Just after first light I saw a Crested Honey Buzzard fly over and land on the ground some distance away. I slowly walked over to the area it appeared to land in and managed to find it on the ground. Unfortunately, it did not stay long as it was disturbed by some mountain bikers but only flew a short distance and landed on a bank. It stayed here for a while and then flew, luckily almost straight past me as I was hidden behind a tree. It then circled around a little and flew off over the golf course. This bird has been around since mid-September in Dhahran a location where they have spent the last ten years at least wintering. It is not certain if the birds now stay all summer as well, but summer records are becoming more common. The status, of Crested Honey Buzzard in Saudi Arabia is a scarce passage migrant and winter visitor that also occurs rarely in summer. Most records are from the Eastern province in winter and spring with additional records in the west of the country throughout the year, a location where they may well now be breeding.
