My first white throated robin

It rained quite heavily on Wednesday night in the Riyadh area.  I should have guessed the effect it would have on my birding yesterday. There was a big landfall of passage birds, many of which presumably would not have stopped off at al Hayer without it.

Whether it was the rain or not, I saw my first ever white throated robin. I knew it was not an uncommon passage bird and there was good chance of seeing one this spring. 

male white throated robin

However what I didn't predict is that I would see 4 of them in the same small area.

second male white throated robin

Actually it was the one female in the group I saw first.  I followed it around tenaciously because I thought at that moment it might be my only chance.

female white throated robin

Yet almost as soon as I had photographed the female I met the first male. All the males proved to be confiding.

female common redstart

For a brief moment, in the same area I thought I had come across another female.  The red tail is the most obvious of many differences. However it was a nice view of a common redstart.