Whilst in Jizan we stopped at
the fish market where we knew from past experience that photography
was possible. The fish market is an excellent place to see both Sooty and
White-eyed Gulls with plenty of birds normally resting on the roofs and feeding
on scraps on the ground. It is best to get to the market in the early morning
when the fish are being landed and processed to see the largest number of
birds. We only managed to get there late one evening and again in the early
afternoon but saw plenty of gulls at both times. July proved to be good at the
fish market with hundreds of gulls present with almost all Sooty and
White-eyed. Many wait around on the ground for fish waste to be thrown out and
then a huge melee breaks out as all the gulls go for the waste at the same
time. White-eyed Gulls have a range in Saudi Arabia that spreads mainly up the
Red Sea coast to north of Jeddah. The White-eyed Gull is mostly sedentary although
it disperses from its breeding sites in the Red Sea to occur throughout the Red
Sea during the non-breeding season. There may also be some southward and
eastward movement during this time, when it is reported to become scarce in the
northern part of its range. Breeding takes place during the months of June – September
where it breeds in loose colonies, on inshore islands, where it occupies bare
rock and sand flats, and usually consiss of fewer than 25 pairs. During the
non-breeding season it is usually found in small groups, but sometimes forms
flocks of hundreds or even thousands to forage and often occurs further out to
sea at this time. They are mainly coastal and usually feed at sea, but some
Egyptian populations have adopted a scavenging role at rubbish tips and
harbours, which is also the case at Jizan Fish Market. They eat mainly fish,
but also crustaceans, molluscs, annelids and offal.
