1

OMAN: Birding the DHOFAR region

16th to 23

rd November 2007

Mike Cram, Dave Lewis and Neil Tovey

Arguably offering the best birding in Oman, the Dhofar region is encircled by

mountains which back a coastal plain containing numerous freshwater lagoons.

About 600km of desert effectively separates the region from the Asian/Middle

Eastern avifauna to the north. As a result many North African species thrive here.

The main habitats are the coastal lagoons, or khawrs that attract many species of

wildfowl, herons & egrets. The well wooded wadis need to be thoroughly explored

for migrants, raptors and the numerous Dhofar specialities. Rocky promontories offer

some exciting sea-watching opportunities.

Introduction

Few birders in our recording area have visited Oman, so it was with great trepidation

that we began our exploration of the Dhofar region on Saturday 17th November.

Dave and I travelled from Heathrow on Thursday 15th overnight to Muscat via

Bahrain with Gulf Air (£405 rtn each). After a delay at Bahrain, we met up with Neil

on 16th. He’d flown in from Dubai and we took our scheduled evening flight to

Salalah with Oman Air (£72 rtn each).

We picked up our 4WD Nissan Patrol 4.5 (£147 each for the week) and headed for

our self-catering Beach Villa in Salalah (£110 each for the week) after dark via a local

general store for provisions. We began the break in style with a nosh up at the Crowne

Plaza nearby.

It was clear and sunny throughout the week with occasional light cloud, with

temperatures averaging around 30 degrees Celsius at the hottest time of the day. The

nights were warm, air conditioning in both car and villa was essential. Mosquito nets

also helped assist a good night’s sleep!

Water was more expensive than petrol (!) and we were able to get a good meal at

many available decent cafes for a few pounds. The supermarkets that we used to stock

up on provisions were reasonably clean and well stocked.

Generally the Omani people we met were very friendly, even the police and military!

2

MAP OF THE DHOFAR REGION

The map reproduced here is by kind permission of Hanne & Jens Eriksen and

Panadda & Dave.E.Sargeant, from Page 123 of their excellent publication:

Birdwatching guide to Oman (Al Roya Publishing) (October 2001)

3

DAY 2 – Sat 17Nov07 (Day 1 was spent travelling!)

Salalah Beach at dawn:

A great start with 1 Red-billed Tropicbird, 1 Pacific Golden Plover, 1 Caspian

Tern, the 1st of many Sooty Gull, Caspian Gull, Siberian Gull, 2 African Rock

Martin and 30+ Ring-necked Parakeets flew from the nearby plantations.

East Khawr

1 Black-necked Grebe, Western Reef Heron, Squacco Heron, Purple Heron,

Greater Flamingo, 1 Cotton Teal, 2 Ferruginous Duck, 10+Garganey, 1 Bonelli’s

Eagle, Marsh Harrier, Black-winged Stilt, Kentish Plover, Little Stint, Curlew

Sandpiper, Greenshank, Swift Tern, Saunders’s Tern, num Laughing Dove,

50+Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, 20+European Bee-eater, Citrine Wagtail, Isabelline

Wheatear, Desert Wheatear, Graceful Prinia, Clamorous Reed Warbler, 4

Palestine Sunbird, num African Silverbill and the first of many Ruppell’s Weaver.

Purple, Grey & Western Reef Herons & Blue-cheeked Bee-eater at East Khawr

Sahnawt Farm

We were quickly greeted by several Singing Bush Lark, Crested Lark and Black-

headed Wagtail. This working farm was teeming with bird life. Among the pivots

and crops were White Stork, 1 Black Kite, 2 Great Spotted Eagle, 1 Steppe Eagle,

1 Bonelli’s Eagle, 100+White-winged Black Tern, 1 European Roller, 25+Blue-

cheeked Bee-eater, 6+Citrine Wagtail, 1 Clamorous Reed Warbler and 100+

African Silverbill.

Bonelli’s Eagle at Sahnawt Farm and 2 views of Ayn Hamran

Ayn Hamran

This site offers the best opportunity to find most of the Dhofar specialities in a short

space of time. How true that proved. From 0930 to 1130 we were kept very busy and

well rewarded as we worked our way up past a farm, spring and then into a wadi.

