SAUDI ARABIA – Specialities of the Arabian desert, Asir highlands and Red Sea coast

PRICE INFORMATION

Birdquest Inclusions: Our tour prices include surface transportation, accommodations, meals and entrance fees.

We also include all tipping for accommodation/restaurant staff.

We also include the following flights:

Riyadh-Abha

Abha-Riyadh.

Deposit: 20% of the total tour price. Our office will let you know what deposit amount is due, in order to confirm your booking, following receipt of your online booking form.

TO BOOK THIS TOUR: Click here (you will need the tour dates)

The single supplement will not apply if you indicate on booking that you prefer to share a room and there is a room-mate of the same sex available.

This tour is priced in US Dollars. Amounts shown in other currencies are indicative.

Air Travel To & From The Tour:  Our in-house IATA ticket agency will be pleased to arrange your air travel on request, or you may arrange this yourself if you prefer.

SAUDI ARABIA BIRDING TOUR: DETAILED ITINERARY

Saudi Arabia: Day 1 Our tour starts in Riyadh early this morning.

We will head to some desert areas north of the city where our main target is Arabian Lark (a recent split from Dunn’s Lark, now restricted to Africa), a partially nomadic and difficult-to-get bird anywhere in its range in the Arabian peninsula and the southern Middle East, but fairly reliable here.

Other lark species we are hoping to see in this barren and desolate habitat include Greater Hoopoe-Lark, Black-crowned Sparrow-Lark and Bar-tailed, Temminck’s and Crested Larks and if we are lucky, even the nomadic Thick-billed Lark.

Other species we may well see in this habitat include ‘Arabian’ Great Grey Shrike, Pale Crag Martin and Laughing and Eurasian Collared Doves.

In the afternoon we take a flight from Riyadh to Abha, situated in the Asir region of the southwest corner of Saudi Arabia, for a five nights stay.

Saudi Arabia: Days 2-5  We will spend four full days exploring the Sarawat Mountains and enjoy the most pleasant weather and finest landscape in all of Arabia. We will split our time between Abha and Tanoumah, birding stony upland plateaus, magnificent escarpments and lush forested wadis.

Here, the star attraction is the Asir Magpie, endemic to a small area of southwest Saudi Arabia. Despite the small and declining population, it is still easy to find.

Other strictly SW Arabian endemics (shared between Saudi Arabia and Yemen) we will see during our stay in the highlands are Philby’s Partridge, Arabian Woodpecker, Yemen Thrush, Yemen Warbler, Arabian Waxbill, Arabian Serin and Yemen Linnet.

Other Arabian Peninsula endemics we will see in the mountains include Arabian Partridge, Arabian Scops Owl, Arabian Eagle-Owl, Arabian Wheatear, Arabian Sunbird (recently split from Shining Sunbird) and Yemen Serin. If we are lucky we will find the uncommon and localized Arabian Golden-winged Grosbeak.

Two more very interesting birds are Rufous-capped Lark (a species also found in Somaliland and just across the border in Ethiopia) and the bottae form of the Buff-breasted Wheatear (a potential split).

More widespread largely Middle Eastern species we will see include Desert Owl, Blackstart, Streaked Scrub Warbler, Arabian Warbler, Arabian Babbler, Palestine Sunbird, Fan-tailed Raven and Tristram’s Starling.

In addition to above mentioned endemic and restricted range species, these mountains are home to an array of species of African origin, some of which only migrate here to breed during the monsoon season. These include Hamerkop, ‘African’ Shikra, Dusky Turtle Dove, Bruce’s Green and African Olive Pigeons, Diederik Cuckoo, Plain and Abyssinian Nightjars (the latter is a potential split from Mountain Nightjar), Grey-headed Kingfisher, African Grey Hornbill, African Pipit (here of the form eximius, a potential split), African Stonechat, Little Rock Thrush, Brown Woodland Warbler, Gambaga Flycatcher, African Paradise Flycatcher, Abyssinian White-eye, Black-crowned Tchagra, African Silverbill and Cinnamon-breasted Bunting.

More widespread birds we could well see include, Bonelli’s and Booted Eagles, Long-legged Buzzard, Black and Yellow-billed Kites, Griffon Vulture, Red-knobbed Coot, Common Kestrel, Alpine and Little Swifts and Long-billed Pipit.

