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.

__________________ FULL LIST __________________

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)

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.

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