Whilst birding the Jebal Hamrah pivot
irrigation fields recently with Phil Roberts, I came across a Bimaculated Lark Melanocorypha
bimaculata. The bird was on the edge of the field in with a very large
group of around three hundred Greater Short-toed Larks, but flew almost
immediately. We moved to where it had landed and refound the bird with two
more. After much moving around and trying to relocate the birds to get some
photographs to eliminate the chance of any of them being Calandra Larks, a
species that has been present in Qatar, Bahrain and the UAE this winter, we
eventually decided there were eight birds present. The species apparently
breeds in the Harrat al Harrah Reserve and is otherwise a scarce or uncommon passage
migrant mainly in March and April as well as October and November throughout
the Kingdom. Most records are from the Riyadh area with very few from the
Eastern Province although Phil and I saw a flock of 40 in a pivot irrigation
field near Nayriyyah 14 March 2013.