4

Birds seen at Ayn Hamran included 2 Bonelli’s Eagle, 1 Short-toed Eagle, 1

Imperial Eagle, 2 Bruce’s Green Pigeon, 1 Grey-headed Kingfisher, 1 Hoopoe, 1

Grey Wagtail, 1 Upcher’s Warbler, 1 Desert Lesser Whitethroat, 2 Arabian

Warbler, 2+ African Paradise Flycatcher, 2 Blackstart, 1 Shining Sunbird, 2

Palestine Sunbird, 4+ White-breasted White-eye, 2 Fan-tailed Raven, several

White-spectacled Bulbul, num Ruppell’s Weaver, 4+ African Rock Bunting.

We then drove past the Crown Plaza hotel in Salalah and recorded Great

Cormorant and 1 Little Green Bee-eater. The afternoon was to be spent birding the

khawrs to the east, but this was delayed by the second of four stops past a police and

military checkpoint where we had to return to the airport to get some correct

documents from the Rental Company. We finally got back to some birding at an

unnamed khawr nearby which we affectionately named ‘Khawr Checkpoint’! We

enjoyed prolonged views of a pair of Montagu’s Harrier here.

Khawr Sawli

The khawr was dry at the north end and we failed to get Pheasant–tailed Jacana. We

did however see 1 Greater Spotted Eagle, 1 Long-legged Buzzard and 1 Indian

Pond Heron.

African Rock Bunting & Blackstart (Ayn Hamran) Indian Pond Heron(Khawr Sawli)

Khawr Taqah

A seawatch from the beach produced 1 Masked Booby, 1 Cattle Egret, numerous

Lesser Crested Tern, Swift Tern, Sandwich Tern & Sooty Gull, 1 Slender-billed

Gull and some Desert Wheatear. As we moved back to the main road to check out

the north end of the khawr, Neil shouted excitedly as he’d found a rare vagrant Pied

Cuckoo. Appropriate celebrations ensued for all as the trip list passed 100 on Day 1!

Pied Cuckoo celebrations at Khawr Taqah! Khawr Rouri

5

Khawr Rouri

This beautiful site was scanned from on high from the ancient ruins of Sumharan,

believed to be the castle of The Queen of Sheba: 1 Persian Shearwater, 2 Masked

Booby, 1 Eurasian Spoonbill, 1 Black Stork (rare for Oman!), 1 Northern

Shoveler, 2 Osprey, 1 Short-toed Eagle, 1 Greater spotted Eagle, 100+Greater

Flamingo, 200+ Red-necked Phalarope in large flocks on the sea and 1 Common

Noddy on an offshore buoy,. Several Tristram’s Grackle and Blackstart were very

confiding here. We also watched up to 100 ‘Dhofar’ Swift which looked like a cross

between Common and Pallid Swift. It is not known what exact species these

enigmatic birds actually are. Some recent work points towards Forbes-Watson’s Swift.

They certainly look different! (Eats tonight were at KFC in Salalah!)

DAY 3 – Sun 18Nov07

Al Maghsayl – coastal lagoons including Marneef Caves and Blowholes.

We arrived to stunning coastal scenery at dawn and set to work checking through the

numerous species in the lagoons and passing out to sea close by. Our first priority was

a rare local breeder and we were quickly rewarded with excellent views of 2 Yellow

Bittern feeding in the morning light along with 1 Little Bittern, 1 Striated Heron, 1

Intermediate Egret, 2 Cotton Teal, 9 Ferruginous Duck, 1 Glossy Ibis, 1

Baillon’s Crake, 4+ Masked Booby, 2+ Brown Booby, 10+White-cheeked Tern,

several Citrine Wagtail, Isabelline Shrike and Desert Wheatear.

Yellow Bittern at Al Maghsayl Mike above the blow holes

We retired to a nearby café for a cheap and tasty snack and relaxed, simply taking in

the fantastic scenery of the cliffs plunging in the distance towards Yemen.

Cotton Teal, Intermediate Egret and Arabian Partridge at Al Maghsayl

Our return to the Marneef Caves part of the site was rewarded with stunning views of

a party of 15 Arabian Partridge distant views of a female South Arabian Wheatear

and some very confiding Tristram’s Grackle. Later on when we returned from

Raysut we added 2 Barbary Falcon, 1 Lesser Kestrel and 1 Blue Rock Thrush.

