Najran, Saudi Arabia

Najran didn't prove to be the mountain birding hotspot I had hoped. It was more of a dusty high desert plateau and birding was hard work in the fields around the town and at the dam which was almost totally devoid of birdlife. Ah well, Saudi Arabia is so underwatched that it takes some exploring to sort out the decent areas.

I arrived on Wednesday afternoon and had a short walk in the fields behind the Crown Hotel where I was staying and soon caught up with a male Ruppells weaver and a couple of African silverbill.

The next day I had a driver who took me up to the dam some 30 kms west of town on the Yemeni border. The area around the dam itself was practically devoid of birds save for a few african rock martin and some feral pigeon. There was no water behind the dam and only a small stream in front of it which held several blackstart and a single house bunting. Not long after arriving we were sent on our way by the police even though we had already been waved through a check point further down the road.

We stopped for a walk along the river as it wound its way under the first bridge back into town and picked up a few green sandpiper and two fan-tailed raven.

The next day I explored the fields behind the Crown Hotel in more depth and found nile valley sunbird, shining sunbird and african collared dove.

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11 January - Najran

1 Ruppells weaver

2 African silverbill

1 Graceful prinia

10 House sparrow

4 White spectacled bulbul

2 Green bee-eater

12 January Najran Dam and Najran Fields

6 Sand partridge

6 Green sandpiper

10 Rock dove

20 Laughing dove

2 Ring-necked parakeet

2 White wagtail

2 Black bush robin

2 Isabelline wheatear

5 Crested lark

2 Kestrel

1 Arabain babbler

1 Shining sunbird

2 Fan'tailed raven

2 Common myna

2 Ruppells weaver

10 Green bee-eater

5 African rock martin

15 White spectacled bulbul

8 Blackstart

1 House bunting

25 House sparrow

13 January 2012 Najran Fields

1 Kestrel

20 Feral pigeon

20 Laughing dove

4 Namaqua dove

15 Ring-necked parakeet

20 Green bee-eater

6 Crested lark

1 Red-rumped swallow

2 African rock martin

1 Nile valley sunbird

2 Shining sunbird

2 White wagtail

20 White spectacled bulbul

1 Grey hypocolius

1Rufous bush robin

1 Black bush robin

1Black redstart

12 Graceful prinia

3 arabian babbler

2 Common myna

150 House sparrow