Pages

09 December 2016

Whiskered Terns - Jubail

Whilst birding in the Jubail in early December I found a small number of Whiskered Terns Chlidonias hybridus. The Whiskered Tern is an uncommon migrant to all areas of the Kingdom including Riyadh. They have wintered at the Gulf wetlands where the photos below were taken, so it will be interesting to see if they winter this year. Records appear to have become less common over the last few years with the ten seen on 2 December my highest count for the winter. During the 1980’s birds were regularly seen in the Eastern Province between August and March.
Whiskered Tern

Whiskered Tern

Whiskered Tern

Whiskered Tern

Whiskered Tern