6th January 2014: Wadi Darbat – Ayn Hamran – Khawr Taqah – Khawr Rawri – East Khawr
Early in the morning I drove up the steep slope towards Wadi Darbat. At the junction of the road that heads back down into the wadi a large crowd of Arabian Partridges were strutting about giving splendid views. A good start to proceedings. Down in the valley things were busy. A Booted Eagle sailed over the trees. Hoopoes flew up from the grass. A few Red-throated and Tree Pipits were scattered about. Then there were the local specialities. Ruppell’s Weavers and Cinnamon-breasted Buntings were numerous. Amongst them were the black-rumped African Silverbills. In the trees the green and white Abyssinian White-eyes were numerous. Even more decorative were the numerous African Paradise Flycatchers, some of the males with long tails and white flashes in the wings. Strange gurgling calls revealed the brightly coloured Bruce’s Green Pigeons, which sometimes gave furtive views in amongst the tree canopy.
This was great but then things got more interesting. First up was a strange and seemingly unidentifiable wheatear – somewhat like a Variable but with a peculiar rump and tail pattern. It flitted about engagingly with a couple of Blackstarts. Next was a small flycatcher in a denser area of trees. It looked strikingly grey-brown with a white eye-ring and short tail. Then I noticed an orange throat patch coming through, clearly isolated by the grey breast. Blimey – a Taiga Flycatcher, I thought: a rare and perhaps even unknown species in Oman. It rapidly disappeared before eventually surfacing again a short distance away and giving seem reasonable views. A few shots snapped, I was fairly happy I had some documentation at least.
Having spent much of the morning at Wadi Darbat I was keen to move on to other sites. Next stop was Ayn Hamran, a lovely spot by a small pool surrounded by thick scrub and high mountains. As I arrived a group of Swedish birders were just leaving. Had I seen anything good, they asked. Well, I just saw this flycatcher in Wadi Darbat, I replied. A Taiga? As it turned out, they had seen exactly the same bird the day before! Quite a coincidence, given the habitat at Wadi Darbat. It turned out it was the fourth record for Oman – reassuring to know that others had come to the same conclusion as me at least.
Ayn Hamran proved rather good. The nearby scrub soon produced a couple of cracking Black-crowned Tchagras, strutting about on the ground at almost point-blank range. A pair of Arabian Warblers soon gave fine looks in the scrub and a Turkestan Shrike was also performing well. The best was to follow though. A few passerines were coming down to the small channel of water coming from the pool to drink. Most were Cinnamon-breasted Buntings but then a bigger bird plopped down. Crikey – Golden-winged Grosbeak! This is perhaps the hardest of the Dhofar specialities to find and here was one giving gorgeous views as it drank. Soon it was off, but that was very much mission accomplished.
I continued on, almost running over four Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse along the road, and headed down to the beach past Khawr Taqah. Peering through the railings to the small lake, a couple of Pheasant-tailed Jacanas were trotting across the floating vegetation. The inlet by the beach was busy with waders: lots of Pacific Golden Plovers and a few Temminck’s Stint amongst the throng. Two Indian Pond Herons and a couple of Squacco Herons were along the marshy parts of the channel. A Greater Spotted Eagle drifted overhead. Next I had a look around the northern arm of Khawr Rawri, finding Purple Heron, Blue Rock Thrush and Bluethroat. On then to another lagoon, the East Khawr in Salalah. Here there were more waders, including a Red-necked Phalarope and another Pheasant-tailed Jacana.
With the day drawing to a close I headed back to Ayn Hamran. Raptors had been a short supply earlier but now they were busy catching the last of the late afternoon sun on the slopes. A couple of Short-toed Eagles and a Long-legged Buzzard hovered. At least three Steppe Eagles soared. A pair of Bonelli’s Eagle drifted across and a young bird flew the other way. Non-stop action. As night closed in, a distant Arabian Scops Owl trilled.
