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Oman – Birds, Desert & Culture

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Oman – Birds, Desert & Culture Oman – Birds, Desert & Culture Naturetrek Tour Itinerary Outline itinerary Day 1 Fly overnight to Muscat via Dubai Day 2 Batinah Coast Day 3 Muscat Day 4 Muscat Day 5 Sur Estuary Day 6 Bar Al Hikman and Al Ghaftayn Crab Plover courtesy of Chris Ward Day 7 Muntasar Day 8/9 Salalah and Al Mughsayl Day 10 Sumhumran and a Salalah farm before flying to Dubai Day 11 Dubai & London Departs November Focus Primarily birds, but culture and natural history Spinner Dolphins Grading Mostly easy walks. Grade A Dates and Prices See website (tour code OMN01) or brochure Highlights ●Look for Upcher's Warbler & Yellow-throated Sparrow ●Gull-billed & White-cheeked Terns plus Hoopoe Lark ●Visit key sites for Crab Plovers & Hume's Wheatear Spotted Sandgrouse courtesy of Chris Ward Naturetrek Mingledown Barn Wolf’s Lane Chawton Alton Hampshire GU34 3HJ UK T: +44 (0)1962 733051 E: [email protected] W: www.naturetrek.co.uk Oman - Birds, Desert & Culture Tour Itinerary Introduction The Sultanate of Oman is one of the most developed and stable countries in the Arab world and has longstanding ties with Britain. Its avifauna reflects its strategic position in the Middle East, with influences from the Indian subcontinent as well as Africa. Oman’s landscape weaves a captivating spell over those privileged to see it; the beautiful Al Hajar Mountains jut starkly out of the desert plain in the north- east, while along the southern coast desert sands are fringed by a brilliant turquoise sea. This tour is timed to coincide with an excellent selection of birds: desert specialties; coastal seabirds; waders; other resident birds and late migrants. Itinerary Please note that the itinerary below offers our planned programme of excursions. However, adverse weather & other local considerations can necessitate some re-ordering of the programme during the course of the tour, though this will always be done to maximise best use of the time and weather conditions available. Day 1 Dubai We depart London Heathrow for an overnight flight to Dubai and then catch an onward flight to Muscat. Day 2 Batinah Coast On arrival in Muscat, we will be met by our local drivers for the drive north to Ras al Sawadi. Here we will look for waders and sea birds including Caspian, Gull-billed, Bridled and White-cheeked Terns as well as Terek Sandpiper. Behind the coastal lagoon (khawr) we will look for Hoopoe Lark and on the drive from the peninsula we will look for Upcher’s Warbler and Yellow-throated Sparrow. In the surrounding fields we will find a good selection of local specialties, with birds such Isabelline Shrike as Indian Roller, Little Green Bee-eater, Hoopoe, Rufous Bush Robin and Isabelline & Southern Grey Shrikes to add to our growing list. As the sun sets we will book into our Muscat hotel for the next 3 nights. Day 3 Muscat In the morning we visit the Al Ansab lagoons. These man-made lagoons at the water treatment works have been formed by pumping surplus water into the settling ponds creating a landscape of reedy wetland, trees and pools. The company has worked hard to develop the area as a nature reserve for the education of the local populace and an excellent place for birds. The reeds host Great Reed Warbler and a shy crake is possible, while the pools and marshes should provide us with many other wetland species, including Purple Heron, Garganey, Red-wattled Plover, Temminck’s © Naturetrek June 17 2 Oman - Birds, Desert & Culture Tour Itinerary Stint, Pintail Snipe, Green & Wood Sandpipers, while Whiskered & White-winged Black Terns hawk for insects above the ponds and Marsh Harriers suddenly appear to surprise the feeding waders. In the afternoon we will travel to the Al Hajar Mountains to experience the birds and spectacular scenery. We will visit the Al Ghubrah Bowl through the impressive gorge of Wadi Sabt. We will look for Sand Partridge, Lappet-faced Vulture, Plain Leaf Warbler, Scrub Warbler and Red-wattled Plover various wheatears. Day 4 Muscat After an overnight stay we will take a short pelagic voyage round Al Fahal Island looking for the last Sooty Falcons before they depart. We will look for other seabirds including Red-billed Tropicbird, Red-necked Phalarope and shearwaters as well as dolphins bow chasing by the boat. In the afternoon we will visit the old city and stop at the Souk near the harbour. The Souk is a myriad of alleys where shops sell silver, gold and all delights of Arabian produce. The old city contains the original palace and is protected by forts at the entrance to the bay. Afterwards we will walk around Qurm Park