SULTANATE OF OMAN 2007

‘Given that this was only the second time we have run this new tour, I expected we would encounter a few species we didn’t see on the previous tour, including a rarity or two. In the event we had over 30 ‘write-ins’ to our prepared checklist, almost half of which were vagrants! Clearly, this year’s tour benefited from some exceptional circumstances in terms of weather/migration, but a significant contributory factor was the presence of so many sharp eyes among our party! On a less celebratory note, there was a stark difference between the many unexpected vagrants we had in the south of the country and the comparative struggle we had in the north; at the Sohar Sun-farm in particular the birds were much scarcer than usual and virtually all of the former good birding spots around the capital city, Muscat, were adversely affected by a serious cyclone last summer and had very limited birding potential. Time will tell whether some of these former hot spots will be restored, or if they become ‘reclaimed’ as part of the huge effort to repair the considerable damage inflicted on the north coast.

Our first day of birding was at Al Sawadi, just an hour north of Muscat and it was great to find that a few Sooty Falcons had not yet departed for Madagascar, where they spend the winter. We had excellent views of both adults and juveniles in the spectacular setting of Al Sawadi Island, where a few pairs breed. All would likely be gone within a week. An elusive Plain Leaf Warbler played hide and seek with us here, but eventually everyone got a view of this very rare and localised wintering species. As usual, a good mix of waders, gulls and terns was present in the area but the discovery of five Common Noddies offshore was an unexpected bonus.

The Sohar sun-farm was to be the main focus of the following few days, but for some reason the variety and number of birds here was well down on normal. Still, there was plenty to look at, especially at the sewage pools just beside the cattle sheds. Here we had the opportunity to study Whiskered and White-winged Black Terns side-by-side, Temminck’s and Little Stints, Citrine Wagtails, handsome ‘Masked’ Wagtails (the personata race of White-Wagtail), Red-wattled and White-tailed Lapwings as well as the ubiquitous Cattle Egrets and Black-winged Stilts. A few hundred yards beyond the farm we were lucky to find a party of seven Cream Coloured Coursers on a ploughed field, while nearby over a thousand Short-toed Larks were foraging in the scrubby grassland, making an impressive sight as they all left together for their evening roost.

It took us some time to identify the best field for pipits and wagtails, as the large flocks of Indian Rollers that usually draw attention to these ‘prime’ fields were largely absent this year. Nevertheless, there was quite a respectable presence of birds on the freshly cut rice-grass, mostly an assortment of yellow wagtails but also plenty of Tawny Pipits and smaller numbers of Richard’s and Red-throated Pipits. Diligent searching of the area revealed the presence of at least six Oriental Skylarks, supposedly a rare vagrant to Oman but probably one that is overlooked.

We visited the unspoiled Acacia forest at Khatmat Milahah at first light when the air was still and pleasantly cool. Immediately, we heard the distinctive call of a Plain Leaf Warbler right beside where we parked, and over the next couple of hours we picked up at least seven more. We found two Eastern Pied Wheatears here, lots of Desert Lesser Whitethroats, a couple of Desert Warblers and a flock of White-cheeked Bulbuls on the move. At Liwa, we were lucky to see a couple of White-collared Kingfishers, though at rather long range. The race found here, kalbaensis, is highly localised, found only in extreme north Oman and neighbouring south UAE and in global terms this is certainly the rarest bird we would see on this trip.

The long drive to Ras al Hadd didn’t allow for very much birding along the way, but noticing a half a dozen Lappet-faced Vultures flying low over the town of Ibra we decided to stop and have a closer look at them. We soon realised that that there were well over twenty birds, and it seemed that they were attracted to something just beyond a small mountain within a few hundred metres of the road. Curious to see what it was, we investigated and were amazed to find an extraordinary gathering, numbering 102 Lappet-faceds gathered around three fresh donkey carcasses! This is more than double the previous largest gathering recorded in Oman, so a very significant observation, as well as an impressive sight.

