OMAN DAY 9: AYN TOBRUQ POOLS – KHAWR JANUF - WADI DARBAT (sort of) – KHAWR RAWRI

A little expedition to check out the recently discovered crake pools at the bottom of Ayn Tobruq Plains gave the briefest views of a Baillon’s Crake, as well as Namaqua Dove, close Little Stint and Citrine Wagtail, a flyby adult Steppe Eagle and a few Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters called as they flew around the stunningly deep blue sky. From here we went in search of the previously reported Caspian Plovers at the beach near Khawr Januf but amazingly there were some tourists walking along the shoreline even though it was only 7am!!! 

Pied Cuckoos near here...

But we did find a Pied Cuckoo’s a few kilometres further along the beach at another little inlet. Or rather there were 5 birds present that was a bit mindblowing to be honest! 

Who doesn't love an Osprey...?

Whenever you’re along the coast there’s loads of gulls and we saw multiples of the usual three species but our one and only Steppe Grey Shrike of the trip was much more exciting. We also had Graceful Prinia, Osprey and a sprinkling of other species during our exploration of an area I’m not totally familiar with but has huge rarity potential. The small khawr where the cuckoos were had held a reported Lesser Whistling-Duck (more on that later) but we couldn’t locate that, but did see a few Garganey, Tufted Duck, at least 2 Gull-billed Terns, Caspian Tern, Whiskered Tern and some shorebirds. It’s a nice little spot that could well hold other things and we will be back!

That's the cave where grosbeaks came to drink...

So after breakfast back at the hotel we set off on what proved to be quite the adventure, with gps leading us to the far side of Wadi Darbat and an area that had been producing the only sightings of Arabian Grosbeak this season. I’m not sure why they haven’t been appearing at their usual stake-outs but nobody have been seeing them. That was until some Dutch birders found a few birds using drips of water from stalactites to drink from in a remote area well off the beaten track and yesterday a British crew got them and today it was our turn. Well, it wasn’t easy and we endured a tortuous drive with many wrong turns until we found a very steep (an understatement), bumpy track down into the wadi, but a route that gave us our first Arabian Wheatear and Tree Pipit of the tour.  It was hell but we made it before walking across some treacherous rocky areas trying to locate the correct cave that took a while. We did stake-out the wrong cave for a while until getting our brains in gear and sorting it out. By now it was 12:30pm and time was ticking away fast as I was afraid the grosbeaks would not hang around long enough for us to find them. But they did! We had at least 3 birds and enjoyed fantastic scope views of one particular male coming in repeatedly to drink. And boy it was hot, hot, hot here! We also enjoyed flyover Bonelli’s Eagles and numerous Tristram’s Starling’s here as well. With our vehicles being low on petrol we had to go to the nearest gas station and thankfully we made it without mishap. As we drove back across the rocky plateau we passed a feeding flock of 250+ White Storks feeding beside the road.

The view from Taqah Cliffs

The impressive Taqah cliffs were next up, a breeding site for Forbes-Watson’s Swift and we eventually had a pair coming in to the cliffs to feed their young. Out to see we saw Brown Booby, Bridled Terns and some Gull-billed Terns. It’s a lovely spot and we also saw a few Green Turtles and a Manta Ray in the clear waters below. Our final destination and just 10 minutes away from here is Khawr Rawri, a delightful spot and one that always turns up some good species. Our visit proved the case with an Eurasian Wryneck perched in a dead bush just as we arrived and an Ortolan Bunting found by Neil. We also scoped a flock of 15+ Arabian Partridges as they scrambled up a rock face, a few Daurian Shrikes were also around, as well as Citrine Wagtail, Ruppell’s Weaver, more Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters, some nice Wood Sands etc.   What a day!

OMAN DAY 8: MUDDAY – SALALAH – AYN HAMRAN

Well, the day got off to a great start with 3 Arabian Gazelles beside the road as we drove to Mudday this morning. This small desert town is home to a tiny wintering population of Hypocolius and this year we were treated to our best views ever, as a male gave prolonged views amongst the date palms. 

