Whilst birding the Jubail area in mid-August the number of White-cheeked Terns present had increased tremendously. Now there are hundreds of adults with well grown young present making a lot of noise. These birds will have bred on the local offshore islands and will stay around for a few more weeks before departing to their wintering grounds to the west. Many birds were sitting around in large groups with others scattered along the shoreline of the flooded sabkha. The pristine plumage of the adults from earlier in the year is now worn and dirty and the birds are not as photogenic but still good to see and appreciate. Some of the first calendar year birds are obviously in fresher plumage.
