Tour Dates: February 15 - 28, 2025
Guests: Jonathan Angliss, John Bjorkman, Jeff Hopkins, Wayne Kidder, Cuneyt Ozdal, Bob Tallyn, Robert Tizard
Leader: Gregory Askew
Co-guides: James Conder and Ibrahim Al Shwamin
Southwest Highlights:
Harlequin Quail
Arabian Partridge
Philby's Partridge
Rameron Pigeon
Dusky Turtle-Dove
White-browed Coucal
Nubian Nightjar
Red-knobbed Coot
Small Buttonquail
Crab-Plover
White-eyed Gull
Saunders's Tern
Lesser Flamingo
Black Stork
Abdim's Stork
Yellow-billed Egret
Pink-backed Pelican
Black-winged Kite (caeruleus)
Steppe Eagle
Arabian Scops-Owl
Arabian Eagle-Owl
Little Owl
Desert Owl
African Grey Hornbill
Arabian Green Bee-eater
Collared Kingfisher (Red Sea)
Arabian Woodpecker
Black-crowned Tchagra (Arabian)
Asir Magpie
Singing Bushlark
Rufous-capped Lark
Zitting Cisticola
Common Reed Warbler (Mangrove)
Brown Woodland Warbler
Scrub Warbler (buryi)
Yemen Warbler
Arabian Warbler
Abyssinian White-eye
Arabian Babbler
Tristram's Starling
Yemen Thrush
Black Scrub-Robin
Eastern Black Redstart (phoenicuroides)
Little Rock-Thrush
Siberian Stonechat (hemprichii and maurus)
African Stonechat
Buff-breasted Wheatear
Arabian Wheatear
Hypocolius
Shining Sunbird (Arabian)
Arabian Waxbill
Arabian Golden Sparrow
Arabian (Olive-Rumped) Serin
Yemen Serin
Yemen Linnet
Cinnamon-breasted Bunting
Hamadryas Baboon
Arabian Gazelle
Arabian Straw-colored Fruit Bat
King Jird
Yemen Rock Agama
Anderson's Rock Agama
Northwest Highlights:
Ferruginous Duck
See-see Partridge
Sand Partridge
Chukar
Common Wood-pigeon
Water Rail
Little Crake
Baillon's Crake
Sociable Lapwing
Jack Snipe
Black-winged Kite (vociferus)
Imperial Eagle
Pharaoh Eagle-Owl
Pallid Scops-Owl
White-throated Kingfisher
Great Gray Shrike (Arabian)
Eurasian Penduline-Tit
Greater Hoopoe-Lark
Thick-billed Lark
Temminck's Lark
Bar-tailed Lark
Arabian Lark
Sedge Warbler
Scrub Warbler (inquieta)
Menetries's Warbler
Bluethroat
Eastern Black Redstart (ochruros)
Western Black Redstart (gibraltariensis)
European Stonechat
Mourning Wheatear (lugens)
Spanish Sparrow
House Sparrow (biblicus)
Sinai Rosefinch
Trumpeter Finch
Desert Finch
Eurasian Linnet
Rock Bunting
Striolated Bunting
Arabian Oryx
Egyptian Fruit Bat
Sundevall's Jird
The February 2025 Saudi Birding tour was epic indeed. Over the span of 15 days, we crossed 4300 kilometers through eight of Saudi Arabia's thirteen regions, targeting the Arabian endemics, near-endemics, and regional specialties in the southwest and northwest of the Kingdom. By the tour's end, the unflagging crew recorded a total of 212 species. While we did miss two important targets, we were thrilled to find six owl species—a record for a Saudi bird tour— and five partridge species. During our time in the northwest, I personally got a major boost to my Saudi list with six new additions, including one lifer!
Day 1—Abha
We kicked off the tour with a visit to Raydah Preserve in Abha. The morning started off cold and blustery with minimal bird activity for most of our descent into the preserve, but we did find our first target of the morning, Arabian Partridge, alongside the road just past the mosque. I had been expecting to see Rameron Pigeon here. Those would come later.
Once we reached the lower third of the escarpment road, the sun finally starting to warm up our efforts, we found a shy Black-crowned Tchagra at one of our stops. It wasn’t until we reached the village at the bottom of the escarpment that the birding activity really picked up. It was here that we added, in short order, Dusky Turtle-Dove, White-browed Coucal, Arabian Green Bee-eater, Blackstart, Arabian Serin, and Yemen Linnet.
In the wadi bottom, at our breakfast spot, we were treated to nice views of a singing male Arabian Sunbird. Then a short walk after refueling added a few other species, including Ruppell's Weaver and White-spectacled Bulbul.
Birding on the upper two-thirds of the escarpment was much improved on our way back up. We saw a covey of Arabian Partridge coming down to drink just beside the mosque and finally two Rameron Pigeons perched at eye level a short distance from the road in fantastic light.
Our next stop was the nearby Soudah Creek. Here we picked up several more Arabian endemics, including a roosting pair of Arabian Scops-Owls in an acacia, a few Yemen Warblers, and a lone Arabian Waxbill, one of only a few we found in the highlands. A resident pair of African Stonechat also obliged us with an appearance. Yemen Thrush is also reliable here throughout the year.
