Oman - Day 7 31st October

 Day 7. 31st. We set off after breakfast for Mudayy where we hoped to find Hypocolious. We parked up in a car park area near a play area and above a pool. As we walked down the road we found a couple of Sand Partridge making their way in the distance. We walked around the palms and bushes but couldn’t find any Hypocolious. We did see African Silverbill, Ring-necked Parakeet, Blackstart, African Collared Dove. Walking back along the road I had really close views of an blackstart. We found one Nile valley Sunbird which flew into the top of a tree. Walking further round the village didn’t give much else so we drove out to a farm area Green Bee-eaters, Oriental Turtle Dove, Red-throated Pipit and a Chiffchaff. We drove out along a track towards a valley where we were looking for Sandgrouse which used the area to drink but they seem to have been and gone. We did see a few flocks in the distance and we came across a group of birders who had seen flocks of sandgrouse further over so we drove on to a small oasis farm. Viewing from the road wasn’t the best so we walked along the road. David found a still warm Crowned Sandgrouse that had obviously hit the wires and died  very recently.  A really sad sight. We walked on into the compound and walked through the trees to the wall where we had better views, but still didn’t see any close Sandgrouse. We did have Cuckoo before moving on to the Thumraite waste disposal site where there were many Steppe Eagles sitting around and flying overhead. We also had Desert Wheatear and Laughing doves.

Our next stop was very unexpected but very much appreciated as we went to Wadi Dawkah, a World Heritage Site and Frankincense Park for a ‘Scratch and Sniff’ experience, where there were hundreds of Frankicense trees and where Frankincense is still harvested.

wadi Dawkah, Salalah, ad daharz. 

Oman - Day 6 30th October

 Day 6. 30th We were up for an early breakfast before loading up the car and driving to Thumrait. Our first stop was Muntasar oasis which was a 'real' oasis in that it was a green area fed by a pumped spring in the middle of a very dry, sandy area. We walked around the near pools, with a couple of  Quail flushing from the wet grass.There were a few birds in the bushes like Great Grey Shrike, Isabelline Wheatear and Spotted Flycatcher and there were lots of Dragonflies flitting about. We also saw a Crimson Speckled moth. Several flocks of Spotted Sandgrouse flew over as we walked back to the cars. 

Our next stop was at Quitbit, We parked the car and walked around the oasis of mainly palm trees with buildings dotted about. we were pleased to see Brahminy Starling, Golden Oriole, Hoopoe, House Crow and Menetrie's Warbler, among other things. 

Our next stop was Al Beed Farms with Cream Coloured Courses, Marsh Harrier, Wattled Starling, Namaqua Dove and Little Egret. We drove on to Shisr Farms. We had a small diversion to the Lost City of Wubar, an archeological site which is known as the ‘Atlantis of the Sands’. 

Oman - Day 5 29th October

 Day 5  29th October

We were up at 5.45  for a 6.15 start to drive to the port for the 7 o’clock ferry back to Shannah. It was a bit chaotic but we got boarded and went up to the Families room, where we ate our packed breakfast, waiting for the boat to leave and for them to open the door to the upper deck. It was a quiet crossing, with some dhows ahead of us looking like they were racing to be first in port. As we crossed we saw several Wilson’s Petrels. We then drove straight to Filim where there were loads of waders, including Great Knot, Flamingo and Godwits among the Sandplovers.

We drove a bit further to a creek to look for kingfisher that had been reported over the last day or two but not much luck. We parked by a camel trough and walked round the the edge of the creek, surprising a wagtail in a muddy pool. After we climbed up the rocks we made our way to the water’s edge and sat around hoping for the kingfisher to show. We gave up after a while and made our way back to the cars where we had some close encounters with some camels. We also had good views of Siberian Stonechat and an agama. 

