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21 January 2024

Five Pied Kingfisher - Jubai

In December 2023 two Pied Kingfishers were recorded at Aqua Park, Jubail in an area where there were four the previous year. I went to the location in early January 2024 and located five birds together. They were very active but the light was in the wrong direction for flight photos. I managed to see four of the birds land in a large tree on my side of the water and got the light in a reasonable position to get some decent photos. This winter has been a very good year for this species with bird seen in Dhahran, two locations in Jubail, Al Uqair and Nayriah with more than one bird at several sites. As is normal with our birds all five were females. Along with the five Pied Kingfishers there were also two Common Kingfishers, a male with an all-black bill and a female with a orange red colour to the lower mandible.