Cricket Club Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. January 10 2015

Decided to visit the quarry beside Riyadh Cricket Club to see how things have changed since I was last there and how things have changed!!  There is very little of the lake left as most has now evaporated away, yet surprisingly the bird numbers and range of species is only a little down on when I first visited here in September 2013.  In terms of quantity the Little Grebe and Coot take pride of place on the lake.

little grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis)

Little Grebe numbers are still around 100 despite the lake now being less that a fifth of its size.  I expect that this lake will be gone in the next 12 months unless something unexpected happens and we will see where this little population head to then.

eurasian coot (Fulica atra),

 

 

The Coots numbered about 60 which is also in or around the same number as was there a year ago.

trumpeter finch (Bucanetes githagineus)

trumpeter finch (Bucanetes githagineus)

 

Next on the hall of fame for numbers at least were the little Trumpeter Finch which I have not seen in this area before.  On the day there was a little flock of about 25 of these little birds, males now sporting their distinctive red bills. 

white-spectacled bulbul Pycnonotus xanthopygos

 

Along with the usual complement of White Eared Bulbul there were 5 or 6 Spectacled Bulbul on site too.  We have spotted a few of these around before but their numbers seem to be slowly increasing in the area.  Will have to keep an eye on that.

hypocolius (Hypocolius ampelinus)

Funny enough, I had just though before I left the house that I had not seen any Hypocolius at all this year in the area.  It might have been because they are all located somewhere else around town but anyway there were a couple on site this morning.

blackstart (Cercomela melanura)

The Blackstart is fairly common about these parts and this morning they were in abundance.  I spotted 9 or 10 in a small area a little to the east of the quarry.  I have seen one or two around here before but not that many.

crested lark (Galerida cristata)

The crested Lark was reasonably well represented although these are never in huge numbers they seem to be doing fine around the quarry despite all of the heavy traffic being generated by the new road construction.  That said I suppose this area suits them very well as it is semi desert with low bushes and mounds of dirt to perch on.

little green bee-eater (Merops orientalis)

A couple of Little Green Bee Eaters were also about but here again there were not that many considering the number of bugs there are around the quarry.

 pale crag martin (Ptyonoprogne obsoleta)

 

The Pale Crag Martin was very active in the area today.  These guys are resident here with the high sides of the quarry providing them with roosting and nesting sites while what is left of the lake gives rise to a plentiful supply of bugs.  

 

white wagtail (Motacilla alba)

As always we have our visitors to the area, the White Wagtail being about in small numbers, although on this day were particularly difficult to photograph, somehow managing to get under something, behind something..... every time I pressed the shutter.  Oh well, what to do, get the best you can from a bad lot of pics :).

 

black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus)

There were a very small number of wading birds around today, I saw only 4 Black Winged Stilts and a couple of sandpipers, clearly the reducing water levels are forcing them to go elsewhere

 

Further up on the ridge was a small flock of Rock Pigeon which I think are resident in the area.  The crevasses in the sandstone making ideal sites for them to roost and nest.

rock pigeon (Columba livia)

A small flock of Spanish sparrows were busily foraging in the undergrowth.

 

spanish sparrow (Passer hispaniolensis)

spanish sparrow (Passer hispaniolensis)

In addition to the above there were a good number of Laughing Dove which are everywhere around the city and the sound of the Graceful Prinia was to be heard in among the dead reeds although I did not get a clear photo of them.  Another interesting days birding is a little sad as this used to be a good place for birding near Riyadh.

My next few blog reports will be from my visits to the Gambia in Mid January.  This is my second visit and am so looking forward to it as its a fantastic birding country.

Species List.

Al Hayer in the New Year

I have been away for a few weeks and did not get to do any birding at all so it was with some delight that I finally got back to the home patch to see what had been going on.  Fresh into the new year on 3/1/15 I headed off to do my usual walk.  The morning was about 8 degrees so pretty cool for Riyadh and it was noticeable that many of the birds were not very active, can't say I was feeling terribly active myself if I'm honest.  Anyhow moments into the field I was met by 3 Black Bush Robins all foraging under a tree.  They were very active given the cool conditions.

black scrub-robin (Cercotrichas podobe)

Not far away were a group of about 5 or 6 White Eared Bulbul which were going about their business in the trees and alongside them was a fair number of Laughing Dove, both fairly common around here and pretty much permanent residents.  Further along was the family of Eurasian Coots which again are pretty much based in this locality.

common moorhen (Gallinula chloropus)

I counted 8 of these on the day.  A relatively small flock of about 35 Streaked Weaver was merrily feeding on the remains of the crop at the field edges.  Nothing like the 700 plus I saw a few weeks back but they seem to be a constant around the area now.  Helm Guide lists these as not in the country and those that are are classed as escapes.  I wonder when an escape actually moves to becoming part of the local fauna?  These guys have certainly settled in.

streaked weaver (Ploceus manyar)

Out in the field where the stubble of the crop is all that remains the White Wagtail was much in evidence I think over the day I counted more than 30 of these.

white wagtail (Motacilla alba)



Also in the same field were a few Northern Lapwing, not nearly as many as I saw a few weeks back but still nice to see. 