The one and only.... Hypocolius

It was spotted by Les before I’d killed the engine on arrival at our usual spot, and then we watched it feeding in a low bush, then on the floor and again in some other bushes before flying off. We relocated it again, thanks to Brian, in a different palm grove where the male sat almost motionless at head height in the shade. Wow! 

We also had nice views of  Blackstart, Pale Crag Martin, and then staked out a small drinking pool where a few Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse came in to drink and we saw one bird soaking its belly feathers before flying off. We then drove around the camel pens and got pretty great views of a group of Sand Partridge. Our last target was Nile Valley Sunbird and it took a little while until Neil spotted one which eventually flew into a bush right in front of us. And by now it was after 11am so we drove 50 minutes back to our hotel in Thumrayt, loaded our luggage into the cars and drove another 50 minutes to our final hotel in Salalah, where we stay for the last 6 nights of the trip.

Turkestan Shrike

After beans on toast prepared by Lynzi, we drove just 25 minutes away to Ayn Hamran and this is a great place for an introduction into the regular birds of the Dhofar. region We enjoyed a not-so-common Turkestan Shrike posing on top of an acacia (our first one), followed by several African Paradise-Flycatchers, Arabian Sunbird, African Silverbills, some flyby Ruppell’s Weavers, and an Arabian Warbler. So not a bad day so far, but there was more to come and as dusk settled we went to my spot for Arabian Scops-Owl. It’s not usually a hard bird to see but I’d heard from some other birders that they’ve been proving rather tricky this year, so I was a little apprehensive this evening. Yet I needn’t have worried as within 5 minutes of trying we were all watching one in the spotlight as it glared at us from overhead. 

Arabian Scops-Owl

And what a great way to end the day!

OMAN DAY 7: MUNTESAR OASIS – QATBIT GARDENS – AL BEED FARM – SHISR FIELDS

Our day began with a 6am departure from Al Ghaftain Resthouse and after a 75 minute drive we reached Muntesar Oasis for a great few hours birding. Almost immediately we came across 2 Pied Wheatears and during our time here we enjoyed repeated views, allowing us some superb photographic opportunities. 

Pied Wheatear

We walked around the oasis slowly and picked up another Bluethroat, Red-breasted Flycatcher, both Richard’s & Meadow Pipits, and had a single European Bee-eater amongst a flock of Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters. One of the latter species perched on top of a nearby acacia and the views through the scope and photo opportunities were fantastic. 

The stunning Blue-cheeked Bee-eater

A short while later the first of several groups of Chestnut-bellied and Spotted Sandgrouse flew around the oasis calling but the presence of another group of birders stood out in the open probably dissuaded the sandgrouse from coming down to drink. And then we watched a falcon flying out across the desert that certainly looked long-winged and very long-tailed giving the jizz of an Eleonora’s Falcon. The haze at this time of the day meant we couldn’t obtain any definitive photos but we saw it land on the ground with its long tail seemingly resting on the floor and it caused us quite a bit of excitement! Unfortunately we couldn’t get conclusive views and just have to let it go…. Eleonora’s is a very rare bird in Oman with just one confirmed record so far. The other unfortunate incident whilst we were here was the sighting by a Belgian group of a Ruddy-breasted Crake – with only 2 previous records it’s a mega! One of the Belgians did tell one of my group, but unfortunately they neglected to pass the news on until later in the day!!!

 

So we left here feeling like we’d given the oasis a thorough grilling (ironic really) and drove south to Qatbit Gardens where another Common Quail was found by Simon, along with 2 female Blackcaps, and yet another RB Fly. 

Common Quail

Driving further south we finally came across a Greater Hoopoe Lark that gave very nice views, much to Malcolm’s delight. I thought Al Beed Farms was disappointing and nothing like it used to be, but we did see Namaqua Dove, a flyover Steppe Eagle, Pallid & Montagu’s Harriers, as well as many Black-crowned Sparrow-Larks. 

Superb views of Cream-coloured Coursers....