A gathering of shorebirds at Sur included some charming Terek Sandpipers racing around like wound-up toys and 28 Broad-billed Sandpipers, still showing a distinctly striped head-pattern even in non-breeding plumage. At Ras al Hadd several Crab Plovers stalked the mudflats, their unique appearance prompting thoughts of an imaginary hybrid between Grey Plover and Avocet! The main reason for travelling to Ras al Hadd was to experience the very special nocturnal arrival of Green Turtles, certain stretches of beach here being the most important ‘nesting’ beaches for turtles in the whole of Oman. It was very good to see that the Omani authorities recognise the importance of turtle conservation, and a very impressive Interpretive Centre nearing completion at the most important site will ensure that many people will come to appreciate the amazing life cycle of these charismatic creatures. However, the sheer popularity of the necessarily organised, guided trip to see egg-laying females inevitably detracts somewhat from what, in less crowded circumstances, would undoubtedly have been a very moving experience.

After a week in the north of the country the time came for a complete change of scenery and a markedly different avifauna in the south. The abundance of birdlife here, and the numerous different birding spots within an hour’s drive of our hotel meant that it was going to be difficult to get to all the sites, but we visited as many as possible, a few of them more than once. An exotic mix of species at Ayn Hamran included African Paradise Flycatchers, Grey-headed Kingfishers, flocks of Oriental White-eyes, African Rock Buntings, Shining Sunbirds and beautiful Bruce’s green Pigeons. An all-too-brief encounter with two Golden-winged Grosbeaks, a very difficult bird to find in Oman, left us wishing for more, but when they flew off they simply vanished.

The sun-farms on the outskirts of Salalah held lots of good birds, including Sociable Plover, Collared Pratincoles, Bimaculated Larks, Imperial, Spotted, Steppe and Lesser Spotted Eagles. Singing Bush Larks lived up to their name, with as many as twenty in the air at once filling the air with sound.

A boat trip out of Mirbat got off to an exciting start when, within just a few minutes of the leaving the harbour, we were surrounded by a feeding frenzy of Bridled Terns, Common Noddies and Red-necked Phalaropes. A few kilometres further out we encountered numbers of Persian Shearwaters and an estimated 40 Jouanin’s Petrels, our boatman managing to ‘keep up’ with several of the latter as they flew at about 30 km per hour.

A drive north, to Qatbit, took us through desert terrain where we hoped to see big flocks of sandgrouse coming to drink. In the event, a surfeit of available water meant that the sandgrouse did not visit their usual drinking spots in the numbers we hoped for, but we did see some. More exciting were the unexpected rarities we encountered along the way; Black Drongo (about the fourth record for Oman), Grey Hypocolius, Brown Flycatcher (second record), White-breasted Waterhen, Blyth’s Pipit, Asian Koel and Forest Wagtail (c 5^th record) were all new to the list, while a very confiding Eurasian Scops Owl had us put our field guides (not to mention the tour-leader!) to the test.

It will be very interesting to see how this tour develops over the years, but from my four visits so far I consider it one of the most exciting, attractive and rewarding countries in the Middle east in which to spend time birding.‘ by Killian Mullarney.

BIRD LIST:

This is a list of all the species seen during the last two tours to Oman.

Column A = Number of tours on which this species has been recorded.

Column B = Number of days this species was seen on the last tour.

Column C = Maximum daily count for this species on the last tour.

