Dragonflies from Jizan

It's not just african birds that spend the summer in the Asir Mountains, dragonflies such as the banded groundling can also be found there.

Banded groundling

Broad scarlet

Violet dropwing

A Couple of Trips to Ha'ir

Over the National Day holiday weekend here in Saudi Arabia I drove down to Ha'ir pivot fields for a couple of half day trips.

The first day was an early start and I was at the fields by 6 a.m. to find large mixed flocks of barn swallow and sand martin hawking for insects over the fodder fields. They tend to drift off higher and then disappear altogether by lunch time. Three species of bee-eater are still around in reasonable numbers, blue-cheeked bee-eater are a summer visitor, european bee-eater pass through on migration and green bee-eater are resident.

Juvenile blue-cheeked bee-eater

White-throated kingfisher and marsh harrier are winter visitors and the fields contained three of each.

One colourful passage migrant is the european roller and I saw my first two for Saudi Arabia perched on the irrigation machinery.

Shrikes are arriving or passing through, the immatures making identification a little more difficult. Red-backed shrike, southern grey shrike and isabelline shrike were all present.

Smaller passerines were represented by a couple of hundred yellow wagtail feeding in the short grass and large numbers of post breeding streaked weaver dispersing to the reed beds.

Juvenile yellow wagtail

There are trees around the fence line of the fields and these held several spotted flycatcher and olivaceous warbler.

I didn't drag myself out of bed quite so early the second day but the hot weather seems to be over, or at least down to a semi bearable 30 c so it was still fairly pleasant when I arrived late morning.

The first birds of note were on the drive down.  A flock of 55 brown-necked raven were circling over the entrance to Wadi Ha'ir. I stopped at Ha'ir rubbish tip and found my first white-tailed wheatear of the winter together with two blackstart.

Almost the first bird I saw at the pivot fields was a ring-tail harrier, a juvenile pallid harrier showing its wide dark secondary band. A second ring-tail harrier was too far off to identify but appeared good for a Montagu's harrier. Again there were a couple of sub-adult male marsh harrier too.

'Bush bashing' is the name of the game during migration and I tried to have a good look at every acacia and gaff tree. The first I grilled held two barred warbler and after checking a few more I added male blackcap, lesser whitehroat, common whitethroat and a smart orphean warbler (a KSA tick for me).

The shrikes were similar to the day before except a juvenile masked shrike was a first for the site. Short-toed lark numbers were also high with one flock of about 60 birds.

Juvenile masked shrike

These are the 51 species I saw on the two trips:

Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea)
Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea)
Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis)
Squacco Heron (Ardeola ralloides)
Eurasian Marsh-Harrier (Circus aeruginosus)
Pallid Harrier (Circus macrourus)
harrier sp. (Circus sp.)
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus)
Collared Pratincole (Glareola pratincola)
Rock Dove (Columba livia)
Eurasian Collared-Dove (Streptopelia decaocto)
Laughing Dove (Streptopelia senegalensis)
Namaqua Dove (Oena capensis)
White-throated Kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis)
Green Bee-eater (Merops orientalis)
Blue-cheeked Bee-eater (Merops persicus)
European Bee-eater (Merops apiaster)
European Roller (Coracias garrulus)
Eurasian Hoopoe (Upupa epops)
Red-backed Shrike (Lanius collurio)
Isabelline Shrike (Lanius isabellinus)
Southern Grey Shrike (Lanius meridionalis)
Masked Shrike (Lanius nubicus)
Brown-necked Raven (Corvus ruficollis)
Greater Short-toed Lark (Calandrella brachydactyla)
Crested Lark (Galerida cristata)
Sand Martin (Riparia riparia)
Rock Martin (Ptyonoprogne fuligula)
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)
White-eared Bulbul (Pycnonotus leucotis)
Eastern Olivaceous Warbler (Iduna pallida)
Eurasian Reed-Warbler (Acrocephalus scirpaceus)
Graceful Prinia (Prinia gracilis)
Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla)
Barred Warbler (Sylvia nisoria)
Eastern Orphean Warbler (Sylvia crassirostris)
Common Whitethroat (Sylvia communis)
Lesser Whitethroat (Sylvia curruca)
Spotted Flycatcher (Muscicapa striata)
Black Scrub-Robin (Cercotrichas podobe)
Rufous-tailed Scrub-Robin (Cercotrichas galactotes)
Blackstart (Cercomela melanura)
White-tailed Wheatear (Oenanthe leucopyga)
Isabelline Wheatear (Oenanthe isabellina)
Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis)
Western Yellow Wagtail (Motacilla flava)
Spanish Sparrow (Passer hispaniolensis)
Streaked Weaver (Ploceus manyar)
Red Avadavat (Amandava amandava)
Indian Silverbill (Euodice malabarica)

Weekend in Jizan Part 3

As I said the water levels were a bit too high for many waders but a few of the more common ones were making use of the small amount of mud such as wood sandpiper, common sandpiper and green sandpiper.

