Photos

Some photos recently added to my web site.

Namaqua dove

Southern grey shrike

Rock thrush

Rock thrush

Photos

Some photos recently added to my web site.

Steppe buzzard

Steppe buzzard

Namaqua dove

Isabelline wheatear

Isabelline wheatear

Isabelline wheatear

Photos

Some photos recently added to my web site.

Marsh harrier

Squacco heron

Bluethroat

Southern grey shrike

Southern grey shrike

Steppe buzzard

Ha'ir, Saudi Arabia

As it's migration time and you can never tell what will turn up I took another trip down to Ha'ir pivot fields today.

I arrived to hear common quail calling from one alfalfa field, I flushed one and heard another three. From a ploughed field I also flushed a rufous-tailed rock thrush and finally managed to get some half decent photos of a species which I'd seen a lot of in the mountains of the UAE but never managed to capture on camera.

Rufous-tailed rock thrush

The northern lapwing were still on the short cropped areas but the numbers are now greatly reduced in fact I only saw four and still no other plovers with them.

Namaqua dove

Working the Ha'ir pivot fields is fairly hard work, you can't drive a car into the farms so any days birding means covering the area on foot and walking as much as eight miles. But the areas around the pivot fields between the crops and desert are very productive. Today I found plenty of desert wheatear, a few isabelline wheatear, a couple of migrating pied wheatear and several species of shrike including a nice male woodchat shrike.

Woodchat shrike

Isabelline wheatear

A great thing about the pivot fields at Ha'ir is their proximity to the Riyadh river from where they draw the water to irrigate the fields. I found the same little bittern at the waters edge for the second day running and a single citrine wagtail by the pools. Three smart thunbergii yellow wagtail were among the white wagtails using the irrigation equipment as a perch.

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3 mallard

1 Common quail

1 Little bittern

8 Grey heron

5 Purple heron

4 Marsh harrier

2 Common kestrel

2 Lesser kestrel

3 Moorhen

4 Northern lapwing

1 Green sandpiper

15 Feral pigeon

80 Collared dove

30 Laughing dove

9 Namaqua dove

1 Common swift

12 Green bee-eater

15 Hoopoe

1 Isabelline shrike

2 Southern grey shrike

1 Steppe grey shrike

1 Woodchat shrike

1 Brown-necked raven

5 Short-toed lark

35 Crested lark

2 Rock martin

25 Barn swaloow

2 White-spectacled bulbul

50 White-cheeked bulbul

20 Graceful prinia

3 Black scrub-robin

9 Bluethroat

1 Rock thrush

8 European stonechat

2 Pied wheatear

15 Desert wheatear

2 Isabelline wheatear

5 Common myna

14 European starling

3 Yellow wagtail

1 Citrine wagtail

80 White wagtail
5 Tawny pipit
1 Red-throated pipit

80 Spanish sparrow

3 Indian silverbill

Ha'ir, Saudi Arabia

I took my usual route down to Ha'ir pivot fields today along the wadi from Dirab and it seems that migration is now starting. On the way to the pivot fields I stopped by the roost at the fish farm which held 82 black kite.

I spent 8 hours walking most of the pivots and the waterside edges to the south. The irrigation equipment provided a good perch for a large count of 105 cattle egret.

Cattle egret

The first group of migrants were two flocks of common swift that moved quickly through, clearly much darker than the usual pallid swift. The next flock of migrants was 9 lesser kestrel hovering over an irrigated alfalfa field. The paths around the fields held the usual desert wheatear but also present were 3 pied wheatear no doubt newly arrived.

Steppe grey shrike

Several species of shrike were present including my first woodchat shrike for Saudi Arabia and at the side of the same pivot field was a nice rufous morph steppe buzzard.

