Mount Soadah

Today I took another trip to the Asir National Park on top of Saudi Arabia's highest peak, Mount Soudah. I was hoping to see some summer visitors but the first new birds I found were dusky turtle dove. They are residents but I had missed them last time I was in the area, perhaps they just move to higher altitudes as the weather warms up. They proved to be fairly common in the area.

The juniper bushes held plenty of migrants and my first gambaga flycatcher was soon found. They are easy to tell from the similar spotted flycatcher as they lack stripes to the head, are smaller and have a notably less 'upright' stance when perched. Two yemen warbler then put in an appearance showing off their diagnostic apricot coloured backsides. A single arabian warbler was my next new bird meaning I have now seen 7 of the 10 arabian endemics found in the kingdom. My 8th endemic soon followed when from nowhere a covey of three Philby's partridge flew down the mountainside showing off their black throat patches.

Added to the grounded migrants were quite a few fly overs. Regular barn swallow were peppered with the odd red-rumped swallow and two high flocks of european bee-eater moved through too.

I moved further down the mountain to a rocky farmland area and stumbled upon my first scrub warbler for Saudi Arabia. Typically confiding as it hopped across the rock in front of me.

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3 Philby's Partridge (Alectoris philbyi)
6 Arabian Partridge (Alectoris melanocephala)
2 Eurasian Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus)
1 Eurasian Hobby (Falco subbuteo)
2 Rock Pigeon (Columba livia)
30 Dusky turtle dove (Streptopelia lugens)
1 African Collared-Dove (Streptopelia roseogrisea)
25 Laughing Dove (Streptopelia senegalensis)
4 Little Swift (Apus affinis)
130 European Bee-eater (Merops apiaster)
12 Eurasian Hoopoe (Upupa epops)
1 Rufous-tailed Shrike (Lanius isabellinus)
1 Southern Grey Shrike (Lanius meridionalis)
2 Lesser Grey Shrike (Lanius minor)
4 Brown-necked Raven (Corvus ruficollis)
15 Fan-tailed Raven (Corvus rhipidurus)
2 Eurasian Crag-Martin (Ptyonoprogne rupestris)
15 Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)
4 Red-rumped Swallow (Cecropis daurica)
8 Red-vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus cafer)
80 White-spectacled Bulbul (Pycnonotus xanthopygos)
1 Scrub Warbler (Scotocerca inquieta)
2 Brown Woodland-Warbler (Phylloscopus umbrovirens)
1 Common Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita)
1 Graceful Prinia (Prinia gracilis)
2 Yemen Warbler (Sylvia buryi)
1 Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla)
3 Greater Whitethroat (Sylvia communis)
1 Arabian Warbler (Sylvia leucomelaena)
50 White-breasted White-eye (Zosterops abyssinicus)
8 Arabian Babbler (Turdoides squamiceps)
4 Gambaga Flycatcher (Muscicapa gambagae)
3 Common Redstart (Phoenicurus phoenicurus)
1 Black Redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros)
4 Whinchat (Saxicola rubetra)
4 Stonechat (Saxicola torquatus)
2 Northern Wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe)
4 Red-breasted Wheatear (Oenanthe bottae)
20 Yemen Thrush (Turdus menachensis)
7 Tristram's Starling (Onychognathus tristramii)
2 Palestine Sunbird (Cinnyris osea)
2 Yellow Wagtail (Motacilla flava)
2 Long-billed Pipit (Anthus similis)
20 Red-throated Pipit (Anthus cervinus)
2 Ortolan Bunting (Emberiza hortulana)
200 Yemen Linnet (Carduelis yemenensis)
4 House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)
2 Rueppell's Weaver (Ploceus galbula)