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19 February 2015

A build up in numbers of Squacco Herons – Sabkhat Al Fasl

Squacco Heron is a common bird at Sabkhat Al Fasl with hundreds seen on occasions. Numbers, however, drop significantly in the winter when only a few birds remain. On 6 February the numbers of birds had increased significantly from the previous week where we saw about ten birds to well of fifty birds. At one point we saw a group of 27 birds all sitting together in a small open area of reeds. This is the first sign of the buildup of numbers for spring migration. Other herons seen were a good number of Little Egrets as well as four Western Great Egrets. A single Purple Heron was seen in flight and five Grey Herons as well. About twenty Indian Reef Herons were in the reeds and an unusual sight of three Western Cattle Egrets were also present. Western Cattle Egret is a common winter visitor to grassy areas of the Eastern Province such as Dhahran Camp but is uncommon at Sabkhat Al Fasl, which is surprising as the habitat looks ideal.
Squacco Heron
Squacco Heron
Squacco Herons
Squacco Herons
Western Great Egret
Western Great Egret
Western Great Egret
Western Great Egret