After reading my trip report for the custom tour in November, during which we visited several places of archaeological and cultural interest, a few of the guys this time around expressed an interest in including as many similar stops on this tour so long as it wouldn’t take away from our birding efforts. Confident we wouldn’t be passing up subsequent targets, I then took the crew to see the Rojal Alma’a Heritage Village, which was noisy with the sounds of African Gray Hornbill, Fan-tailed Raven, and Tristram’s Starlings. Overhead, among the ravens, we spotted a Shikra. From there we made a quick stop at the waterfall at Wadi Shanakah. Given it was midday, there wasn’t a great deal of activity besides Graceful Prinia, White-spectacled Bulbul, and a couple of Arabian Sunbird.
Back up on the mountain, we headed to Dhaboo’y Dam, which has become a convenient go-to for adding Red-knobbed Coot to our trip lists. Some of the group were treated to close views of a Yemen Thrush that had just seized a beetle and proceeded to thwack it against the trunk of an acacia.
Our last stop of the day was at Wadi Reema. Never knowing the place to be terribly birdy during the winter months, I wasn’t expecting us to see much, but I was hoping to find Buff-breasted Wheatear at least (which we did), given that it’s a species that can be harder to find in the winter. So what a surprise to stumble upon yet another covey of Arabian Partridge as we neared the dam. This was the first time I’d seen them at this spot, entirely unexpected as they tend to favor scrubbier areas dominated by junipers. Also unexpected was a single Arabian Gazelle grazing near the base of the dam. The Soudah Development Company is currently creating an open preserve nearby and this collared individual must have been part of the larger reintroduction effort around the Soudah region. Hopefully one day we’ll see some of the Nubian Ibex that have also been released.
Day 2—Habala to Sabya
The next morning we had a slower start than anticipated owing to dense fog, which had settled over Abha during the night. The visibility got so bad at one point I opted to wait it out a little at a gas station along the way—a chance to get some hot coffee in us!
By the time we made it to Habala it was well past sunrise but the fog had largely lifted except a dense bank rising up out of the canyon. On arrival we had a short encounter with a small flock of Yemen Serin perched atop a bush. We couldn’t find any more, however, even along the cliff’s edge where I’ve seen them fairly reliably over the past few years. There were far more Arabian Serin around than I'd expect in such open habitat.
Knowing that finding our next target—Rufous-capped Lark—could prove time consuming in winter, we headed to the plateau. Sure enough we searched by vehicle for quite a while before I eventually spotted a flock fly in and settle in the distance. The windy conditions made for challenging viewing but soon everyone had a chance to get scope views of the larks as they foraged among taller tussocks of grass on the plateau.
From there we headed back towards Abha to check out of our hotel and then onward to the lowlands of Jazan. On the way we stopped at a spot where I had seen Little Owl last year. Just like during the November tour, we heard an owl only once in response to playback and then nothing. We did have a nice flight of Black Kite passing overhead as well as several Cinnamon-breasted Buntings and great views of an Arabian Warbler in good light.
After checking out, our first main stop in the lowlands was at the Abu Rayyan Village, where we hoped to see Arabian Golden Sparrow. While winter time the sparrows are mostly seen around agricultural areas, I had seen a small group coming in to drink at the leaking water tower in the village, so I thought it would be worth checking on our way to Sabya. While there were no sparrows, we had a close encounter with a pair of the African subspecies of Black-winged Kite and a passing Booted Eagle.
The photographers in the group also had nice opportunities to capture some of the more common lowland species, like African Collared-Dove, Black-crowned Sparrow-Lark, and Nile Valley Sunbird.
Coming away from the last tour convinced that more than one House Sparrow subspecies occurred in the country, I asked the guys to get photos of these oft-overlooked species. Around the Asir and Jazan regions, we saw many fine examples of Indian House Sparrow, that is, those belonging to the indicus (“white-cheeked”) group of subspecies, which have brighter cheeks and underparts and are generally paler above than those of the domesticus (“gray-cheeked”) group. While an endemic subspecies of House Sparrow had been described from the Al Ahsa region of Eastern Saudi and Bahrain (i.e. P. d. hufufae), it's believed to have been bred out of existence by the Indian House Sparrow, dominant throughout most of Saudi. During our time in the north, though, I believe we have confirmed that “gray-cheeked” House Sparrow, likely P. d. biblicus, also occurs in the Kingdom.
After checking in to our hotel in Sabya and a welcome break from the road, we then made a impromptu excursion for owls in the mountains near Al Reeth. This entailed quite a bit more driving after an already long and active day, but it was worth it after the views of Desert Owl all were treated with. Along the way, we also saw Egyptian Vulture, the first mainland sighting I’ve had in Saudi.
Day 3—Sabya and Abu Arish
The next morning we were at the Sunbah pivot fields just after sunrise. Since all of the fields in the area were under cultivation with a healthy crop of fodder, there would be no chance for Caspian Plover or Sociable Lapwing. Of the more common residents of the fields, Singing Bushlark and Zitting Cisticola were fairly numerous. However, winter is not an ideal time for finding our primary targets—Harlequin Quail and Small Buttonquail. Our first thrash was through a field still quite damp from the morning’s dew and a recent watering. We came away, as I had promised everyone, with soaking feet but neither of our targets. However, the next pivot we visited was drier and more promising. Confirming my suspicions, on the far side of the field we heard a male Harlequin Quail calling. Walking down the track towards the center of the pivot and carefully scanning up and down each rut we passed, I eventually spotted a Small Buttonquail scurrying off away from us, a likely male given its rather plain plumage. We tracked it down the rut, always just about to round the bend, when we lost it in the grass. Spreading out we swept out into the field in the area we lost it and soon flushed it from under foot, giving everyone views of its distinctive wing pattern before it dropped out of sight again. Making our way back towards the outer perimeter of the field, we soon flushed a Harlequin Quail, the one a likely female for her indistinct plumage features. We gave chase long enough to flush it once more, ensuring everyone got satisfying enough views.