H = Heard

A		B	C
2	Little Grebe	3	3		Tachybaptus ruficollis iraquensis
1	Black-necked Grebe				Podiceps nigricollis
2	Jouanin's Petrel	1	40		Bulweria fallax
1	Pale-footed Shearwater				Puffinus carneipes
2	Persian (Audubon's) Shearwater	5	51		Puffinus persicus
1	Red-billed Tropicbird	1	1		Phaethon aethereus
2	Masked Booby	3	4		Sula dactylatra
2	Great Cormorant	5	37		Phalacrocorax carbo sinensis
2	Socotra Cormorant	3	200		Phalacrocorax nigrogularis
1	Little Bittern	1	2		Ixobrychus minutus
2	Night Heron	4	23		Nycticorax nycticorax
1	Striated Heron	3	1		Butorides striatus
2	Squacco Heron	2	8		Ardeola ralloides
1	Indian Pond Heron	1	1		Ardeola grayii
2	Cattle Egret	8	70		Bubulcus ibis
2	Western Reef Heron	11	30		Egretta gularis schistacea
2	Little Egret	3	7		Egretta garzetta
1	Intermediate Egret				Egretta intermedia
2	Great White Egret	2	5		Ardea alba
2	Grey Heron	14	32		Ardea cinerea
2	Purple Heron	7	3		Ardea purpurea
1	White Stork	3	150		Ciconia ciconia
1	Glossy Ibis				Plegadis falcinellus
2	Spoonbill	2	6		Platalea leucorodia
2	Greater Flamingo	7	114		Phoenicopterus ruber
1	Greylag Goose	1	1		Anser anser rubirostris
1	Cotton Teal				Nettapus coromandelianus
2	Wigeon	2	2		Anas penelope
2	Gadwall	2	1		Anas strepera
2	Teal	6	5		Anas crecca
2	Mallard	4	10		Anas platyrhynchos
2	Pintail	3	3		Anas acuta
2	Garganey	5	9		Anas querquedula
2	Shoveler	4	9		Anas clypeata
2	Pochard	1	2		Aythya ferina
2	Ferruginous Duck	1	4		Aythya nyroca
1	Tufted Duck				Aythya fuligula
2	Honey Buzzard	2	1		Pernis apivorus
1	Crested Honey Buzzard				Pernis ptilorhynchus
1	Black Kite	1	1		Milvus migrans
2	Egyptian Vulture	3	130		Neophron percnopterus
2	Lappet-faced Vulture	5	102		Torgos tracheliotos negevensis
2	Short-toed Eagle	5	3		Circaetus gallicus
2	Marsh Harrier	10	10		Circus aeruginosus
2	Pallid Harrier	2	2		Circus macrourus
2	Montagu's Harrier	2	2		Circus pygargus
2	Sparrowhawk	1	1		Accipiter nisus
1	Common Buzzard	3	1		Buteo buteo
1	Long-legged Buzzard				Buteo rufinus cirtensis
1	Lesser Spotted Eagle	1	1		Aquila pomarina
2	Greater Spotted Eagle	8	10		Aquila clanga
2	'fulvescens' Spotted Eagle	2	3		Aquila clanga 'fulvescens'
2	Steppe Eagle	7	20		Aquila nipalensis
2	Imperial Eagle	6	5		Aquila heliaca
1	Golden Eagle				Aquila chrysaetos homeyeri
2	Booted Eagle	5	5		Hieraaetus pennatus
2	Bonelli's Eagle	6	3		Hieraaetus fasciatus
2	Osprey	6	5		Pandion haliaetus
2	Kestrel	11	5		Falco tinnunculus
1	Sooty Falcon	1	7		Falco concolor
2	Hobby	3	2		Falco subbuteo
2	Peregrine Falcon	6	1		Falco peregrinus
2	Barbary Falcon	1	2		Falco pelegrinoides
2	Arabian Partridge	2	20		Alectoris melanocephala
2	Grey Francolin	6	30		Francolinus pondicerianus
2	Quail	3	3		Coturnix coturnix
2	Spotted Crake	1	1		Porzana porzana
1	Little Crake				Porzana parva
2	Baillon's Crake	2	2		Porzana pusilla
1	White-breasted Waterhen	1	1		Amaurornis phoenicurus
2	Moorhen	4	20		Gallinula chloropus
