Heuglin’s Gulls - Uqair

Whilst birding the Uqair area recently we went to a new area where some public beaches have been constructed. There were very few people present as they have just been finished and it is winter so we thought we would look for waders and gulls. On arrival we saw a group of about fifteen gulls with a couple of Steppe Gulls and the remainder being Heuglin’s Gulls. A single juvenile gull was present that appeared in very fresh plumage, which is typical for heuglini until mid-winter (December  to January). It resembled a gull I had seen in Jizan at about the same time of year several years ago and that Klaus Malling-Olsen helped me identify as a juvenile Heuglin’s Gull. These birds appear in very fresh plumage even in December as they breed later than other large gulls and will often still be in full juvenile plumage or almost so, until January. There were a few dark grey-tinged new mantle feathers on the bird which further support its identification as a heuglini. Two of the Heuglin’s Gulls were much darker plumaged than the others in the group, however variation in upperpart coloration in heuglini is large and the late moult (p4-5 being renewed) support the identification, although a similar moult occurs in Baltic Gull which would be even darker, typically showing no contrast between upperparts and primary ground colour. 

Western Marsh Harriers - Jubail

Whilst birding in the Jubail area recently it is clear the number of Western Marsh Harriers are increasing. Almost all the Western Marsh Harriers we see are female type birds but this year a couple of males have also been present but not photographable for me at least. This species is not very easy to photograph on the ground as they are very timid and normally fly well before you can get close enough to attempt photography. Recently I saw a bird on the ground feeding on a dead fish so slowly moved the car into a position where it was possible to get some photos. Amazingly later on a then saw another bird perched that again allowed a single photo to be taken before it flew. It was some distance away but I was quite pleased with the photo. 

Some winter species – Jubail

The last couple of visits to Jubail have produced a number of wintering Daurian Shrikes. This is a good area to find this species in winter, where they like to keep close to the dense reedbeds. Squacco Heron and Little Egret numbers are again building with birds seen in good numbers almost always out in the flooded areas in reeds or shrubs. The flooded areas are now becoming wetter and Greater Flamingo numbers are increasing although still at a relatively low level of less than 50 birds. Slender-billed Gull numbers have also decreased markedly over the last few weeks dropping from thousands to less than a hundred. These species will all stay around for the entire winter in varying numbers. Other good birds seen included a single Black-necked Grebe and a single White-throated Kingfisher, a species which is now certainly resident in very small numbers in the area.

Daurian Shrike

Greater Flamingo

Squacco Heron

Slender-billed Gull

Slender-billed Gull

Slender-billed Gull

Slender-billed Gull

Slender-billed Gull

Large numbers of Great Cormorant – Jubail

Large numbers of Great Cormorant can now be seen in the Jubail area where thousands of birds occur in the winter months. Birds now stay throughout the year in small numbers, but very large numbers occur from September to March. In late November a very conservative count of 5000 were seen flying over in large groups of several hundred and thousands were on flooded sabkha areas. The species is an abundant winter visitor to the Eastern Province where thousands occur in coastal waters including the Jubail and the Half Moon Bay areas of the Arabian Gulf. The species was uncommon ten years ago in the Jubail area but numbers are increasing each year. 

Plenty of Water Pipits – Dhahran Hills

Birding the football and cricket fields in Dhahran Hills recently produced more than twenty Water Pipits. This species is a common winter visitor occurring from October until April, but they are mainly seen next to large water bodies. I recently saw some on grass fields in Deffi Park and these were happily feeding on the short grass of the football fields. As I could drive the car close to the pitch, I was able to get close to one bird as it moved from the centre of the field to the field edge. The light was a bit harsh, but I managed one good photo. Also feeding on the field were several Western Cattle Egret, which are also a common winter visitor like the Water Pipit and a single Eurasian Curlew a much less common visitor to the camp although common on the coast. The Curlew was busy pulling large black grubs from the soft ground but remained at quite a distance. 

Water Pipit

Water Pipit

Eurasian Curlew

Eurasian Curlew

Western Cattle Egret

Western Cattle Egret

A few interesting birds on the Wastewater Pond – Dhahran Hills

Birding the Wastewater Pond in Dhahran at the end of November produced a few interesting birds. As always, the main birds were Great Cormorant and Little Grebe but also amongst the Little Grebe was a single Great Crested Grebe. This is a species that is uncommon with most records coming from the Half Moon Bay area where they remain quite distant. The pond allows relatively close approach and therefore some reasonable photos. Around the edge of the pond were two Western Great Egrets, plenty of Squacco Heron and five Little Egrets with a similar number of Grey Heron. Two Eurasian Coot and a Single Common Moorhen were seen. A single Whiskered Tern, two Gull-billed Tern, ten Common Black-headed Gull and a single Pallid Swift were seen in flight over the pond with a female Western Marsh Harrier also located. Walking around the pond and looking in the vegetation produced a few Delicate Prinia, several Clamorous Reed Warbler including two young birds and three Bluethroats. A male and female Siberian Stonechat were present near the water edge along with lots of White-eared Bulbuls.