 

northern lapwing (Vanellus vanellus)



Joining them in the feast was a small flock of Myna which mainly fed together away from most of the other birds.

common myna (Acridotheres tristis)

I was not able to get to the usual riverside verge as the area was still flooded following rains some weeks ago but could look into the high hedges and spotted a pair of Purple Heron on a bush.  These have been in the same place for a couple of months now so will watch for a nest appearing a bit later in the year.

purple heron (Ardea purpurea)

In all I saw 9 of these including this pair, most were flying off into the distance, which is where I usually spot them on my visits, maybe they are roosting in the reeds and head off to their feeding sites in the morning.  Or maybe they just don't like me much :).

purple heron (Ardea purpurea)

My usual view :).

Also around in large numbers again were the Eurasian Collared Dove.  Across the three fields I counted about 65 of these.



eurasian collared dove (Streptopelia decaocto)

As always there was the Grey Heron which sat on the sprinkler as usual and watched me approach, only letting me just about into camera range before taking off.  Despite knowing these birds since childhood there is something special about seeing one that I can't properly describe.  Just love them!

grey heron (Ardea cinerea)

In a pool under where the Heron sat was this little guy, the Common Snipe.  Rob Tovey once remarked to me that he wished he could, just once, see one of these guys before he saw us.  This chap certainly saw me long before I saw him but decided to hunch down in the grass and hide.  

common snipe (Gallinago gallinago)

He did not move as I got closer and I thought this could be the chance to get a really nice picture.  However, as always fate intervened and a farmer drove between us in his pickup driving the bird away.  Ho hum, maybe another day.

One bird who definitely did stop for a photo was the Stonechat who basically watched me all the way along the field finally popping on to a bush close by to have is photo taken.  Actually I counted 13 of these along the field,



european stonechat (Saxicola rubicola)

Though very few as cheeky as this one. This species were originally lumped into one called the Common Stonchat but recent research indicates that there are potentially 5 separate species of Stonechat although as with all things in Ornithology, not everyone agrees.  In Saudi Arabia I think we have two, the European and the Siberian, the above being a female European. Interestingly my Helm Guide does not show either of these as occurring in the Riyadh area at all.

And here is the cousin, Siberian Stonechat on a stopover in Riyadh too

Siberian stonechat or Asian stonechat (Saxicola maurus)

Both very smart looking birds in my opinion. 

turkestan shrike (Lanius phoenicuroides)

As always around the area were a couple of Turkestan Shrikes which invariably perch on a high point watching for prey, a little like mini raptors. 

brown-necked raven (Corvus ruficollis)

Two birds I have not seen very much at all this past few months are a pair of Brown Necked Raven.  These were far more common in the area in the past.

little green bee-eater (Merops orientalis)

As ever the Little Green Bee Eater were out and about.  Numbers were a little lower than usual this week but I put that down to them being at other points along the river.

crested lark (Galerida cristata)

Another old friend of the area is the Crested Lark which is always about.  I actually only saw this one but there were lots about in the field.  They are definitely one of those birds, like the Graceful Prinia, that you hear a lot more than you see, especially if the grass is more than 4 or 5 inches high.

marsh harrier (Circus aeruginosus)

One bird that was very evident standing in the grass was this Marsh Harrier which stood here for ages just watching me.  At first i thought he had a kill but it turned out not, he was just standing thee!!

namaqua dove (Oena capensis)

Another common sight in this area is the Namaqua Dove, one of the cutest of the Dove family in this area (in my humble opinion).  There are a couple of pairs of these at the far side of the fields adjacent to the main road.

house sparrow (Passer domesticus)

As ever, the little House Sparrows were out in force, oddly I did not see much of their Spanish cousins this week on my travels.  All in all a nice morning in the fields of Al Hayer.

Species List

 

Al Hayer in the lead up to Christmas 2014

Travelled to Al Hayer again on December 12th to do my little home patch walk once again.  As ever we started out around 5.30am and arrived after 6 not long after the dawn.  Temperatures were a cool 11 degrees C and the sprinklers had been active in the lower field so it was going to be a wet start.  In addition we have had rain in the area a week or so ago, pools and the river were swollen and some areas where I would normally sit and watch for a while were inaccessible.  That said, as ever, the area never fails to bring something of interest.

purple heron (Ardea purpurea)

There were the usual selection of herons about with the Purple Heron being the most common at the moment, in all I saw 8 flying over the river heading north.  That's not to say that their cousins the Grey Heron were not present, they were and always are but in much smaller numbers.

grey heron (Ardea cinerea),

This was the only one I saw all day.  Its curious how one type can be seen in largish numbers in an area while the other is not.

 little bittern (Ixobrychus minutus)

A third member of the clan, the Little Bittern is fairly secretive generally speaking but this character is very much so.  We have spotted him once or twice in the past but only fleeting views.  Apologies for the pic but he was hiding in the bush, believe it or not was peeking through the bush watching to see if I was still there. I did hang around for a while to see if I could get a better view but he was not in a show off mood.