2	Coot	2	6		Fulica atra
1	Red-knobbed Coot				Fulica cristata
1	Pheasant-tailed Jacana				Hydrophasianus chirurgus
2	Oystercatcher	7	25		Haematopus ostralegus
2	Black-winged Stilt	4	40		Himantopus himantopus
2	Crab Plover	3	6		Dromas ardeola
2	Spotted Thick-knee	1	1	H	Burhinus capensis
2	Cream-coloured Courser	3	7		Cursorius cursor
1	Collared Pratincole	1	5		Glareola pratincola
1	Little Pratincole				Glareola lactea
2	Little Ringed Plover	3	15		Charadrius dubius
2	Ringed Plover	7	6		Charadrius hiaticula tundrae
2	Kentish Plover	9	150		Charadrius alexandrinus
2	Lesser Sand Plover	6	50		Charadrius mongolus
2	Greater Sand Plover	8	150		Charadrius leschenaultii
2	Pacific Golden Plover	3	27		Pluvialis fulva
2	Grey Plover	8	10		Pluvialis squatarola
2	Red-wattled Plover	7	30		Vanellus indicus
2	Sociable Plover	1	1		Vanellus gregaria
2	White-tailed Plover	1	1		Vanellus leucurus
2	Sanderling	7	20		Calidris alba
2	Little Stint	8	50		Calidris minuta
2	Temminck's Stint	6	8		Calidris temminckii
1	Pectoral Sandpiper	1	1		Calidris melanotos
2	Curlew Sandpiper	3	4		Calidris ferruginea
2	Dunlin	8	25		Calidris alpina
1	Broad-billed Sandpiper	3	28		Limicola falcinellus
2	Ruff	6	65		Philomachus pugnax
1	Jack Snipe				Lymnocryptes minimus
2	Common Snipe	5	7		Gallinago gallinago
2	Pintail Snipe	3	5		Gallinago stenura
1	Long-billed Dowitcher				Limnodromus scolopaceus
1	Black-tailed Godwit				Limosa limosa
2	Bar-tailed Godwit	4	20		Limosa lapponica
2	Whimbrel	8	5		Numenius phaeopus
2	Curlew	7	20		Numenius arquata orientalis
2	Spotted Redshank	2	1		Tringa erythropus
2	Redshank	8	100		Tringa totanus ussuriensis
2	Marsh Sandpiper	2	2		Tringa stagnatilis
2	Greenshank	10	15		Tringa nebularia
2	Green Sandpiper	6	12		Tringa ochropus
2	Wood Sandpiper	6	10		Tringa glareola
2	Terek Sandpiper	3	21		Xenus cinereus
2	Common Sandpiper	12	26		Actitis hypoleucos
2	Turnstone	4	5		Arenaria interpres
2	Red-necked Phalarope	4	256		Phalaropus lobatus
2	Arctic Skua	5	4		Stercorarius parasiticus
2	Sooty Gull	10	1000		Larus hemprichii
2	‘Steppe' Gull	11	‘00s		Larus (cachinnans) barabensis
2	Siberian Gull	5	‘00s		Larus fuscus heuglini
1	Baltic Lesser Black-backed Gull				Larus fuscus fuscus
2	Black-headed Gull	2	4		Larus ridibundus
2	Slender-billed Gull	10	400		Larus genei
2	Gull-billed Tern	5	6		Sterna nilotica
2	Caspian Tern	4	20		Sterna caspia
2	Swift (Crested) Tern	9	100		Sterna bergii velox
2	Lesser Crested Tern	7	40		Sterna bengalensis
2	Sandwich Tern	9	40		Sterna sandvicensis
2	Common Tern	5	20		Sterna hirundo
1	White-cheeked Tern	1	2		Sterna repressa
2	Bridled Tern	6	240		Sterna anaethetus
2	Saunders's Tern	7	6		Sterna saundersi
2	Whiskered Tern	5	10		Chlidonias hybridus
2	White-winged Black Tern	5	600		Chlidonias leucopterus
2	Common Noddy	4	23		Anouos stolidus
1	Lichtenstein's Sandgrouse				Pterocles lichtensteinii
2	Crowned Sandgrouse	2	1		Pterocles coronatus
