Whilst Arnold Uy was birding the Al
Asfar Lake area of Al Hassa in late November he saw a Short-toed Snake Eagle.
The following weekend he returned to the site and saw and photographed the bird
again. This is the first time I know of a bird hanging around the same area for
more than a day and it will be interesting to see if it satsy for the winter. This
is a good record as in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia the species is a
scarce migrant and winter visitor and has only been recorded since 1979
although birds have been seen in all months of the year except July and August.
Most records have occurred in March and October - November suggesting most
birds just pass through the area although single records in December to
February show some birds may winter here. I thank Arnold for allowing me to use
his photographs shown below on my website.
