Whilst birding at Al Uqair in October I photographed a few Greater Sand Plover on the edge of the Arabian Gulf. Greater Sand Plover breeds from Turkey to Mongolia and winters 1,000–10,000 km south and southwest along the coasts of northern and eastern Africa, Arabia and Pakistan to Australia. In Saudi Arabia it is an extremely rare breeding migrant, common passage migrant, common winter visitor occurring widely throughout Saudi Arabia on migration (Feb–Apr, Aug–Sep), especially on the coasts. It can be found in coastal areas over winter (Oct–Feb), while some birds remain over summer and rarely stay and breed.
