OMAN - THE JEWEL OF ARABIA

Oman really is the Jewel of Arabia when it comes to birding destinations in the Middle East. Combining a fascinating range of Arabian endemics and specialities along with an ecletic mix of Asian and African species too, plus a selection of Western Palearctic migrants and wintering visitors! We will begin at Al Ansab Lagoons where Yellow Bittern & Grey-headed Swamphen reside amongst the waterside vegetation. And we follow this with a boat ride out to Al Fahal Island where there should still be a few Sooty Falcons lingering at the end of their breeding season. Beginning in the scenicly splendid Sayq Plateau we will search several different wadis for the recently-described Omani Owl. Having seen the owl on several occasions, we have now discovered our own site for this much-wanted species, which is away from the wadi that every other tour group visits! These northern areas are also good for Lappet-faced Vulture,  Lichtenstein's Sandgrouse, Pallid Scops Owl, Red-tailed and Hume's Wheatears, Streaked Scrub Warbler, Plain Leaf Warbler, Long-billed Pipit and we have even discovered a roosting site for Pharaoh Eagle-Owl. Moving on to the wader extravaganza at Barr Al Hickman and it's thousands upon thousands of shorebirds including the most-wanted Crab Plover, we will also stay one night on Masirah Island, dubbed as Arabia's very own Fair Isle! it is indeed a migration hot-spot with many extremely rare species found here over the years, and in January 2025 we found the 5th Common Hawk-Cuckoo for Oman here! On the opposite side of the bay we can check for the local race of Collared Kingfisher and there is an outside chance of Indian White-eye, a small population of which resides in the mangroves here.

We will eventually head inland deep into the 'Empty Quarter' or Rub al Khali, and reach the Al Ghaftain Motel. The deserts could provide Cream-coloured Courser, Bar-tailed and the spectacular Greater Hoopoe Lark, as well as Asian Desert Warbler. The grounds of the hotel attract yet more migrants and now with a new road leading here there's more chances at finding a rarity amidst some isolated 'green' spots on the drive here as well. from here, it is roughly an hour to get to Muntesar Oasis and we will make two visits. One at night for Egyptian Nightjar and hopefully the pair of Nubian Nightjars we saw at the beginning of the year will have returned to winter - only the 2nd record for Oman! The following morning we will arrive shortly after dawn and search the oasis for migrants such as Turkestan & Daurian Shrikes, and who knows what else we could find here? As the morning progresses flocks of Chestnut-bellied and Spotted Sandgrouse fly in to drink. heading south we will visit Al Beed Farm and Shisr Fields, where more exciting migrant chasing will be done, and in recent years there has been a small flock of Sociable Lapwings present. it is also the best site for Cream-coloured Courser and variety of commoner migrants passing through including flocks of White Storks and Rose-coloured Starlings. Other notable records include Pallid Harrier, plenty of sandgrouse, Oriental Turtle Dove & Siberian Stonechat amongst some other great migrants. Anything can turn up here from shrikes and flycatchers, to Red Collared Dove, Pied Cuckoo, Bluethroat, Turkestan Shrike, Asian Desert Warbler, Upcher's Warbler,  Eurasian Wryneck and Menetries's Warbler.

Moving on to Mudayy we will be looking for Sand Partridge, African Collared Dove, Hooded Wheatear & Nile Valley Sunbird and its most famous inhabitant during the winter months - the stunning Hypocolius. A few years ago we discovered a small drinking pool where 100's and 100's of Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse fly in to drink from, and there's usually a few Crowned Sandgrouse present as well. And then we head to  Salalah for a 6 night stay. What an area we will find ourselves in and there's plenty to find and our first evening here will be spent searching for Arabian Scops Owl and Arabian Eagle Owl. Amongst a long list of target species we also hope to see Arabian Partridge, Sand Partridge, Desert Owl, Blackstart, Arabian Wheatear, Forbes-Watson’s Swift, Arabian Sunbird, Arabian Golden-winged Grosbeak and Yemen Serin. A pelagic from Mirbat could well be the highlight of our time here with Masked Booby, Socotra Cormorant, Jouanin's Petrel, Persian Shearwater and Bridled Tern and Sooty Gull amongst others. There's also an amazing variety of European, African and Oriental species present here to mess with our minds, with species such as White & Abdim's Storks,Yellow Bittern, Little, Spotted & Baillon's Crakes, Pheasant-tailed Jacana, Eastern Imperial Eagle, Pallid Harrier, Bruce's Green Pigeon, Namaqua Dove, Grey-headed Kingfisher, Singing Bushlark, Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, Turkestan Shrike, Abyssinian White-eye and so much more.

We have a pretty decent track record of finding rarities during our tours including Dalmatian Pelican (4th for Oman), African Openbill (1st), Great Snipe, 1st Grey-tailed Tattler, 1st Banded Martin, 1st Hudsonian Whimbrel, 4th Hume's Whitethroat, 7th & 8th Blyth's Reed Warbler, and Black-throated Thrush amongst others. We've also been lucky enough to see the 5th Lesser White-fronted Goose and 2nd Buff-breasted Sandpiper for Oman, as well as finding scarce species such as Pectoral Sandpiper, Sociable Lapwing, Caspian Plover, Small Pratincole, Swinhoe's & Matsudaira's Storm-Petrels, Lesser Noddy, Arabian Tropicbird, Grey-bellied Cuckoo, Malachite Kingfisher, Green Warbler, Paddyfield Warbler and Forest Wagtail. Oman is bound to leave you amazed by its avian riches, great hotels, good roads and superb food. So why not?