We eventually reached Shisr Fields at 4pm, finding a flock of 27 Cream-coloured Coursers, along with Rosy Starling, Tawny Pipit and a cracking male Pallid Harrier. By the time we reached our hotel in Thumrayt, we were ready for a hot shower and a decent meal.

OMAN DAY 6: MAHOUT – HAIMA – AL GHAFTAIN – MUNTESAR OASIS

Our day began just a few minutes away from the hotel at Mahout Park, where practically the first bird we saw was an Oriental Turtle Dove feeding on the floor below a large tree. Apart from that it seemed a little quiet, but we did pick up an Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Daurian Shrike and a couple of Lesser Whitethroats. From here we hit the road and headed inland, a journey that is now a lot easier with a new road taking us to the southbound highway and saving us an incredible amount of time. This new route initially took us west and we were amazed to find a huge temporary lake right out in the desert and in the early morning light it looked incredible. 

The temporary lake looked stunning in the morning light

There's Mr H scanning...

Breakfast time...

With some Greater Flamingo’s looking so out of place, and even a few wildfowl with 7 Northern Pintails and a single Shoveler as well. It did make us wonder how these birds find water in a place you wouldn’t expect it! Further scrutiny revealed a Terek Sandpiper, Tibetan Sandplovers, Little Stints, Kentish Plovers and Common Greenshanks, as well as several Brown-necked Ravens. It was a good spot for a picnic breakfast, which we thoroughly enjoyed along with hot coffee and tea.

 

There's a RB Fly in there somewhere

Along this new route there are several green patches to check for migrants and at one of these seemingly random roadside parks out in the desert we found a few Common Chiffchaffs and a Red-breasted Flycatcher. At the next stop, an eBird location called Highway 31 Desert Park we had another Red-breasted Flycatcher and an Isabelline Wheatear, the latter is a species that would become an increasingly common sighting for the rest of the trip. Next up was Haima Park (it became famous last year for a Forest Wagtail) where a Glossy Ibis and Indian Pond-Heron looked rather incongruous strutting around the well-watered lawn. We had a good look around here but our only other sightings of note were a pair of Indian Rollers and a Daurian Shrike. Lunch was taken here before we continued driving to our digs for the night at Al Ghaftain Resthouse. After checking in we explored the garden and turned up an Eastern Black Redstart (semirufous), Bluethroat, the 2^nd Omani record of European Pied Flycatcher, and at least 3 Red-breasted Flycatchers. Not a bad haul at all. And as it was still mid-afternoon we decided to forego the pleasure of a 3am departure tomorrow and head down to Muntesar Oasis now – a drive of just over an hour. The main target here are the Egyptian Nightjars, but we arrived with an hour of daylight which gave us enough time to find a few good birds. An aucheri Great Grey Shrike looked stunning in the scope, and I much prefer the title Arabian Grey Shrike…There was also an Indian Pond-Heron, Daurian Shrike, several Brown-necked Ravens, and as we walked around flushed a Common Quail and had two Red-throated Pipits fly over calling. It was very pleasing to see the previously reported Pied Wheatear here as well. 

Sunset at the oasis...

Once the sun had set we had good flight views of a pair of Egyptian Nightjars and a single European Nightjar as well. In hindsight, it would have been good to explore the area a bit more as a few days later a Sykes’s Nightjar was found here (2^nd for Oman) and it’s a species that has been suspected being here far more regularly than recorded. Well, who needs sleep or dinner huh?!

