Site details - Wadi Dirab, Saudi Arabia

This wadi runs in a west - east direction from below Dirab to Ha'ir keeping approximately 25 kms due south of central Riyadh. At it's eastern end where the road crosses the wadi with a bridge lies the village of 'old Ha'ir'. Along the wadi (which opens out the further west you travel) lie various small farms and pivot fields, factories, date plantations and a fish farm.

I'm not sure of the local name but for now I've called it Wadi Dirab.

Ha'ir, Saudi Arabia

Today I took another trip to Ha'ir pivot fields with Rob Tovey. This time we stayed out all day and after all that yomping over sand and ploughed fields my legs can certainly feel it!

Here's a view of the area from the air showing the outflow river (Riyadh River) that flows beside the irrigated fields. We walked most of the pivot areas today.

Hai'ir pivot fields

The main crop grown in the pivot fields is alfalfa. One of the fields was lying fallow and one had been recently ploughed. Given the comparative monoculture there is no shortage of birds in the winter but the number of species appears somewhat limited so far.

Having said that, virtually the first bird we saw was a juvenile greater spotted eagle on the ground in the centre of one pivot. A flock of brown-necked raven were in the same field.

Greater spotted eagle

We then flushed a single green sandpiper from the rivers edge and spotted a coot swimming for cover. Both new birds for my KSA list as was the eagle. Bluethroats were soon found on the waters edge too.

The fields again held good numbers of lapwing and white wagtail but the field perimeters where they touch the desert were just as productive with plenty of desert wheatear and several pairs of european stonechat. Other raptors seen included several marsh harrier drifting across the fields from the reed beds, a single sparrowhawk and a ring-tail harrier that was too far off to identify but appeared to be a Montagu's harrier.

Desert wheatear

The dominant pipit by far appears to be tawny pipit, we searched for Richard's pipit without any luck but towards the end of the day I saw and heard 2 water pipit in the centre of the newly ploughed field.

Young tawny pipit

A quick dash across the road to follow an unidentified falcon with what appeared to be a snake was fruitless but it did bring us to a flock of sparrows which upon grilling seemed to be all or almost all spanish sparrow. A small flock of avadavat (with no males) then flew up to land on some of the irrigation machinery, no doubt an introduced bird in the past the numbers are evidently huge and the species breeds freely in the area and would therefore be considered a self sustaining category C population.

Spanish sparrows

As we walked back across the fields into the setting sun the final bird of the day for me was a white-throated kingfisher.

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

1 Little bittern

6 Cattle egret

4 Purple heron

4 Grey heron

6 Marsh harrier

1 Sparrowhawk

6 Greater spotted eagle

5 Kestrel

45 Moorhen

1 Coot

1 Green sandpiper

12 Snipe

75 Lapwing

1,200 Collared dove

200 Laughing dove

2 Namaqua dove

150 Pallid swift

1 White-breasted kingfisher

70 Little green bee-eater

1 Hoopoe

100 Crested lark

2 Pale crag martin
5 Long-billed pipit

70 Tawny pipit

2 Water pipit

120 White wagtail

70 White-cheeked bulbul

3 Black bush robin

6 Bluethroat

8 European stonechat

8 Isabelline wheatear

12 Desert wheatear

5 Graceful prinia

5 Desert warbler

2 Desert lesser whitethroat

3 Daurian shrike

3 Turkestan shrike

10 Southern grey shrike

15 Brown-necked raven

60 Common mynah

100 House sparrow

50 Spanish sparrow

40 Streaked weaver

15 Avadavat

Photos

New photos now added to my photography web site.

Grey hypocolius, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Grey hypocolius, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Grey hypocolius, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Common kingfisher, Ha'ir, Saudi Arabia

Steppe grey shrike, Ha'ir, Saudi Arabia

Steppe grey shrike, Ha'ir, Saudi Arabia

Steppe grey shrike, Ha'ir, Saudi Arabia

Ha'ir, Saudi Arabia

Today I ventured outside of Riyadh for the first time, to the Ha'ir area south of the city. Just a quick reconnoitre of the area by the Riyadh river and then a bit further to the pivot fields south of the town.

Common kingfisher

Both white-throated kingfisher and common kingfisher were quickly found on the river banks and a small flock of common snipe was flushed. Several marsh harrier were quartering the reed beds.

Steppe grey shrike

The pivot fields held typical birds such as isabelline wheatear, desert wheatear, steppe and southern grey shrikes and tawny pipit but more surprising was a flock of 90 northern lapwing a species never found in such numbers in the neighbouring UAE. These pivot fields hold a lot of promise and I will certainly be back over the winter.

Clouded yellow on alfalfa

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

1 Little grebe

2 Little bittern

6 Cattle egret

2 Little egret

3 Grey heron

1 Purple heron

2 Teal

2 Mallard

2 Kestrel

6 Marsh harrier

6 Moorhen

9 Common snipe
90 Lapwing

150 Collared dove

100 Laughing dove

4 Namaqua dove

2 Pallid swift

2 White-breasted kingfisher

2 Common kingfisher

6 Little green bee-eater

2 Hoopoe

5 Tawny pipit

12 White wagtail

30 White-cheeked bulbul

1 Black bush robin

2 Bluethroat
1 Chiffchaff

1 European stonechat

10 Isabelline wheatear

8 Desert wheatear

1 Red-tailed wheatear

2 Graceful prinia

1 Daurian shrike

1 Turkestan shrike

1 Steppe grey shrike

1 Southern grey shrike

20 Common myna

100 House sparrow

1 Spanish sparrow

30 Indian silverbill 

Site details - Ha'ir, Saudi Arabia

Ha'ir is a small town approximately 35 kms. south of central Riyadh. It lies in Wadi Hanifa near to the banks of the 'Riyadh river' which is the waste outflow river from Riyadh. By the time the waste water reaches Ha'ir it is fairly clean and responsible for lush vegetation and a good number of water birds.

Approximately 10 kms. south-west of Ha'ir are a series of irrigated 'pivot fields' that offer more birding opportunities. In late 2011 these fields held a large flock of northern lapwing.

Ha'ir pivot fields