In the hills

On Friday after visiting coastal spots first, I went up into the hills to escape the heat though even then I finished birding by 1 pm.

My trip itinerary was Ayn Hamran first then on to the top of Wadi Hanna followed by a stop off at Tawi Atair sink hole on the way back to end the birding.

I am going to start with the last stop first: Tawi Atair. The simple reason is that it had the most interesting birding of the session.

Tawi Atair sink hole and its surrounds is the only place in Oman where Yemen serin can be found. I have visited it about a dozen times and only seen the species twice. 

This time I was lucky.

Not only were nine birds present but they stayed present all the time I was there.

Yemin serin 1

The flock was foraging in the area directly behind the coffee shop. It was surprisingly tame and allowed me close approach. This bird doesn't need trees. Indeed they don't use them that much. However some members of the flock used a tree including one bird which stayed perched a long time.

Yemen serin 2

In the third picture below I was barely over 2 metres away from the bird. I was helped by a cow (part of a group that decided to follow me into the yard!). The cow walked between me and the bird. I guessed that I could take a pace forward while it was doing that thus using the cow as a sort of moving cover. It worked.

Yemen serin 3

Yemin serin is a birder's bird. It is bland and sparrow-like but immensely interesting if you know it is a local rarity.

Yemen serin climbing a wall

At one time some of the flock climbed the wall of the out house. I have seen them do this a time before. Indeed walls are perched on more often than trees.

three foraging Yemen serin

I felt privileged to have so much time so close to them while they spent most of their time foraging on the ground.

four foraging Yemen serin

Earlier I had made my way up to the top of Wadi Hanna. It was a relatively clear day and at the top you could see Mirbat on the coast a few kilometres away and over 1200 metres below.

Mirbat from the top of wadi Hanna

My journey there started out at Ayn Hamran where birding was uncomfortable because its only 200 metres up and almost as hot as the coast I had left.

first spotted flycatcher

As readers will know I had been disappointed in the passerine passage so far in the south Dhofar area but I am on the look out for any passage signs  as well as the local birds.

Mid and late April is peak passage season for western palearctic birds so I reasoned that Friday and Saturday were my best chances of seeing what there was.

At Ayn Hamran there were glimmers of something. 

I came across two spotted flycatcher. These were my first of the season. 

second spotted flycatcher

Otherwise the hills were a disppointment except for rufous bush robin. I actaully saw eleven (11) at Ayn Hamran including two on the same fence.

two rufous bush robin

Occasionally you get a tame bush robin but most don't seem to want to confide at all.

rufous bush robin 1

With its tail pumping it does display well if it hangs around.

rufous bush robin 2

Otherwise my time at Ayn Hamran was spent re-visiting known local species. Its an excellent place to find long billed pipit all year round though not usually close to the water. Try the drier areas.

long-billed pipit

Tristram's starling all but disppears from the Ayn and disperses near-by during the winter but comes back for spring and summer.

Tristram's starling

I had no intention of photographing another blackstart as they are so numerous but this bird stood right in front of me less than two metres away.

blackstart

The prize for the most common bird of all in the woods of the Dhofar mountains must go to another bird: Abyssinian white-eye. 

Abyssinian white-eye

Only two wintering waders still remain at Ayn Hamran now. One is a common sandpiper while the other is this incrediably site-loyal greenshank.

common greenshank

After Ayn Hamran I went up to Wadi Hanna. Its a good place for birds but there was nothing new since the last visit and so my visit was short. One black-crowned tchagra caught my eye though.  

black-crowned tchagra going deep into cover

It seems it wanted to preen and to do this it surrounded itself by as many thorny branches as possible then started.

black-crowned tchagra 

It was after this display and because of the relatively poor passage on the day that I decided to go home via Tawi Atair and try my luck with the Yemen serin as compensation.

After so long this spring with a weak western palearctic passage, the day after this trip, Saturday, remarkably and completely out of nowhere, a big spring passage finally arrived.


Furthermore, I enjoyed a morning session's birding on Saturday as much as any since I arrived in the country. This was almost completely because of the passage birds I observed. I will blog about that next.

Tawi Atair and Wadi Hanna

On Thursday afternoon, Andrew Bailey and I went up into the mountains near Tawi Atair.

