Red-backed Shrike Lanius collurio is a
common passage migrant through Saudi Arabia. They are fairly common in spring,
with records from mid-April and early June, peaking in late April to early May.
Autumn migration is less pronounced with records from mid-August to November.
Birds are seen throughout the Kingdom in good numbers with some years large
numbers occurring, such as was the case in 2014, and other years much smaller
numbers such as 2012. Rare stragglers have also been seen in moths outside the
main period including February and March as well as July. Birds are often seen
at Sabkhat Al Fasl sometimes on large numbers with more than 50 seen in a
single day. Whilst ringing on 29 May we caught two Red-backed Shrikes, a new
species for the ringing project with both caught in the nets set between two
large reed beds. One was an adult female and the other an Adult male and
although difficult to handle due to their inkling to bite, they are very
beautiful birds. We have started to catch a good number of shrikes this year
with many more than previous years although most have been Daurian and
Turkestan Shrikes.