OMAN DAY 5: BARR AL HICKMAN

We headed to the waderfest that is Barr Al Hickman Area 4 at 5.30am which entailed driving across the potentially wet desert (also known as sabkha) on some semi-visible tracks. This whole area is a Ramsar Site and protects a huge population of shorebirds and other ‘water’ birds that must total well over half a million birds in total, if not more! On the drive from the hotel we had to slow right down due to a thick mist reducing visibility to just a few metres and I was wondering if it would be possible to actually reach my intended site. Well, I needn’t have worried as the mist soon began to dissipate once the sun was up and we got closer to the shore. It’s always an incredible sight to see so many birds at one time and wherever we looked there was a constant movement of shorebirds feeding. The tide was coming in slowly and I mean slowly – in fact with only a 65cms difference between low and high tides I was expecting it to move far quicker than it did. I’m sure some of us were wondering why we’d got here so early as high tide wasn’t until shortly after 11am but in such a fantastic area you just never know what to expect and there’s always the chance of a rarity in the strip of bushes that goes on for many kilometres. And you wouldn’t believe how hot and sultry it was by 11am!!! Yes, we saw a few more Crab-Plovers but they were still quite distant and we did manage to find a lone Great Knot as well, but probably our best experience was with a close group of 7 Broad-billed Sandpipers feeding close in front of us. We watched them for ages as they scuttled first to our left before backtracking right and exploring the numerous puddles spread across the mudflats. It was a fantastic experience to watch them and note their distinctive feeding behaviour and we then scanned across the vast mudflats picking out over a hundred in one scan!

Some phonescoped efforts at Broad-billed Sandpipers

Many thousands of shorebirds, egrets, herons were present including many hundreds of Western Reef Herons, 250+ Eurasian Spoonbills, 1000’s of Dunlins, 200+ Red-necked Phalaropes dotted the shoreline, 2000+ Tibetan Sandplovers, 3,500 Greater Sandplovers,  50+ Terek Sandpipers, 1200+ Greater Flamingo’s etc. You get the picture. In fact it is impossible to give any sort of accurate counts as there’s just so many birds and everything would take flight when a harrier flew over, which they did quite frequently. The fact I found Oman’s 1^st Grey-tailed Tattler here a few years ago just shows what could be out there somewhere…. We also had 2 Short-toed Lark types flyby, that could well have been Turkestan Short-toed Larks. But boy it was hot. In the bushes we saw several Asian Desert Warblers, Lesser Whitethroat & Eurasian Cuckoo, with several Western Marsh Harriers also present. 

 

It was apparent that the Crab-Plovers weren’t roosting in their usual spot so we headed across to Shannah and checked out the beaches there, incredibly finding a Pin-tailed Snipe hiding in the shade from a plastic barrel on the beach! And with sunburnt faces we headed back to the hotel for lunch and a rest. 

 

After a rest back at the hotel we drove to Mahout Sewage Works on the outskirts of the town. Initially everything seemed a little quiet, with just the usual shorebirds such as Tibetan Sandplovers, Little Stints and a few Dunlins present. But we then picked up 3 Wood Sandpipers, Les saw a Red-throated Pipit, and I was amazed to see a Black-necked Grebe in one of the flooded pools. 

Some KP's at the sewage pools

Black-necked Grebe

More shorebirds... 

Brian then shouted ‘pratincole’ and a juvenile flew around the pools before disappearing – probably a Collared Pratincole… There was also Western Yellow Wagtail, Desert Wheatear, Eurasian Curlew, Ruff, Common Coot, Greater Flamingo and others. 

 

It had been quite a day.

OMAN DAY 4: NIZWA - BAR AL HICKMAN - FILIM

After returning to the hotel in the early hours we had a later start than usual and left shortly after 9am on the drive south to Mahout, located very close to the famous Barr Al Hickman. Heading out into the desert on the 300kms drive we saw a few good roadside birds including Desert Wheatear, Egyptian Vulture, Persian Wheatear, Brown-necked Raven, and an aucheri Great Grey Shrike. 

Probably the best find we had was a superb little Asian Desert Warbler that flew around us a few times and we watched it characteristically feeding in the shade of the small bushes that dot the landscape. Lunch was at a petrol station where a Black-crowned Sparrow-Lark flew in and landed on the petrol forecourt right in front of us. However, ice-cream and cold drinks were also well received here as much as the sparrow-lark! 

