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| White-winged Tern (adult summer) |
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| White-winged Tern in flight (adult summer) |
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| White-winged Tern in flight (adult summer) |
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| White-winged Tern (adult winter) |
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| White-winged Tern (adult winter) |
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| Egyptian Nightjar |
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| Egyptian Nightjar |
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| Purple Swamphen |
Jem's Birding & Ringing Exploits in the Eastern Province and elsewhere in Saudi Arabia
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14 July 2012
White-winged Terns – Sabkhat Al Fasl
Another early morning trip to Sabkhat Al Fasl, as I do most
weekends, resulted in a few good birds. The first bird I saw on entering the area
was a Steppe Grey Shrike, which I will post details and photographs of later.
Other birds seen on the way into the main water areas were two Blue-cheeked
Bee-eaters, one Barn Swallow and a Sand Martin. Terns were quite evident with
about 40 adult Little Terns and two adult Saunder’s Terns with plenty of juvenile
Little/Saunder’s Terns in their company. 68 Caspian Terns were on the main
sabkha area with 30+ White-cheeked Terns with well grown juveniles. Three
White-winged Terns were also present on the shallow water site with a fine
adult summer just starting to moult into winter plumage.
The Egyptian Nightjar, or possibly another bird as its
plumage looks different to the bird I photographed last weekend, was present in
almost the same place I saw one last weekend. A few waders were about including
a Common Greenshank, six Little Stints (the first returning birds of the autumn
for me at this site), 15 Curlew Sandpipers, 20+ Greater Sand Plovers and 23
Pied Avocets. Six Purple Swamphens were in the reeds, but only two Clamorous
Reed Warblers were seen. A single adult Greater Flamingo was looking a bit
lonely and single juvenile Little Bittern was seen in flight at the other end
of the site to where I saw a juvenile a couple of weeks ago.