Whilst
birding at Sabkhat Al Fasl last weekend I saw a number of Kentish Plovers with
young chicks along the road built under the power-lines. At one stage an adult
bird tried to lead me away from its young chicks by feigning a broken wing.
This is a well know distraction technique used by the species to lead an
intruder away from the young birds. I took a few photos of the bird feigning
injury, shown below, before I left the area so as not to cause the birds any
undue stress. Kentish Plovers breed in large numbers along the Gulf coast of
the Eastern province of Saudi Arabia and are one of the commonest waders
throughout the year and the commonest in the summer months. Kentish Plover Charadrius alexandrinus is a common
migrant and resident on all coasts and also inland in small numbers. They breed
on all coasts and many inland freshwater sites and are also common migrants
after the breeding the season and become common in November to February.