We then drove to Al Ghaftain, a hotel and oasis stop on the edge of the Empty Quarter, parked up and birded the ‘garden’ round the hotel where there were a large number of cats. We also saw a couple of Red-breasted flycatchers feeding among the trees. We climbed out of the compound to walk round a small enclosed area of bushes but not a great deal and climbed a sand pile to check out an area of bushes outside. Again not a lot but there was a lone tree in a compound. We had to ascend a sand hill to return to the grounds where a couple of shrikes were found, sparking a lively discussion about identification. We then booked in and went for dinner. 

We went out for a quick walk round with torches and the thermal but nothing. So we turned in ready for an early start to tomorrow.

Oman - Day 4 28th Oct

 Day 4. A 6 o’clock start, checking out the park although we didn’t see very much. We drove towards the port to get the boat tickets sorted, stopping at the roadside pool to scanning through the ubiquitous Sooty Gulls, Little Egrets, Black-winged Stilts and Slender-billed Gulls. We had a short scan from the sea wall, looking for storm petrels that had been reported lately and then drove back for breakfast with a stop at a gully where we had amazing views of a clamorous reed warbler, kingfisher and a flock of Silverbills. There was a small pool where we saw a Green Sandpiper pottering about. 

After breakfast we headed off to Sur Masirah beach and ripock. Missed hoopoe lark and blk crab fnch lark. Walk closer, turn back, others cont. crab plovers close. Sand plvrs. 

Came back prt way, cut across and drove up est coast. Gulls/pallas’ etc. 

back to hotel, swim/lunch. Back out to sewage works walk round, no viper. Back to pools - moved on by police.  Went into town for dinner. Back to hotel for log, out, found snipe on grass, for chameleon, found one with help. Showed Chris, Put on group, al and Bren came out. Found d second swinging o. A leaf. Derryl lent DW lens andtripod. Brill pics. 

Back in for tea and bedtime

Oman - Day 3 Sunday 27th Oct

 Day 3. This morning we had a more leisurely get up, shower and cup of tea, we pack our bags and went out into the garden to check the trees. There was a Purple sunbird and a white cheeked bulbul flitting around but not much else.

We went for breakfast, with beef bacon among the buffet offerings, with fruit and yoghurt as well as eggs, toast and almost anything you could think of. We then went back to the room, picked up our things, checked the room and went to lobby to pack up car, today with DW, SC and Chris. We headed south and drove more or less straight to the ferry terminal, in order to ensure our ferry booking. We stopped for a drink and a comfort break at a small bar linked to a garage and a small  mosque with loo facilities. We then drove to the port and checked out the gulls flying past while Chris and Dave sorted out the tickets. We drove back a short way and parked outside a restaurant for lunch. We checked out look out the beach where there were lots of waders, including Sand Plovers and Western Reef Herons before driving back to the ferry, onto the terminal and taking a little time to check out the gulls before boarding the ferry. We all went into family side(port), single men go on the starboard, men only side and sat on the seats looking out of the windows. As we cleared port they unlocked the outside door so we went upstairs onto the upper deck. It was a very calm crossing with lots of birds to check out, including several unexpected Storm Petrels along with Sooty Gulls, Cormorants, Slender-billed Gulls, as well as Green Turtles dotted across the surface. After landing we drove to Al Shamkaiah Park. We parked outside and entered the park which was an area of trees with an edge of grass and some flower beds. There were a few butterflies, which were very active in the heat, several laughing doves, a few tree pipits and Silverbills with a Wood Warbler in the tree at the back. As it was getting dark, we returned to the cars and drove to the Masirah Island Resort, which looked out over the beach to book in, unpack and sort ourselves out before dinner at 7.30. The meal seemed to take a long time but was very nice. Following the log, we then went out to check the bushes for chameleons but all we found were lots of small geckos, so went back in to bed.

Oman DAY 2 26th

Day 2. After an early breakfast, we drove through a checkpoint up onto Sayq plateau. We parked up at Wadi Bani Habib where we looked for striolated bunting but no luck. 

