Dubai and Oman Work Trip

In my travel agency role I had been invited to visit a number of hotels in Dubai and one in Oman for a week.

I grabbed the chance and had hoped to have lots of free time to do some serious birding - until I got my itinerary!

13 hotels in 6 days with little free time meant that I would be grabbing the odd hour here and there but vowed to make the most of it.

The first stop was a remote hotel in the Musandam Peninsula in Oman which is actually only accessible by road from the Emirates and is completely seperate from the rest of Oman.

After settling in I had an hour or so to take a look around and was rewarded immediately!

There were hundreds of Common Myna (which were the most frequently seen bird throughout the trip)

I quickly saw both White Eared and White Spectacled Bulbul flitting through the trees and another local bird - Laughing Dove - everywhere. All of these were lifers.

My room was only a few meters from a long sandy beach and as it was getting towards sundown I took a stroll along. There were Bar Tailed Godwits, Ruff, Whimbrel, Greenshank and a lifer for me in Greater Sand Plover.

I did a bit of seawatching but all terns and gulls were to far out with binoculars to make out species but a solitary cormorant gave me a speciality of the area and another lifer - Socotra Cormorant  - a bit far out but a record shot nevertheless!

I was really chuffed but had to leave to get ready for dinner but vowed to get up early the following morning and get another hour in before I had to leave.
So a quick walk around outside the hotel was planned but just before I left my room I looked out to a lovely slim black and white bird in a tree. This turned out to be another speciality and lifer - Hume's Wheatear!

The area outside the hotel was barren and mountainous so foliage attracted birds and high in the trees gave me Blue Cheeked Bee-eater.

Scurrying away so too fast for photos was a covey of Chuktar Partridge - this was great! House Sparrows and Collared Dove were also present.

Finally another lifer was added with an eclipse Purple Sunbird.

On the drive back to Dubai we stopped at the border crossing to have our passports checked which happened to be on the coast and nearby fishing boats gave numerous Black Tern but fearsome looking guards glaring at me meant I dare not start taking pictures!

Eventually we arrived at our next hotel which was in the desert in Ras Al Khomeinh.

Again, I only had half an hour before sundown but managed to add Stock Dove, Rock Dove and Rose Ringed Parakeet to the list.

My only option was for another hour before breakfast so did just that. Am I glad I did!

First new bird was Green Bee Eater but frustratingly no decent photo (see later!)

However, a magnificent Indian Roller posed perfectly for me -  another lifer!.

I was pleasantly surprised to see a lovely Spotted Flycatcher next which again gave decent views and  photos along with an Arabian Oryx feeding.

Next up was an unusual bird which again I had not seen before and identified as an Arabian Babbler.

There were birds everywhere and after looking at what I thought were a large flock of House Sparrows I realised the tails were not 'right'. Further examination gave me Indian Silverbill though hard to photograph as they did not sit still!

Finally and not least I got yet another super view of a lifer - Isabelline Shrike.

Running late again, I rushed to get ready for my inspections in Dubai. The journey was mainly uneventful though a Brown Necked Raven at a junction was a bonus!

Hotel after hotel and I was feeling very tired but a walk around the sumptous roof top bar at the iconic Burj Al Arab hotel gave Pale Crag Martin but the photo is pathetic!

Eventually, we checked in at yet another hotel - the One and Only Royal Mirage with about 30 minutes before sunset.

A quick patrol of the gardens gave a flying Little Egret, a quick view of another lifer - Pied Myna and stunning views of yet another - Red Vented Bulbul. House Crows were everywhere even one eating a lizard!

No birdwatching for a day as my itinerary was just too full but I then got a whole two hours out on my own so headed to Ras Al Khor which is a lagoon nature reserve inside the city limits. I arrived to find a super hide but a warden also to tell me that the reserve shut in half an hour!

Thus I only had an all too brief view but Greater Flamingo and a distant Black Crowned Night Heron gave me lifers along with Black Winged Stilt, Grey Heron, Redshank, Grey Plover, Ringed Plover and Caspian Tern.

Sadly, everything was a long way away and the lack of scope and time prevented me from really making the most of this great place.

With an hour left I headed for Safa Park which is a big park within the city with an ornamental lake.

Hoopoes were everywhere and were interspersed by Crested Lark and Tawny Pipit.

The ornamental lake seemed very quiet with a solitary Mallard on the water. However, at 40 degrees I was the only idiot out and about! Nevertheless, careful scrutiny of the water edge gave another lifer in Striated Heron and three Whimbrel.

My last day was yet another three hotels though we got through them quickly and I arrived at Desert Palms at around 4pm. No birding tomorrow as we were leaving for the airport at 6am and it was not light until then.

However, the stoke of luck I had was that the hotel was adjacent to the Polo Fields which is a popular place for local birders as the grounds are always being watered so attract birds.

I walked onto my balcony to see immediately a Red Wattled Lapwing - beautiful!

I grabbed my binos and camera and set out for a walk round the polo fields.

First up but too quick for a photo was a stunning male Golden Oriole flying from the tree tops. The edges of the fields had equally flighty Grey Francolin and many of the birds already seen were also present. Coming across a wire fence I at last got a decent view of a Green Bee-eater.

I also saw what I thought was a Wheatear but could be another Spotted Flycatcher. I only managed one photo but it just seemed to large and streamlined for a Spot Fly so the jury is out on this one!

The last bird of the trip was my final lifer and was seen distant across the fields. A pair of Cream Coloured Coursers. They were so far away I feared I would not even get a record shot but managed a reasonable shot!

Overall I saw a total of 60 birds not including all the gulls and terns too far away to give a positive ID so for a total of about 5 hours birding I was well pleased! 26 lifers is not bad too!!!