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27 February 2015

A flock of Great Black-headed Gulls – Sabkhat Al Fasl

I saw and adult summer Great Black-headed Gull Larus ichthyaetus fly over whilst birding Sabkhat Al Fasl and it flew and landed in an area of dry sabkha. It landed with a group of other gulls which turned out to include one further adult summer and seven second calendar year Great Black-headed Gulls. There were also five Steppe Gulls in the group. Sabkhat Al Fasl has turned out to be a good site to see the species in the last four years with birds seen each winter although this group is the largest I have seen so far in Saudi Arabia. The Great Black-headed Gull is an uncommon winter visitor to the Arabian Gulf and southern Red Sea coastal areas that is also rarely seen inland. The first birds are normally not seen until December or January, with March probably the best time to see the species. Apart from Sabkhat Al Fasl the other good location for seeing the species is the causeway to Bahrain where birds can often be seen hanging in the wind over the road.
Great Black-headed Gull - adult summer
Great Black-headed Gull - adult summer
Great Black-headed Gull - adult summer
Great Black-headed Gull - adult summer
Great Black-headed Gull - second calendar year
Great Black-headed Gull - second calendar year