We returned to the hotel for a nice breakfast before heading back out for the day. The next target were the golden sparrows. Since it was harvest time throughout the agricultural areas near Abu Arish, I figured our chances of finding them were good. However, they were MIA around my main spot in Gamri. It was on our way to my backup spots around Fels that I spotted a small flock flying over the road and briefly settling atop an acacia long enough for the lead car to get views. Energized by the knowledge they were in the area, we had only to proceed another kilometer or two down the road before I spotted a large flock of sparrows and weavers in a grove of acacias beside ripe sorghum fields. Small contingents of sparrows were sallying out over the fields and grouping frenetically around the sorghum heads. They were all Arabian Golden Sparrows. Score!
It was already midday when we reached Al Sadd Lake in Al Aridhah, a challenging time to be looking for Helmeted Guineafowl. Our timing wasn’t great but, as we had a late-afternoon appointment with Hypocolius back in Sabya, we had a limited amount of time to bird around the lake. We searched a dense scrubby area of mesquite near the lake, hoping to find guineafowl sheltering in a shaded spot somewhere, before heading to Abu Arish for lunch. While we couldn’t turn up any guineafowl, we did have a few nice encounters, including a group of Arabian Babblers (yemenesis), looking disheveled after a recent bath, as well as better views of Arabian Waxbills.
We made one last stop to scope the southern portion of the lake in the hopes of picking up a vagrant or two, the lake being the best spot in Saudi for the occasional Afrotropical or Indomalayan oddball. Among a group of Little and Western Cattle Egrets we did find a lone Yellow-billed Egret, this East African species now believed to be uncommon winter visitor to the region, and just as some in our group fled back to the cars from some of the highest temperatures we experienced during an otherwise cool-to-cold trip, the diehard lakewatchers picked up an adult Pink-backed Pelican feeding an unfledged chick on the flimsiest of nests on top of one of the telephone poles mid-lake as well as a Black Stork flying in the distance.
While Al Sadd Lake is usually where I take guests to see Nubian Nightjar, the original plan for the previous night was not to try for Desert Owl but to look for Hypocolius before sunset in Sabya. If we decided to stick around the lake until sunset, we’d potentially miss out on the Hypocolius. For that reason, I decided to limit our search for the nightjar to the Sabya area, where I knew them also to occur and had a few spots in mind. We got to the farms in Sabya just in time to catch a flock of Hypocolius coming in to roost in one of the many Christ’s Thorn Jujube trees (Ziziphys spina-christi). The jujube trees were fruiting, which got me wondering if the hypos are drawn to the region in late winter for this reason, having exploited most of last season’s date crop.
Reveling over our success with Hypocolius, we waited for nightfall before slowly making our way back to the cars, alternately trying for Barn Owl, Pallid Scops-Owl, Egyptian Nightjar, and Nubian Nightjar. On the possibility of Pallid Scops-Owl in Jazan, the range map in the new edition of the Birds of the Middle East shows them to be resident, but I’ve never once heard of any winter sightings, let alone possible breeders. Needless to say, I have my doubts about the veracity of what’s represented in the BoME. Now Western Barn Owl is most definitely in the area, but I failed to find one for the third tour in a row. We did have several Arabian Straw-colored Fruit Bat drift by that night, the largest bat species occurring in Saudi.
Shortly before we reached the cars, we finally heard a Nubian Nightjar calling nearby. Turns out it was in the same area as I had had them in October and November, clearly favoring the hard, bare surfaces of three large concrete platforms of unknown provenance that have gradually become overgrown with mesquite and acacia around their bases. This would prove the only confirmed nightjar species this tour, though I did have a likely Montane fly up off the road near my Desert Owl spot and a calling Montane early one morning in Tanomah.
Day 4—Jazan to Muhayil
The next morning we explored the coast of Jazan before heading north towards Muhayil. We hit a couple of productive shore birding spots north of Jizan city, finding a few nice gatherings and giving a substantial boost to our trip list—“list padding” as it’s sometimes disdainfully called. From there we made a stop at the fish market for our only encounter with White-eyed Gulls. Jeff was extra stoked to see this species as it was the only remaining gull species he had yet to see globally. Normally we’d see several perched on the light poles outside the market, but Jeff couldn’t get his last gull so easily. We had to walk through the entrance of the market, busy with fishermen, vendors, and retailers haggling over and divvying up the morning’s catch. A few employees at the market hassled us over our cameras, insisting we not take pictures despite the several cell phone cameras pointed at us by amused, mostly Yemeni, fishermen. We eventually found a few White-eyed among the many Sooty Gulls in the area. I was surprised to see Pink-backed Pelicans sitting on top of trailers. One of the boys hanging around the market tossed a small fish up to one of the pelicans for our amusement and the prehistoric-looking bird deftly caught it in its pouch.
Continuing south along the city’s coastline, we stopped at my gull and tern roost where we found a few Great Crested Tern among the other species gathered there. We also had one Saunders’s Tern, side by side with two Little Tern, offering a rare opportunity for close study of both at the same time. The Saunders’s was paler mantled and shorter legged and, when in flight, showed a thicker dark wedge to the primaries and pale wedge along the inner primaries and secondaries of the upper wing.
