A Pied Kingfisher was found
on a small pool on the edge of the golf course a Dhahran on 13 February and as
this was a new species for me on the ‘patch’ I went to have a look for it first
thing in the morning the next day. Although I saw some god birds during this
visit I failed to find the Pied Kingfisher. I was then busy with the family
until late afternoon when I decided to have another look for the bird. This
time I was successful and the Kingfisher was busy feeding at the pond. It would
often come by and do its normal hovering over the water before flying off and
landing in the top of a tall acacia bush. Pied Kingfisher is a scarce winter
visitor to the Eastern Province and although I have seen the species before in
the Eastern Province I had until this sighting not do so on my local birdwatching area so I was very
happy with this record. Unfortunately the light was poor for taking photographs as it was cloudy and there was a lot of dust still in the air from the previous days strong winds. Other good birds seen included a female Common
Kingfisher and several
Clamorous Reed Warbler and a Bluethroat that may have been a White-spotted
Bluethroat. Recent records
from the Eastern Province have included as many as six Pied Kingfishers 25
February 1999, outside Al Jubail, a
single present at Sabkhat Al Fasl 6 November to 1 December 2011 and one at Al Fanateer marina, Jubail 24
January 2014.
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| Pied Kingfisher |
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| Pied Kingfisher |
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| Pied Kingfisher |
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| Pied Kingfisher |
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| Pied Kingfisher |
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| Pied Kingfisher |
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| Common Kingfisher |
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| Common Kingfisher |
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| Bluethroat |