Oman Day Eleven

Today we spent at Mirbat, first on a pelagic in the morning HERE and then we checked out the Mirbat Public Park HERE. Highlights included Jouanin's Petrel, Persian Shearwater, Flesh-footed Shearwater, Red-billed Tropicbird and Masked Booby on the pelagic and a few more trip ticks in the park including Bay-backed Shrike, Scop's Owl and Bruce's Green Pigeon. The hundreds of Adbim's Stork around the town was incredible to see. 

Live trip report HERE, now on 215 species. 

Jouanin's Petrel

Persian Shearwater (above and below) 

Flesh-footed Shearwater (above and below) 

Red-billed Tropicbird

Masked Booby (above and below) 

Common Dolphins

Bay-backed Shrike 

Presumed Red-tailed Shrike or hybrid?  

Bruce's Green Pigeon

Abdim's Stork

Eurasian Scop's Owl 

Oman Day Ten

We started today at the sensational Wadi Darbat HERE successfully targeting Arabian Grosbeak and in the afternoon and evening we were at Wadi Ashawq HERE where we had a bit of a vagrant fest with Watercock, Black Heron, Medium Egret and Yellow Bittern. 

Live Trip Report HERE. 

Arabian Grosbeak- stunner! 

Arabian Wheatear

Black Heronn (above and below) 

Medium Egret

Juv Watercock- amazing! 

Spot the Yellow Bittern 

Tristram's Starling 

Rock Hyrax

Male Anderson's Rock Agama- what an absolute stunner! Will post seperately on the other herps out here. 

Oman Day Nine

Today we explored various sites around Salalah targeting the local specialities. First stop was Wadi Kheesh HERE where we got Arabian Warbler, Abysinnian White-eye, Black-crowned Tchagra, Palestine and Arabian Sunbirds, Ruppell's Weaver and Cinnamon-breasted Bunting. Next up was Ayn Hamran HERE followed by a visit to Al Saadan Park HERE where the highlights included Grey-headed Kingfisher and Crested Honey Buzzard. We then spent the late afteroon and evening at East Khwar HERE with highlights including a cracking first-winter Pallas's Gull, Wattled Starling and a few trip ticks. In the evening we went back to Ayn Hamran owling (will post seperately on the night birding later).

Live trip report HERE

 

Grey-headed Kingfisher

African Paradise Flycatcher

Ruppell's Weaver

Arabian Warbler

Adult female Crested Honey Buzzard (above and below) 

Bonelli's Eagle 

Juvenile Sooty Gull 

Sooty Gull 

First-winter Pallas's Gull 

Oman Day Eight

Today we finally arrived at our main destination at Salalal in the South of Oman after our 1000 kilometer drive across the whole of the country over the last week. Today's stop off included Mudday village HERE and the nearby oasis HERE and then an incredible stop of the Eagle fest at Thumrait Tip HERE. 

Today's highlights included Hypocolius, Lichenstien's Sangrouse, Nile Valley Sunbird, Hooded Wheatear, African Collared Dove, African Silverbill and the first Blackstarts of the trip. A real Afro-tropical feel to the avifauna now and as we passed over the mountains into the Salalal plain we left the barren desert behind for a green sub-tropical coastal paradise. An amazing sudden ecological transformation.

Male Lichienstien's Sandgrouse

Female/imm Hypocolius

African (lower bird) and Eurasian Collared Dove. African is slightly smaller with white undertail coverts (grey in Eurasian as shown here) and proportionally shorter tail 

Male Hooded Wheatear

Desert Warbler on Frankincense

Juvenile/first winter Steppe Eagles (images above showing some variation) 

Second-cycle (?) Steppe Eagle 

Third-cycle (?) Steppe Eagle (above)

Adult Steppe Eagles (above images)

Juvenile/first-winter Imperial Eagle

Juvenile Greater Spotted Eagle (above)

First winter Steppe Eagle (left) and presumed juv Greater Spotted Eagle variant 

Eagle sp- still working on this