EAST KHAWR – AYN RAZAT – KHAWR RAWRI – AYN HAMRAN – WADI
DARBAT
Whilst it is freezing in the UK we are suffering 31C most
days, but we still manage, it’s tough but some-one has to do it.
Our day started at 6am as we left
our accommodation in the suburbs of Salalah and drove straight to the beach at
East Khawr. A huge lagoon was separated from the sea by beautiful white sand
dunes and at the beach end of the lagoon there were shallow pools and grassy
islands. The whole area was covered in birds it was amazing. Countless Little
Stints ran on the beach with hundreds of Kentish, Ringed and Lesser Sand
Plovers, a large flock of Ruff joined Common Snipe, Common Sandpiper, Redshank,
Greenshank, Dunlin, Curlew, Black-tailed and Bar-tailed Godwits. We found
numerous Squacco, Grey and Purple Herons also Reef, Little, Intermediate and
Great Egrets, Eurasian Spoonbill and our one and only Sacred Ibis.
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| East Khawr - looking from the beach |
A roost of Marsh Harriers held about 12 birds, we also saw
Osprey, Great Spotted Eagle and a Honey Buzzards. A little sea watching
produced Caspian, Lesser Crested, Swift and Gull-billed Terns and two new birds
for the trip; Socotra Cormorant and Persian Shearwater. Add to that a number
duck species, Pintail, Shoveler, Garganey, Teal, Gadwall and a number Citrine
Wagtails. Not to mention hundreds of gulls of 6 species, it was quite a start
to the day. Just before we left a couple of Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse dropped
onto the adjacent heath.
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| Sacred Ibis - my first 'real' one |
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| Eurasian Curlew |
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| Intermediate Egret |
Next we drove inland to visit a wooded area around a wadi
near Ayn Razat. We had a great time there listing several new birds for the
trip and getting a few lifers as well. A huge well-maintained park-garden was
furnished with many flowering shrubs and it was on these that we found both
Palestine and Shining Sunbirds, such lovely colours, but a bugger to
photograph. We then found Tristram’s Starlings, African Rock Bunting,
Abyssinian White-eye, Blackstart and our next new species, Bruce’s Green
Pigeon, superb. We also had a brief view of Golden-winged Grosbeak before it
flew off. Just before we set off for a walk up the valley alongside the river
we found a couple of pipits feeding on a rocky hillside, after careful study we
identified them as Long-billed Pipits
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| Ayn Razat Wadi |
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| upper wadi |
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| Long-billed Pipit |
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| the male Tristram's Starling |
.Up the valley the river disappeared underground and the
vegetation thinned out but we still found Arabian Warbler, Arabian Partridge
and in the sky above the mountains we saw Lapper-faced Vulture, Short-toed
Eagle, Verraux’s Eagle, Steppe Eagle and Imperial Eagle.
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| Bruce's Green Pigeon |
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| The Bruce's Green Pigeon is obviously a Villa fan with claret and blue in his eyes! |
EonBack on the road we visited another beach side lagoon at
Khawr Raqri, it was a long walk in the heat of the day but it was worth it.
There were about 20 species on show, all were seen earlier on the trip except
for Glossy Ibis.
Ayn Hamran is another wooded valley with a wadi and lots of
birds, we arrived late afternoon when light was good and heat had eased off a
little. Again the area was dripping with birds, the African Paradise Flycatcher
was the star of the show with Masked Shrike coming close second. Another
Arabian Warbler showed well as did more Blackstarts, Sunbirds, Bubuls and
another Eurasian Hoopoe.
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| Masked Shrike is one of the most beautiful of all the shrike family |
Well that concluded another great day out, we drove into
Taqah to eat and then moved onto Wadi Darbat to set up camp, an African Scops
Owl called as we put up our tents. We tried to call it out but it did not show.
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