Baltic Gulls – Jizan Corniche

Whilst in Jizan this winter I saw a number of Lesser Black-backed Gull (Baltic Gull) Larus fuscus fuscus. This species winters in the southwest coast around Jizan with a number of ringing recoveries of birds ringed in Sweden and Finland from this area as well as a satellite tracked bird that spent the winter there.  Laura was ringed in Umea, Sweden at her breeding habitat, an archipelago with brackish water outside the Ume River Delta "Holmsunds skärgård". She was fitted with a satellite transmitter to record her movements and named Laura. The route Laura has used is shown on the map below and until now she has visited (or passed) the following countries outside Sweden: Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia (Kaliningrad), Poland, Estonia, (Belarus), (Ukraine), (Moldovia), Turkey, (Cyprus), Israel and Saudi Arabia. She passed the Turkish mountains at 1590 metres above sea level and her highest speed has been 94 kilometres per hour. She passed through Europe in two days with only one stop over at the Black Sea coast of Turkey. Laura took just a short rest after reaching the Red Sea coast and continued her flight along the western coast of Saudi Arabia passing Jeddah before heading on to Jizan. Laura arrived in Jizan Province (Al Sehi) on 21 September and has remained in the same location since indicating this may be her wintering ground? This bird, the ringing recoveries and out field observations show that plenty of Baltic Gulls winter in the extreme southwest of the Kingdom. Unfortunately despite active searching we could nt find any birds with Darvi rings this trip.

Golden Pansy – Raydah Escarpment

Whilst birdwatching the bottom valley of the Raydah Escarpment in the Asir Mountains of southwest Saudi Arabia, I came across and photographed a Golden Pansy Junonia chorimene. The Golden Pansy, is a butterfly in the Nymphalidae family and are commonly known as buckeyes, pansies or commodores. This genus flies on every continent except Antarctica and Golden Pansy is found in Senegal, the Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Mali, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, northern and western Kenya, northern Tanzania, south-western Saudi Arabia and Yemen. The habitat consists of riverine vegetation and the specimen I found was in a dry wadi at the bottom of the Raydah Escarpment.

Arabian Wheatear – Raydah Escarpment

Whilst birding the Raydah Escarpment area recently I saw a couple of Arabian Wheatears Oenanthe lugentoides, mainly in the lower reaches of the escarpment. The Arabian Wheatear is a rather scarce resident of the south-west highlands, but is also found in Oman and Yemen, mainly in rocky, bushy sites but is widespread on the Jebal Souda plateau, Wadi Tale’a, Pipeline Road, near Farshah, Gara’a, Tanoumah, Raghadan Forest and the upper parts of the Golden Tulip valley in Baha as well as Taif. In 1987 it was recorded more frequently than present so the species may have declined slightly, with disturbance not thought likely to be the reason as it is often associated with gardens and regularly breeds near human sites. They nest in holes in terrace walls and feed largely on insects.

Arabian Mistletoe White – Raydah Escarpment

Whilst birdwatching the bottom valley of the Raydah Escarpment in the Asir Mountains of southwest Saudi Arabia, I came across and photographed an Arabian Mistletoe White Mylothris arabicus. It is a butterfly in the Pieridae family and belongs to an African genus which is more or less specialised for life in the rain forests where there are many species. One African Mistletoe White Mylotheris chloris is adapted to savanna conditions and the Arabian species evolved from this African relative. They are found in the southern Asir Mountains of Saudi Arabia and in Yemen making them endemic to Arabia. Larsen says the Mistletoe White is one of the most unexpected African species found in Arabia. Some people class the Arabian Mistletoe White as a subspecies of African Mistletoe White.

African Grey Hornbill - Raydah Escarpment

Whilst birding the bottom of the Raydah Escarpment I saw up to ten African Grey Hornbills Tockus nasutus together. This is the largest group I have recorded in Saudi Arabia. They only occur at the bottom of the Raydah Escarpment and are not seen higher up. The birds were located in the large wadi system at the bottom of the escarpment where large trees grow from the bottom of the mainly boulder strewn wadi. The African Grey Hornbill is a small member of the hornbill family being only 45 centimetres long. It is a widespread and common resident breeder in much of Sub-Saharan Africa and into Arabia, where numbers are much less common. In Saudi Arabia, birds can be seen in the southwest of the Kingdom where they are uncommon. Like most Hornbills the species prefers open woodland and savannah. The female lays two to four eggs in a tree hollow, which is blocked off during incubation with a cement made of mud, droppings and fruit pulp. There is only one narrow aperture, just big enough for the male to transfer food to the mother and the chicks. When the chicks and female outgrow the nest, the mother breaks out and rebuilds the wall, after which both parents feed the chicks. The plumage of the male and female is similar but the male has a black bill, whereas the female has red on the mandibles. Immature birds are more uniformly grey and all fly with an undulating flight. They are omnivorous, taking insects, fruit and reptiles.

