Whilst birding the Jubail area, I
found and photographed three Collared Pratincoles Glareola
pratincola along the edge of a flooded area of Sabkha on 2 June 2017. This
is quite a late date for the species to be recorded in the Eastern Province of
the country. The Collared Pratincole is an uncommon passage migrant to the
Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, with a similar status in the Riyadh area
where they occur from late March to May and in August and September. During the
remaining summer months and in October it tends to be scarce and irregular. Records
are more common in the autumn than spring in Riyadh with autumn movement from
late July to late October, peaking late August to early September, when flocks
of 40 plus (mainly juveniles) are regularly encountered. In the southwest, west
and northwest of the country records are more common mainly at freshwater
inland areas where flocks of over 100 have been recorded at Tabuk.
