Temminck’s Lark and more near Zulfi – Records by Mansul Al Fahad

Temminck’s Lark Eremophila bilopha is a scarce and erratic winter visitor to most northern areas of the Kingdom. It is also a breeding resident, locally common in Central Deserts. I have looked for this species quite a few times in various areas but have so far not managed to see any. I obviously need to visit the north again this year and hope to better than previously. Mansur managed to see some birds near Zulfi in late November and sent me one of his great photos of it along with a couple of other photos of Steppe Eagle and Common Quail taken in the same area at the same time. I thank Mansur for kindly allowing me to use his photos on my website which are shown below.

Temminck's Lark 

Steppe Eagle

Common Quail

Winter ringing - Jubail

Whilst ringing at Jubail recently we have started to catch typical winter species. These include Common Kingfisher, Water Pipit and Bluethroats. Water Pipits are not easy to catch as they normally see the nets and skillfully avoid them but occasionally we get lucky. The subspecies seen in Saudi Arabia is coutelli. Bluethroat numbers are steadily increasing with them making up the majority of birds caught and involving adults and juveniles as well as males and females. Common Kingfishers are always great to catch as they are beautiful birds and are very gentle when in the hand. A more unusual bird for late November was a Great Reed Warbler that is late for the species. They normally move through in September and October with late birds seen in early November. Other species trapped and ringed were resident ones such as House Sparrow, Graceful Prinia and Indian Reed Warbler.

Water Pipit

Water Pipit

Common Kingfisher

Red-spotted Bluethroat

Red-spotted Bluethroat

Great Reed Warbler

Great Reed Warbler

House Sparrow

Graceful Prinia

Indian Reed Warbler

Caspian Reed Warblers trapped and ringed - Jubail

Whilst ringing at Jubail in mid to late November we trapped and ringed two Caspian (Eurasian) Reed Warbler A. s. fuscus. This species is a common passage migrant and uncommon breeding species seen from early February to May and late July to early November in Saudi Arabia. The species has been proposed as being resident in the Eastern Province but this is not borne out by our ringing data, where we only caught birds during migration and the summer months. Birds were first seen at the site on 31 January when six singing birds were seen and numbers increased over the next three months. All birds trapped and ringed were Caspian Reed Warbler A. s. fuscus with DNA samples confirming the identification. Small reed warblers with wing lengths as small as 61mm have been noted in Israel and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia as well as Bahrain. These birds have in the past been confused for Blyth’s Reed Warbler Acrocephalus dumetorum due to their short wing length. We have also caught Reed Warblers with short wing lengths of 61mm on 2 May 2014 and one with a wing length of 60 mm on 10 April 2015 and it would be interesting to find out where these birds originate from as presumably they are not Caspian Reed Warblers but a different subspecies?

First Indian Reed Warbler trapped in Jubil re-caught - Jubail

During our ringing sessions at Sabkhat Al Fasl we catch good numbers of Indian Reed Warblers some of which are retraps. Some of these birds have been retrapped soon after their original capture but others have been caught after a prolonged period. Whilst ringing on 13 November 2016 we retrapped the very first Indian Reed Warbler (or any bird) we ringed at the site. This bird was also trapped on 16 October 2015. This is a total of making it a total of 1012 days from original capture to retrap.  The weekend previously we recaught a bird ringed on the first days ringing at the site after 610 days. Indian Reed Warblers are meant to be resident but the large number caught at our site combined with the small retrap rate of these birds makes a strong case for birds passing through our location at least during some periods of the year. Obviously the long period between retraps of some of the birds do show they are resident in the trapping area with this bird retrapped three times in exactly the same net. As can be seen from the photos below the bird has freshly moulted flight and tail feathers showing Indian Reed Warblers moult in September and October after the breeding season.

Two good Owl species near Zulfi – Records by Mansur Al Fahad

Mansur was back in his native Zulfi area mid-November and managed to see some very good birds including two species of Owl of which one would be new for me if I saw one. The first was a Short-eared Owl that is a scarce winter visitor to all areas north of Jeddah, Riyadh and Hofuf. This species is seldom seen in the Eastern Province and I have not managed to locate one myself yet. The second was a Pharaoh Eagle Owl a scarce but widespread breeding resident from Abqaiq, Hofuf, northern Hejaz, Tabuk, Hail and Riyadh, nortwards. Not yet confirmed from Hejaz, Asir and Tihamah. This species is much more regularly seen than Short-eared Owl but are still great birds to see and make a good days birding when one is located. I thank Mansur for sending me his beautiful photographs and for allowing me to use them on my website, two of which are shown below.