Plain Tiger – Raydah Escarpment

The below photograph of Plain Tiger Danaus chrysippus was taken in the bottom valley of the Raydah Escarpment in the Asir Mountains of southwest Saudi Arabia. This butterfly was first depicted in an Egyptian tomb 3,500 years ago, making it the first ever butterfly to be recorded in history. Its striking tawny-orange colouration serves as a warning to predators that this species is distasteful, which ultimately deters predators from attacking. Male butterflies are slightly smaller than females with the males identified by the presence of a black scent-producing pouch located in the lower-centre of the hind wing; on the underside of the wing it appears as a white-centred black patch. In addition, the males have a pair of brush-like organs hidden within the abdomen, which are used in reproduction. The Plain Tiger has an extensive range and can be found throughout the Old World tropics, from Africa to Southeast Asia as well as Australasia. Recently it has been discovered that there are three subspecies; Danaus chrysippus chrysippus is found in Asia and tropical Africa, Danaus chrysippus alcippus ranges from the Cape Verde Islands, across Africa to Oman and Saudi Arabia, and Danaus chrysippus orientis is predominantly found in tropical Africa and the surrounding islands including Madagascar and the Seychelles. They inhabit open, fairly arid areas and unlike other members of the Danaus genus, the Plain Tiger often flies in open sunlight, even at the hottest point of the day.

Blackstart – Raydah Escarpment

Whilst birding the Raydah Escarpment we found a number of Blackstart near the wadi bottom and village. The species is a common resident of rocky desert areas throughout with the exception of the east and northeast. Birds occur eastwards to Riyadh where it is a fairly common breeding resident at the base of the escarpment. The bird is named after the fact it has a black tail, similar to the red tail of Redstart. Birds are often difficult to get good photos of due to their colouration but in winter they seemed more amenable to staying still allowing better photographic opportunities.

African Joker - Raydah Escarpment

Whilst birding at the village at the bottom of the Raydah Escarpment in December I came across a number of African Joker Byblia ilithyi. They are also commonly known as the Spotted joker or Joker, and are a species of nymphalid butterfly found in parts of Africa, Arabia and Asia. The male has the upperwings of a deep rich orange. The forewing has the costa broadly black until nearly the apex. The cell has three narrow short black bands, the inner and outer not reaching the median vein. A postdiscal broad transverse black band from dorsum to vein 4, with the portions of the veins beyond it defined in black. The apex of the wing beyond the broad black edging to the costal border has its upper margin and the terminal portions of the veins defined in black; finally a narrow terminal band. The hind-wing has an elongate black sub-costal patch near base, continued posteriorly across the cell by an inner and an outer series of small transverse spots; a complete broad black postdiscal band with the portions of the veins beyond it lined with black, and a narrow black terminal band as on the forewing. Cilia of fore and hind wings white, alternated with brown (from Wikipedia).

Two Spur-winged Lapwings – Jubail

Whilst biding the Jubail area I saw two Spur-winged Lapwings along the edge of a wet area. The species is still scarce in the Eastern Province although good numbers have been seen recently in the Haradh area including a bird this year that appeared to be defending a territory so may have been breeding. The species was regarded as a vagrant to the Eastern Province when I arrived seven years ago but is now a scarce visitor that can be seen at any time of year indicating birds may now be resident in small numbers in areas away from Haradh where it appears they are now definitely resident. The birds were very difficult to get anywhere near so the below photo is one taken in the southwest of the Kingdom.

Arabian Red Fox – Dhahran

I have recently been seeing a few Arabian Red Foxes in Dhahran, a sight I always treasure. The Red Fox is currently recognized as a single species and has the widest natural distribution of any terrestrial carnivore, possibly any terrestrial mammal. Its range spans approximately 70 million square kilometres encompassing much of Europe, Asia and North America and extending into North Africa, with an introduced population in Australia. The Red Fox occupies a wide variety of ecosystems, including forests, grasslands, deserts and agricultural and human-dominated environments. Interestingly a recent study (see paper detail below) was conducted providing the most geographically and genomically comprehensive study to date of the Red Fox. Analysis of mitochondrial sequence of 1000 individuals suggested an ancient Middle Eastern origin for all extant Red Foxes with demographic analyses indicated a major expansion in Eurasia during the last glaciation 50,000 years ago. The Arabian Red fox has very large ears for its size and is very thin and sandy coloured compared to the European Red Fox, and look very different.