I recently returned from an excellent two-week trip to Oman. It was my first trip to the Arabian Peninsula and so there were plenty of new birds to see. Oman, for those unfamiliar, is something of a crossroads for birds. In the northeast there's a strong south Asian influence, whilst in the southwest an African influence takes hold. In the winter, large numbers of birds from further north in the Palearctic find a warm and pleasant home, which further adds to the diversity.
Oman is a very easy country to travel in. The roads and infrastructure are very good, there are plenty of places to stay in most areas and, in areas where there aren't, camping is usually straightforward. Omani people are generally very friendly and helpful and there doesn't seem to be much hastling of tourists in any areas. English is quite widely spoken. Weather at this time of year is very pleasant, with daytime temperatures around the mid-20s celsius and comfortable nighttime temperatures. On only two occasions did I reach for a fleece, once in the mountains and once in the desert early in the morning. It was generally sunny and there was no rain. Sometimes it was quite windy.
For the birder, a large amount of information is now available. For help with identification I mainly used the Birds of the Middle East field guide, particularly as a smartphone app. This is good but it's useful to have some other guides to cover tricky or scarce species e.g. the Collins Bird Guide and guides to the Indian Subcontinent and the Horn of Africa. For finding sites the Birdwatching Guide to Oman by Sargeant, Eriksen and Eriksen is extremely useful. It's a very good site guide, which others could learn from. Particularly helpful are the coordinates for sites, which I could easily load into my Satnav. In general I had little difficulty in finding places. I also found two recent trip reports very helpful, one by Petter Olsson (Nov 2012) and one by Stephen Menzie (Jan 2013). The latter in particular is very helpful for directions and for advice on driving to areas with a 2WD vehicle. The birds of Oman website, run by the Eriksens, is also very useful for updates and news of recent sightings:
http://www.birdsoman.com/
Some costs were as follows:
Flight: London Heathrow to Muscat and return to Aberdeen with British Airways - £507.
Car Hire: Europcar, compact car 13 days - £339.
Hotels: I mostly stayed in hotels, which were okay. Omani hotels often tend toward the excessively grand but poorly maintained. There's a bit of faded glory about many. Prices are mostly not that low e.g. £30-40 a night. Camping is probably a better option if you want to keep costs down and see a few more night birds. Fuel, food and water are generally very cheap in Oman (petrol is probably around £0.20 a litre!).
Ferry: the ferry to Masirah from Shannah was 8 OMR each way (£12.66).
Itinerary:
29th December - overnight arrival in Muscat.
30th December - Al Ansab Lagoons - Ras as Sawadi - Sun Farms, Sohar - overnight in Sohar
31st December - Liwa - Khatmat Milahah - Shinas - Sun Farms, Sohar - overnight in Sohar
1st January - Sun Farms, Sohar - Al Hajar Mountains - overnight in Misfat al Abriyyin
2nd January - Misfat al Abriyyin - Jabal Shams - Wadi al Muaydin - Filim - overnight near Barr al Hikman
3rd January - Filim - Shannah - ferry to Masirah - Sur Masirah - Hilf - overnight in Hilf
4th January - Hilf - ferry to Shannah - Ash Shuwaymiyyah - overnight camping in wadi
5th January - Ash Shuwaymiyyah - Jinawt - Ras Mirbat - Khawr Rawri - Wadi Darbat - overnight in Salalah
6th January - Wadi Darbat - Ayn Hamran - Khawr Taqah - Khawr Rawri - East Khawr - overnight in Salalah
7th January - Raysut - Al Mughsayl - West Khawr - Al Baleed - Jarziz and Sahnawt Farms - Crowne Plaza Hotel - overnight in Salalah
8th January - Ras Mirbat - Tawi Atayr - Wadi Darbat - Khawr Taqah - Sahnawt Farm - Al Mughsayl - overnight in Salalah
9th January - Mudhai - Shisr - Qatbit - overnight in Qatbit
10th January - Qatbit - Muntasar - Sur
11th January - Ras al Hadd - Sur Sewage Works - Qurrayat - overnight flight to London
Oman is a very easy country to travel in. The roads and infrastructure are very good, there are plenty of places to stay in most areas and, in areas where there aren't, camping is usually straightforward. Omani people are generally very friendly and helpful and there doesn't seem to be much hastling of tourists in any areas. English is quite widely spoken. Weather at this time of year is very pleasant, with daytime temperatures around the mid-20s celsius and comfortable nighttime temperatures. On only two occasions did I reach for a fleece, once in the mountains and once in the desert early in the morning. It was generally sunny and there was no rain. Sometimes it was quite windy.