Short-eared Owl

Pharaoh Eagle Owl

Short-toed Snake Eagle Al Asfar Lake – Records by Arnold Uy

Whilst Arnold Uy was birding the Al Asfar Lake area of Al Hassa he saw a Short-toed Snake Eagle. The bird was seen hovering and later perched on some power lines. This is a good record as in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia the species is a scarce migrant and winter visitor and has only been recorded since 1979 although birds have been seen in all months of the year except July and August. Most records have occurred in March and October & November suggesting most birds just pass through the area although single records in December to February show some birds may winter here. Birds have been seen from the Dibdibah, Nariya and Manifa in the north to Haradh and Jawb on the edge of the Rub’ al-Khali in the south. I have seen a few birds whilst being in Saudi Arabia in the Eastern Province including a second calendar year, Dhahran Hills, 31st March 2011, two juveniles, Dhahran Hills, 22nd October 2011, a second calendar year, Dhahran Hills, 11th February 2012 and a second calendar year, Dhahran Hills, 26th March 2013 and one Ash Shargiyah Development Company Farm, near Jubail on 11 September 2015. I thank Arnold for allowing me to use his photographs shown below on my website.

Ringing Grey-headed Swamphen - Jubail

Whilst ringing in Jubail we caught a Grey-headed Swamphen in a mist net. This is quite a feat as they are large and heavy birds that seldom fly. It had managed to fly into the net and was caught in the bottom shelf but as we place these shelves well above the water to stop and incidences of heavy birds getting wet when caught in the bottom shelf all was well. This is the third Grey-headed Swamphen we have trapped and ringed at the site and they are always good to handle. The splitting of Purple Swamphen Porphyrio porphyrio into five species means that Grey-headed Swamphen P. poliocephalus is by far the main species in the Region, comprising the nominate, caspius and seistanicus, though the validity of the last two is still debated. Swamphens from Saudi Arabia now comprise both breeding Grey-headed Swamphens in the Eastern Province and African Swamphen P. madagascariensis which is a vagrant with two records. A record of an adult at KAUST near Jeddah in September 2013 remained for at least three weeks before being killed by a car and two together at Dhahran percolation pond in December 2014 for several days.

Fieldfare near Zulfi - Record by Mohammad Al Mohatresh

Whilst birding the local farms at Zulfi on 21 November Mohammad Al Mohatresh found a Fieldfare Turdus pilaris and managed to get a couple of photos of it which he has very kindly allowed me to use on my website. Fieldfare is a rare winter visitor to Saudi Arabia with the following records the only ones I know of: In the north of Saudi Arabia they have been seen at Harrat al Harrah Reserve a winter visitor in November. In the northwest one was in a small park in Yanbu 16 December 1988 and two 6 January to 23 February 1989. One was in a small park in Yanbu 29 March 1990 and one was seen near Tabuk. In the Eastern Province one was at Dhahran 23 November until 19 December 1973 one 23 January 1976 and two 5 March 1976. One was at Jubail near the Holiday Inn on 3 December 1991. One Dhahran Hills spray fields 26-27 April 2014. The timing of Mohammad’s record fits in nicely with those from at Harrat al Harrah Reserve so it appears that November in the north of the Kingdom is the best bet for finding the species although records have been so few it will probably take someone looking a long time to turn one up? I thank Mansur Al Fahad for sending me the details and for getting permission from Mohammad to use his photos. Mansur and Mohammad are turning up some very good birds in their area showing that if you put in the effort and have the knowledge you can find good birds throughout the Kingdom – well done guys.

Pharaoh Eagle Owl near Jeddah – Records by Ajmal Thaha

Ajmal Thaha saw and photographed a Pharaoh Eagle Owl on 11 November. It is uncommon in the Saudi Arabian deserts but they Ajmal went to the Hejazi desert  around 50 km from Jeddah and found one. The Pharaoh Eagle Owl is distributed throughout much of North Africa and the Middle East, with two recognised subspecies. The subspecies Bubo ascalaphus ascalaphus occupies the northern part of the species range, being found in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, northern Egypt and Israel east to western Iraq. By contrast, the smaller, paler and sandier coloured Bubo ascalaphus desertorum can be found in the Sahara Desert south to Mauritania & Niger and from Western Sahara, east, to Sudan, as well as in Eritrea, Ethiopia and much of the Arabian Peninsula, as far south as northern Oman and as far east as southern Iraq. They are found in arid habitats, including open desert plains, rocky outcrops and broken escarpments and jabals, mountain cliffs and wadis. Most records from Saudi Arabia have been attributed to the pale B. a. desertorum but there appear to be many birds resembling the sub-species B. a. ascalaphus. I thank Ajmal for allowing me to use his photograph on my website which is shown below.

Eurasian Griffon Vulture near Zulfi – Records by Mohammed Al Mohatresh

Eurasian Griffon Vulture Gyps fulvus is an uncommon breeding resident Hejaz, Asir and the Tihama that is scarce or rare in other regions. There is a small breeding colony near Riyadh. There are only six records for the Eastern Province and a few other birds wintering near Taif. Numbers elsewhere in Saudi Arabia have declined markedly over the last decade, in particular breeding birds in the southwest of the Kingdom. Mansur Al Fahad sent me details of four birds record by Suliman Al Mohatresh, about 30 km east of Zulfi in early November. This is a good record as numbers are in significant decline. Mohammed Al Mohatresh gave me permission through Mansur to use his excellent photo of a juvenile bird shown below on my website.