Steppe buzzard

_______________ FULL LIST _______________ 

KACST FISH FARM

82 Black kite

HA'IR PIVOT FIELDS

4 Mallard

1 Teal

1 Little grebe

1 Great cormorant

1 Little bittern

12 Grey heron

6 Purple heron

105 Cattle egret

4 Squacco heron

4 Marsh harrier

1 Steppe buzzard

1 Greater spotted eagle

9 Lesser kestrel

4 Common kestrel

12 Moorhen

2 Coot

4 Lapwing

3 Green sandpiper

2 Wood sandpiper

8 Snipe

200 Eurasian collared dove

100 Laughing dove

40 Namaqua dove

30 Common swift

3 White-throated kingfisher

20 Green bee-eater

1 Turkestan shrike

2 Southern grey shrike

1 Steppe grey shrike

1 Woodchat shrike

2 Brown-necked raven

20 Crested lark

3 Skylark

2 Sand martin

2 Rock martin

150 Barn swallow

5 White-spectacled bulbul

50 White-cheeked bulbul

5 Chiffchaff

25 Graceful prinia

3 Black scrub robin

9 Bluethroat

7 European stonechat

3 Pied wheatear

15 Desert wheatear

15 Starling

1 Yellow wagtail

120 White wagtail

8 Tawny pipit

120 Spanish sparrow

1 Streaked weaver

3 Indian silverbill

Hamadryas baboons

Hamadryas baboons are found in the Horn of Africa and southern arabia. In Saudi Arabia they are found in the Asir Mountains. I saw several family groups around Abha, they weren't seemingly common but looked quite fierce. They can be seen around picnic areas.

Ha'ir, Saudi Arabia

I was back in Riyadh for the weekend and drove down the Dirab to Ha'ir wadi again. The rubbish dumps both still held two white-crowned wheatear and there were 45 black kite at the fish farm roost, most appear to be the black eared race lineatus. They were already starting to drift up the valley shortly after dawn.

Juvenile white-crowned black wheatear

Adult white-crowned black wheatear

The pivot fields seemed a bit quiet at first but a mixed hirundine flock overhead which was mainly barn swallow did include two red-rumped swallow and my first two sand martin in Saudi Arabia. I also kicked up a steppe eagle resting in a ploughed field. A single black stork was wheeling overhead, perhaps one of the four seen earlier in the winter.

Squacco heron

The 'Riyadh River' runs along the south side of the pivot field area so I had a walk along that for about half a mile although it was starting to get a bit hot. The first birds I found were a flock of pallid swift and more barn swallow but amongst them was an alpine swift, the first I've seen in Arabia in 12 years. It didn't hang around long though and although they are a rarity in the UAE I suspect they are a bit more regular in Saudi Arabia.

The edges of the river are thick with phragmites and I could hear reed warbler and clamorous reed warbler singing but I couldn't see any.

All in all a decent mornings birding and migration has only just started.

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HA'IR RUBBISH DUMP

2 Hoopoe

3 Desert lark

2 Rock martin

2 White-crowned black wheatear

30 House sparrow

DIRAB RUBBISH DUMP

2 Rock martin

2 White-crowned black wheatear

3 desert wheatear

KACST FISH PROJECT

45 Black kite

HA'IR PIVOT FIELDS AND RIYADH RIVER

4 Mallard

1 Black stork

8 Grey heron

6 Purple heron

1 Great egret

3 Squacco heron

1 Black-crowned night heron

6 Marsh harrier

1 Greater spotted eagle

2 Steppe eagle

4 Common kestrel

2 Common moorhen

1 Green sandpiper

1 Common snipe

25 Rock dove

200 Eurasian collared dove

100 Laughing dove

9 Namaqua dove

1 Alpine swift

3 Pallid swift

1 White-throated kingfisher

8 Green bee-eater

1 Hoopoe

1 Isabelline shrike

1 Southern grey shrike

1 Steppe grey shrike

30 Crested lark

2 Sand martin

2 Red-rumped swallow

20 White-spectacled bulbul

60 White-eared bulbul

12 Graceful prinia

2 Black scrub robin

2 Bluethroat

1 Black redstart

2 European stonechat

5 Desert wheatear

2 Isabelline wheatear

2 Common myna

50 House sparrow

Photos

Some photos that have recently added to my photo web site.

Blue rock thrush

Palestine sunbird

Palestine sunbird

Palestine sunbird

Yemen linnet

Arabian babbler

Arabian babbler

Looking for endemics in the Asir Mountains

Last week I flew down to Abha in the Asir Mountains in Saudi Arabia mainly looking for some of the 10 Arabian endemic species found in Saudi Arabia.

