This autumn there have been large numbers of
Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters passing over Jubail as well as many other areas of the
Eastern Province. The species is a common passage migrant through the Eastern
Province of Saudi Arabia with good numbers of birds passing in the spring as
well as the autumn. Numbers are commoner in the autumn when they outnumber
European Bee-eater whereas the opposite is true in the spring. This year birds
have been seen eating insects on the ground with a favourite insect the Migratory
Locust. Blue-cheeked Bee-eater pass later in November than European Bee-eaters
but both are common in the peak migration seasons.
