Another wave of migrants – Dhahran Hills

After a quiet week birding in Dhahran another wave of migrants arrived overnight. This was quite an impressive ‘fall’ with many warblers associated with it. Up to six Barred Warblers were seen with tens of Willow Warblers and five or six Upcher’s Warblers and a single Eastern Olivaceous Warbler. Tens of shrikes of five species, Lesser Grey Shrike, Daurian Shrike, Turkestan Shrike, Red-backed Shrike and Masked Shrike were the main part of the movement, but plenty of Pallid Swifts and Barn Swallows were also flying over and around.

Barred Warbler

Upcher's Warbler

Lesser Grey Shrike

Red-backed Shrike

Turkestan Shrike

A single young male Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush was seen in the spray fields and later on the rocks along the perimeter road and a female Pallid Harrier was hunting over the spray fields. A few waders were about including Kentish Plover, Little Ringed Plover, Black-winged Stilt and Common Greenshank. Pipits and Wheatears were thin on the ground with only a few Red-throated Pipits and one Pied Wheatear, one Northern Wheatear and a single Isabelline Wheatear seen. Three European Bee-eaters were flying around catching insects and several Whinchat, mainly females were in the spray fields. The percolation pond still had a pair of Garganey but very little else of note.

European Bee-eater

European Bee-eater

Whinchat