Saudi Arabia: Day 6  From the highlands we will move down to the hot and humid Red Sea cost at Jazan (or Jizan), where we will stay for three nights. We will arrive in time for some exploration this afternoon.

Saudi Arabia: Days 7-8  During our time on the Red Sea coast we will take a boat trip to look for the range-restricted White-cheeked and Saunders’s Terns, which both occur here during the breeding season, as well as White-eyed Gull (an endemic breeder on the islands of the Red Sea), the monotypic Crab-plover and the locally breeding Sooty Falcon.

A supporting cast of seabirds we may well see here include Brown Booby, Sooty, Baltic, Black-headed and Slender-billed Gulls, Caspian, Bridled, Lesser and Greater Crested Terns and Brown Noddy.

In the coastal mangroves, we will be looking for the very localized population of the ‘Mangrove White-eye’ that is restricted to the mangroves along Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast and the mangrove breeding avicenniae form of the European Reed Warbler that could be split as Mangrove Reed Warbler. Clamorous Reed Warbler is also common here and if we are fortunate, we will find Collared Kingfisher.

Other birds we may well see along the coast include Pink-backed Pelican, Grey, Purple, Western Reef, Striated and Squacco Herons, Great and Little Egrets, Lesser and Greater Flamingos, Eurasian Oystercatcher, Greater and Tibetan Sand Plovers, Common Ringed, Kentish and Grey (or Black-bellied) Plovers, Ruff, Broad-billed, Curlew, Common, Marsh, Green and Wood Sandpipers, Red Knot, Sanderling, Little Stint, Turnstone, Common and Spotted Redshanks, Bar-tailed and Black-tailed Godwits, Whimbrel and Eurasian Curlew. If we are fortunate, we will find Goliath Heron, which breeds in this area but is scarce and difficult to locate.

In agricultural areas inland from Jazan (and elsewhere along the coastal plains) one of our main targets is the restricted-range Arabian Golden Sparrow, although this species is apparently somewhat nomadic and can be tricky in spring. Both Harlequin Quail and Small Buttonquail are vocal at this time of the year and should not be too difficult to track down in the fields. In addition, we should find White-browed Coucal, African Palm Swift, Arabian Bee-eater (an Arabian endemic that just extends to Israel), Jacobin Cuckoo, the superb White-throated Bee-eater, Abyssinian Roller, Black Scrub Robin, Nile Valley Sunbird, Violet-backed Starling and Rüppell’s Weaver.

Other species we may well see in this habitat include Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse, African Collared and Namaqua Doves, Rock Dove, Common and Pallid Swifts, Desert and Singing Bush Larks, Red-rumped Swallow, White-spectacled Bulbul, Graceful Prinia, Zitting Cisticola, Brown-necked Raven, House Crow (self-introduced on ships), Common Myna (perhaps also self-introduced) and House Sparrow.

At a large reservoir nearby, we will see a number of wetland birds, which may well include Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail, Eurasian Teal, Tufted Duck Little Grebe, African Openbill, Abdim’s Stork, Eurasian Spoonbill, Glossy Ibis, Osprey, Common Moorhen, Common Coot, Black-winged Stilt, Pied Avocet, Spur-winged Plover and Gull-billed, White-winged and Whiskered Terns.

In the surrounding dry country, we have good chances to find, among other things, the introduced Helmeted Guineafowl, Lichtenstein’s Sandgrouse, Red-eyed Dove and, after sunset, Nubian Nightjar and Spotted Thick-knee. We will also keep looking for Dark Chanting-Goshawk and Gabar Goshawk, which could occur here or
elsewhere along the route.

Migratory birds following the African-Eurasian migration route can turn up anywhere along our route and may well include Eurasian Hoopoe, European and Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters, European Roller, Sand Martin, Barn Swallow, Red-throated Pipit, Western Yellow Wagtail, Common Nightingale, Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin, Common Redstart, Northern Wheatear, Whinchat, Blackcap, Eastern Orphean, Barred, Marsh and Willow Warblers, Chiffchaff, Eastern Olivaceous and Upcher’s Warblers, Red-backed, Red-tailed, Masked and Woodchat Shrikes and Eurasian Golden Oriole.

Saudi Arabia: Day 9  After some final birding on the Red Sea coast we will return to Abha airport and take a flight to Riyadh, where our tour ends this evening.