Al Ha'ir, Saudi Arabia

Today I was out and about with Rob Tovey and we started again at Al Ha'ir pivot fields. We were soon joined by Abdullah a charming Saudi with a keen interest in birds and particularly photography.

We soon saw the first of many new KSA birds for me when four cormorant flew into the river area followed by a great egret and a more distant osprey. But the sighting of the day was without doubt three black stork soaring over the adjacent fields. A long overdue lifer for me but hopefully we'll come across them again this winter.

Turkestan shrike

We then set off to explore the further reaches of the Riyadh river just west of the pivot as it wound its way into the desert along the rocky escarpment. We soon found two magnificent male mourning wheatear and a red-tailed wheatear.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ HIGHLIGHTS _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

4 Cormorant

1 Little egret

1 Great white egret

10 Grey heron

4 Purple heron

3 Black stork

1 Osprey

3 Greater spotted eagle

2 Marsh harrier

2 Kestrel

5 Snipe

1 Wood sandpiper

2 Little stint

20 Pallid swift

4 White-throated kingfisher

1 Daurian shrike

1 Turkestan shrike
1 Black redstart

2 Mourning wheatear

1 Red-tailed wheatear

2 Desert wheatear

2 Streaked weaver