6

Raysut Harbour

We eventually found our way along a rough track past what appeared to be a disused

power station. We scanned the beach and harbour area: 2 Masked Booby, 15 Osprey,

1 Short-toed Eagle, 1 Greater Spotted Eagle, 1 Caspian Tern, 1 Lesser

Sandplover, 25+Swift Tern plus numerous Kentish Plover, Ruff, Greenshank and

a Grey Plover. We were rewarded on exiting via the rough track with fine views of a

Black-crowned Finch Lark

BCF Lark at Raysut Wadi Ashawq - stunning male South Arabian Wheatear!

Wadi Ashawq

The 4WD was essential for the 7km journey up the wadi along bedrock in places. We

stopped by some pools and saw Little Grebe, Teal, Garganey and Pintail. We

parked up where the track became too rough and walked the last 3km in the heat. As

we waited for nightfall, we enjoyed excellent views of 1 Long-legged Buzzard, 2

superb Verreaux’s Eagle, 4 Arabian Partridge, 2 Little Green Bee-eater, 3 Desert

Lark, a pair of Menetries’s Warbler and 2 Fan-tailed Raven.

We did not hear Hume’s Tawny Owl, but we were disturbed by a guide who appeared

to be taking some immigrants through the wadi(!). We headed back to the car and

used our strong spot lamp to scan at intervals as we left the site. Our luck was in as we

flushed a Hume’s Tawny Owl, 1 Egyptian Nightjar and a European Nightjar!

Eats tonight were cheap and adequate at a restaurant next door to KFC.

DAY 4 – Mon 19Nov07

Wadi Baqlat

As we drove out east towards the seawatching hotspot of Ras Janjari, we chanced

across a wadi with water in it and almost immediately found another Omani rarity –

White Pelican! As we took photos we also noted a Western Reef Heron, 1 Squacco

Heron, 1 Greater Flamingo, 1 Avocet, 1 White-tailed Plover, 1 White-cheeked

Tern, 2 Greenshank and 2 Little Stint.

White Pelican, White-tailed Plover and White-cheeked Tern at Wadi Baqlat

7

Ras Janjari

A two hour seawatch early morning despite the offshore breeze, gave us 5+ Persian

Shearwater, 3 Pale-footed Shearwater, 5+ Jouanin’s Petrel, 8 Masked Booby,

100+ Red-necked Phalarope, numerous Sooty Gull and Swift Tern and 100+

Bridled Tern. Not huge numbers for the site, but we were still very happy. On

checking the beach nearby we found about 20 stunning yellow Ghost Crabs. We

were treated to tea by some very friendly Omanis in a café in the nearby village of

Mirbat, where we also saw a flock of 20 Fan-tailed Raven.

Khawr Rouri

We stopped off to twitch a superb Long-tailed Shrike which a German birder staying

near us had found. We enjoyed excellent views. Working our way down a small

stream in the valley we also saw an Intermediate Egret, 1 Night Heron, 2 Citrine

Wagtail, 1 Tawny Pipit and a Clamorous Reed Warbler.

Tawi Atayr

As we drove up in to the mountains, we passed through another police check-point

and a field with 100 White Stork. As we arrived at Tawi Atayr, several raptors flew

in, 2 Steppe Eagle ( 1 of which mobbed a Booted Eagle!), 1 displaying Bonelli’s

Eagle, 1 Long-legged Buzzard and a Short-toed Eagle. We also quickly located one

of our key targets, 2 Yemen Serin - non-descript little birds but restricted to only a

few sites outside Yemen. WE also checked out the famous sinkhole.

Yemen Serin and the sinkhole at Tawi Atayr Mike at Wadi Darbat

Wadi Darbat

Another beautiful site, but the water levels at the pools were low. We again missed

Pheasant-tailed Jacana. We think the recent tropical storm may have destroyed the

floating vegetation at the sites that normally hold them. However we still enjoyed 2

Bruce’s Green Pigeon, 6 White-breasted White-eye, 10 White-spectacled Bulbul,

10 African Rock Bunting and 6 Ruppell’s Weaver.

We took a break for another cheap but fine curry in a café near East Khawr.

