Whilst birding the Dhahran Hills area in early December I came across a single Black-tailed Godwit Limosa limosa on a concrete bunded area with some water in the bottom of it. This is the forst time I have seen this species in Dhahran for about five years. It flew after seeing me and landed on the percolation pond, some distance away. In Dhahran this species is a scarce passage migrant and winter visitor occasionally seen on the percolation pond, where it has been recorded July–September and in December. In Saudi Arabia as a whole, it is a scarce migrant and winter visitor to all areas of the Kingdom. Birds of the Riyadh Region (Stagg 1994) says the species is an autumn passage migrant and winter visitor in variable numbers that passes from late August through to April. Winter birds are present between late December and early March. Birds of the Eastern Province (Bundy 1989) says the species is a winter visitor to the Eastern Province that is scarce and irregular away from Dammam. Birds have been seen in all months but mainly between August to June with most being seen in Tarout Bay. Birds of the Tihamah coastal plains in the southwest of the Kingdom says the species is locally abundant where it is seen both inland and on the coast.
