A few migrants – Al Uqair

Whilst birding the Al Uqair area last weekend we saw a few migrants. A Lesser Grey Shrike was a little unusual, with three other shrike species seen including Great Grey, Red-backed and Daurian. Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin may have been a migrant or alternatively one of the breeding birds from earlier in the year. Other signs of migration included a few Barn Swallows and several Greater Sand Plover on the coast. A single Whimbrel was quite early and about ten Greater Hoopoe Larks were a seen in an area where we had not seen this type of number before. The coast had a couple of White-cheeked Tern and a single Little Tern along with Kentish Plover. Migrations should start in earnest in the next week or so which I am looking forward to.

Whimbrel

Whimbrel

Whimbrel

Greater Hoopoe Lark

Eleven Cream-coloured Courser – Al Uqair

We saw eleven Cream-coloured Courser on some grass areas near the coast at Al Uqair where Umer had seen them the previous weekend. We did not get to the area until the sun was well up, as were birding elsewhere in the early morning. The harsh light made photographing the birds difficult as did the fact they are very timid and run away quickly when approached. This is a species I do not see very often and one I am still to get photographs of that I regard as reasonable. The Cream-coloured Courser is a common breeding resident and uncommon winter visitor to Saudi Arabia. It is found mainly in the north and east of the Kingdom and prefers flat open areas of sand and gravel steppe deserts, sometimes with sparse, low scrub. It often winters in pivot irrigation fields where it can be seen in ploughed as well as stubble fields. 

Egyptian Nightjars - Jubail

Whilst birding the Jubail area in mid-august we found 12 Egyptian Nightjars but unlike the week before they were scattered widely over the area rather than concentrated in a couple of places. One bird was so close I could only just manage to fit it in the frame of the camera, making the photos a lot less appealing. These birds will now stay until mid to late September before departing. This species is also present at the nearby wetland area of Khafrah Marsh and is a regular sight in the summer months.

Juvenile Egyptian Nightjars - Jubail

Whilst birding the Jubail area 9 August we found 13 Egyptian Nightjars with at least five juveniles. The plumage is very fresh and smoothly soft, and they pretty much all have nice, neat white fringed coverts forming neat lines across the wing as well as the tertial tips. The birds are lacking the honey-orange spots on the shoulder of the wing that adults show with the adults also generally having darker plumage than the juveniles. Adult birds at this time of year are mainly in heavy primary moult with up to 4 to 6 new inner primaries that can easily be seen on birds in flight whereas a single bird seen well in flight had all new flight feathers again indicating it was a juvenile. Although no nests have been found juveniles occur here in July each year for the last five years some of which can hardly fly indicating they breed here. Bottom two photos are adult birds.

Lycaena (phlaeas) shima - Abha

Whilst birdwatching in the Abha area in the mountains of the west of the Kingdom I came across a couple of Small Copper butterflies Lycaena (phlaeas) shima. This was once thought to be a subspeces of Small Copper but has since been elevated to full species. It is a fast flying butterfly that, once settled, is unmistakable with its bright copper-coloured forewings. The upperside forewings are a bright orange with a dark outside edge border and with eight or nine black spots. The hindwings are dark with an orange border. The undersides are patterned in a similar way but are paler. The black spots on the forewings are outlined in yellow and the dark colouring is replaced by a pale brownish, gray. The hindwings are the same brown/grey colour with small black dots and a narrow orange border.  

 

White-cheeked Terns - Khafra Marsh

Whilst birding Khafra Marsh we have been seeing quite a few White-cheeked Terns. These birds have obviously bred offshore close by and are now feeding inland a little. Most of the birds are now heavily worn and will be moving off to their wintering grounds in the next month or so. On the wet area with the terns were a few Black-wined Stilts which have also bred nearby. The resident and very vocal Graceful Prinia is also commonly seen at this location and sometimes sits out in the open for photographs.

Black-winged Stilt

Graceful Prinia

Graceful Prinia

White-cheeked Tern

White-cheeked Tern

White-cheeked Tern

Common Joker – Raydah Escarpment

The Common Joker Byblia achelonia is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae, found in Yemen, south-western Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, eastern Tanzania, Zambia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, northern Namibia, Eswatini, South Africa: Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West, KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape. It has a wingspan of 38–43 mm in males and 40–45 mm in females and fly year-round. It is similar to the Spotted Joker Byblia ilithyi with both seen together at the Raydah escarpment in the southwest of the Kingdom, near Abha.

Spotted Joker (bottom) & Common Joker (top) 

Juvenile Black-winged Kite - Khafra Marsh

Whilst birding Khafra Marsh in July we came across a juvenile Black-winged Kite, shortly after seeing an adult bird. Later we saw another adult in a slightly different location. This suggests the birds are breeding at the location again, the fourth year at least they have bred here. The first record for the Eastern Province was only found on 17 April 2012, but since then has become more common with birds seen in almost every month and every year. Rather than being a vagrant to the Eastern Province its status has changed to a scarce visitor. All birds sub-specifically identified in the east of the Kingdom are the eastern subspecies Elanus caeruleus vociferous a subspecies that occurs from Pakistan east to southern & eastern China, Indochina and the Malay Peninsula.

Spotted Joker - Raydah Escarpment

Whilst birding at the village at the bottom of the Raydah Escarpment I came across a number of Spotted Joker Byblia ilithyi. They are also commonly known as the Spotted joker or Joker, and are a species of nymphalid butterfly found in parts of Africa, Arabia and Asia. The male has the upperwings of a deep rich orange. The forewing has the costa broadly black until nearly the apex. The cell has three narrow short black bands, the inner and outer not reaching the median vein. A postdiscal broad transverse black band from dorsum to vein 4, with the portions of the veins beyond it defined in black. The apex of the wing beyond the broad black edging to the costal border has its upper margin and the terminal portions of the veins defined in black; finally a narrow terminal band. The hind-wing has an elongate black sub-costal patch near base, continued posteriorly across the cell by an inner and an outer series of small transverse spots; a complete broad black postdiscal band with the portions of the veins beyond it lined with black, and a narrow black terminal band as on the forewing. Cilia of fore and hind wings white, alternated with brown. 

Breeding Little Tern – Khafra Marsh

Whilst birding Khafra Marsh over the summer months there were large numbers of Little Tern around suggesting they are breeding. Little Tern is not so easy to photograph due to the strong sunlight and their plumage making it difficult to get ‘catchlight’ in their eyes, with the photographs below my best efforts this summer. Little Tern is a common breeding species in the Eastern Province where they use wetland areas and flooded sabkha to breed. 

Birding Alsharaf Park - Tanoumah

Alsharaf Park is a beautiful park in Tanoumah with the highest oeak in the area in it. It has excellent habitat nearby and plenty of the resident common species can be seen. Dusky Turtle Dove is common as is Yemen Thrush that can be heard calling commonly in the area. Brown Woodland Warbler is a common bird but one that is difficult to get excellent views of as it is normally deep in cover. White-spectacled Bulbul, however, perch out on the open frequently, often along the roadside. Violet-backed Starling is a summer breeding visitor and not too easy to photograph which is the same for African Shikra. Fan-tailed Raven are often seen flying over the large rocks calling.

Brown Woodland Warbler

Dusky Turtle Dove

Fan-tailed Raven

Fan-tailed Raven

Gambaga Flycatcher

Shikra

Violet-backed Starling

White=spectacled Bulbul

Yemen Thrush

Yemen Thrush