Large numbers of Great Cormorant can now be seen in the Jubail area where thousands of birds occur in the winter months. Birds now stay throughout the year in small numbers, but very large numbers occur from September to March. In late November a very conservative count of 5000 were seen flying over in large groups of several hundred and thousands were on flooded sabkha areas. The species is an abundant winter visitor to the Eastern Province where thousands occur in coastal waters including the Jubail and the Half Moon Bay areas of the Arabian Gulf. The species was uncommon ten years ago in the Jubail area but numbers are increasing each year.
