Whilst birding
the patch at the new cricket field area I saw a small flock of eight Collared Pratincoles
Glareola pratincola. They were
mainly on the grass edges to the area but were flushed a number of times by
people coming and going to the cricket and eventually flew off and landed in a
nearby desert area. The Collared is
a common passage migrant from late March to late May and from August to October.
During the remaining summer months it is scarce and irregular. Often seen well
inland with flocks hawking insects over farmland, near freshwater as well as at
coastal wetlands where it is often seen in small flocks. Birds are seen throughout
the Kingdom from the southwest to the northeast with flocks of over 100 seen at
Tabuk. Numbers generally decrease eastwards but are still seen regularly in the
Eastern Province with the largest flock being 50 at Sabkhat Al Fasl. This is
the largest number I have seen together on the ‘patch’ where my previous
highest count has been three.