Common sandpiper

Also around the fringes were a lot of yellow wagtail of various sub species either drinking or bathing. I sat and watched a small flock for a while hoping something more unusual would drop in. Sure enough after about twenty minutes a target species for the trip put in an appearance. A trio of arabian golden sparrow flew down from the scrub to take a bath. Two first winter birds and a cracking male, albeit a bit more buttercup yellow than gold. They didn't hang around long enough for a photo unfortunately.

First winter yellow wagtail

Among the many migrant birds were a couple of individuals clearly exhausted by the journey that allowed close up photos.

Sand martin

White-winged tern

Over the lake I mainly saw gull-billed tern but there was the odd heron and egret flying through and what appeared to be a decent sized cattle egret roost.

Squacco heron

Cattle egret roost

A list of the 98 species seen over the weekend:

Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis) Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus) Pink-backed Pelican (Pelecanus rufescens) Little Bittern (Ixobrychus minutus) Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea) -- -- -- -- 2 (1) -- -- Great Egret (Ardea alba) -- -- -- -- 2 (1) -- -- Little Egret (Egretta garzetta) -- -- -- -- 8 (1) -- -- Western Reef-Heron (Egretta gularis) -- -- -- 2 (1) -- -- -- Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) -- -- -- 100 (1) 40 (1) -- -- Squacco Heron (Ardeola ralloides) -- -- -- 2 (1) 4 (1) -- -- Striated Heron (Butorides striata) -- -- -- 1 (1) -- -- -- Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus) -- -- -- -- 9 (1) -- -- Eurasian Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia) -- -- -- 11 (1) -- -- -- Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) -- -- -- 3 (1) -- -- -- Eurasian Marsh-Harrier (Circus aeruginosus) -- -- -- 1 (1) -- -- -- harrier sp. (Circus sp.) -- -- -- 2 (1) -- -- -- Black Kite (Milvus migrans) -- -- -- 2 (2) 2 (1) -- -- Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus) -- -- -- -- 5 (1) -- -- Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra) -- -- -- 2 (1) 1 (1) -- -- Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola) -- -- -- 30 (1) -- -- -- Lesser Sand-Plover (Charadrius mongolus) -- -- -- 350 (1) -- -- -- Greater Sand-Plover (Charadrius leschenaultii) -- -- -- 10 (1) -- -- -- Kentish Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus) -- -- -- 100 (1) -- -- -- Common Ringed Plover (Charadrius hiaticula) -- -- -- 40 (1) 1 (1) -- -- Little Ringed Plover (Charadrius dubius) -- -- -- -- 1 (1) -- -- Crab Plover (Dromas ardeola) -- -- -- 150 (1) -- -- -- Eurasian Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus) -- -- -- 8 (1) -- -- -- Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus) -- -- -- -- 2 (1) -- -- Terek Sandpiper (Xenus cinereus) -- -- -- 2 (1) -- -- -- Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos) -- -- -- 1 (1) 1 (1) -- -- Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus) -- -- -- 2 (2) 2 (1) -- -- Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia) -- -- -- 5 (1) 2 (1) -- -- Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola) -- -- -- -- 2 (1) -- -- Common Redshank (Tringa totanus) -- -- -- 150 (1) -- -- -- Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus) -- -- -- 10 (1) -- -- -- Eurasian Curlew (Numenius arquata) -- -- -- 10 (1) -- -- -- Bar-tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica) -- -- -- 350 (1) -- -- -- Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres) -- -- -- 40 (1) -- -- -- Little Stint (Calidris minuta) -- -- -- 100 (1) 5 (1) -- -- Dunlin (Calidris alpina) -- -- -- 100 (1) -- -- -- Curlew Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea) -- -- -- 3 (1) -- -- -- Broad-billed Sandpiper (Limicola falcinellus) -- -- -- 6 (1) -- -- -- Ruff (Philomachus pugnax) -- -- -- -- 2 (1) -- -- Slender-billed Gull (Chroicocephalus genei) -- -- -- 4 (1) -- -- -- White-eyed Gull (Ichthyaetus leucophthalmus) -- -- -- -- 1 (1) -- -- Sooty Gull (Ichthyaetus hemprichii) -- -- -- 3 (1) -- -- -- Saunders's Tern (Sternula saundersi) -- -- -- 1 (1) -- -- -- Gull-billed Tern (Gelochelidon nilotica) -- -- -- 8 (2) 20 (1) -- -- Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia) -- -- -- 