Black-crowned Night Heron is an unusual
species to see at Sabkhat Al Fasl and although they are recorded annually they
are not easy to see due to the large areas of cover. On 5 March Phil Roberts
and I saw a small group of seven birds flying over and circling around before
landing deep in the reed beds. Most of the birds were juveniles but at least
two adults were also present in the group. This is only the second time I have
seen the species at the location so was a very pleasing sight. Black-crowned
Night Heron is an uncommon passage migrant that is scarce in winter and rare in
summer. The are noted more often in autumn than spring with juveniles occurring
from September to November and sometimes into February and can be seen anywhere
where water and trees occur even in parks such as Deffi Park in Jubail. Spring
occurrences are irregular from March to May and rarely summer records in June or
July occur. Elsewhere in Saudi Arabia they are only seen regularly in the southwest
of the country.