East Khawr at dusk: 50+ Common Sandpiper, 2 Ruff and 2 Curlew Sandpiper.

Finishing the day in Salalah, we saw some Fruit Bats around the various plantations.

8

DAY 5 – Tues 20Nov07

We set off just after 0300h for our journey out of Salalah, over the Dhofar Mountains

to Muntasar 300km to the north. After a brief sighting of a Porcupine, we stopped off

between Dawkah and Qatbit to experience the sheer beauty of the clear starlit night

sky, untouched by any artificial light from civilisation. Simply breathtaking, the

silence even more so!

Muntasar Oasis

We departed from route 31 for about 25km on rough sandy tracks. We arrived 0630h

at the desert oasis. It has a permanent supply of water from an underground spring.

The smell of sulphur was strong! We worked the vegetation. Although no sandgrouse

were coming to drink, we noted 1 Greater White-fronted Goose, 10 Water Pipit, 2

Red-throated Pipit, 1 Asian Desert Warbler, 1 Pied Wheatear, 1 Siberian

Stonechat, 2 Red-breasted Flycatcher (including a stunning male), 2 Song Thrush,

3 Blackcap, 2 Desert Lesser Whitethroat, 1 Willow Warbler, 10+Chiffchaff, 1

Southern Grey Shrike and 1 Brown-necked Raven. It was not long before we found

our main quarry, 2 Grey Hypocolius, normally difficult to see, sunning themselves in

the palms before flying to drink.

Qatbit Rest House and Oasis

On checking in at Qatbit (B&B and EM £30 each) we saw a bedraggled Cattle Egret,

1 Hobby, then at the Oasis; which was quiet and lacking water; 3 more White-

fronted Geese, 1 Pied Wheatear and 2 Asian Desert Warbler. The gardens at the

hotel were enticing, but we opted for a few hours rest in our rooms. Islam the manager

is very keen and very knowledgeable and keeps a bird log.

We scoured the gardens and we were rewarded with a Hume’s Whitethroat (rare for

Oman). We also saw numerous Laughing and Collared Dove, 1 Hoopoe, 2 White

Wagtail, 3 Bluethroat, 8 Desert Lesser Whitethroat, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 2

Menetries’s Warbler, 20+ Chiffchaff, 1 Common Redstart, 10 Black Redstart, 2

Isabelline Shrike, 1 Red-backed Shrike, 6 Red-breasted Flycatcher and 2

Common Rosefinch.

No sandgrouse this evening at Oasis, so we retired for a curry & a good night’s sleep.

DAY 6 – Wed 21Nov07

Qatbit Rest House and Oasis

At dawn, new arrivals in the garden included 1 Red-wattled Plover, 2 Siskin and a

Brown-necked Raven. We staked out the Oasis for Sandgrouse and were rewarded

when 4 Spotted Sandgrouse flew in and landed on the desert about 100 yards away.

We were joined by a confiding Southern Grey Shrike. We took breakfast, checked

out and headed south. 10km south of Dawkah, we found the first of 3 Hoopoe Lark

at the roadside.

9

Qatbit Rest House Southern Grey Shrike Dawn at the hotel gardens

Al Beed Farm As we arrived, we were greeted by the sight of over 200 Spotted Sandgrouse flying

from wet fields. We got better and better views of smaller groups in flight as we made

our way around the pivot fields. Also noted were 5 Red-wattled Lapwing, 1 White-

tailed Plover, 1 Ruff, 5 Wood Sandpiper, 2 Common Snipe, 3 Black-headed

Wagtail, 3 Tawny Pipit, 2 Red-throated Pipit, 10+ Isabelline Wheatear, 10+

Desert Wheatear and 2 Bluethroat.

At midday, 22km S of the farm we found a magnificent Golden Eagle sitting close to

the road. We soon stopped for another Hoopoe Lark.