2	Spotted Sandgrouse	2	3		Pterocles senegallus
2	Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse	3	200		Pterocles exustus
2	Rock Dove/Feral Pigeon	14	60		Colomba livia palaestinae
2	Collared Dove	11	‘000s		Streptopelia decaocto
2	Rufous Turtle Dove	1	1		Streptopelia orientalis meena
2	Palm (Laughing) Dove	13	100		Streptopelia senegalensis
2	Namaqua Dove	4	13		Oena capensis
2	Bruce's Green Pigeon	2	8		Treron waalia
1	Jacobin Cuckoo	1	2		Clamator jacobinus
2	Rose-ringed Parakeet	8	50		Psittacula krameri
1	Common Cuckoo	3	1		Cuculus canorus
1	Common Koel	1	1		Eudynamys scolopacea
2	African Scops Owl	1	6	H	Otus senegalensis
1	Scops Owl				Otus scops
2	European Nightjar	3	3		Caprimulgus europaeus
1	Egyptian Nightjar	1	1		Caprimulgus aegyptius
2	Pallid Swift	4	150		Apus pallidus
2	Grey-headed Kingfisher	4	6		Halcyon leucocephala
1	White-collared Kingfisher	1	3		Halcyon chloris
2	Common Kingfisher	5	4		Alcedo atthis
2	Little Green Bee-eater	8	10		Merops orientalis
2	Blue-cheeked Bee-eater	4	100		Merops persicus
1	European Bee-eater	1	1		Merops apiaster
2	European Roller	5	30		Coracias garrulus semenovi
2	Indian Roller	10	120		Coracias benghalensis
2	Hoopoe	6	7		Upupa epops
2	Wryneck	2	1		Jynx torquilla
2	Singing Bush Lark	2	55		Mirafra cantillans
2	Black-crowned Finch Lark	4	43		Eremopteryx nigriceps
2	Desert Lark	2	4		Ammomanes deserti
2	Hoopoe Lark	1	2		Alaemon alaudipes
2	Bimaculated Lark	2	28		Melanocorypha bimaculata
2	Short-toed Lark	7	1200		Calandrella brachydactyla eremica
2	Crested Lark	13	15		Galerida cristata brachyura
2	Oriental Skylark	2	6		Alauda gulgula
1	Skylark	1	1		Alauda arvensis
2	Sand Martin	6	20		Riparia riparia
2	Pale Crag Martin	9	6		Ptyonoprogne fuligula
2	Barn Swallow	9	100		Hirundo rustica
2	Richard's Pipit	3	14		Anthus richardi
1	Blyth's Pipit	1	1		Anthus godlewskii
2	Tawny Pipit	10	40		Anthus campestris
2	Long-billed Pipit	1	1		Anthus similis arabicus
2	Tree Pipit	4	10		Anthus trivialis
2	Red-throated Pipit	7	15		Anthus cervinus
2	Water Pipit	1	6		Anthus spinoletta coutellii
2	Blue-headed Wagtail	9	50		Motacilla flava flava
1	Black-headed Wagtail	6	5		Motacilla flava feldegg
1	Grey-headed Wagtail	2	1		Motacilla flava thunbergi
1	Sykes's Wagtail	1	1		Motacilla flava beema
2	Citrine Wagtail	10	15		Motacilla citreola
2	Grey Wagtail	3	3		Motacilla cinerea
2	White Wagtail	13	70		Motacilla alba
1	Masked Wagtail	2	4		Motacilla alba personata
2	White-cheeked Bulbul	3	20		Pycnonotus leucogenys
2	Red-vented Bulbul	2	3		Pycnonotus cafer
2	Yellow-vented Bulbul	9	25		Pycnonotus xanthopygos
1	Grey Hypocolius	1	1		Hypocolius ampelinus
1	Eastern Nightingale	1	3		Luscinia megarhynchos hafizi
2	Bluethroat	3	2		Luscinia svecica
2	Black Redstart	5	2		Phoenicurus ochruros semirufus
2	Redstart	1	2		Phoenicurus phoenicurus
2	Blackstart	2	5		Cercomela melanura
2	Eastern Stonechat	1	1		Saxicola torquata maura
1	‘Caspian' Stonechat	1	1		Saxicola torquata variegatus
