Birds of Saudi Arabia: 09/22

29 September 2022

White-cheeked Terns – Jubail

During September the number of White-cheeked Terns started decreasing although good numbers still remained in Jubail. Many spend time sitting on the coastal edges of flooded sabkha areas, some allowing close approach. White-cheeked Tern Sterna repressa is a common breeding summer visitor to the Gulf and Red Sea coast north to Jeddah. Birds start occurring in April and by June there are very large numbers as this is the start of their breeding season. White-cheeked Tern juveniles occur from late July and August and some remaining until October. Winter records are rare in the Eastern Province, although they have been seen occasionally. Birds breed offshore Jubail on small islands and use wetland areas of Jubail as feeding areas. Amongst the White-cheeked Terns I also saw a single Lesser Crested Tern, a species seldom seen in the location I regularly birdwatch.

White-cheeked Tern

Lesser Crested Tern

27 September 2022

Late Egyptian Nightjar – Jubail area

Whilst birding the Jubail area 16 September I came across a single late Egyptian Nightjar. Most Egyptian Nightjars depart the Jubail area in early September although the latest sighting was 23 September 2015, so this was a good record. This summer saw a record 20 birds seen in August with the below photos taken on various dates through August and September 2022. The summer is quiet in Jubail bird wise so see Egyptian Nightjar on each visit is something to enjoy. This is a species that is very much desired by many birdwatchers who live away from areas that it occurs so seeing them so often and so close is something I appreciate.

25 September 2022

Juvenile White-winged Terns – Jubail

Whilst birding the Jubail area recently I came across a juvenile White-winged Tern sitting amongst a large number of White-cheeked Terns. The location and light conditions allowed several good photos to be taken. In Saudi Arabia the White-winged Tern is a common passage migrant, local winter visitor, erratic summer visitor and possible breeding resident. They normally occur in small groups of up to twenty birds, but recently in the Jubail area in late summer early autumn large gatherings of over a hundred birds have been recorded in the last three years. An exceptional record of a group of over 1000 birds was seen at Dawmat al Jandal in spring one year. Adults in breeding plumage occur from March to early June and in early August juveniles appear and are seen through to December. Birds are most often seen near the coast but have occurred well inland with one seen at Haradh in September. White-winged Tern is much commoner than the similar Whiskered Tern in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia.

23 September 2022

A few returning migrants – Jubail

As September started so did an increasing number of shrikes. The first species to arrive in the autumn are Turkestan Shrike closely followed by Duarian Shrike and then Woodchat Shrike. All were seen in small numbers. Yellow Wagtail numbers started to increase as well with plenty of scruffy looking individuals but also one or two in better plumage such as the one in the photo below. Sand Martins really increased in numbers with several hundred seen in early September mainly flying over but with the occasional bird perched in the reeds. Barn Swallow was also common but numbers remained much lower than Sand Martin. A single Wryneck was a nice sight, perched on the edge of a track by the reed beds. Although I see the species reasonably often it is difficult to get good photos of them. Migrants seen but not photographed included Black-eared Wheatear, Isabelline Wheatear and Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters. Squacco Heron is a migrant but they probably breed nearby so difficult to tell exactly how far they have moved. Numbers of this species are building up again after they departed for the summer months to breed elsewhere. Numbers of Grey Heron are also increasing after the lack of birds during the summer months.

Turkestan Shrike

Woodchat Shrike

Eurasian Wryneck

Yellow Wagtail

Sand Martin

Grey Heron

Squacco Heron

21 September 2022

Plenty of species of wader - Jubail

A trip to Jubail in early September was very good for waders. The numbers on the flooded Sabkha were high but surprisingly there were plenty of waders of various species over the remainder of the location, which is not so usual. The first surprise was three Collared Pratincole on the flooded sabkha, a species I have not seen at this location for more than a year. Other waders seen in larger than normal numbers were Common Ringed Plover, Dunlin and hundreds of Little Stints and Kentish Plovers. Smaller numbers of Eurasian Curlew, Greater Sand Plover and Ruddy Turnstone were also seen. Other waders seen but not photographed were Common Redshank, Common Greenshank, Green Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper, Curlew Sandpiper and Lesser Sand Plover.