A good-looking birding site - Deffi Park (jubail)

Phil Roberts and I visited Deffi Park (Jubail) at first light last weekend in the hope of seeing some wintering passerines. In the past good birds such as Brambling, Chaffinch, Robin and winter thrushes such as Black-throated Thrush, Ring Ouzel and Mistle Thrush have been seen. The park is located about two kilometres inland from the coast on the northern edge of Jubail Industrial City and is a large well laid out park with plenty of grass and trees. Many of the good birds in the past have been seen feeding in the leaf litter under the tall trees but the grassy areas could also hold something good. The park is an excellent area that is kept relatively clean for Saudi Arabian standards and looks like a place where a few good birds could turn up. When we were there no one else in the park except the cleaning team and walking around was easy. We saw plenty of common birds but nothing out of the usual, but we will be back in the spring when things may have changed. The trees and areas under them were full of House Sparrows, White-eared Bulbuls and Common Mynas and the grass areas had Water pipits and White wagtails in good numbers. Good birds seen were few but we located a Lesser Whitethroat in one of the mature trees and two Eurasian Sparrowhawks flew over at first light along with 1000+ Great Cormorants.

Eurasian Sparrowhawk