Whilst birding the Jubail area this summer the number of Egyptian Nightjars have been increasing with a maximum so far of 20 birds seen. Some of these birds allow vey close views as they sit out in the open of the rough tracks. Most birds sit on the track but as the car needs to get past the birds on the narrow track they sometimes fly a short distance and settle again allowing their legs to be seen briefly before thy settle back down. On 19 August I saw a bird with a metal ring on its right leg and managed to get a photo showing part of the ring number. I know Abdulla AlKaabi has ringed Egyptian Nightjars in nearby Bahrain over the last few years, and as other ringing in the region is very limited, I suspected it may be one of his birds. On contacting Abdulla, he confirmed it was one of his birds as below:
Egyptian Nightjar
Ring Number: LR07627
Ringing date: 6-May-2021
Ringing place: Bahrain
Age ringed: Pullus
Ringer: Abdulla AlKhaabi
Finding date: 19-Aug-2022
Finding place: Jubail
Finding condition: Bird found alive and photographed
Duration: 470 days
Distance: 173 km
Direction: 319 deg (NW)
Finder: Jem Babbington
Abdulla has ringed 43 birds as chicks since 2013, with this being the first recovery. It is interesting to know if some, or all, of these birds come from Bahrain after breeding to moult or if they breed in the local area. We will keep a more careful eye on the possibility of other ringed birds being present know we know they may occur, and can hopefully build up a better picture of their occurrence.
