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.
