Spur-winged Lapwing - Dhahran Hills

Even though things have been quiet on the 'patch' in recent weeks I have still been going out every day and today it paid off nicely with a Spur-winged Lapwing on the Percolation Pond. This is a vagrant to the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, although it is recorded regularly from Riyadh to the west of the country. There are only two previous record in Dhahran a far as I know, including a bird I found on the same pond at the end of May 2011. The Birds of the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia by Bundy, Connor & Harrison (published in August 1989) only has two records and only a couple of other sightings are known to me for this area. Unfortunately the bird was scared off by a mountain biker and flew off over the airbase. I was looking at the bird through the telescope at the time so only managed to grab a very poor flight shot. Not much else was seen with the exception of two European Turtle Doves, a number of Barn Swallows, one Little Stint and a Ruff. The settling pond had two Little Ringed Plovers and two Marsh Sandpipers which are the first birds of the autumn in Dhahran for me.

Spur-winged Lapwing

European Turtle Dove

 

European Turtle Dove