We then stopped at the Jizan Heritage Village, where he added a few more shore- and seabird species to our trip list. On our way into the park, Ibrahim showed us the site of an Abdim’s Stork nest atop a telecommunications tower. This was the first I was made aware of a nest at this location. Sure enough we found three storks present on the tower, the only ones seen during the tour.
At the first large pool at the center of the park, we found a gathering of waders that included one Yellow-billed Egret, close to the road and offering the finest views I’ve had of this uncommon Afrotropical visitor yet.
Next we found a spot to have breakfast on the seaside-edge of the park with an eye towards seawatching. This was fortuitous as we happened upon the only patch of beach exposed at what was high tide, and this patch held the only Crab-Plover we’d see the whole trip. Cuneyt was particularly thrilled as this was high up on his target list and amounted to the best bird of the trip for him.
On our way out of the park to the next spot, I advised the guys to watch the grass for migrants. Sure enough we found a nice feldegg Yellow Wagtail and three Red-throated Pipits.
Our next stop in Jazan was the wastewater treatment plant outflow, where we found a large flock of Lesser Flamingo, the size of which appears to be growing again after a drop in numbers through 2023 and into early 2024. Curiously, there were no Greater Flamingo present, a striking inverse of the ratio between the two species in previous years.
We wrapped up our time in Jazan with more shorebird action at the sea park. Here we added Collared Pratincole, Greater Sand-Plover, and Bar-tailed Godwit to the trip list.
From there, it was time to make our way north towards Muhayil. On the way, we stopped in at the Either mangroves to try for the white-eyes there. Seeing them has never been easy, so after almost an hour at the site we decided to carry on, thinking of the long road ahead. We did catch brief views of the mangrove subspecies of Eurasian Reed Warbler (avicenniae).
The highlight of the drive north was visiting the mangroves in Al Haridhah. This was my first time here and I was pleased with how accessible and promising the place proved to be. Here we got great views of the Red Sea subspecies of Collared Kingfisher (abyssinicus), a predominantly Indomalayan species whose range extends as far west as the southern coasts of the Red Sea. We also had singing “Mangrove” Reed Warbler just beside a track out into the mangroves. This is an under-recorded species, so it was nice to capture audio on this visit.
Day 5—Tanomah
After an overnight in Muhayil, we ascended the Sarawat Escarpment to Tanomah, arriving to our first spot just before 8 AM. Here we would be trying for Philby’s Partridge but later in the morning than I’d typically attempt it. We hiked back into the area and soon spotted not only two Philby’s Partridge up on top of a nearby ridge but also an Arabian Partridge that was hanging around as well. While distant, everyone was able to get decent scoped view of these typically shy birds. Here we also had nice encounters with endemics we’d seen earlier in the week around Abha, like a lovely Yemen Linnet. Surprisingly, though, we only heard a distant magpie.
That being the next target up, we drove out to the escarpment edge and back, watching for magpies along the way. We couldn’t find any on the initial pass, but, on the way back, after an unexpectedly up-close encounter with a male Philby’s Partridge calling from the top of an outbuilding in a sleepy village, we found a couple of magpies further away from the road.
After some time trying to figure out how to navigate down to where they were, we discovered it was a family group of six. These were fairly photogenic yet active birds, keeping the photographers in our crew on the move as we hiked up in pursuit.
After lunch, we visited Al Sharaf Park in Tanomah. Here I was hoping we’d get better views of Yemen Serin, and luckily the birds obliged. We observed a small flock in a juniper for a few minutes before they finally flew off. This is also one of my go-to spots in Tanomah for Arabian Woodpecker, and soon after the serins, we had a woodpecker in our sights. Other endemics for which we hadn’t had the greatest of views up to that point showed quite well, including Yemen Thrush and Yemen Warbler.
Back at the hotel, which I had chosen for its great location, we had two Asir Magpies coming in to scavenge from a pile of goat or sheep offal, which had been dumped just below the balcony of our apartment. Great location indeed! Both magpies returned twice, each time gleening a choice piece of innards, while we watched from the comfort of the balcony. How readily they took advantage of their newly discovered spoils got me wondering about the threats that may have led to the magpie’s sharp decline over recent decades. A major factor in the decline and, in some cases, extirpation of large predators in the Middle East has been the deliberate poisoning of livestock carcasses. While not mentioned in the literature, the magpies could certainly have also fell victim to secondary poisoning due to this practice. From what I understand, the government’s stricter enforcement of conservation laws has addressed this particular violation in recent years.
Before sunset we headed out for some owling. We’d already had a few encounters with Arabian Scops-Owl up to that point but still needed to find Arabian Eagle-Owl. We arrived to the spot just before sunset but found that a thick cloud bank was passing through the area, making visibility all but nill for the better part of an hour. Concerned that it wouldn’t let up, I decided that we’d go for dinner and maybe consider returning before dawn. Cuneyt though urged us to keep trying. We went back to our initial stakeout when the fog gradually cleared and within a few moments I caught sight of something fly down to the edge of the road. Before long it flew back up to a perch and revealed itself to be a handsome Arabian Eagle-Owl. Then double the excitement when a short time later this owl’s mate also flew into view, perching prominently above us and allowing a satisfying photo session.
Day 6 and 7—Tanomah to Al Bahah
The original plan for the morning was to stop in Al Namas to look for Little Owl on our way to Al Bahah, but at about dawn I heard a familiar call and popping outside a familiar face greeted me from a light pole just outside our hotel. No need to prowl my Al Namas spot after all. Also around that time I could hear a Montane Nightjar calling from a rocky slope nearby.
