Dammam - Al Khobar Wader Roost

Ewan Roberts showed me a site between Dammam and Al Khobar where waders roost this afternoon. Luckily the tide was rising when we arrived and we were able to watch as large numbers of waders, gulls, terns and herons were pushed closer to shore. The site is an excellent one and a place I will be visiting often over the next few years I suspect.

There were a number of adult Slender-billed gulls present and thier bare part colouration varied trenmendously. Some had typical dark red bills and legs and other had almost lack bills, although always showing some red at the tip. Leg colour also varied from yellowish red to bright red (see photograph at bottom of this post).

Curlew Sandpiper - 50+
Little Stint - 32
Lesser Sand Plover - 43
Greater Sand Plover - 2
Kentish Plover - 20
Grey Plover - 1
Broad-billed Sandpiper - 9
Eurasian Oystercatcher - 2
Black-tailed Godwit - 200+
Eurasian Curlew - 7
Common Greenshank - 3
Ruff - 8
Gull-billed Tern - 3
Little Tern - 26
Slender-billed Gull - 100+
Indian (Western) Reef Heron - 2
Grey Heron - 1

Greater Sand Plover

Curlew Sandpiper 

Curlew Sandpiper (Summer Plumage) 

Little Stint (Summer Plumage) 

Eurasian Curlew

Slender-billed Gull

Thanks to Brian Small for help with the Gretaer Sand Plover Identification.