s inhabitants for centuries. It has a surrounding wall built of mud and stone decorated with mud engravings. The height of the wall is approximately two meters. There are two rooms inside the castle built of mud and stones and the roof covered in palms trunks and palm branches which are available throughout the region. One of these rooms is located in the centre of the castle, was built over a high rock base. The second chamber is located to the left when you walk through the entrance to the castle and is faced by a water tank embedded in rock to a depth of approximately 80 cm and 1 metre length approximately. The tank was used for storing water in case of barricaded inside the fortress. The castle is accessed through semi- circuitous narrow staircase built from stone. On the left on the way into the castle there is a large jebal that holds some very interesting rock art. It is not possible to get close but they are viewable from the bottom of the jebal.

Birding the Gayal area - Gayal

Gayal is an area on the Red Sea coast, north of Sharma towards the Jordan boarder, where it is possible to access the coast. Here some shallow intertidal areas exist and some large bays that contain a lot of waders. When we were there we saw Dunlin, Eurasian Curlew, Greater Sand Plover and Ruddy Turnstone. Other birds seen included Great Grey Shrike in some shrubs close to the coast and Western Osprey.

Ruddy Turnstone

Great Grey Shrike

Greater Sand Plover

Eurasian Curlew

Sanderling – Al Uqayr

Whilst birding the area near Al Uqayr Customs House we came across a flooded area caused by the large amount of rain that fell at the end of December. On scanning the few waders that were present I located a single Sanderling amongst the Dunlin and Kentish Plover. This is an Uncommon passage migrant and uncommon winter visitor to Saudi Arabia and bird I don’t see so often. As a result, I turned the car around and carefully tried to get into position to see the waders well with the light behind and avoid getting stick in the mud. On arrival at the area it became apparent there were quite a few Sanderling present totalling twenty birds as well as four Greater Sandplovers and twenty plus Dunlin. We spent some time checking the trees along the coast here for Hypocolious as a large flock had spent last winter in the area and despite quite a lot of effort only managed to find two separate individuals some distance apart. A Lesser Whitethroat, Song Thrush, Eastern Black Redstart, several Common Chiffchaff and a calling Siberian Chiffchaff were only other really notable birds seen. 

Western Osprey - Gayal

 Whilst birding the Gayal area of the northern Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia in early January I came across a Western Osprey perched in a tall tree. I noticed the bird whilst driving down the main road and stopped and then managed to manoeuvre the car into a position where I was very close to the bird. Luckily it did not fly off and I managed to obtain some close-up photos before leaving it still sitting in the same tree. Western Osprey is a common breeding resident on the Red Sea coast and offshore islands of the Kingdom, with this young bird almost certainly raised nearby. 

Ranjajil Columns - Sakaka

The site of Rajajil (The Men) is near Sakaka, a city in north-western Saudi Arabia which is the capital of Al Jawf Province. It is located just to the north of the An Nafud desert. They are probably over 5,000 years old and consist of 54 groups of stones some of them three meters high. They go in parallel lines from east to west and the reason for them is still uncertain. The site is on high ground overlooking a large area of low level to its north, and the current site has an area of approximately 300 m × 500 m with an extension in the west, where there are a number of separate groups of stone on the main site. The site consists of a group of fifty four stone columns. The numbers of the columns in each group are differing from the other groups. Also columns are appearing compact straight lines, some columns rise to more than 3.5 m, while others did not exceed 50 cm in height due to the fall of the upper parts of some of these columns and the thickness of 75 cm per column. There are also writings on some of the columns. The site dates back to the copper age or the fourth millennium BC. These columns are believed to be primarily a religious site or second-class graves. Some believe that the stones were probably a meeting place for people in the area and possibly they were also a trade centre as many important trade roads crossed the Al -Jowf area as Sakaka is an oasis town on an ancient caravan route across the Arabian peninsula. The location of Al Rajajil site to some extent, looks like the site of "Stonehenge" which is located eight miles from Salisbury in England, a temple built from a combination of huge stones made in a circular motion, and is topped by a huge stone slabs. The location is fenced off and access is restricted. There is a visitor centre and if open, access is granted into the enclosed site and you can get close to the stones to take photographs. This is in my opinion one of the best historical locations in the Kingdom and very well worth a visit.