Some pictures from Wadi Darbat:
1. African Paradise Flycatcher
2. African Silverbills
3. Ruppell's Weaver
4. Taiga Flycatcher (not a wholly conclusive shot if I'm honest)
5. The weird wheatear
Early in the morning I drove up the steep slope towards Wadi Darbat. At the junction of the road that heads back down into the wadi a large crowd of Arabian Partridges were strutting about giving splendid views. A good start to proceedings. Down in the valley things were busy. A Booted Eagle sailed over the trees. Hoopoes flew up from the grass. A few Red-throated and Tree Pipits were scattered about. Then there were the local specialities. Ruppell’s Weavers and Cinnamon-breasted Buntings were numerous. Amongst them were the black-rumped African Silverbills. In the trees the green and white Abyssinian White-eyes were numerous. Even more decorative were the numerous African Paradise Flycatchers, some of the males with long tails and white flashes in the wings. Strange gurgling calls revealed the brightly coloured Bruce’s Green Pigeons, which sometimes gave furtive views in amongst the tree canopy.
This was great but then things got more interesting. First up was a strange and seemingly unidentifiable wheatear – somewhat like a Variable but with a peculiar rump and tail pattern. It flitted about engagingly with a couple of Blackstarts. Next was a small flycatcher in a denser area of trees. It looked strikingly grey-brown with a white eye-ring and short tail. Then I noticed an orange throat patch coming through, clearly isolated by the grey breast. Blimey – a Taiga Flycatcher, I thought: a rare and perhaps even unknown species in Oman. It rapidly disappeared before eventually surfacing again a short distance away and giving seem reasonable views. A few shots snapped, I was fairly happy I had some documentation at least.
Having spent much of the morning at Wadi Darbat I was keen to move on to other sites. Next stop was Ayn Hamran, a lovely spot by a small pool surrounded by thick scrub and high mountains. As I arrived a group of Swedish birders were just leaving. Had I seen anything good, they asked. Well, I just saw this flycatcher in Wadi Darbat, I replied. A Taiga? As it turned out, they had seen exactly the same bird the day before! Quite a coincidence, given the habitat at Wadi Darbat. It turned out it was the fourth record for Oman – reassuring to know that others had come to the same conclusion as me at least.
Ayn Hamran proved rather good. The nearby scrub soon produced a couple of cracking Black-crowned Tchagras, strutting about on the ground at almost point-blank range. A pair of Arabian Warblers soon gave fine looks in the scrub and a Turkestan Shrike was also performing well. The best was to follow though. A few passerines were coming down to the small channel of water coming from the pool to drink. Most were Cinnamon-breasted Buntings but then a bigger bird plopped down. Crikey – Golden-winged Grosbeak! This is perhaps the hardest of the Dhofar specialities to find and here was one giving gorgeous views as it drank. Soon it was off, but that was very much mission accomplished.
I continued on, almost running over four Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse along the road, and headed down to the beach past Khawr Taqah. Peering through the railings to the small lake, a couple of Pheasant-tailed Jacanas were trotting across the floating vegetation. The inlet by the beach was busy with waders: lots of Pacific Golden Plovers and a few Temminck’s Stint amongst the throng. Two Indian Pond Herons and a couple of Squacco Herons were along the marshy parts of the channel. A Greater Spotted Eagle drifted overhead. Next I had a look around the northern arm of Khawr Rawri, finding Purple Heron, Blue Rock Thrush and Bluethroat. On then to another lagoon, the East Khawr in Salalah. Here there were more waders, including a Red-necked Phalarope and another Pheasant-tailed Jacana.
With the day drawing to a close I headed back to Ayn Hamran. Raptors had been a short supply earlier but now they were busy catching the last of the late afternoon sun on the slopes. A couple of Short-toed Eagles and a Long-legged Buzzard hovered. At least three Steppe Eagles soared. A pair of Bonelli’s Eagle drifted across and a young bird flew the other way. Non-stop action. As night closed in, a distant Arabian Scops Owl trilled.
Some pictures from Wadi Darbat:
1. African Paradise Flycatcher
2. African Silverbills
3. Ruppell's Weaver
4. Taiga Flycatcher (not a wholly conclusive shot if I'm honest)
5. The weird wheatear