A brief
trip to the golf course area allowed me to see a few good migrants that are not
always easy to see in Dhahran. The first was a Rufous-tailed scrub Robin feeding
around in the bottom of a small shrub. The bird was actively feeding and being
quite showy for the species so I assume it has just arrived in the area. This
species is a passage migrant and scarce breeder with birds normally arriving in
March and staying until September. Another good bird was an adult male Common
Redstart but this was altogether more nervous and difficult to see. Good
numbers of Pallid Swifts have been passing over in recent days trying to keep
ahead of the storm clouds and bursts of rain, so they have been flying straight
on through rather than staying and feeding. There are still a few shrikes of
both Daurian and Turkestan species around with most being adult males.
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| Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin |
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| Daurian Shrike |
