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22 March 2015

Some new migrants for the year – Dhahran hills

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.
Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin
Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin
Daurian Shrike
Daurian Shrike