We then turned off on to the Thumrait to Marmul road to try and find Wadi

Rabkut in search of larks and possible MacQueen’s Bustard. Recent road works and

alterations to the landscape and the afternoon heat conspired against us. We moved

on. After 6km, we screeched to a halt. Neil and I spotted a dark under-tail on a

displaying lark. We had found a pair of the typically nomadic Dunn’s Lark! They

were fairly tolerant of us and we got excellent scope views. This major hoped-for

species capped off our visit to the desert nicely.

East Khawr, Salalah

2 Masked Booby, 1 Oystercatcher, 1 Greater Sandplover, 1 Lesser Sandplover,

10 Temminck’s Stint, numerous Curlew Sandpiper and Siberian Gull, 1 Red-

necked Phalarope, 1 Slender-billed Gull.

Khawr al Balid

We made our way to this attractive site in Salalah to twitch Oman’s first Slavonian

Grebe, happily sitting on the edge of the khawr. Also present were 3 Night Heron, 1

Squacco Heron and 88 Blue-cheeked Bee-eater. On the beach nearby was a flock of

over 2,000 gulls, mainly Sooty, but with large numbers of Siberian and Caspian.

Ayn Sahnawt Neil at Ayn Sahnawt

10

Ayn Sahnawt

Neil and I left Dave at the villa and set off on an owl hunt. We stopped off at the Ayn

Sahnawt picnic spot. It was noisy with excited teenagers. After some searching further

away, we managed to find the a Black-crowned Tchagra. We think they were not

calling at present which can make them difficult to locate. A very dapper bird all the

same. We also noted Imperial, Booted Eagles, Ruppell’s Weaver and WB White-eye.

We took the road to about 2km towards Shir, chose an appropriate lay-by at sunset

and waited. A Rock Hyrax scuttled around and we noted 3 Hobby, 1 Sparrowhawk

and 3 Harriers which were probably Pallid. At least 6 African Scops Owl began to

call at dusk, 2 of them very close-by. We could not locate any in the torch light, but

we did manage to see one in the headlights as we later searched the valley.

Salalah Beach Villas

Whilst we were away, Dave managed a seawatch from the Beach Villa and scored

with 2 leaping Indo-Pacific Hump-backed Dolphin, 1 Red-billed Tropicbird, 8

Masked Booby, 3 Brown Booby, 203 Red-necked Phalarope plus numerous

Persian Shearwater and Bridled Terns. Our final evening together was celebrated

with another fine meal and a few wines/beers at the Crown Plaza in Salalah.

DAY 7 – Thu 22Nov07

With a long journey ahead of us this evening, I decided to rest at the beach and

seawatch: 2 Persian Shearwater, 1 Red-billed Tropicbird, 2 Masked Booby, 1

Swift Tern, 1 Lesser-crested Tern and a Pied Wheatear

Ayn Hamran Neil added Common Myna and Black-headed Gull for the trip in Salalah. Then

Dave & Neil just missed a Didric Cuckoo at Ayn Hamran. Neil pointed out a Red-

breasted Flycatcher that some nearby English birders decided was most likely a

Taiga Flycatcher.

Khawr Sawli 2 imm Pallid Harrier, 11 Greater White-fronted Geese and an Arctic Skua.

Khawr Taqah

15 Indo-Pacific Hump-backed Dolphin, several Socotra Cormorant, 30 Masked

Booby and 4,000 Sooty Gull.

6 Abdim’s Stork at Khawr Rouri capped off a fine morning

11

Date Plantations, opposite the Crown Plaza Hotel in Salalah Dave decided to rest up. Neil and I acted on some local birding gen and checked this

site out. It was close to our villa. We scored with one of our main target birds, a

Spotted Thick-knee sunning itself against a wall. We had driven past the site several

times over the last week!

Spotted Thick-knee, Salalah Gulls at the beach Abdim’s Stork, Jarziz

We moved down Salalah beach and saw 4 Bar-tailed Godwit, 1 Black-tailed

Godwit and 3 Ruddy Turnstone. Then came the amazing spectacle of over 10,000

Gulls, mainly Siberian, Sooty and Caspian, gathering as the local fishermen brought

in their nets. 50 Swift Tern were also present.

Jarziz Farm, Salalah

As we approached the farm a stroke of luck! 2 Abdim’s Stork obligingly sat on 2

lamp posts in the middle of the dual-carriageway! We took the 4WD around the farm

and also saw 12 White Stork, 1 Graceful Prinia and 2 more Ruppell’s Weaver.

