The Red-spotted Bluethroat is an uncommon
wintering species in Saudi Arabia with birds wintering at Sabkhat Al Fasl each
year, where it is locally common. The first birds return to Sabkhat Al Fasl around
the same time and appear to be females with ringing data suggesting they first
return in mid-October. A week or so later males are also seen with females and
numbers then build up throughout the winter with birds staying around until the
end of March to early April. We have retrap data showing that some birds use
the same small area of Sabkhat Al Fasl each winter returning to exactly the
same spot. Whilst ringing last weekend we caught a female and a male
Bluethroat, it is not possible to tell it they are Red-spotted or White-spotted
unless they are adult males. We have caught many Red-spotted Bluethroats but
only two White-spotted, with White-spotted being a scarce passage migrant and
winter visitor. Elsewhere in Saudi Arabia birds have been seen from August to
May.
