SAUDI ARABIA WILDLIFE WHERE TO - Arabian Wildlife Encyclopedia

AREA	PHYSICAL CHARACTER	MAIN FEATURES
Harrat al-Harrah First national Park	Stony desert in north	8-10 larks breed here, large Sand Grouse numbers; Golden Eagle; Long-Legged Buzzard; Merlin; Cream-coloured Courser; little owl. Arabia’s last ostriches lived here, last seen 1930. Houbara Bustard breeds here and over-winters. Sakers Falcon is passage migrant.
At-Tubayq Nature Reserve	Raised sandstone platform. Very rough ground	Nubian ibex live here. One of last sites for Arabian Ostrich. Golden Eagle; courser; Long-legged Buzzard
Jabal al-Jawz	Near Tabuk. Mountains over 2,000 metres. Includes Jabal Fayhan, tallest mt. in northern Arabia.	Only site for the Chukar. Egyptian Vulture
Jabal Aja and northern Hail Managed and protected area	Granitic mountains, sandstone hills, and semi-desert area. Remarkably green with flowering plants in spring. Pivot irrigation in some areas.	An important site for Demoiselle Crane on migration. Egyptian Vultures; Griffon Vultures; Sand Partridge; Yellow-vented Bulbul; many raptors, impressive spring migration swifts, larks, wheatears.
Gulf Coral Islands Managed and protected area	Harqus, Karan, Kurayn, Jana and Jurayd, all are low-lying coral cays. Arabian Gulf	Important for large populations of breeding terns, including Swift; Lesser-crested; Bridled and White-cheeked. Also Socotra Cormorants on Kurayn. Important Gulf nesting beaches for turtles.
Abu Ali	Low-lying islands and causeway forming peninsula north-east of Jubail. Arabian Gulf	Many terns, including Sandwich, Lesser-crested, White-cheeked, and Saunder’s Little Tern. Wintering Great Cormorants. Breeding Kentish Plovers. Resting site for migrants.
Al-Wajh Bank	Islands off Al-Wajh and Umm Lajj. Red Sea	Breeding Sooty Falcons, Crab Plovers, Sooty Gulls, White-eyed Gull. Also terns, Ospreys, turtles and dugongs.
Al Ha’ir Special Nature Reserve	Man-made river of treated effluent near Riyadh – in desert and rocky landscape.	Major bird sanctuary. Important species include Marbled Teal, Imperial Eagle, Lesser Kestrel, Night Heron, Little Egret, Grey Heron, Ferruginous Duck and Black-winged Stilt.
Hima al-Fiqrah Traditional protected area	Accessible mountain west of Al-Madinah. Juniper forest. Lichens and ferns. Bee-keeping area.	Leopard, wolf and ibex occur here. Impressive wildlife area. Long-legged Buzzard, Bonnelli’s Eagle, Pallid Swift and many other species.
Madinat Yanbu al-Sinaiyah	Mangrove-fringed coastline south of Yanbu al-Bahr.	Typical mangrove fauna. Birds include Little Bittern, Night Heron, Osprey, Terek Sandpiper, Goliath Heron and Crab Plover.
Hawtat Bani Tamim Special Nature Reserve – 90,000 hectares.	Ibex reserve established by NCWCD 200kms south of Riyadh. Part of Tuwaiq escarpment. Camping and wildlife viewing encouraged.	Houbara Bustard occ. visitor. Griffon Vulture, Sand Partridge, Yellow-vented bulbul, Hypocolius, Upchers warbler, Desert Lesser Whitethroat and others.
Mahazat as-Sayd Special Nature Reserve	Fenced, protected area established by NCWCD 175 km NE of Taif. Dramatic results achieved by keeping out camels, goats, allowing natural vegetation to flourish.	Sand cat, Rueppell’s fox, reintroduced oryx, gazelle, Houbara Bustard. Many breeding desert larks. 115 birds recorded here. Lesser Kestrel, Corncrake, Egyptian Vulture, Griffon Vulture and many other birds.
Taif Escarpment	Stretching for 40 kms and roughly 10 kms wide a steep granitic rock face rising 500 m above the Tihama plain and rising to 2600 m at Jabal Daka and Jabal Barad: the ‘Cold Mountain’.	Includes only place in Arabia where African and Mediterranean junipers overlap. Birds include Philby’s Grouse and Tristram’s Grackle.
Wadi Turabah and Jabal Ibrahim	150 kms south-east of Taif. Granitic mountain rising 1000 m above surrounding hills. Woodland in places. Junipiper, fig, ziziphus and acacia trees.	Hamadryas baboons. Bird fauna includes some African species as well as typically SW Arabian forms.
Umm al-Qamari Special Nature Reserve	Fossil coral islands SW of Qunfudah.	White-eyed Gulls. Cattle Egret, Osprey, pelican and others.
Raydah Escarpment Special Nature Reserve	Approx 15 kms west of Abha. Precipitous rock face and steep slope. Juniperus excelsa forest. Moist and often in clouds.	Noted in Important Bird Areas in the Middle East (IBAME)as : “Possibly the most compact site in Saudi Arabia for south-west Arabian endemic, and other woodland species.” Hamadryas baboon, caracal lynx and wolf.
Malaki Dam Jizan	Artificial lake in SW Saudi Arabia.	“…one of the highest diversities of breeding birds in Arabia” (IBAME)with various Afro-tropical species.”
Wadi Jawwah	Runs through foothills east of Abu Arish.	“The wadi has one of the highest diversities of breeding species known in the country”. (IBAME).
Farasan Islands Special Nature Reserve	Lying approximately 40kms out from Jizan. Group of islands.	Farasan gazelle. Seabird breeding colonies. Turtles. Fish and shrimp breeding. Mangrove areas.