As mentioned in a previous post it is clear that the
status of Egyptian Nightjar has changed in eastern Saudi Arabia in the 21st
Century, with the majority of birds no longer seen during the migration periods
of early November & March to mid-May. In Saudi Arabia it was previously
regarded as a vagrant (Bundy et al 1989) but is now known as a scarce
passage migrant, summer and winter visitor, with July & August the best
period for locating them. The below photos were taken by me at Sabkhat Al Fasl on
22 August 2014, and are of a number of different individuals, when a minimum of
thirteen birds were seen. Thirteen birds is the highest day count for the
species in the country beating the previous high count of eleven from the same
site some years ago. Sabkhat Al Fasl is certainly the best place in Saudi
Arabia for seeing the species and one of the best sites in Arabia as these
records suggest. Seeing so many birds in such a small area of the site was an
amazing experience and at one stage eight birds were seen in the air together.