At the other end of the pool there were the family of Moorhen feeding in the shallows;

common moorhen (Gallinula chloropus)

I have been watching these since the summer and the younger ones are gradually starting to take on the darker plumage and redder bill.  This family numbered 11 or 12 earlier in the year though recently I have only noticed 8 at any one time, maybe the others remain out of sight?

All along the path our regular winter visitor the White Wagtail was evident, though especially so in the middle field which had recently been ploughed where there at least 40 of them that I saw and probably a lot more

 white wagtail (Motacilla alba)

Also enjoying the ploughed area was a small group of Northern Lapwing.

northern lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),

Apologies for the poor photo but with wide open fields trying to get close to these guys is very difficult.

By far the most common birds around this weekend were the pigeons and doves (the family Columbidae) , I took this distant shot to give you an idea of the way the entire field was when I visited;

a few of the family Columbidae

 

There are about 45 birds in this view and his could easily have been replicated over a large portion of the ploughed area.  The mix was about 50% Laughing Dove, 30% Eurasian Collared  Dove and 20% Feral / Rock Pigeon.  They were very skittish though mainly because there were a couple of Marsh Harriers and Eagles about on the day.

Staying withe the Dove family I also came across the smaller version in the Sodoms Apple bush at the other side of the field.  They did not seem at all interested in the ploughed field.

Namaqua dove (Oena capensis)

 

The Namaqua Dove is probably my favorite of all the family.  They are quite tiny and always looked as if dressed for a dinner party.  This little group comprised two males and one female.  A fourth male was on the ground behind the tree.

The Warbler family were out and about today too with numerous Bluethroat about in the bushes and feeding one the verges of the fields.

bluethroat (Luscinia svecica)

These guys gave me quite a start on several occasions as I walked along because of their habit of staying put until the very last moment.  They the fly off in a mad flurry to the nearby bushes leaving you to replace your heart in your chest.  This happened several times during my walk today.

I noted about 4 or 5 visiting Chiffchaff in the trees during the walk too, but did not manage to get any photos. I don't expect they will be about much longer as they have places to go.

The Graceful Prinia was also around in abundance as ever.  These guys are resident here all year round and you can hear them all through the day with their grinding call which honestly makes you think there is a huge bird in there somewhere. 

graceful prinia (Prinia gracilis)

When you actually see the little devil at only marginally larger that the Wren your left wondering how something so small could be so noisy.  But noisy they are, however seeing them is not that easy as, like almost all Warblers, they prefer to be in bushes rather than on them.

This is in complete contrast to the Shrikes who are very much into perching on bushes, trees, posts and any other upright that gives them a view around the area.
 

Turkestan Shrike (Lanius phoenicuroides)

The Turkestan Shrike is fairly common around the area and is resident all year round from what I can see.



Daurian shrike (Lanius isabellinus)

A close relative is the Durian Shrike which is also fairly common in the area all year round.

green bee-eater (Merops orientalis)

Common residents in the area are the Little Green Bee Eater which can be seen on pretty much every visit.  They are active in the middle part of the day when the bugs are most active, you can sometimes see them in the early morning but they really come out in numbers at around 11am.  All that said this was only one of 2 I saw for the day, they do seem to become less common during the winter so maybe there is part of the population that migrates, maybe to more southerly areas.  Will have to look that up.

 

common myna (Acridotheres tristis),

A little more common here of late too is the Common Myna which have been about a lot more recently.  I only saw this guy today but I know there is a small flock in the area and much larger flocks a little further north along the Riyadh River (see Al Hayer but not as we know it report).

 

isabelline wheatear (Oenanthe isabellina)


I have not noticed very many Wheatears at all this year and definitely no where near as many as last year.  This Isabelline Wheatear was one of two I saw today.

Spanish sparrow or willow sparrow (Passer hispaniolensis)

Not so evident today were the sparrows of both the house and Spanish variety.  I did see a few but nowhere near as many as I have seen in the past.  It may be that they were out in the fields feeding and being so small they were difficult to identify.  Anyhow this Spanish Sparrow did stop to pose for a photo

 

 

 

Finally for something a tiny bit different, there are other things around the fields too, I mentioned an invasion of crickets which were in the fields a couple of weeks back following the harvest which attracted masses of birds.  Butterflies too are fairly common at most times of the year.  I don't know what this one is called but it is pretty. (if you do know why not drop me a line and I'll add it in) 

 

 

Anyhow another great days birding and some really interesting sights to report.  It will be a couple of weeks before I will be here again as I am heading to the UK for a few days and have some manic house moving and stuff to do but will be back here early in the new year with more annals of Al Hayer and other interesting spots around Riyadh.

 

 

SPECIES LIST

 

Species	Count	Species	Count
Purple Heron	8	Laughing Dove	52
Grey Heron	1	Feral Pigeon	21
Little Bittern	1	Namaqua Dove	6
Moorhen	8	Bluethroat	5
Northern Lapwing	6	Graceful Prinia	20
White Wagtail	40	Turkestan Shrike	4
Eurasian Collared Dove	30	Daurian Shrike	2
Little Green Bee Eater	1	Common Myna	1
Isabelline Wheatear	2	Spanish Sparrow	6
House Sparrow	8