Asian Desert warbler

On arrival in Mahout we dumped the luggage into our rooms and headed immediately down to Filim, arriving at 3.45pm. Within seconds a superb Crab-Plover was teed up in the monster Swarovski scope, and despite the tide being way out it was still a decent view - in all, we estimated 55+ were present. There was a mass of shorebirds spread all over the exposed mudflats and amongst the many, many Dunlins were Little Stints, Curlew Sandpipers, 1 Sanderling (!), close Tibetan Sandplovers, many monster Greater Sandplovers, quite a few extraordinarily long-billed Eurasian Curlews (asiaticus), Whimbrel, Grey Plovers, Common Redshanks and others. It was quite a spectacle but just a little tittivating taster of what would come tomorrow…. There was also 100+ Greater Flamingo’s, 250+ Grey Herons, 3 Eurasian Spoonbills, many Little & Great Egrets, an Indian Pond-Heron, Striated Heron, Western Marsh Harrier, and an Osprey perched on a post. Walking over to the mangroves we scoped a Clamorous Reed Warbler posing beautifully, and found a very close Temminck’s Stint in a little puddle, as well as a very odd-looking cold, grey Yellow Wagtail that I feel sure must have been an Eastern Yellow Wagtail(a very rare bird in Oman), but it flew away before any photos could be taken or we could see if it had a long hindclaw. A few days later another birding crew claimed an Eastern Yellow Wagtail from the same spot…. Hmmm….?

OMAN DAY 3: BARKA – AL ANSAB WETLANDS – WADI MUAYDIN

Bit of an odd day as we left Barka shortly after 7am and drove back towards Muscat where we called in to the Al Ansab Wetlands hopefully to nail the previously reported Ferruginous Duck and Grey-headed Swamphen for our list. 

Al Ansab Wetlands

Neither showed unfortunately but we did add Purple Heron, Western Cattle Egret, Common Ringed and Little Ringed Plovers, Green Sandpiper and a Western Yellow Wagtail to our list. A Red-necked Phalarope was something of a surprise, and we also saw Western Marsh Harrier, Greater Spotted Eagle, Marsh Sandpiper, close Temminck’s Stint, and a Delicate Prinia. From a list-building point of view it was disappointing to miss the two targets, but on the other hand a bunch of Grey Francolins on the roundabout above the wetlands was a new trip bird for most of the group.

 

From the wetlands it’s about a 90 minute drive east to Wadi Al Muaydin and the scenery changes dramatically as you leave the coast behind. Stark, tall mountains dominate the landscape for most of the journey and once we reached the wadi, we had our lunch in the shade of a big acacia, whilst scanning the skies for raptors. 

We had some 'extras' joining us for lunch....

Well, it turned out there weren’t any raptors but a stiff breeze was quite refreshing!  We spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening resting at our plush hotel in nearby Nizwa. After dinner we headed out to a nearby wadi and tried again for Omani Owl but only heard it. We stuck it out until 2am before heading back to Nizwa and the sanctuary of those nice rooms!

OMAN DAY 2 - AL HAJAR MOUNTAINS

We returned to the same wadi as last night, but needed some sleep so didn’t leave until 8am! What?! Still we scored all of our target birds by 1pm and by then it was 30 degrees Centigrade! You need to know how to bird these wadis and from my experience of 9 visits species tend to remain faithful to the same areas and that makes my job easier. We began at my usual spot where Red-tailed (Persian) Wheatear performed nicely, along with a pair of Arabian Babblers that always seem to be around here, along with a couple of Striolated Buntings & Indian Silverbills. 

Red-tailed (Persian) Wheatear

Neil and some of the other guys found a skulky warbler that eventually proved to be a Menetries’s Warbler, which gave some of the best views I’ve ever experienced here. Lynzi had prepared a fine picnic breakfast with hot tea and coffee, yoghurt, muesli, croissants & jam etc before we drove to my usual site for Hume’s Wheatear. Here we had a pair and although they weren’t too close one bird in particular hung around for ages. This year, I had to go further up the wadi to find Plain Leaf Warbler, but we did find two individuals and really enjoyed repeated close views. 

Plain Leaf Warbler

All we needed was Streaked Scrub Warbler, but by now it was midday and none seemed to be calling, despite trying at all of the usual locations I normally see them. So by now we had to retreat to the comfort of the air-conditioned SUV’s and start heading back to the hotel for a rest. But I still had one more site to try and thankfully after a short burst of tape a very inquisitive Streaked Scrub Warbler flew into a small Acacia right next to us and perched right on top. In fact it circled us and posed beautifully on numerous occasions, all the while swinging its long tail.