     

We began to walk down to the wadi bottom. I went part way down where we had an agama on a rock face and rockthrush flitting on the rocks. A sunbird and whitethroat were feeding in the bushes and then the others went on and I stayed around the viewpoint before wandering back up slowly to just below the top. Several pale crag Martins were zooming around below. There was a Lesser Whitethroat came into a bush quite close and the Blue Rockthrush popped up on a rock, and again on the rim of a flat view area. 

As I walked back up, I saw an Eastern Black Redstart fly through onto a branch before going off down the valley. I chatted with various people, commenting on the President’s plane that passed overhead with it’s attendant guard jet and then the others arrived back up. We had a comfort break and suddenly 2 big raptors appeared - Lappet-faced Vulture. 

We then went to Khab Hail Mahlab, a parking and picnicing area, parked up and scanned for Humes wheatear and Red-tailed Wheatear. There was a pair of Humes on a rock pile and as we walked around there were small Hijar rock geckos dashing about. We wandered up a small wadi where a rock thrush was on the post and then made our way back to the car and drove  back down to a lunch stop where DW found a preying mantis in a tree. We had some food and then went back to the hotel for a break. Brenda, Jules and I managed to fit in a swim in the pool before we went back out to the wadi in the hope of seeing Omani Owl again, we hung around for a while, the others went back along the wadi to try for Pale Scops owl and we stayed by the rock face with no luck. The others returned to a spot along the wadi, we walked along to them explaining to a Norwegian group who were also waiting for the owl that we would be playing a tape, they followed us along and we waited for a response but nothing answered so we called it a day and went back for a buffet dinner by the pool at the hotel. 

Following the log we turned in. 

Oman - Day 1 - 25th

 We landed at the airport about 7.00 am, passed through customs with David W and Alan being diverted through a more rigorous check before collecting together and waiting in the arrivals hall while Chris and Dave A sorted out the cars. We loaded up the cars, seeing our first birds of the trip in the palms, White-eared Bulbuls, Common Mynah, House Sparrow and Indian Silverbills We headed to the port for our pelagic out to Fahlal island. As we passed the Quran National Park we had a Crested Honey Buzzard fly over us. 

We found the port, parked the car and headed along the pontoons to the boat. There’s was a Green Turtle in the basin and flocks of different coloured and patterned fish around the pontoons and the wall. On the way out to the island there were rafts of Red-necked Phalaropes with Common Cormorants and Sooty Gulls  flying around. We also saw several Osprey and a Grey Heron perched on the rocks. It wasn’t long before we were approaching the island and we picked out a couple of Sooty Falcons on the cliffs. As we slowly circumnavigated the island we saw several Falcons, including adult and juvenile birds. As we came round the other side of the island we saw a Red-billed Tropic Bird flying round, including over our heads before disappearing into a hole in the cliffs. We then motored back, passing through an archway and checking out a stretch of sand with Cormorants, Gulls and Terns loafing around.

By Chris T

After we landed, we walked back along the floating dock, checking out the fish again and noting our first Laughing Dove. We then walked along to a restaurant on the quay side where we had lunch and a drink in the air conditioned restaurant, keeping an eye out the window for any activity.

Because we had done the pelagic, we didn’t have time to return to the Qurum Park but we did drive to the Al Bustan Palace Hotel grounds, where we parked and walked around, catching up with Grey Francolin, Red-wattled Lapwing, Red-vented Bulbul, Graceful Prinia, Purple Sunbird and Ring-necked Parakeet. There was also a pair of Bee-eaters on the fence and Pied Wagtails on the grass.

We then headed to Nizwa and the Golden Tulip Hotel. Along the way we managed to lose Chris in the second car but we kept going and arrived at the hotel, unloaded, began to register as the second car turned up, so we were re-united. 

