White-throated
Kingfisher has recently been classed as a vagrant to the Eastern Province of
Saudi Arabia (Bundy et al 1989) with two records one at Dhahran 4-5 October
1984 and one overwintering at the Dhahran Hills percolation pond early November
1985 until March 1986. Since then there have two records at Sabkhat Al Fasl,
one in November 2006 and one 21 August, 4 September & 18 September 2009. At
Sabkhat Al Fasl the species was seen at each visit in August 2006 with probably
10-15 birds present with breeding thought likely to be confirmed at the site in
due course (Jennings 2010). One was in Dhahran in December 2008 with other
records from Dhahran Hills Park. After this date records the species become
rare in the Eastern Province but since 2012 birds have again been seen
regularly mainly in the Jubail to Dhahran areas. Sabkhat Al Fasl has had quite
a few records recently with three birds wintering at the site in winter
2014-2015 but finding a bird in the summer is much more unusual. I found a
single bird on 14 August along the reed fringed edge of the site but it did not
stay long before flying off calling. It is possible that this bird may have
been one of the wintering birds from last winter but may have been a new bird
also. It would be great to think birds are now staying here all year around and
may soon start to breed as they do in the Riaydh area, but we will have to wait
and see.
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| White-throated Kingfisher |