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10 November 2020

Crested Honey Buzzard – Wadi Juwa

Whilst birding Wadi Jewa near Malaki Dam Lake in early August we found a female Crested Honey Buzzard. The species has only been seen six times previously in the summer in the Kingdom. Last summer we saw an adult female in mid-May and the summer before an adult female flying just overhead in the Bani Saad area and another adult female at some distance at the bottom of Wadi Wadj in Taif. An adult Male was at Dhahran 5th & 6th May to 30 July 2011 with two second calendar year birds 5 July 2014 in Dhahran. A second calendar year was at Tanoumah 5 July 2013. These new records mean that birds have been seen along most of the Asir mountain range in summer and show a few birds may regularly summer there. As most birds seem to be females there is a chance birds could be breeding in the area and this additional record adds to the data.