After Tanomah we stopped at one of my favorite Yemeni restaurants for breakfast before continuing on to Sabt Al Alayah. Here we made a brief stop at the Shibanah Wildlife Park, which features a small reservoir with ample snags protruding out of the water for nesting Hamerkop. While we did see nests, no Hamerkop were present. We did find a Red-knobbed Coot, though, as well as a few common species.
Just a cultural note on the names of cities starting with days of the week, like Sabt, which means “Saturday”. These names harken back to the times when Arab traders moved between South Arabia and the Levant along ancient trade routes, stopping along the way to sell their goods. Their arrival to certain stops would often coincide with the weekly market day in a particular town or city, the exact day on which the market took place becoming part of the place name, presumably as a mnemonic for the traders. Thereby, they’d remember when the market day for a particular place was because it was in the name of the place. Thus, the market day in Sabt Al Alayah was always on Saturday. “Khamis” in Khamis Mushayt means Thursday, the day of the week they’d hold their market day, and “Ahad” in Ahad Rafidah means Sunday, the day of their weekly market day.
Once we reached Al Bahah, we went straight to my grosbeak spot. Arabian Grosbeak has become the most challenging Arabian endemic to find, so I had planned for us to spend a day and a half around Al Bahah looking for it if necessary. Well, long story short, due to the weather, which was windy and cold most of the time with quite a bit of fog, we failed to find any grosbeaks.
On the question of where the grosbeaks, which are presumed to be resident, had gotten off to, two Romanian birders I was guiding remotely visited the same area four days later and found two in a spot that we had searched three separate times over the day and a half. What was the difference? The weather apparently. They had clear skies with calmer winds the day they visited. I suspect the grosbeaks were hunkered down deep inside the junipers on account of the wind and cold the days we were there.
Al Bahah wasn’t a total bust though. We did see some other good birds during our search, including Black Stork, Arabian Woodpecker, an early or overwintering Little Rock Thrush, as well as two more Black-crowned Tchagras.
After having dipped on the grosbeaks the first time, I decided to take the guys to visit the impressive Thee Ain Heritage Village and impressed they were. The structures at Thee Ain, buildings restored to how they would have looked in their heyday, cluster densely up the steep slopes of a hill overlooking a wadi that runs off the escarpment towards the Red Sea.
While there’s much to love about the place as one of Saudi’s most significant cultural heritage sites, the beautiful farms around the village make for wonderful wildlife viewing. We found a large flock of Arabian Waxbill, an Arabian endemic that descends to these lower elevations during the winter months, preparing to roost in the farm for the night. In the same farm, we also found roosting Arabian Straw-colored Fruit Bats, whose noisy chattering gave away their location, allowing us to enjoy views of their restless jostling as they hung upside down in a cluster of date palms.
Day 8—Al Bahah to Tabuk
Not much to report as this was a travel day. We said goodbye to Ibrahim and Cuneyt, who could only join us for the first half of the tour, and then flew to Tabuk, where we met up with Jon and James. No time for birding, but we did welcome the new guys with a tasty Indian dinner near our hotel.
Day 9—Jebel Al Lawz and Tabuk
An early departure from our hotel in Tabuk got us to our first spot on Jebel Al Lawz a little after sunrise. The morning was remained quite cold, just hovering above freezing, for the first hour or so. We started with a short hike to a nice overlook, where we could take in the views of the hills and canyons around the northwest base of Al Lawz. Here we saw our first Desert Lark and White-crowned Wheatears of the trip. We also had our first of several Scrub Warblers for the day. Using playback, I soon got a response from Chukar out of sight somewhere on the rocky slopes above us.
It was only on our way back to the cars that a small covey of Chukar flew across the path and began scrambling up the opposite slope. With the light to our back, we all got great scope views of these handsome partridges as they moved upslope and settled in places to warm themselves in the sunlight. By the end of the morning we would see three other coveys, one quite large, for a total of 23 individuals, the most I’d ever seen there.
Now, besides the Chukar, our main target of the morning was Syrian Serin. Not having seen any at the first stop, we then went to the area where I had first encountered them in November. There were none to be found here as well, but several other nice birds were present, including a rather rare species. Around a small derelict farm I heard a sharp call and saw a longish-tailed passerine with obvious white outer tail feathers fly up into one of the trees. We stalked closer but it then flew to the base of a nearby bush. Jon put his scope on it and announced he thought it was a Rock Bunting. By and by, we all had a chance to observe it thoroughly and could confirm his initial ID. We would later have a chance to get photos, which clinched it. This was one of very few records of this species—possibly only the second for the country—but to be expected from a region that's been so under-birded and lies just south of the southernmost limit for many wintering Western Palearctic species, like the bunting. Only recently had Syrian Serin been discovered to winter in Saudi, surely not a recent development but simply unknown. That’s one of the thrills of Saudi birding—what’s next?
We left Jebel Al Lawz bereft of yet another key target, but the Rock Bunting sure was a nice consolation prize, the first of several new additions to my Saudi list. Nice too was hitting one of our other northwest targets well before I had expected. On our way back to Tabuk, we stopped at a roadside Pakistani place for lunch. I wasn’t so sure about this place but one of the employees insisted that we try them out, and we’re glad he did. Not only was the food better than expected for a hole-in-the-wall, but James spotted a male Sinai Rosefinch on top of the building, which led to a few more in the village behind the place. After a short walk near the edge of the village, which was a fairly birdy affair, one of the guys proposed a new name for the restaurant—Rosefinch Cafe!