2	Northern Wheatear	1	1		Oenanthe oenanthe
2	Isabelline Wheatear	10	20		Oenanthe isabellina
2	Desert Wheatear	12	10		Oenanthe deserti
2	Red-tailed Wheatear	5	7		Oenanthe (xanthoprymna) chrysopygia
2	Eastern Pied Wheatear	1	2		Oenanthe picata
2	Pied Wheatear	2	3		Oenanthe pleschanka
2	South Arabian Wheatear	1	2		Oenanthe lugentoides
2	Hume's Wheatear	2	4		Oenanthe alboniger
1	Rock Thrush				Monticola saxatilis
2	Blue Rock Thrush	1	2		Monticola solitarius
2	Graceful Prinia	8	12		Prinia gracilis
1	European Reed Warbler	1	7		Acrocephalus scirpaceus
2	Clamorous Reed Warbler	5	10		Acrocephalus stentoreus
2	Eastern Olivaceous Warbler	2	2		Hippolais pallida
2	Sykes's Warbler	1	2		Hippolais rama
2	Ménétries's Warbler	2	3		Sylvia mystacea
2	Desert Warbler	4	7		Sylvia nana
2	Arabian Warbler	2	1		Sylvia leucomelaena
2	Lesser Whitethroat	4	6		Sylvia curruca
2	Desert Lesser Whitethroat	6	10		Sylvia curruca minula
1	Common Whitethroat				Syliva communis
1	Blackcap	1	1		Sylvia atricapillus
1	Yellow-browed Warbler	1	1		Phylloscopus inornatus/ humei
2	Wood Warbler	1	2		Phylloscopus sibilatrix
2	Plain Leaf Warbler	2	8		Phylloscopus neglectus
2	Chiffchaff	4	60		Phylloscopus collybita abietinus
1	Willow Warbler				Phylloscopus trochilus
1	Brown Flycatcher	1	1		Muscicapa daurica
1	Spotted Flycatcher	4	3		Muscicapa striata
2	Red-breasted Flycatcher	1	5		Ficedula parva
2	African Paradise Flycatcher	3	6		Terpsiphone viridis harterti
2	Arabian Babbler	2	5		Turdoides squamiceps
2	Shining Sunbird	4	20		Nectarinia habessinica
2	Purple Sunbird	7	30		Nectarinia asiatica
2	Palestine Sunbird	1	2		Nectarinia osea
2	White-breasted White-eye	3	60		Zosterops abyssinica
1	Black-crowned Tchagra				Tchagra senegala
2	Isabelline Shrike	9	4		Lanius isabellinus
2	Red-backed Shrike	1	1		Lanius collurio
1	Long-tailed Shrike				Lanius schach
2	(Southern) Great Grey Shrike	4	2		Lanius meridionalis aucheri
2	Steppe Grey Shrike	2	1		Lanius meridionalis pallidirostris
1	Masked Shrike				Lanius nubicus
1	Black Drongo	1	1		Dicrurus macrocercus
2	House Crow	9	800		Corvus splendens
2	Brown-necked Raven	6	10		Corvus ruficollis
2	Fan-tailed Raven	5	30		Corvus rhipidurus
2	Tristram's Grackle	3	50		Onychognathus tristramii
1	Brahminy Starling	1	1		Sturnus vulgaris
1	Starling				Sturnus vulgaris
2	Rose-coloured Starling	1	3		Sturnus roseus
1	Wattled Starling	1	20		Creatophora cineracea
2	Common Mynah	8	1000		Acridotheres tristis
2	House Sparrow	14	1000		Passer domesticus
2	Rüppell's Weaver	3	30		Ploceus galbula
1	Red Bishop				Euplectes orix
1	Common Waxbill				Estrilda astrild
2	Indian Silverbill	4	50		Lonchura malabarica
2	African Silverbill	4	100+		Lonchura cantans
2	Yemen Serin	1	25		Serinus menachensis
1	Golden-winged Grosbeak	1	2		Rhynchostruthus socotranus
2	Striated Bunting	1	1		Emberiza striolata
2	African Rock Bunting	3	20		Emberiza tahapisi
1	Ortolan Bunting	1	1		Emberiza hortulana