Whilst birding the Dhahran Football Fields recently I found a Common Snipe on the grass looking for food in the soft ground. I saw the bird in the very early morning on the way to work and it was still present in the same area in the evening on the way back home. The Common Snipe is partially migratory with migratory populations breeding across northern Eurasia and wintering up to 6,000 km south in southern Europe, sub-Saharan Africa and from Arabia to Japan and Malaysia. In Saudi Arabia it is a common passage migrant and common winter visitor seen mainly on migration from February to April and August to October. They prefer freshwater wetlands with muddy or waterlogged ground abut are sometimes seen on ornamental pools and in city parks. This is the second time I two years I have seen Common Snipe on the football fields, whereas previously I had never seen one here.
