A trip to Sabkhat Al Fasl, Jubail on 21 August
produced three Eurasian Spoonbills Platalea
leucorodia on the flooded sabkha. The soecies is not known to breed in the
area, but the increasing number of records indicates they may do soon as they breed
in nearby Kuwait on the Bubiyan and Warba Islands, to the north. The status of
the species has changed over the years in the Eastern Province, with it being
regarded as a rare and irregular visitor usually involving immature birds until
the end of the 1980’s. Now it is considered to be an uncommon passage migrant
in the Eastern Province. The main stronghold for the species in Saudi Arabia is
the Red Sea where it is a common resident breeder. Largest numbers are seen in
the southwest near Jizan but birds have been recorded all along the coast to
north on Yanbu.
