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.
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| Squacco Heron |
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| Squacco Herons |
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| Western Great Egret |
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| Western Great Egret |