Whimbrel with pale underwing – Dhahran Hills

I visit to the cricket and football fields in Aramco Dhahran compound in early September, which resulted in at least four Whimbrel being seen. This is not a common visitor to the camp so I tried to get a few photos of the birds hoping one may be a Steppe Whimbrel. One of the birds had a pale underwing but was unfortunately not a Steppe Whimbrel but rather one of the more confusing forms of Eurasian Whimbrel. It was a non-breeding bird which is about to complete its moult. It is probably a second calendar year bird, as they do a long moult which is very variable in progress and can sometimes look quite peculiar and different as a result. Birds like this which are moulting their axillaries are particularly tricky. I am still hoping one day to locate a Steppe Whimbrel, but it may take a long time and some significant luck.

A few migrants – Khafra Marsh

I visited Khafrah Marsh in early September to see what migrants had dropped in. This is a large wetland area near Jubail and on the water itself where 17 Grey-headed Swamphens. This is the largest number I have seen at this location where they were first seen only a few years ago. A black-tailed Godwit was on the water’s edge with a few Kentish Plover. On a small pool were a single Little Ringed Plover, a Kentish Plover and two Namaqua Doves and a Yellow Wagtail also dropped in whilst we were there for a short while. I quick walk through a rough grassy area with small tamarisk shrubs produced three Egyptian Nightjars, and a Great Grey Shrike but very little else.

Egyptian Nightjar

Egyptian Nightjar

Great Grey Shrike

Kentish Plover

Kentish Plover

Little Ringed Plover

Little Ringed Plover

Namaqua Doves

Yellow Wagtail

Yellow Wagtail

Yellow Wagtail

Herons arriving for winter - Jubail

Heron numbers are slowly building up at Jubail. The birds are common in the winter months but do not breed nearby anymore, so move some distance away in the summer. The first returning birds are normally Squacco Herons and the ever-present Western Reef Herons are also seen, with young birds seen at this time of year along with the adults. A single adult Purple Heron was seen but not photographed. Grey Heron and Western Great Egrets will start to arrive shortly as well and then the returning Western Cattle Egrets usually arrive last. There are certainly thousands of fish for the birds to eat at the location so they will not go hungry.

Squacco Heron

Squacco Heron

Western Reef Heron - immature

More Little Stint - Jubail

 Little Stint are still present with some birds still in partial summer plumage. The species is an abundant passage migrant and very common winter visitor and is probably the commonest wader seen in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. As they are small, they are not so easy to get good photos of, but the various types of plumage amongst them makes trying to photograph different birds a pleasant pastime. They are quite timid in nature and the best way to get photos for me is to find one, wait some distance from it and let the bird feed along the shoreline until it is in front of the car. If you try to drive up to them, they often fly off leaving you disappointed.

Last of the White-cheeked Terns – Jubail

In late August I saw good numbers of both adult and first year White-cheeked Terns in Jubail. These will presumably be late breeders and will almost certainly depart in the next couple of weeks. Many birds were flying around and catching fish to feed their still hungry offspring, but others were sitting around in small groups in areas where it was relatively easy to get close to them in a vehicle. I will be sad to see them leave as they always provide some entertainment with their fishing and noisy calling when they are present.

Large numbers of Slender-billed Gulls – Jubail

In late August, as was the case in September last year, large numbers of Slender-billed Gulls were seen in the Jubail area. Over 2000 birds were seen on the area of flooded sabkha I birdwatch which is a very high number. Most birds were adults although a few first-year birds were also present. The species does not breed in Saudi Arabia but must do somewhere close by based on these numbers. This species is partially migratory, with birds wintering around the Arabian Peninsula but others staying year around. Its status in Saudi Arabia is a common year-round visitor but is almost entirely found on the coasts where it prefers shallow coastal waters and intertidal areas. Birds are gregarious and almost always found in groups. Although almost all large groups of gulls contained only Slender-billed Gull, some groups also had the occasional Caspian Tern sitting with them, with the number of this species building through September to reach several hundred.