I started by driving from Abha to the so-called 'hanging village' of Habalah. I saw several black kite on the way and my first endemic South Arabian wheatear on a wall in a small village. Two Tristram's starling flew in too with their characteristic wolf whistle calls.

Trimstram's starling (female)

It takes a steep cable car to get down to Habalah village, and I figured cable cars were better shared with friends and some gluvine. On the slopes just outside the village I found my second endemic a single arabian serin. Also in the woodland were white-breasted white-eye and palestine sunbird.

Palestine sunbird (male)

I spent the next two days mostly on Mount Soudah, Saudi Arabia's highest mountain at 3,000 m. The scrubby parkland near the summit provided excellent birding particularly in the afternoon when the mist started to roll in. I found several flocks of another endemic yemen linnet and there were about 40 yemen thrush. A single yemen warbler skulking in a bush with a brown woodland warbler was the fifth endemic I found and a covey of 13 arabian partridge made the list six for the weekend.

Also in the park I flushed several cape hare.

Yemen linnet

On the lower slopes I found several raptor including a common kestrel, a dark morph long-legged buzzard and four steppe eagle that at one point were soaring below me.

Steppe eagle (juvenile)

On the lower slopes of the mountain the endemic hamadrayas baboon was fairly easy to find by the roadside in small groups.

Hamadryas baboon

____________ FULL LIST ____________

9 February 2012, Habalah

1 Common kestrel

2 Steppe eagle

20 Rock dove

2 Black redstart

1 White-breasted white-eye

1 Arabian serin

2 African rock bunting

2 White-spectacled bulbul

25 Palestine sunbird

25 Fan-tailed raven

10 February, Abnha Dam

4 Grey heron

12 Coot

4 White-spectacled bul bul

1 White-breasted white-eye

1 Graceful prinia

1 Fan-tailed raven

9 - 10 February, Mount Soudah

7 Steppe eagle

1 Eastern imperial eagle

1 Long-legged buzzard

13 Arabian partridge

12 Black redstart

6 South arabian wheatear

1 Hoopoe

2 Barn swallow

1 Rock martin

1 Laughing dove

1 Green bee-eater

26 White-spectacled bulbul

2 Tristram's starling

27 Arabian babbler

2 Siberian stonechat

3 Palestine sunbird

1 Brown woodland warbler

1 Yemen warbler

46 Yemen linnet

52 Yemen thrush

70 House sparrow

Photos

Some photos that have been recently added to my web site.

Mourning wheatear

Desert lark

Desert wheatear

Spanish sparrow

Desert wheatear

Desert warbler

Desert warbler

Desert lark

Al Jouf province, Saudi Arabia

I spent the weekend at Dawmat Al Jandal and Sakaka in Al Jouf province in northern Saudi Arabia taking photos of castles and other historic monuments and more can be seen on my travel blog. But I managed to fit in some birding too.


I first had a walk around one of the irrigated pivot fields just outside Sakaka and soon picked up a new Saudi tick in four red-throated pipits there was also good numbers of skylark present. I also had long distance views of a flock of 12 cream-coloured courser.

Desert warbler

Next I looked around the date plantations within the Sakaka city boundaries but the only bird of note was a black redstart.

Dawmat Al Jandal lake

There is a huge lake just outside Dawmat Al Jandal and I decided to take a walk of some five miles around the perimeter. The most common bird on the lake was coot but there were also several pochard and tufted duck. The only raptor I saw was a juvenile pallid harrier that glided in off the lake.

Desert lark

Hirundine and swift flocks appeared over the lake at several points, a couple of barn swallow and a single house martin were the highlights among the pallid swifts. Along the rocky shore I found several desert lark, desert wheatear and desert warbler and a single hoopoe lark.

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2 February, Sakaka Pivot Fields

12 Cream-coloured courser

60 Skylark

30 Crested lark

4 Desert wheatear

4 Red-throated pipit

30 Spanish sparrow

2 February, Sakaka date plantation

1 Black redstart

3 February, Dawmat Al Jandal Lake

90 Coot

3 Tufted duck

3 Pochard

2 Little grebe

1 Kentish plover

12 Ringed plover

4 Redshank

1 Green sandpiper

1 Pallid harrier

3 Desert warbler

5 Desert wheatear

2 Mourning wheatear

1 Hoopoe lark