to find Yellow-vented, Red-vented and White-cheeked Bulbuls. We explore the park for vagrants and the unusual which are attracted by the luscious growth. Finally we will drive to the Qurm Estuary to look for herons, raptors and waders from the bridge by the outflow. Day 5 Sur Estuary We start the day by visiting the magnificent Sultan Al Qaboos Grand Mosque with its peaceful gardens that attract a range of small birds. We then head south along the new coastal highway stopping at Qurayyat for Egyptian Vulture and at some of the small canyons to search for Hume’s Wheatear. It is then onto Sur where traditional dhows are still built. We continue south to Khawr Jirama to see Crab Plover before the sun sets. Other birds present could include Greater Flamingo, and Terek Sandpipers. The night is spent in a hotel on a White-cheeked Bulbuls prominent. After dinner we have a visit to see the turtles coming onto the beach to lay their eggs. We return to the resort for late evening. Day 6 Bar Al Hikman and Al Ghaftayn We start our first of two long drives today via Bar Al Hikman for birdwatching on a grand scale. This area, though not known for numbers of species, is special for the amount of birds that continue © Naturetrek June 17 3 Oman - Birds, Desert & Culture Tour Itinerary to fascinate birdwatchers in Oman. Herons, waders, terns and gulls winter in this location after migrating from their northern climes. Clouds of plovers and sandpipers cover the mud flats and we will look for Crab Plover and Great Knot. After lunch we then head further south to Al Duqm for a bird extravaganza before a new port is built. We then head inland to the flat desert for our overnight stay at the Al Ghaftayn Motel arriving after dark and a break at Hayma. Day 7 Muntasar We walk around the gardens of the motel before breakfast looking for overnight migrant arrivals before we check out and head south for a further hour on a well-graded track. Our destination is Muntasar - an isolated airstrip and abandoned sulphurous spring are all that remain of the settlement 30 km north of Qatbit. A thinly forested plain of ancient Ghaf trees manage to survive in the intense heat, sometimes without receiving rainfall for 4 or 5 years. However, the main event for us is to await the arrival of Spotted and Crowned Ayn Sahnawt Sandgrouse to drink at the spring – a magical experience at such a remote place. In the breeding season adult Sandgrouse may fly daily 20 or 30 miles to drink at this spring, and will soak its belly feathers, before making the daily mammoth journey back to its nest to provide its young with fresh drinking water! We will find a selection of other desert species here, including Desert and Pied Wheatears and Southern Grey Shrike. If we are very lucky we will spot a Grey Hypocolius. After the spectacle visit of Sandgrouse we then head south to Qatbit Motel for a short break to explore the ‘gardens’ before our long drive south detouring into farms that are scattered over this eastern edge of the Rub’ al Khali. As darkness falls we will arrive at our guesthouse in Dahariz for the next 3 nights. Day 8 Salalah and Al Mughsayl We awake to the sound of lapping waves on a beach covered with gulls and waders. Early in the morning fishermen will be casting their lines and it will feel like we are in the tropics with waving palm trees and a cooling sea-breeze. Today is an early start to visit some good birdwatching sites west of Salalah, including Khawr Mughsayl, one of the most interesting brackish lagoons along this coast. Our first stop is a golf course! It is then on to West Khawr. At these local sites we aim to look for Steppe Eagle Ferruginous Duck and Garganey. We should find Western Reef Heron, Squacco Heron, Night Heron, and Intermediate Egret. Offshore, Brown Booby is likely and the beach will be alive with Sooty Gulls and Sandwich & Lesser Crested Terns. All good birdwatching trips have at least one not so glamorous location to visit. We visit the Salalah rubbish © Naturetrek June 17 4 Oman - Birds, Desert & Culture Tour Itinerary tip where Great Spotted & Steppe Eagles gather in large numbers and the local sewage works attracts a range of waders, as well as notable species such as Abdim’s Stork. We will head further west to Mughsayl beach and Khawr. This is the most important site west of Salalah. One of our key species here is Socotra Cormorant, whilst around the Khawr we will look for Namaqua Dove. Unfortunately the fortunes of the Khawr have diminished over the years but it can still throw up the odd surprise such as Pheasant-tailed Jacana. After a leisurely lunch of local food looking out to sea we will visit the blowholes next door.
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