We settled into our rooms before meeting up for an amazing selection from a buffet dinner by the pool. After dinner we met up for a drive out to look for Omani Owl. Our first attempt was to a wadi where DA had seen the owl regularly in the past, however, we came to a flooded road where a pipe was gushing water over the road making it difficult to cross so we drove to a second wadi where we got out and listened for any calls. Further along the wadi we could see a bright spotlight shining on the cliffs so we drove along to find a bird group with a light on an Omani Owl on the cliff. We spent some time looking at it before returning to the hotel. 

BOC by Sean Clancy

Oman October 24th-November 6th 2024

We had Oman on our list for a little while, mainly because of the Omani Owl. We had thought to do it last year but for various reasons, decided to do it this year. We booked with Chris Townend’s Wise Birding for a 13 day trip starting in Muscat and finishing in Salalah. This gave a wide variety of habitat and included a visit to Masirah island and a 5 night stay in Salalah, including a Pelagic from Mirbat. The flights were booked through Sacha Barbato, a travel councillor, which took all the hassle out of it, and was timed to land at 7.00am to give us a full first day. Sean offered to drive us to the airport for the 8.50 pm direct flight from Heathrow. Sean and Jules collected David and then me. It was a painless drive to Heathrow. We found a parking space in long term, caught a bus quite quickly, checked in, went through security, no problem and went to find Brenda and Alan in Costa. 

We had a prawn sandwich and a cup of tea and chatted for a couple of hours. Chris and Dave came through and joined us with some news that they had arranged an extra boat ride in Muscat for sooty falcon. It would be about 2 hours and then we would head south towards Nizwa, allowing some down time before heading out for the owl in the evening.

 

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Madeira - Monday 22nd.

 We had the usual Blackcap alarm, had breakfast, packed up, tidied up and headed to the airport. A slight problem meant that we went round the car parking area twice but we found the drop off for the car, waited while they meticulously checked the car for any damage, made our way to departures, checked in, went through security and then did a little shopping, had something to eat, boarded our plane and headed home after a really nice short break. 

Madeira airport.

Madeira - Sunday 21st

 A later start, with time to meander. Our first port of call was Canical Harbour to see if the Laughing Gull was still there. A quick scan and it was sitting down on the outer harbour wall. Some bread and left over scraps were thrown into,the sea to see if it would come. The Yellow-legged Gulls enjoyed the feast and the Laughing Gull eventually took off and flew around for a few minutes before returning to its side of the harbour and settling down again. As I had left my big camera in the car, I didn’t get any photos and after I had gone back to the car for it, it was time to move on. 

Our next stop was at a ‘wetland’ at Lugar de Baixo. This was the smallest marshy wetland ever but it did hold a good population of coot, a moorhen and two Glossy Ibis, plus, of course a wide variety of Muscovy Ducks.

We stopped for lunch at a nearby restaurant, sitting out on the patio looking for seabirds but not much about and no Monk Seals either! We stopped in Funchal to check out the harbour area, we parked in a multi story and walked across to the beach area. There was a lighthouse, called the Green Lighthouse, which we walked out to but there wasn’t much beyond some xxxx flitting around the weedy area by the beach and some Sally Lightfoot crabs with enlarged claws on one side. 

We decided to go back up into the hills to retry for better views of Madeiran Grayling. We were going to go back to the area we checked out before but it looked a bit murky and we found a place to park in the National Park. There were lots of Plains Swifts hawking about and we spent some time checking out the butterflies with Long-tailed Blue and Madeiran Grayling and Madeiran Small Copper.

We ate in a supermarket ‘cafe’ and then walked back to the spot we had arranged to be picked up for our night walk for Zino’s Petrel breeding site. It was quite a ride but we got there before it was completely dark. The walk out was very stressful for me as my breathing was not good. The others went on ahead and I was diverted to a lookout not so far. It meant that I didn’t hear them as well as the others, but I did record them and that worked out ok. 