 

After lunch and a bit of time off back at our hotel in Barka we drove just under half an hour to the coast where we found our first Terek and Broad-billed Sandpipers, as well as Western Reef Heron and Common Kingfisher along a creek. 

Beach birding...

We walked out across the exposed sand to view a large gathering of gulls and terns at the shoreline, but couldn’t find any Pallas’s Gulls once again amongst the crowd of Heuglin’s and Steppe Gulls. 

Spot the Lesser Crested Tern....

We did get Lesser Crested, 4 Caspian and a few Sandwich Terns, along with Greater Crested Tern, a flock of Slender-billed Gulls and Bar-tailed Godwit all being new birds for the trip. It was a lovely late afternoon session with the sun setting behind us and scoping Greater and Tibetan Sandplovers, Kentish Plovers and others. As we decided to forego the delight of staring at skyscraper high cliffs in the dark for mythical owls, we enjoyed an excellent meal in a local restaurant and an early night!

OMAN DAY 1 - AL FAHAL ISLAND

Well, Oman is getting popular and now firmly established on the world birding circuit. There’s already a few companies and other birders ahead of us or just finished their tour. In my opinion that is great if you’re after finding some rarities but you’ll miss Hypocolius, although have better luck with Sooty Falcon. And that’s our first target today and I’m hoping there’s still one or two lingering on their breeding islands… Already some of the group had been seeing Greater Spotted Eagle, Western Marsh Harrier, Red-wattled Lapwing, Glossy Ibis, Delicate Prinia, Pale Crag Martin, White-eared Bulbul, Purple Sunbird, Isabelline (Daurian) Shrike, and other common species. 

View from hotel window

So, with everyone arriving yesterday and being well rested we set out on the half an hour drive to Al Qurum creek to meet our boat. Our first Arabian Green Bee-eater was a welcome surprise before we set off out to Al Fahal Island. 

The gang...

Would the falcons still be around? I’d seen on eBird that they had been seen yesterday….. It took around 40 minutes to reach the large island and we sailed around the calmer southern side, seeing absolutely nothing until we reached the opposite side where the water was choppy, and of course this was where the Sooty Falcons were hanging out! In fact there were at least 6 in all with a Peregrine Falcon. 

Our most wanted bird - Sooty Falcon

It was a little tricky to get good photos but one bird was quite low down and gave great views. Our falcon watching was put on temporary hold with the appearance of an adult and juvenile Red-billed (Arabian) Tropicbird flying around us – and only the second time I’ve seen them in Oman. Brilliant! 

Red-billed (Arabian) Tropicbird

But back to the falcons, as this was a species most of the group were extremely keen to see and we enjoyed further great views of them flying around the tall cliffs above us and then right over our little boat. Superb! Everyone was elated with this and after a good while watching them we left and headed back to land, with the added bonus of a close Red-necked Phalarope en-route. 

 

From here, we drove half an hour north to the Muscat Rivermouth in the hope of finding Pallas’s Gull, a species which hasn’t been reported yet this season. Of course, we drew a blank on this but still had a fine time sifting through a very nice selection of shorebirds. Highlights were a mix of Greater and Tibetan Sandplovers giving great scope views, along with Kentish Plover, Spotted Redshank, Ruff and many Little Stints, as well as Slender-billed and Sooty Gulls amongst others. 

Checking one of the beaches...

We then drove back to the Crowne Plaza to collect our luggage and set off up to Barka where we’d be staying for 2 nights. 

 

After another great picnic lunch prepared by Lynzi we had a good few hours rest before meeting at 7pm to drive to one of our favourite wadis at the base of the massive Al Hajar Mountains where Omani Owl resides. Well, yes they are there but not tonight. We did stay until 2am but didn’t get a sniff of it and had to content ourselves with a Pallid Scops Owlsitting on a rocky ledge and a Little Owl before driving back, bleary-eyed to the hotel for a short night’s sleep.