25 (2) 2 (1) -- -- White-winged Tern (Chlidonias leucopterus) -- -- -- -- 1 (1) -- -- Whiskered Tern (Chlidonias hybrida) -- -- -- 2 (1) -- -- -- White-cheeked Tern (Sterna repressa) -- -- -- 7 (1) -- -- -- Great Crested Tern (Thalasseus bergii) -- -- -- 8 (1) -- -- -- Lesser Crested Tern (Thalasseus bengalensis) -- -- -- 25 (1) -- -- -- Lichtenstein's Sandgrouse (Pterocles lichtensteinii) -- -- -- 11 (1) -- -- -- Rock Dove (Columba livia) -- -- -- -- 1 (1) -- -- African Collared-Dove (Streptopelia roseogrisea) -- -- -- 40 (1) 50 (1) -- -- Laughing Dove (Streptopelia senegalensis) -- -- -- 20 (1) 20 (1) -- -- Namaqua Dove (Oena capensis) -- -- -- 20 (1) 40 (1) -- -- White-browed Coucal (Centropus superciliosus) -- -- -- -- 1 (1) -- -- Common Swift (Apus apus) -- -- -- -- 1 (2) -- -- Pallid Swift (Apus pallidus) -- -- -- 1 (1) -- -- -- African Palm-Swift (Cypsiurus parvus) -- -- -- 2 (1) 8 (1) -- -- Grey-headed Kingfisher (Halcyon leucocephala) -- -- -- -- 2 (1) -- -- White-throated Bee-eater (Merops albicollis) -- -- -- 1 (1) 35 (1) -- -- Green Bee-eater (Merops orientalis) -- -- -- 2 (1) 2 (1) -- -- Abyssinian Roller (Coracias abyssinicus) -- -- -- -- 2 (1) -- -- Eurasian Hoopoe (Upupa epops) -- -- -- 1 (1) 1 (1) -- -- Eurasian Wryneck (Jynx torquilla) -- -- -- 1 (1) -- -- -- Red-backed Shrike (Lanius collurio) -- -- -- -- 2 (1) -- -- Isabelline Shrike (Lanius isabellinus) -- -- -- -- 1 (1) -- -- Southern Grey Shrike (Lanius meridionalis) -- -- -- 3 (1) -- -- -- House Crow (Corvus splendens) -- -- -- -- 12 (1) -- -- Black-crowned Sparrow-Lark (Eremopterix nigriceps) -- -- -- 15 (2) -- -- -- Desert Lark (Ammomanes deserti) -- -- -- -- 8 (1) -- -- Crested Lark (Galerida cristata) -- -- -- 15 (1) 10 (1) -- -- Sand Martin (Riparia riparia) -- -- -- 300 (1) 200 (1) -- -- Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) -- -- -- 200 (1) 200 (1) -- -- Red-rumped Swallow (Cecropis daurica) -- -- -- 20 (1) -- -- -- White-spectacled Bulbul (Pycnonotus xanthopygos) -- -- -- 2 (1) 2 (1) -- -- Eastern Olivaceous Warbler (Iduna pallida) -- -- -- -- 2 (1) -- -- Graceful Prinia (Prinia gracilis) -- -- -- 8 (1) 8 (1) -- -- Arabian Babbler (Turdoides squamiceps) -- -- -- 1 (1) -- -- -- Black Scrub-Robin (Cercotrichas podobe) -- -- -- 1 (1) 3 (1) -- -- Rufous-tailed Scrub-Robin (Cercotrichas galactotes) -- -- -- 5 (1) 2 (1) -- -- Whinchat (Saxicola rubetra) -- -- -- 1 (1) -- -- -- Siberian Stonechat (Saxicola maurus) -- -- -- -- 1 (1) -- -- Blackstart (Cercomela melanura) -- -- -- -- 3 (1) -- -- Northern Wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe) -- -- -- 1 (1) -- -- -- Isabelline Wheatear (Oenanthe isabellina) -- -- -- -- 1 (1) -- -- Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis) -- -- -- 4 (1) -- -- -- Western Yellow Wagtail (Motacilla flava) -- -- -- 6 (1) 60 (1) -- -- Striolated Bunting (Emberiza striolata) -- -- -- 1 (1) -- -- -- Cinnamon-breasted Bunting (Emberiza tahapisi) -- -- -- -- 1 (1) -- -- Arabian Golden Sparrow (Passer euchlorus) -- -- -- -- 3 (1) -- -- Rueppell's Weaver (Ploceus galbula) -- -- -- 40 (1) 30 (1) -- -- African Silverbill (Euodice cantans) -- -- -- 2 (1) -- -- --

Focus On: Gull-billed tern

Gull-billed Tern (Gelochelidon nilotica) can be found in Arabia most of the year and has bred here since the mid 90's. They are found throughout the world and occasionally find their way to the UK.

The flight shots below were taken with a Canon pre set which I've listed at the bottom of the page (for 7D). They are quite as sharp as they could be but that's more because of my technique which I'm hoping to improve on.

Khor Al Beida, United Arab Emirates

Jizan, Saudi Arabia

Jizan, Saudi Arabia

Jizan, Saudi Arabia

Jizan, Saudi Arabia

The settings for my 7D pre-set are:

Always shoot Raw
NR - OFF
AI Servo
High Speed Continuous
Back Button Focus
CFN III AUTOFOCUS DRIVE
AI Servo Tracking Sensitivity = Between Slow & Medium
AI Servo AF Tracking Method = 1st/2nd Image priority = 0
Continuous Auto Focus Track = 1
Lens Drive when AF impossible = "Search On"
Manual AF Point Select Pattern = "0" - Stops at AF Area Edge
Display all AF Points = Disable
Focus Display in AI Servo/MF = Enable
Orientation linked AF Point = Same for both
AF Point = AF Point Expansion