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21 December 2019

Four White-tailed Lapwings - Jubail

Whilst birdwatching the Jubail area in November, Phil Roberts found four White-tailed Lapwings. I went at the weekend and initially after drawing a blank found a single bird close below me but hidden by the reed beds. A Western Marsh Harrier then flew over and put all the wading birds up into flight and the White-tailed Lapwing was joined by three more making four, as Phil had seen several days before. This is a scarce bird in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, with a status as a scarce migrant and rare winter visitor. Further north and west in Tabuk records are more regular with birds wintering in good numbers. I assume these birds are passage migrants rather than birds that will winter but time will tell.
White-tailed Lapwing

White-tailed Lapwing

White-tailed Lapwing