The walk back was even worse but eventually the very welcome sight of the lookout post was just ahead. I made it back to the van, glad that I had been but, very thankful I had made it back but I will never do that again. We were driven back to our car in Machico and then drove back to the house.

Madeira - Saturday 20th

 We’d planned an early start but as we didn’t wake up until around 8 it wasn’t quite so early. The plan was to go straight up to the Miradour and look for Bertholot’s Pipit to get some photographs before breakfast and before the crowds arrived. We were also going to look for Rock Sparrows. Following a chat with Bernie the day before, we decided to drive to the end of the Levada and look for Little Egret for the trip. Pulling into a space we looked into the Levada and there was a little egret, pottering around, there was also a Grey Heron and a flock of Waxbills worked their way along the reeds before flying off. 

We then headed up to the Miradour but it was very quiet with just a Spectcle Warbler heard so we checked e-birds and went back down the to the bottom road. We parked up in a parking area opposite the ‘Marina’ and walked up the hill. Almost immediately a Bertholot’s Pipit popped up giving really good views. David could hear Rock Sparrows further up the hillside so we spread out and made our way up. David came back to tell me that they had the Sparrows on the ground so I joined them but the light was awful so we walked round to a better position. It didn’t seem to phase the sparrows at all. There were about 6 sparrows in all plus a couple of Pipits giving excellent views.Walking back down we came across a nice yellow Canary in a bush, and then decided, as it was getting late, that we would head into Canical harbour and find somewhere for lunch.

The village of Canical was much less busy and much less touristy, parking was relatively easy and we made our way down to the harbour. Sean walked on as David went back to the car for his bins before joining Sean along the harbour. A shout from David had me walking to the end of the harbour wall as Sean had found a Laughing Gull on the harbour wall. We managed some photos and I rang Hugo to let him know before we then walked back to find somewhere for lunch.

We chose a cafe with outside seating and sat down to order drinks and a meal. I ordered prawns in garlic, which were very nice with a Pepsi, which turned out to be non-sugar!

Then it was time to head back to the house to get ready for our last pelagic. Fingers crossed it was better than the last two. It was much rougher than before so hopes were high, we saw several Cody’s as we travelled along and the boat stopped for a Green Turtle on the way. 

There seemed more birds about, but only Cory’s and Bulwer’s, which did loops round the chum slick until right towards the end, when Caterina called a Pteradroma which flew through, doing one loop. Unfortunately it didn’t hang around long and I only got brief views before it headed off. Just before it was time to go a small shearwater flew through, which was called as a Manx. On our journey back, another Pteradroma flew across the bows. Success!! 

Madeira- Friday 19th

 Friday.

Up around 7.00 breakfast on patio. Packed up and drove down to the Levada in Machico. The Plan was to go the bottom and walk back, in bits. It was so busy we decided to go back up the levada and find a parking place and look at what was there. We found a spot by the football pitches, and went across to the levada. There were lots of Muscovy ducks of many colours and sizes. The levada  supported plenty of plants, many looking quite exotic. As we peered over the edge, a couple of Grey Wagtails were strutting around in the water and on the stones. Sean and I walked slowly downstream, stopping to admire a spider, which had an amazing web structure and egg cases dotted about. There were also other spiders using the steps down to catch prey. Meanwhile, David walked upstream. It wasn’t long before David called us to say he had Waxbills. We walked fairly swiftly back, but the birds had disappeared in the reeds. A short wait and the waxbills flew out and over the road into some fields. 

We had lunch in a restaurant near the Levada, it was very pleasant watching people go by. We then got ready for the boat, found a parking place, again quite close, enjoyed another icecream before the boat. Boat out. The boat ride out was choppier and we went to the north of the island, passing through a gap between the Ileu da Cevada and the Ilheu do Farolat the end of the archipelago, the sea was choppier, which gave us more hope but the birds were very sparse. We did see Cory’s Shearwaters and a Gull followed us out and kept us company, but not much else. We motored back into the sunset, had some food and went back to the house.