Saudi Arabia Important Bird Area
Umm al-Qamari islands in Saudi Arabia
46 bird species recorded; the most from January to February.
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX IT Services GmbH (contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data), CC BY 4.0, with relief shading from Copernicus WorldDEM-30
This month here
26 species in January.26 species in February.3 species in March.19 species in April.0 species in May.0 species in June.0 species in July.0 species in August.0 species in September.2 species in October.0 species in November.0 species in December.
The birds you are most likely to see in the month you choose, those that come for the season first. It opens on today's month.
No records for this month.
No records for this month.
No records for this month.
No records for this month.
No records for this month.
No records for this month.
No records for this month.
- Resident all year
- Summer visitor comes to breed
- Winter visitor comes for the winter
- Passage migrant in spring and autumn
In numbers
46 species, counted.
Our own rating, from the records only: species (50 points), threatened species (20), migrants (20) and protected status — Ramsar, IBA, SPA, observatory (10).
- 46Speciesrecorded more than once
- 6Migrantssummer, winter or passage visitors
- 3ThreatenedVulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered (IUCN)
- 200Recordsopen records within 15 km
- 6Raptors
- 15Waders
- 5Gulls & seabirds
- 7Herons, ibises & grebes
- 1Flamingos
- 8Songbirds
- 4Other birds
From open records (eBird and others, through GBIF, licensed for any use). More birdwatchers mean more records: a quiet place may have more birds than it shows.
The checklist
All 46 species.
By group, with the year in twelve cells: the darker the cell, the more often the bird is recorded that month.
Raptors6 species
- Black KiteMilvus migrans
- Steppe eagleAquila nipalensis
- Eastern Imperial EagleAquila heliacaVU
- OspreyPandion haliaetus
- Greater spotted eagleAquila clanga
- Eurasian SparrowhawkAccipiter nisus
Waders15 species
- Kentish PloverCharadrius alexandrinus
- Bar-tailed godwitLimosa lapponicaNT
- Eurasian CurlewNumenius arquataNT
- Crab-ploverDromas ardeola
- Grey PloverPluvialis squatarolaVU
- Terek SandpiperXenus cinereus
- RedshankTringa totanus
- Marsh SandpiperTringa stagnatilis
- Common GreenshankTringa nebularia
- Curlew SandpiperCalidris ferrugineaVU
- Ruddy TurnstoneArenaria interpresNT
- Eurasian WhimbrelNumenius phaeopus
- Common SandpiperActitis hypoleucos
- Eurasian OystercatcherHaematopus ostralegusNT
- RuffCalidris pugnax
Gulls & seabirds5 species
- Brown BoobySula leucogaster
- Caspian TernHydroprogne caspia
- Slender-billed GullChroicocephalus genei
- Sooty GullIchthyaetus hemprichii
- Lesser Crested TernThalasseus bengalensis
Herons, ibises & grebes7 species
- Pink-backed PelicanPelecanus rufescens
- Western Reef HeronEgretta gularis
- Glossy IbisPlegadis falcinellus
- Eurasian SpoonbillPlatalea leucorodia
- Grey HeronArdea cinerea
- Striated HeronButorides striata
- Western Cattle EgretBubulcus ibis
Flamingos1 species
- Greater FlamingoPhoenicopterus roseus
Songbirds8 species
- Crested larkGalerida cristata
- Brown-necked RavenCorvus ruficollis
- Black-crowned Sparrow-LarkEremopterix nigriceps
- Isabelline ShrikeLanius isabellinus
- Rüppell's WeaverPloceus galbula
- Lanius excubitorLanius excubitor
- House SparrowPasser domesticus
- Hoopoe LarkAlaemon alaudipes
Other birds4 species
- Laughing DoveSpilopelia senegalensis
- Rock DoveColumba livia
- African Collared DoveStreptopelia roseogrisea
- Pallid SwiftApus pallidus
Monthly presence relative to all bird records that month, so a busy month does not inflate every species.
When to go
The most species from January to February.
Species recorded in each month, with the usual temperature and rain.
- Jan29°/23°3 mm
- Feb30°/23°2 mm
- Mar32°/25°3 mm
- Apr35°/27°15 mm
- May37°/29°6 mm
- Jun38°/29°1 mm
- Jul37°/29°6 mm
- Aug37°/30°6 mm
- Sep37°/29°1 mm
- Oct35°/28°2 mm
- Nov33°/26°6 mm
- Dec31°/24°4 mm
- Bar: species recorded that month.
- Temperature: average maximum / minimum (NASA, 1991–2020).
- Rain: monthly total.
The place
Umm al-Qamari islands in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi national nature reserve
Umm al-Qamari islands in Saudi Arabia is an Important Bird Area (BirdLife) in Saudi Arabia.
46 bird species have been recorded here more than once, in 200 open records.
The most recorded are the Black Kite, the Steppe eagle and the Crested lark.
0 species come for the summer, 4 for the winter and 2 only pass through.
3 are threatened worldwide, including Eastern Imperial Eagle, Grey Plover and Curlew Sandpiper.
The most species are recorded from January to February.
Get there and watch
- King Saud Bin Abdulaziz (Al Baha) Airport (ABT)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 157 km in a straight lineCar hire in Al AqiqDiscover Cars · sponsored link↗
Plan the visit
A guided walk, a bed nearby, a car.
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
From above
The place and its surroundings.
The satellite image of the 6 × 6 km around the place, with the bird hides, towers and trails that OpenStreetMap shows.
Around, in OpenStreetMap
- bird hides within 6 km
- observation towers within 6 km
- marked trails within 4 km
- visitor centres within 6 km
- viewpoints within 5 km
- car parks within 3 km
- restaurants and cafés within 3 km
- campsites within 10 km
- places to stay within 10 km
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Where these figures come from
| Name and type | Wikidata (Q12241380) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Birds | 200 open bird records within 15 km (GBIF, CC0 and CC BY 4.0 only; mostly eBird, Cornell Lab of Ornithology) |
| See these records | gbif.org |
| Species | GBIF Backbone Taxonomy · CC BY 4.0; Wikidata (CC0); Wikimedia Commons |
| Altitude | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Temperature and rain | NASA POWER (CERES SYN1deg, 2001–2020; MERRA-2) |
| What is around | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
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