One port of call for any visiting birder had to be the sinkhole at Tawi Atair. It is famous for the only known resident population east of Yemen of Yemen serin.

Yemen serin

A single bird obliged. It was on the roof of one of the outbuildings near the hole.

second view of Yemen serin

Near-by was an Arabian wheatear.

Arabian wheatear

It was here we saw a Brahminy starling which is a vagrant ot Oman. Although we got excellent views for identification, it moved on before we could take a photograph.

Tristram's starling

We made a long search to re-find it included looking around the local Tristram's starling to see if it was associating with them.

short-toed snake eagle

There was a nice view of short-toed snake eagle when we left the sinkhole.

Eastern Imperial Eagle

On the plateau near Tawi Atair town was a continual show of birds of prey. Eastern Imperial eagle were nearly as common as kestrel. We also saw three griffon vulture and one young lappet-faced vulture.

young lappet-faced vulture

We also visited the wooded area known as Wadi Hanna. This is west of Tawi Atair town. This area gave me two additions in quick succession. I saw my first lesser whitethroat and then black redstart in Oman.

eastern black redstart

The black redstart was an eastern black redstart. It's one of those species that can only usually been found as far south as Dhofar in the second half of the winter.

black redstart through the branches

Despite some small cast changes such as these two birds, the bird life is still greatly influenced by cinnamon-breasted bunting, Abyssinian white-eye and fan-tailed raven.

Abyssinian white-eye

To end the birding day, we move on to Wadi Darbat just before dusk and stayed there until 45 minutes after. We were there to seek out Arabian scops owl. We heard three but unfortunately couldn't see any by torchlight.

Rather than finish the blog at this point, I have some past pictures taken from Wadi Darbat and points to make about it from mid-December onwards.  

black stork at wadi Darbat

A single black stork has been there most of winter though it does wander. This picture comes from December 18th.

tree pipit

Tree pipit are fairly common in the woodland nearest the water. The population here and in Sahnout farm, Salalah confirms that some of this species winter in southern Oman. 

bluethroat at Wadi Darbat

After a slow start bluethroat numbers are still increasing near water in many places in Dhofar.

Summing up, although the search for Arabian scops owl didn't lead to a sighting, I added three birds to my Oman list on Thursday.

Friday was even more successful with some rarities and vagrants among more new birds. I will write about this in the next two blogs.

Yemen serin at Tawi Atair

On Thursday afternoon I made my fourth visit to the sinkhole at Tawi Atair. Each time before I had failed to see any Yemen serin. This is the only place outside western Yemen and south west Saudi Arabia where it is known.

This is a highland bird in those places which likes cool temperatures. The sinkhole provides the same temperatures.

I had speculated that my best chance to see it was in winter or the Khareef season when it is cooler.

Temperatures have dropped considerably since early November. Sure enough I meet a flock of 10 Yemen Serin on the building next to the coffee shop at the sinkhole.

two Yemen serin on the building

I was just about to go home having even descended 30 metres down the hole to look for the birds.

There was a mobile flock on Ruepell's weaver with a couple of cinnamon bunting associating. I watched these and got out the car to look closer. If that flock hadn't have arrived I would have gone.

The cinnamon breasted bunting flew off and I tracked them to behind the coffee shop. It was then that I realised there was a second flock near them and it was Yemen serin. It was precisely 4.30 pm so an early morning start is not a necessity to see this bird. 

yemen serin

This is a bland bird which I know from the Abha area of Saudi Arabia. The flock I saw there didn't bother with trees and neither did this one.

frontal view of a yemen serin

Several of the birds spend time hanging to one of the walls and I tried to work out why.

Yemen serin hanging to the wall

One idea I have is that they were trying to take out minerals such as salt which had leached out.

Yemen serin apparently licking or chipping the wall

I have Ruepell's weaver to thank for persuading me to stay.

Ruepell's weaver at Tawi Atair

Other notable birds at the top were a pair of Arabian wheatear which I have seen on every visit. 

female type Arabian wheatear

I had never seen an African paradise flycatcher at the sinkhole before but one was there too.

The next three blogs cover what I saw on Friday which turned out to be an eventful day.