Everybody sated after our lunch, the next order of business was trying to find Sociable Lapwing around Tabuk. This critically endangered shorebird of the Central Asian steppes had been reported from pivot fields here three times in the past fourteen years with the most recent record from 2016—over nine years ago! Not only that, there are a few hundred pivot fields clustered north and east of the city, so where to even begin our search? I decided to limit our efforts to the fields in the vicinity of the previous records. If we weren’t lucky, then I had fields near Hail and Sakaka that we could try as well.
In the end, we didn’t have to search too widely after all. Surveying the fields at the very first location I pinpointed, we found one that had been recently ploughed and was being watered at the time of our visit. I knew from experience that this would be an ideal place to try. The field was quite active with several species, including a 500-strong flock of Spanish Sparrows wheeling about the center. Scanning the field I noticed dozens of little black-and-white forms on the backside of the field—Spur-winged Lapwings. I led the guys out to the center of the field from where we’d have a better vantage and, bingo, there were nine Sociable Lapwings in the mix. Our luck early on meant we opened up the itinerary at the back end since it wouldn’t be necessary to hit those other spots I had in mind, which took some pressure off the tour leader.
Day 10—Tabuk to Al Ula
The next morning we began our journey south, following the old Hejaz railway, towards Al Ula. I planned birding stops along the way to break up the drive and take in a couple of sites of historical and geological interest. Our first stop was at an Ottoman fort, built near one of the old train stations, that was surely used to help defend the line from restive Arab tribes, famously led by T. E. Lawrence (“Lawrence of Arabia”) during WWI.
Here we got great views of a singing Arabian Great Gray Shrike (aucheri) and even better shots of it with the old fort in the background.
Our next stop along the way was at the Al Gharameel Nature Preserve, a place I had never visited before but suspected offered good birding amidst a stunning landscape of gnarled sandstone spires. On the latter we weren’t disappointed as the place was incredible, surely a delight for those who opt to camp out there under the stars. As for the birds, we didn’t actually turn up much, but the area looked good for Little Owl and Pharaoh Eagle-Owl. A few very pure looking Rock Pigeons out in this remote terrain suggested they were very likely wild types.
Next up was the place where my daughter and I had seen a flock of 30 Arabian Lark back in December 2020. We drove out across the same gently sloping sand-gravel tract where we had seen them. This time, however, the group and I found Temminck’s and Bar-tailed Larks but no Arabian.
Venturing further from the road led us to softer sand. Worried we’d get stuck and figuring it was past time for lunch, I turned us around and headed back towards the road. On the way back, though, I noticed some areas that looked ideal for Arabian Lark—shallow washes where rainwater had previously run; slightly denser congregation of woody, herbaceous shrubs; a sparse carpet of ephemeral plants; and a slightly sandier substrate than the surrounding sand-gravel desert.
We started driving a long the edges of these washes when a small flock of larks flew up in front of us. They settled among a cluster of shrubs, moving around the bases. Getting them in scope confirmed what had already occurred to me—these were Arabian Larks. Despite our grumbling bellies, we spent a long time appreciating the unique ID features and behaviors of these intriguing larks.
We continued on to Al Ula for lunch, making a quick stop when Jon called out a small herd of Arabian Oryx feeding near the fence line of the Shara’an Nature Preserve. The preserve hosts self-sustaining herds of other ungulates as well—Arabian Gazelle, Sand Gazelle, and Nubian Ibex. For lunch, we had a tasty ungulate with rice. As promised, I took the guys to the best restaurant for camel meat in Al Ula. Everyone was keen to try the hashi, which is young camel served with rice.
In the afternoon, after checking in to our hotel for the next two nights, we met up with Ben Lee, Director of Wildlife and Natural Heritage for the Royal Commission of Al Ula, who showed us around a date plantation in town where he had been seeing good birds, including Hypocolius.
The late afternoon was still quite birdy and we soon found a flock of Hypocolius feeding on the last of the previous season’s dates. In the same area we also found a group of Arabian Babbler, the darker-billed nominate subspecies, as well as a couple Arabian Serin and a lone male Arabian Sunbird, a first for me in the Madinah region. There were many noisy Rose-ringed Parakeets as well—an invasive, if lovely, species that I haven’t encountered often.
Past sunset we tried unsuccessfully to find Pallid Scops-Owl, which is said to occur around Al Ula but I’ve yet to see any evidence, and Barn Owl, which I had seen here previously but couldn’t turn up in the same spot, despite a solid effort on the part of the team.
Day 11—Al Ula
The next morning we met up again with Ben at the Al Ula dam, a place he introduced me to during my previous visit to Al Ula. Here the main target was Sand Partridge, which I didn’t anticipate seeing elsewhere along our itinerary. We immediately checked the spot we had seen them in November but couldn’t find any—I suspect it was still too early, especially for such a chilly morning. So from there I led the guys to the collection of petroglyphs we had discovered in November as well. What I didn’t realize was that a short distance from that set was another, equally as interesting, featuring what appears to be a scene of battle, with a warrior on horseback, wielding a bow and arrow, riding upon a warrior with what appear to be a sword and shield.