East Khawr

A mid afternoon finish here, 1 Indian Pond Heron being the only different bird

compared to earlier visits. We had late lunch at the local KFC – cheap as chips!

Dave and I finished our birding with a Blue-headed Wagtail at the Salalah departure

gate. We caught our connection back to Muscat at 1800h and were refreshed by the

excellent hospitality of Oman Air.

Neil had another night’s stay until his flight to Dubai and duly added a few more birds

to the trip list:-

Ayn Razat

20 Red-rumped Swallow and 5 House Martin

Park in Salalah

4 Whiskered Tern

12

DAY 8 (Neil only) – Fri 23Nov07

Jarziz Farm Salalah Beach

12 Sand Martin 1 Terek Sandpiper and 1 Little Egret near the beach villa.

Sahnawt Farm

400 White-winged Black Tern, 40 White Stork and 100 Blue-cheeked Bee-eater.

Ayn Razat

1 Grey-headed Kingfisher and 1 Sparrowhawk.

Khawr-al-Balid

The Slavonian Grebe was still present.

Dave and I landed at Heathrow at 0620h and got back to Bridgend by lunch time on

Friday 22nd

. We could reflect on a truly wonderful trip, but were very tired after a

long journey.

On reflection, we can say we thoroughly enjoyed the excellent service and hospitality

of Gulf Air and Oman Air. However, in hindsight we did kind of think we could have

used British Airways. They fly direct to Muscat. Gulf Air decided to no longer offer a

direct service there shortly before we flew leaving us no time to re-schedule.

Mike Cram

1st December 2007

Trivia:

Mike – 48 lifers, Dave - 30 lifers, Neil – 24 lifers

(Plus whatever those Dhofar Swifts are!)

13

Species List

Little Grebe Greater Spotted Eagle Black-headed Gull

Black-necked Grebe Steppe Eagle Slender-billed Gull

Slavonian Grebe Eastern Imperial Eagle Baltic Gull

Jouanin’s Petrel Golden Eagle Siberian Gull

Pale-footed Shearwater Verreaux’s Eagle Caspian Gull

Persian Shearwater Booted Eagle Gull-billed Tern

Red-billed Tropicbird Bonelli’s Eagle Caspian Tern

Masked Booby Osprey Swift Tern

Brown Booby Lesser Kestrel Lesser Crested Tern

Great Cormorant Common Kestrel Sandwich Tern

Socotra Cormorant Hobby Common Tern

White Pelican Barbary Falcon White-cheeked Tern

Little Bittern Arabian Partridge Bridled Tern

Yellow Bittern Baillon’s Crake Saunders’s Tern

Night Heron Common Moorhen Whiskered Tern

Striated Heron Common Coot White-winged Black Tern

Squacco Heron Eurasian Oystercatcher Common Noddy

Indian Pond Heron Black-winged Stilt Spotted Sandgrouse

Cattle Egret Pied Avocet Rock Dove

Western Reef Heron Spotted Thick-knee Collared Dove

Little Egret Little Ringed Plover Laughing Dove

Intermediate Egret Great Ringed Plover Bruce’s Green Pigeon

Great White Egret Kentish Plover Ring-necked Parakeet

Grey Heron Lesser Sand Plover Pied Cuckoo

Purple Heron Greater Sand Plover African Scops Owl

Black Stork Pacific Golden Plover Hume’s Tawny Owl

Abdim’s Stork Grey Plover European Nightjar

White Stork Red-wattled Plover Egyptian Nightjar

Glossy Ibis White-tailed Plover ‘Dhofar Swift’

