As the weather was still cold I went to Abqaiq Landfill again in the hope that something unusual may have turned up with all the gulls. Unfortunately this was not the case but the normal gulls were still present in large numbers. I went later in the day than the last two visits in the hope of seeing the birds on the ground and being able to photograph them. As soon as I got there I found a large group of Large White-headed Gulls (LWG) but they were in an area that was difficult to access. Eventually I found a route to where they were but they were very flighty and did not allow close approach. They did afford good flight views though as the sun was well up and the birds were flying overhead. I also managed to get ‘scope’ views of them on the ground. The breakdown of birds was 90% Steppe Gulls, 5% Caspian Gulls and 5% Heuglin’s Gulls. Total numbers were 1000+ LWG and 3000+ Common Black-headed Gulls with the only other bird of interest seen being a female Desert Wheatear.
 |
| Steppe Gull |
 |
| Steppe Gull |
 |
| Steppe Gull |
 |
| Steppe Gull |
 |
| Steppe Gull |
 |
| Heuglin's Gull |