Whilst birding the pivot irrigation fields of Haradh in late January we came across large numbers of both Desert Wheatear and Isabelline Wheatear. The bird spent most of their time around the stony edge of the large pivot fields or in the field themselves where they tended to use sand banks to sit on. We saw thirty plus of both species, the largest number of Desert Wheatear I have seen in one place in the Kingdom. Desert Wheatear is common a resident species of the desert areas of the Kingdom and Isabelline Wheatear a common passage migrant, with possibly a few birds wintering. Migration starts very early in Saudi Arabia and these birds were probably on migration as other migrants such as Yellow Wagtails and Greater Short-toed Larks were in nearby fields.
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| Desert Wheatear |
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| Isabelline Wheatear |