Birds of Saudi Arabia: Al-Asfar Lake

Al-Asfar Lake is situated 13 kilometres east of Al-Hassa and is one of the most important shallow wetland lakes in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. Al-Hassa is the largest oasis in the world, being approximately 20,000 hectares in size, as well as being one of the largest and oldest agriculatural centres in Saudi Arabia. An irrigation system was put in place in 1971 and delivers 328,000,000 cubic metres of spring water to about 22,000 farms, with additional water supplied by treated wastewater from Al-Hofouf sewage station. The excess drainage water is collected by a drainage network and discharged into two evaporation lakes which are called Al-Asfar & Al-Uyoun. The lake has good wetlands, sabkhas and sand dunes as well as large expanses of open water. Salt tolerant vegetation is present in some of the sabkha areas and huge stands of Phragmites reeds occur around much of the lake. The habitat is very important for wildlife and birds in particular and is not something you would expect to find in a large desert. It is good for winter duck as well as breeding waders such as Kentish Plover and may be suitable for Pied Avocet to breed? It is possible to reach the site in a two-wheel drive car but the sabkha is soft in many places and there is a lot of evidence of people who have got stuck there, so please be cautious. A four-wheel drive car would be better but this still does not guarantee getting stuck although a number of well used tracks go to and around the lake and if you stick to these you should be alright. The lake is situated about 130 kilometres from Dhahran.