Socotra Cormorant – Al Uqayr

Whilst birding the seafront next to Al Uqayr Customs House I found a few Socotra Cormorant Phalacrocorax nigrogularis sitting on the stones near the shoreline and manage to approach to quite close range but unfortunately the light was in the wrong direction making taking photos somewhat difficult. They are not so easy to photograph and I was relatively happy with my efforts. They breed on islands in the Arabian Gulf where they are common. Small numbers can be seen close to the mainland coast especially from April to August but from October to March it is generally outnumbered by great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo. Huge gatherings sometimes occur from December to May with more than 25,000 birds on the sea or flying in formation. There are no inland records of this species in the Kingdom.

Camal Rock

Around a dozen humped sculptures, some of them damaged from erosion and vandalism, can be found and are chiselled on three rocky spurs. The sculptures that depict equids, or hoofed mammals, show a level of artistic skill unseen in other rock art forms in the Saudi desert. The three dimensional carvings show great skill in their level of naturalism and their sheer size with some featuring only part of a camel's body such as the hooves, differ from those discovered at other Saudi sites with other showing donkeys. Many are perched high on the outcrops and would have required ropes or scaffolding. There is little information on who created the carvings, what date they are from or the tools they used, although the closest may be the Nabateans, a nomadic Arab tribe known for founding the city of Petra in modern-day Jordan as well as Hegra in Al Ula, carved out of sandstone desert cliffs. Also visible alongside the engravings were painted art forms, which showed human and mythological beings and an object that appeared to look like a chariot. The carvings have different styles, which suggests there was more than one artist behind them with the site possibly one of veneration or on a caravan route. These animal carvings are now thought to be the oldest large scale animal carvings in the world.

A few winter birds – Jubail

Whilst birding the Jubail area in late December we came across a few typical winter species for the location. Greater Spotted Eagle winters in the area in a few wetland areas and can often be seen perched on power lines masts or on the ground near the wetlands. Eurasian Coot is commoner this winter than in most recent winters with twenty plus birds seen most visits. Large White-headed Gull numbers have slowly increased and a few Steppe Guls are now sending much of the day at one of the main wetlands allowing some photos to be taken on rare occasions. These birds normally occur on. The coast in Jubail and this year have started using the flooded sabkha areas a bit more regularly than normal. Wader numbers have been relatively low with very few Kentish Plovers noted but a slight increase in Common Ringed Plovers. Wintering Daurian Shrikes appear to have stabilised at ten birds which is more than most recent winters

Steppe Gull

Greater Spotted Eagle

Greater Spotted Eagle

Greater Spotted Eagle

Eurasian Coot

Daurian Shrike

Common Ringed Plover

Marid Castel - Dumat Al-Jandal

Qasr Marid is a castle in Dumat Al-Jandal, in the north of Saudi Arabia built before 272 CE. Its walls are 80 cm to 1 metre thick and it commanded the old city of Adumato. The castle Marid (which means “the rebel” in Arabic) stands on a natural limestone outcrop overlooking the valley where the ancient oasis lies. Its position, occupying what appears to have been a genuine acropolis, suggests that this must have been the site of one of the oldest settlements at Dumat al-Jandal. It dates back to at least Nabatean times and is mentioned in the records of the Assyrian era but texts do not specify the time of the building of Marid Castle or who built it. The Marid castle is a giant walled fortress built on a high plateau overlooking the ancient city of Dumat al-Jandal. Some of its parts have been rebuilt, but most of its other parts remain as it was in ancient times. The form of the original building was rectangular but some additions including conical towers which look as if they have been added at a later period. The lower part of the building has been made of mud. The few excavations which have been made in the lower part in 1976, revealed some Nabatean and Roman pottery which dated back to the first and second century BC.

Citrine Wagtail & Water Pipits – Khafra Marsh

Whilst birding Khafra Marsh in December we came across a small wet ditch which held a few interesting birds including a number of Water Pipit and a smart Citrine Wagtail that flew up and landed in a nearby tree allowing good views and some photographs to be taken. Citrine Wagtail is a regular though local winter visitor to the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia that was not seen until 1975. I have seen quite a few in the last few years indicating the species is becoming more common in the region, particularly as they are not so difficult to identify in full breeding plumage. They are almost always found near water and favour feeding on wet roadside puddles, but are not the easiest species to photograph as they are quite nervous and flighty and rarely stay still for long. March appears to be a month when passage occurs through the region as more birds are seen during this month than any other although they can be seen at any time from autumn through winter until spring. Water Pipit is a common wintering species in the area and occurs widely throughout the Kingdom. Birds generally arrive in late October and stay until April. They also favour wet areas and can be locally common.

Water Pipit

Citrine Wagtail

Citrine Wagtail