Birds of Saudi Arabia: Typical late summer birds

Whilst birding Jubail recently I found some typical late summer birds. A White-throated Kingfisher was a little unusual, although they have become much more common in recent years and may possibly breed in the area. Great Crested Grebe is a not so common species but again a possible breeder in recent years with two adults with young seen last year in the summer. White-cheeked Terns breed on the nearby offshore islands and many worn looking adults are around onshore now as the breeding season is ending. Numbers have increased significantly in recent weeks with hundreds of birds present. They occur in large flocks often associated with Slender-billed Gulls. This is a species that now stays throughout the summer but breeding has not been proven yet. Thousands of birds are in the Jubail area with adults and first year birds together. These large flocks of gulls also often contain Gull-billed Tern, Little Tern, White-winged Tern, Whiskered Tern, Caspian Tern and Common Tern in varying numbers. A few waders are now starting to move with the commonest being Little Stint and herons are increasing with hundreds of Squacco Herons and smaller numbers of Western Reef Heron and Western Cattle Egrets. Western Cattle Egret is another species that has started to stay all year in the area with seven seen throughout this summer.