Whilst birding the Jubail area I
came across a few Little Terns some of which had well grown young to feed. Some
were resting on the muddy edge of some sabkha and other flying around. I took
the opportunity to try to get a few flight shots of the birds as they flew
about with the best photos shown below. In the Eastern Province the Little Tern
is a common passage migrant and summer visitor that is scarce in the winter.
Care must be taken not to confuse it with the very similar Saunder’s Tern that
also occurs in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia in the summer and breeds on
offshore islands. It has bred in freshwater and brackish areas of eastern Saudi
Arabia and possibly the Red Sea also. Birds are scarce inland but have been
recorded in all areas including Riyadh.