Returning the same way we came, we finally found a pair of Sand Partridge in the spot we had checked earlier, suggesting that they do indeed descend from the mountain to feed a little later in the morning. Also around this area, we saw two Arabian Sunbird and a couple of the guys from the group had Sinai Rosefinch and Striolated Bunting.
After a meal of shakshookah, lentils, and sautéed lamb chunks, all washed down with chai karak—classic Yemeni breakfast—we drove atop the basalt escarpment overlooking the town. Here we were hoping to find Kurdish Wheatear, which I had seen along the road back in December 2020; however, we could only turn up a few White-crowned Wheatear, a lone Northern Wheatear, and a lone Desert Lark. Besides those, there was also a single Fan-tailed Raven, which can be found around Al Ula along with the more common Brown-necked Raven, of which we had seen several dozen over the previous two days.
In the late afternoon, after the group returned from their tour of the ancient Nabataean ruins at Hegra, we went out exploring the canyons near our hotel. Again we were faced with cold and windy weather, so we had no luck with owls, including Desert, which appears otherwise common here. Before sunset, however, we did pay a visit to an Egyptian Fruit Bat roost deep in the cleft of one of the sandstone mountains. Some of us went up into the cave while the others watched from outside as some of the roost flew out into the dim light, alighting on the rock face outside the cave.
Day 12—Al Ula to Hail
Before sunrise we set off from Al Ula to Hail—what would be no less than five hours of driving. I had planned a couple stops along the way though, including an area I expected to be good for larks. Eagles proved to be well represented at various points along the route, with two standout encounters with Steppe and Imperial Eagles quite close to the road, so the drive wound up not feeling quite so long and monotonous.
The planned stop was at Rawdat Al Tinhat, north of the town of Al Shamli. On arrival we were greeted by a large flock of larks, mostly Bar-tailed with a few Crested and Greater Hoopoe-Lark as well. While scrutinizing one group of Bar-tailed, we found an Arabian Lark. The flock was so mobile that I suspect there were a few more but the birds had flown before we had a chance to pin them down.
Further up the road from there, four sandy-colored shorebirds flew up from near the road. The bold black outer-wings should’ve been the giveaway but it took me a second to process what we were looking at…Cream-colored Coursers! These were shy birds, so after landing they quickly put distance between us. At least one of the guys managed a record shot for posterity’s sake.
Lunch on the road to Hail was interesting. We stopped at yet another roadside Pakistani place. The menu for this one was only in Urdu! Thankfully, though, they share a lot of letters with Arabic and dish names with Indian, so we managed. And glad we did because the Pakistani food this trip was some of the best food I’ve had in Saudi, hands down.
Onwards to Hail, where we would spend the night before continuing across the Great Nafud Desert to Sakaka. We arrived with enough time to freshen up, have dinner in one of the apartments I booked, and then head out for some late afternoon exploring in the mountains northwest of the city. It was another windy and cold day, especially as the sun was going down, but there were some nice birds to be found. Sand Partridge, Eurasian Griffon, Arabian Babbler, and another flock of Hypocolius for the trip were the main highlights.
Day 13—Hail to Sakaka
In the morning we crossed the Great Nafud Desert, whose tall sand dunes are remarkably vegetated, speaking, I hope, to the health of the ecosystem. The extent of the growth could be due to the government’s efforts to control over-grazing and support the reintroduction of native wildlife, like the Arabian and Sand Gazelles, whose crossing some of the signage warned of.
Halfway across the desert we pulled off the highway and drove out to Jebel Al Ulaym, a small mountain, resembling a cinder cone emerging out of the vast ocean of sand. There is a small farm by the mountain, supported by a healthy supply of ground water and powered by solar panels, where we met a kind and hospitable Pakistani man, whose name I’ve unfortunately forgotten. He had tea and coffee beside a fire, all already prepared, in the majlis, and invited us inside. After making a quick circuit of the farm to see what birds we might find, we obliged, partaking of some Saudi coffee and sticky dates before thanking him for his generosity and heading on our way.
Initially I was worried that the birding here was going to be as uneventful as when I visited in November, as for much of the drive out and back there was hardly any sign of birdlife save the odd Isabelline Wheatear. Eventually we found a Greater Hoopoe-Lark displaying with a male Desert Wheatear a short distance away. A little further on another hoopoe-lark got us out of the car in just the right place to find what we had missed in November. Wandering out among the shrubby desert north of the road, I noticed some movement and soon had everyone on two Arabian Larks, quite close. Gradually we could hear others singing around us—a few giving plaintive whistles from the ground while others were issuing a more mechanical, warbling flight song overhead. Not only had I left my camera in the car but my recording gear as well! Thankfully I was able to capture audio through the Merlin app on my iPhone. Next time I won’t make the same mistake!
Arabian Lark habitat near Jebel Al Ulaym
Reaching Dumat Al Jandal, one of the larger towns in the Al Jawf region, we had lunch—Pakistani again!—and made a quick tour of a few birding spots on the way to Sakaka, where we’d be spending the night. On a good day, Google Maps’s capriciousness, particularly when navigating Saudi roads, could add heaps of time to an already long drive or even lead you right up someone’s driveway and into their private courtyard—true story! On this day, though, we were fortunate she chose the circuitous route she did as it led us, first, to an encounter with Common Wood-Pigeon, which can only be found in this region of Saudi, and moments later three Eurasian Linnets, my second Saudi tick of the trip!
