Shannah
After dipping on crab plover the previous day we decided to
stay overnight in Filim and try again at Shannah early morning. We were on site
for first light as the tide was just falling from high, but again there was no
sign of any crab plovers. Scanning the waders produced the same selection as
yesterday only today there was the addition of Great Knot, with a couple of individuals among the Bar-tailed Godwits. 2 Spoonbill present were also the first
of the trip.
The highlight of the morning without doubt was a cracking
male Pallid Harrier which was
hunting over the mangroves. At times it flew fairly close to where we were watching
it from. Also in the mangroves were a number of Asian Desert Warblers, although we only saw one.
-Pallid Harrier
-Great Knot & Bar-tailed Godwit
Once we decided there was no chance of crab plover we continued
to head south. The journey south was fairly long and involved large swathes of
desert with little birdlife. We stopped to check a small abandoned village but
failed to find anything new, although a small group of Small Cupid Blue Butterflies was quite interesting. The highlight
of our journey south was a stunning male South
Arabian Wheatear which was picked out at the side of the road, and was
quickly joined by a female. It showed well by the roadside before flying off
into the mountains.
-Southern Grey Shrike
-Desert Wheatear
-Small Cupid
-South Arabian Wheatear
Species List:
Shannah: Great
Knot*, Spoonbill, Pallid Harrier, Ringed Plover, Marsh Harrier, Brown-necked
Raven, Asian Desert Warbler, Gull-billed Tern, Common Sandpiper, Curlew
Sandpiper, Bar-tailed Godwit, Grey Plover, Kentish Plover, Sanderling, Lesser
Sand Plover, Greater Sand Plover, Dunlin, Oystercatcher, Greenshank, Redshank,
Western Reef Egret, Grey Heron, Sooty Gull, Heuglins Gull, Slender-billed Gull,
Greater Flamingo, Red Fox,
Driving: Osprey,
Brown-necked Raven, House Sparrow, Feral Pigeon, Greater Hoopoe Lark, Desert
Wheatear, Laughing Dove, Egyptian Vulture, Southern Grey Shrike, Heuglins Gull,
Greater Crested Tern, Northern Wheatear, South Arabian Wheatear*, Common
Kestrel, Green Sandpiper, Long-tailed
Blue,
Ash Shuwaymiyyah
Town
Our final destination for the day was the town of Ash
Shuwaymiyyah. It was late afternoon when we arrived. We first stopped at the
beach where we had our first seabirds of the trip, including Masked Booby diving close to shore, and
a single Socotra Cormorant flew
south. A few Common and Greater Crested Tern were also fishing
close in shore. A small pod on Indo
Pacific Humpbacked Dolphin also swam past close in shore, which were a nice
bonus.
On the southern side of the town there was a small area of
wetland. We pulled over after we spotted a Pheasant-tailed
Jacana on the pond-side vegetation. Once we started birding the pond we
picked up more wetland species, including our first Indian Pond Herons of the trip. We also had more Clamorous Reed Warblers and an array of
commoner wetland species; Greater
Flamingo, Garganey and Ruff.
-Masked Booby
-Desert Wheatear
-Clamorous Reed Warbler
-Red-veined Dropwing
Species List:
Ash Shuwaymiyyah
Town: Masked Booby, Socotra Cormorant, Common Tern, Desert Wheatear,
Greater Crested Tern, Sandwich Tern, Heuglins Gull, Sooty Gull, Pheasant-tailed
Jacana*, Garganey, Ruff, Yellow Wagtail, Pied Wagtail, Grey Heron, Greater
Flamingo, Clamorous Reed Warbler, Common Sandpiper, Coot, Teal, Feral Pigeon,
House Sparrow, Indian Pond Heron, Indo
Pacific Humpback Dolphin, Vagrant Emperor,
Ash Shuwaymiyyah
Wadi
Before dark we headed up into the Wadi adjacent to the town,
to a vegetated area known as the hanging gardens. Here we waited for Lichtenstein’s Sandgrouse to come in
and drink. A small flock appeared in the gloom at around half 6 and drank for
around 10 mins before flying back off into the dark. Hume’s Owls could be heard
in along the cliffs along the side of the Wadi, and scanning the valley with a
torch provided us with views of a Red
Fox and Mountain Gazelle.
-Lichtenstein's Sandgrouse
Species List:
Ash Shuwaymiyyah Wadi:
Chiffchaff, House Martin, Rock Martin, Lichtenstein’s Sandgrouse, Red Fox, Goitered Gazelle,
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