Photos

More photos recently added to my photography web site.

Mourning wheatear

Turkestan shrike

Long-legged buzzard

Bar-tailed desert lark

Bar-tailed desert lark

Bar-tailed desert lark

Bar-tailed desert lark

Hoopoe lark

Hoopoe lark

Wadi Thulaimah, Saudi Arabia

Our second stop of the day was at Wadi Thulaimah south of our friend Abdullah's home city of Al Kharj in an area he has known well since childhood.

As we drove across the sand towards the area of ponds our first bird was a fine long-legged buzzard soaring over our car.

Long-legged buzzard

The ponds themselves held a very diverse number of waders for such a land locked province. We had expected black-winged stilt, little stint and wood sandpiper but two marsh sandpiper were an excellent find as were kentish plover (coming into breeding plumage), ringed plover and Temminck's stint.

We then headed for Al Kharj city refuse tip... our heads were filled with visions of a raptor paradise. How wrong we were. The isolated dump held nothing but four desert wheatear. But the drive back along the desert road was livened up when we spotted four splendid hoopoe lark and shortly afterwards a similar number of bar-tailed desert lark. The latter was another lifer for me and a species that had proved to be my nemesis back in Dubai. They were still a difficult bird to nail down for a photo. How can a bird with one inch long legs walk quicker than me?

Bar-tailed desert lark

Hoopoe lark

We returned back to the extreme end of Wadi Thulmayah just as sun was setting on a rather large and permanent lake which held good numbers of shoveler together with several pochard and tufted duck.

No day with two lifers can be anything less than a good day.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ FULL LIST _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

8 Grey heron

2 Purple heron

10 Moorhen

4 Black-winged stilt

2 Ringed plover

1 Kentish plover

1 Dunlin

1 Temminck's stint

70 Little stint

12 Wood sandpiper

4 Green sandpiper

2 Marsh sandpiper

2 Ruff

2 Tufted duck

4 Pochard

18 Shoveler

1 Long-legged buzzard

1 Barn swallow

1 Stonechat
1 Black bush robin

6 Desert wheatear

4 Hoopoe lark

4 Bar-tailed desert lark

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

Wadi Thulaimah, Saudi Arabia

Wadi Thulaimah lies about 30 kms south of Al Kharj and carries the waste water run off from the city.

The site was first visited in December 2001 and was found to have an impressive array of waders.

Al Ha'ir, Saudi Arabia

Another trip out to the pivot fields with Rob Tovey but almost as interesting was that on the way we found the Riyadh landfill site south-east of the city and tried unsuccessfully to get inside and bird. Although we were turned away we were told it would be possible if we got written permission which we now intend to do particularly as while talking to the site manager our eyes were drifting towards what appeared to be several large vultures (lappet-faced?) perched on the edge of the tip area.

Long-billed pipit

At Ha'ir pivot fields a count of 13 squacco heron was a welcome addition to the records as was a fine citrine wagtail picking around the edge of the pools at the edge of the pivot fields. Both new records for my KSA list as were common sandpiper, wood sandpiper and barn swallow.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ FULL LIST _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

13 Squacco heron

1 Cattle egret

4 Purple heron

12 Grey heron

12 Mallard

8 Greater spotted eagle

12 Marsh harrier

10 Kestrel

25 Moorhen

2 Coot

30 Northern lapwing

15 Common snipe

4 Wood sandpiper

3 Green sandpiper

1 Common sandpiper

100 Collared dove

50 Laughing dove

30 Namaqua dove

50 Pallid swift

3 White-breasted kingfisher

2 Common kingfisher

30 Little green bee-eater

2 Hoopoe

80 Crested lark

1 Barn swallow

20 Pale crag martin

60 Tawny pipit

2 Long-billed pipit

80 White wagtail

1 Citrine wagtail

120 White-cheeked bulbul

3 White-spectacled bulbul

2 Black bush robin

5 Bluethroat

1 European stonechat

2 Isabelline wheatear

6 Desert wheatear

1 Chiffchaff

1 Desert lesser whitethroat

1 Steppe grey shrike

2 Southern grey shrike

2 Daurian shrike

2 Turkestan shrike

45 Brown-necked raven

30 Common mynah

100 House sparrow

5 Spanish sparrow

5 Avadavat