After settling into our hotel, we drove out to meet Nader Fahad, long-time friend of Saudi Birding, at the farm of his friend Ahmed Ali. Ahmed’s is the farm where Pallid Scops-Owl was first discovered to be breeding in Saudi. As in November, we stared hard into the date palms where Ahmed and Nader had seen the owls roosting, but after about 30 minutes of not finding one I decided the best course of action would be to run out to the reed-fringed rainwater pools where Nader had recently seen Pied Kingfisher and then come back to the farm after dark and try our luck.
This proved a good call. While we didn’t see the Pied, by sunset, we had seen two Water Rail, three Little Crake, one Baillon’s Crake, one Jack Snipe, two uncharacteristically co-operative Bluethroat, and four Ferruginous Ducks among others. I was stoked, as Little Crake was a lifer, a long-time bogey bird at my former patch in the Eastern Region, and Baillon’s Crake was a Saudi tick—I had four, up to that point, three just that day!
The plan for dinner was to grab some shawarma sandwiches and fries and eat dinner back in the farm. I figured that would give us a chance to listen out for owls rather than squander the time sitting in a restaurant somewhere. After I had finished mine, I went and stood at the edge of the date palms, listening out for the Pallid Scops. Me and one of the other guys thought we heard one in the distance, so I rounded the guys up into the cars and we drove nearest to the spot from where the call was coming. After standing in silence for a time, some of us heard it again, distinctly closer and near one of the spots we searched in the daylight. Creeping into the shadows of the palms at night, I caught some movement just ahead. I switched on my flashlight and there it was, the Pallid Scops-Owl perched on the stalk of a palm frond maybe fifteen feet away. It then flew to the trunk of another palm where it perched for a few minutes, blessing everyone with superb views. Saudi tick number five…great way to cap off a stellar day!
Day 14—Sakaka
Our penultimate morning and we had but one pressing target—See-see Partridge. We had to off-road along fairly rough tracks around a dense cluster of low mesa-like mountains. Like the Sand Partridge in Al Ula, the See-see appear to wait until a little later in the morning to descend from their roosts to forage around the bases of the mountains. We had made one pass along the side where we had seen them in November without success. During breakfast, we heard a male calling but suspected that the soaring Imperial and Steppe Eagles in the area might have kept them hiding safely among the rocks on the mountain slope.
After not seeing any on the return pass, I began to worry that we might dip. Then Jon, who was riding with James, spotted two See-see Partridges flying across the track and landing somewhere on an opposite mountain slope. It took them some scanning but eventually they found the pair—male and female—slowly making their way up the mountain. We soon joined them and everyone got their first views of this, our fifth partridge species of the tour. Having lost them from our initial vantage point, we hiked up a ways and soon had even better scope views of both birds as they foraged along the rocky slope. They were remarkably well camouflaged among the sandstone debris, particularly the dowdy female—remove your bins from them and it took a little adjusting to get them in view again.
After lunch back in town, we called in at the rainwater pools again to see what else we might find. While we determined to check the other pools, we wound up back on the one from the previous day. One of the Little Crakes was still present and showing well, but there was a slightly new cast of characters to keep us busy. A White-throated Kingfisher made an appearance along with two early Sedge Warblers, but the star of the show that day was an adult Eurasian Penduline-Tit, which flew in to the reeds right below us and hung around for several minutes. Nader went back a couple of days later and found two more, a first for him in Sakaka. That little masked cutie made Saudi tick number six for me, putting me tied with Brian James for the highest country list in eBird—one more, Brian, and then I’ll overtake you! Next month I just need one of those spring migrants lingering on my target list, like Corn Crake, Demoiselle Crane, or Greater Spotted Cuckoo.
Our last stop of the day was out at Al Fusqanat Desert. There is some great birding around there, with its steady supply of treated water pumped out into a remote patch of sand-gravel desert and rolling sandstone hills, but unfortunately we didn’t give ourselves enough time to fully explore the place. We did get one of our key targets though—two Thick-billed Larks. Thankfully everyone at least got binocular views of these cool birds before I accidentally revved the engine while our car was in park. It was a real facepalm moment as the larks took to the wing and, as this species is wont to do, just kept going…
Here we also had several Siberian Stonechats , including one Caspian (hemprichii) with the wheatear-like tail pattern. Also present were very clear examples of a different subspecies of House Sparrow than the Indicus-type (“white-cheeked”) that occurs throughout much of the rest of Saudi. I had noticed darker, grayer sparrows around the Al Jawf Airport during my last visit and was determined to get images on my next to confirm that, in fact, these sparrows north of the Great Nafud Desert were Domesticus-type (“gray-cheeked”). Indeed, the males all have grayer cheek patches, grayer flanks, and darker upper parts than the sparrows we had seen down in the southwest. I suspect these are Passer domestics biblicus, which occurs in the Levant, including eastern Jordan.
Day 15—Sakaka to Riyadh
The final day arrived and we had enough time before we needed to head to the airport for one last morning of birding. Nader took us to a spot where he has seen Pharaoh Eagle-Owl for several years running. It was craggy sandstone ledge surrounded by steep sand dunes out by some farms south of town. Luck was with us as one of the birds was present—our sixth owl species of the tour and, as far as I know, a record for any organized bird tour to the Kingdom. This bird was quite pale and looked stunning in the morning light, a truly wonderful way to end the tour.
I can’t say enough how grateful I am to Nader and Ahmed for making our last few days so memorable. Of course, the tour wouldn’t have been nearly as good had I not had such an awesome group of participants as well. Thanks so much, guys! Hope to cross paths with you all again down the road.
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