Birds of Saudi Arabia: Western Great Egrets

Yesterday in the early morning I went to the spray fields and percolation pond. The spray fields are being used to drain the water from the percolation pond and there were a few herons on the wet fields. These included eight Western Cattle Egret, three Western Great Egret, four Little Egret and a Grey Heron. An Isabelline Wheatear and a single Daurian Shrike were present with five White Wagtails and seven Water Pipits. The pond had a single Little Egret and a single Western Great Egret side by side allowing good comparison of the size difference between the two species. Other birds on the pond included 17 Mallard, 41 Northern Shoveller and 84 Eurasian Teal although the duck were quite flighty in the morning compared to the evening. The only waders were one Kentish Plover and five Common Ringed Plover. A walk around the trees surrounding the pond produced a Turkestan Shrike, three Willow Warbler and a Graceful Prinia.