Some waders & gulls – Al Uqair

Whilst birding at Al Uqair in November I photographed a few Greater Sand Plover on the edge of the Arabian Gulf. 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. A few Kentish Plover were also present along with a dark Phase Western Reef Heron. Apart from a few Socotra Cormorants about the only other birds were several Slender-billed Gull. A little further down the beach were Lesser Sand Plover, Dunlin, Sanderling and a few more Greater Sand Plover and Kentish Plover.

Slender-billed Gull

Kentish Plover

Kentish Plover

Kentish Plover

Kentish Plover

Greater Sand Plover

Greater Sand Plover

Greater Sand Plover

Greater Sand Plover

Heuglin’s Gulls – Al Uqair

Whilst birding the Uqair in early November I went to an area of public beach where a few gulls have been seen in the last few years. Although initially there only appeared to be a few waders present we managed to locate six Large White-headed Gulls that appeared to be mainly Heuglin’s Gulls. One of the Heuglin’s Gulls was much darker plumaged than the others in the group but was not a Baltic Gull which would be even darker, typically showing no contrast between upperparts and primary ground colour. Heuglin’s Gull almost always shows extensive neck streaking and are in primary moult at this time of year. This is not the commonest Gull in Saudi Arabia, with about 8% to 10% of all LWHG being this taxon, with the majority being Steppe Gull.

Pallid Swifts increasing – Dhahran Waste Water Lake

The number of Pallid Swift are still increasing in Dhahran, where now well over fifty birds are present in the early morning before moving off elsewhere as the day heats up. Pallid Swift is a migratory species that breed in southern Europe and northern Africa through Arabia to southern Iran and winter 3,000 km south and southwest in western Africa, from Senegal to South Sudan. In Saudi Arabia it is an uncommon breeding migrant that is common during certain periods. They are a northern breeding species in Saudi Arabia where birds occur north of Al Bahah and vacates its breeding areas mostly in June, but its subsequent movements, including its wintering destinations, are unknown. They feed by catching small flying insects, including ants, termites, flies, mosquitos and beetles and drink by dipping into water in flight. 

First Water Pipits of winter – Dhahran Hills

Birding the football and cricket fields in Dhahran Hills recently produced the first five Water Pipits of the winter. Numbers should now build up into February when up to fifty have been seen on these sites. This species is a common winter visitor occurring from October until April and the birds were happily feeding on the short grass of the fields. Although they are common in the Eastern Province, most records in Dhahran are of less than five. As I could drive the car close to the football pitch, I was able to get close to one bird with the others much further out on the fields. 

Hypocolius – Al Uqair

I went to Al Uqair in early November in the hope of seeing Hypocolius, a species that has wintered in the area the last few years. I saw over fifty birds with initially the birds being few and far between but as the sun rose they started flying in from other areas. They appeared to be mainly coming to drink from a small area of pools by the sea, where presumably there is some fresh water. Birds would gather in the trees near the water edge and then fly down to drink briefly before flying off. A few birds were continually calling their soft calls whilst in the trees. Hypocolius have been recorded at this location for the last four winters with the highest counts being 300 plus birds in December 2023.

Black-winged Kites again – Khafrah Marsh

Whilst birding Khafra Marsh recently we saw a few interesting birds, but photography was poor due to the weather and strong winds. The best bird was a ‘fulvescens’ Greater Spotted Eagle, but we also saw the normal pair or Black-winged Kites in the favoured area. These birds are now breeding residents at this location and amazing change in status considering they were a vagrant less than ten years ago. Grey-headed Swamphen is now seen at this location on every visit and possible more will arrive soon due to the decline in status of the nearby Sabkhat Al Fasl wetland. We found one amazing set of small fields being used as a market garden growing area that had well over 300 Kentish Plover, 100 Black-winged Stilts, 25 White Wagtail and two Squacco Herons.

Black-winged Kite

Squacco Heron

Daurian Shrike

A few birds – Dhahran Waste Water Lake

Whilst birding Dhahran Waste Water Lake recently I have seen a few interesting birds. Waders have been passing through including Common Greenshank in small numbers and quite a few Common Sandpipers. Black-winged Stilt remains the commonest wader by far, however. Common Myna numbers are increasing with birds most often seen flying over as is the case with Eurasian Collared Dove. The normal species remain on the lake including the Ferruginous Duck but Eurasian Coot and Gull-billed Tern gave good opportunities to take photos of them.

Gull-billed Tern

Gull-billed Tern

Gull-billed Tern

Gull-billed Tern

Eurasian Coot

Eurasian Coot

Common Sandpiper

Common Myna

Common Myna

Common Greenshank

Common Greenshank

Common Greenshank

Common Greenshank