An early morning trip to Jubail was rewarded with the sighting of three
different Citrine Wagtails together in an area of flooded track. We met Phil
Roberts after packing up early from ringing due to the hgh winds and he kindly informed
us of two birds presence. As a result we went to look for them and found them
quite easily amongst a number of other wagtails. They all appeared to be adult
males in breeding plumage but some were brighter than others. Citrine Wagtail
is a regular though local winter visitor to the Eastern Province of Saudi
Arabia that was not seen until 1975. I have seen quite a few in the last few
years indicating the species is becoming more common in the region, particularly
as they are not so difficult to identify in full breeding pluamge. They are
almost always found near water and favour feeding on wet roadside puddles, but
are not the easiest species to photograph as they are quite nervous and flighty
and rarely stay still for long. March appears to be a month when passage occurs
through the region as more birds are seen during this month than any other.