Western Great Egret

White-eared Bulbul

Great Crested Grebe

Great Crested Grebe

Great Crested Grebe

Grey Heron

Siberian Stonechat

Siberian Stonechat

Clamorous Reed Warbler

Juvenile Eastern Imperial Eagle - Jubail

Whilst birding in the Jubail area in late November we came across a Juvenile Eastern Imperial Eagle. We counted ten Great Spotted Eagle, either sitting on the power masts or in the reeds, with a single, much scarcer Eastern Imperial Eagle also noted. The Eastern Imperial Eagle was seen sitting on a mast but flew before we got near to it but luckily only across the track to the next pylon. I maneuvered the car to try to get the light in a good position for photography, but the bird again flew this time directly over the car. It was so close in flight that most of my photos only captured parts of the bird but luckily one (uncropped photo) had all the bird in the frame. It they circled around allowing some more distant photos to be taken in flight. The Eastern Imperial Eagle is an uncommon winter visitor to Saudi Arabia with most records coming from the north of the country where they are generally seen inland rather than near the coast. The species breeds from Eastern Europe across Asia to China and winters in the Middle East, east Africa south to Tanzania, the Arabian Peninsula, India, and from Thailand to Korea. Currently Eastern Imperial Eagle is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List as it has a small global population and is likely to be undergoing continuing declines, primarily as a result of habitat loss and degradation, adult mortality through persecution and collisions with power lines and prey depletion. The status in Saudi Arabia appears to be more or less stable, however.

Very late Ortolan Bunting – Deffi Park

Whilst birding Deffi Park in Jubail on 26 November, we located a single small bunting sitting in a tree some way from the ground. This was very unusual as it is a very late in the year for this species. On close inspection the bird seemed to be an Ortolan Bunting but we checked the features to ensure we were not overlooking a much rarer bunting like Grey-necked Bunting. We could not, however, make the bird fit any other species than Ortolan Bunting. This species in an uncommon passage migrant throughout Saudi Arabia but is seen in good numbers in some years particularly on the Red Sea coast. Most birds pass from March until mid-May and again from late August to early October and can often be seen in small groups rather than singly. Birds are equally as likely to be seen feeding on the ground, as they are perched in trees, where they normally occur if frightened from their feeding area. We took a number of photos of the bird and left it in peace still sitting in the same tree. Other birds of note seen in the park included two Crested Honey Buzzard, a Common Chiffchaff, Masked Shrike and a White-throated Kingfisher.

 

 

 

 

Five Common Pochard – Dhahran Hills

On 23 November I saw five Common Pochard Aythya ferina on the Wastewater Pond in Dhahran. This is one of the more unusual species of duck for the camp. It was associating with a single Ferruginous Duck, single female Northern Pintail and was close to seven Northern Shoveler. I manage to walk, remaining well hidden in the vegetation, to a large bush and sat down to see if the birds would come closer. They did move closer but unfortunately were flushed by a person walking on the other side of the lake and flew off. They circled around a few times thinking about landing again but eventually flew off for good, although I did manage to take a few photos of them in flight as they came right overhead as they did not realise I was there. This pond is a good location for duck as it is inside a protected Saudi Aramco compound where hunting is completely prohibited and very few people visit. Common Pochard was once a common winter visitor to the Eastern Province but is now an uncommon winter visitor occurring from mid-October to mid-March normally as singles or in small groups of up to five birds. Previously it was regular at Abqaiq until the late 1980’s but prior to 1981 it was regular at Dhahran and in February of that year a maximum of 155 were recorded. Previously it was also regular at Hofuf lakes where a maximum count of 500 was made where they occurred from October to March but were also seen in April to early June and in August and September. Away from the Eastern Province it is also an uncommon winter visitor mainly to the Riyadh area and southwest near Jizan. The status at present in Saudi Arabia is a scarce passage migrant & erratic winter visitor. This bird is widespread throughout Saudi Arabia as a passage migrant (February to April and September to October) with migration across a broad front. They prefer open freshwater sites, such as lakes, wastewater lagoons and sheltered coastal lagoons where they feed on aquatic vegetable matter as well as molluscs and crustaceans.