For the birder, a large amount of information is now available. For help with identification I mainly used the Birds of the Middle East field guide, particularly as a smartphone app. This is good but it's useful to have some other guides to cover tricky or scarce species e.g. the Collins Bird Guide and guides to the Indian Subcontinent and the Horn of Africa. For finding sites the Birdwatching Guide to Oman by Sargeant, Eriksen and Eriksen is extremely useful. It's a very good site guide, which others could learn from. Particularly helpful are the coordinates for sites, which I could easily load into my Satnav. In general I had little difficulty in finding places. I also found two recent trip reports very helpful, one by Petter Olsson (Nov 2012) and one by Stephen Menzie (Jan 2013). The latter in particular is very helpful for directions and for advice on driving to areas with a 2WD vehicle. The birds of Oman website, run by the Eriksens, is also very useful for updates and news of recent sightings:
http://www.birdsoman.com/
Some costs were as follows:
Flight: London Heathrow to Muscat and return to Aberdeen with British Airways - £507.
Car Hire: Europcar, compact car 13 days - £339.
Hotels: I mostly stayed in hotels, which were okay. Omani hotels often tend toward the excessively grand but poorly maintained. There's a bit of faded glory about many. Prices are mostly not that low e.g. £30-40 a night. Camping is probably a better option if you want to keep costs down and see a few more night birds. Fuel, food and water are generally very cheap in Oman (petrol is probably around £0.20 a litre!).
Ferry: the ferry to Masirah from Shannah was 8 OMR each way (£12.66).
Itinerary:
29th December - overnight arrival in Muscat.
30th December - Al Ansab Lagoons - Ras as Sawadi - Sun Farms, Sohar - overnight in Sohar
31st December - Liwa - Khatmat Milahah - Shinas - Sun Farms, Sohar - overnight in Sohar
1st January - Sun Farms, Sohar - Al Hajar Mountains - overnight in Misfat al Abriyyin
2nd January - Misfat al Abriyyin - Jabal Shams - Wadi al Muaydin - Filim - overnight near Barr al Hikman
3rd January - Filim - Shannah - ferry to Masirah - Sur Masirah - Hilf - overnight in Hilf
4th January - Hilf - ferry to Shannah - Ash Shuwaymiyyah - overnight camping in wadi
5th January - Ash Shuwaymiyyah - Jinawt - Ras Mirbat - Khawr Rawri - Wadi Darbat - overnight in Salalah
6th January - Wadi Darbat - Ayn Hamran - Khawr Taqah - Khawr Rawri - East Khawr - overnight in Salalah
7th January - Raysut - Al Mughsayl - West Khawr - Al Baleed - Jarziz and Sahnawt Farms - Crowne Plaza Hotel - overnight in Salalah
8th January - Ras Mirbat - Tawi Atayr - Wadi Darbat - Khawr Taqah - Sahnawt Farm - Al Mughsayl - overnight in Salalah
9th January - Mudhai - Shisr - Qatbit - overnight in Qatbit
10th January - Qatbit - Muntasar - Sur
11th January - Ras al Hadd - Sur Sewage Works - Qurrayat - overnight flight to London
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