Spoonbill Little Stint Grey-headed Kingfisher

Greater Flamingo Temminck’s Stint Little Green Bee-eater

White-fronted Goose Curlew Sandpiper Blue-cheeked Bee-eater

Cotton Teal Dunlin European Bee-eater

Eurasian Wigeon Ruff European Roller

Gadwall Common Snipe Hoopoe

Eurasian Teal Black-tailed Godwit Singing Bush Lark

Mallard Bar-tailed Godwit Black-crowned Finch Lark

Northern Pintail Whimbrel Dunn’s Lark

Garganey Eurasian Curlew Desert Lark

Northern Shoveler Common Redshank Greater Hoopoe Lark

Ferruginous Duck Common Greenshank Crested Lark

Tufted Duck Green Sandpiper Sand Martin

Black Kite Wood Sandpiper African Rock Martin

Short-toed Eagle Terek Sandpiper Barn Swallow

Marsh Harrier Common Sandpiper Red-rumped Swallow

Pallid Harrier Ruddy Turnstone House Martin

Montagu’s Harrier Red-necked Phalarope Tawny Pipit

Eurasian Sparrowhawk Arctic Skua Red-throated Pipit

Long-legged Buzzard Sooty Gull Water Pipit

14

Black-headed Wagtail Clamorous Reed Warbler Isabelline Shrike

Blue-headed/Yellow Wagtail Upcher’s Warbler Red-backed Shrike

Citrine Wagtail Menetries’s Warbler Long-tailed Shrike

White Wagtail Asian Desert Warbler Southern Grey Shrike

White-spectacled Bulbul Arabian Warbler House Crow

Grey Hypocolius Lesser Whitethroat Brown-necked Raven

Bluethroat Hume’s Whitethroat Fan-tailed Raven

Black Redstart Desert Lesser Whitethroat Tristram’s Grackle

Common Redstart Blackcap Common Mynah

Blackstart Common Chiffchaff House Sparrow

Whinchat Willow Warbler Ruppell’s Weaver

Siberian Stonechat Spotted Flycatcher African Silverbill

Isabelline Wheatear Red-breasted Flycatcher Yemen Serin

Pied Wheatear Taiga Flycatcher Eurasian Siskin

Desert Wheatear African Paradise Flycatcher Common Rosefinch

South Arabian Wheatear Shining Sunbird African Rock Bunting

Blue Rock Thrush Palestine Sunbird

Song Thrush White-breasted White-eye

Graceful Prinia Black-crowned Tchagra

A Total of 201 species

Mammals

Indo-Pacific hump-backed Dolphin

Porcupine

Rock Hyrax

Arabian Red Fox

Fruit Bat (plus a couple of smaller unidentified Bat sp.)

Reptiles – several small lizards/geckos that we did not identify

Crustaceans

Ghost Crab

Butterflies

Tiger, Swallow-tail sp, (Plus several species of moth & butterfly unidentified)

Dragonflies

Several were seen, including 1 photographed, likely Sympetrum sp?

15

References

(1) Birdwatching Guide to Oman

– Hanne & Jens Eriksen/Panadda & Dave.E.Sargeant (Al Roya Publishing)

(2) Birds of the Middle East

– Porter, Christensen, Schiermacker-Hansen (Helm)

(3) Field Guide to Birds of Britain & Europe

– Mullarney, Svennson et al (Collins)

(4) Birds of Eastern Africa

– Ber van Perlo (Collins)

(5) Pocket Guide to Birds of the Indian Continent

– Grimmett, Inskipp & Inskipp (Helm)

(6) A Complete Guide to the Seabirds of the world

- Peter Harrison (Helm)

(7) Sultanate of Oman Map by the Ministry of Tourism, PO Box 200, Muscat 115.

This was handy and contained a useful, but small, street map of Salalah,

www.omantourism.gov.om or email info@omantourism.gov.om

USEFUL INFORMATION

If you are planning a visit to the region, the following links and websites may prove

useful. Naturally, different times of year can provide different birds!

WEBSITES:

www.birdsoman.com

The Eriksen’s website is very useful and informative with regular updates. I

recommend using this in conjunction with theirs and the Sargeant’s above-mentioned

guide.

www.tommypedersen.com

Tommy’s website is highly recommended, especially if you wish to combine your trip

with a visit to the UAE

TRIP REPORTS:

We found the following useful and informative:

www.rekel.nl/Oman/omanbird/petersen/index.htm

www.osme.org/osmetrip/tripreps.html

www.birdquest.co.uk/reportFiles/OMAN%20&%20BAHRAIN%20REP%2005.pdf

www.norfolkbirding.com/tripreport_uae_oman.html