Dhalkout and the far west

I hosted my friend Gio from Nizwa over the long holiday weekend partly in return for his hosting of me in Nizwa and Jebel Akhdar the weekend before. He is a non-birder so I had to snatch birding moments where I could.

This was mostly done on our day trip along the coast west of Salalah where we drove right to the checkpoint on the Yemen border.

This area has the longest and most sustained khareef (monsoon) in the country. The Sarfait to Dhalkout road is the greenest I have seen. Furthermore the area is under-birded and may hold some surprises. However, as I have already written this was not a full blown birding day yet even in snatches I could see potential.

The best bird was arguably an Amur falcon seen on a wire on the main road having climbed out of Dhalkout and starting the journey back. This was the first one I have seen in Oman outside the Salalah area.

Amur falcon

With practice young and female birds are easily distinguished from young hobby.

One feature that Amur falcon and red footed falcon have but hobby doesn't is barring on the upper-tail seen well in the first picture.

Amur falcon 1

The very light vent is indicative of a young female bird. The mild streaking on the breast and lighter crown compared with a hobby is typical of Amur falcon.

Amur falcon 2

Earlier and near Dhalkout were a pair of adult of Bonelli's eagle.

Bonelli's eagle

Earlier still and in the border village of Sarfait (also known as Deem) we had had a tea break. He I had a chance to wander round the village and sneak in some birding.

fan-tailed raven

As expected the trees housed many white-spectacled bulbul, Abyssinian white-eye and Tristram's starling. In a few villages in Dhofar (eg Tawi Atair) fan-tailed raven come into the urban area. Sarfait is another one.

Tristram's starling

However even on quick inspection I picked up on two willow warbler and one eastern olivaceous warbler in an urban tree. Elsewhere were four Ruppell's weaver and my first Dideric cuckoo of the spring.

blackstart

My guess is that the road between Sarfait and Dhalkout has the best potential of all. Many of the same birds were seen as we drove slowly down it. Blackstart, cinnamon-breasted bunting and long billed pipit were also observed.

grey-headed kingfisher

Twice we came across grey-headed kingfisher on wires along the road.

greater crested tern

The only disappointment for me was the beach at Dhalkout.

Late June in Salalah

This is probably my last post before I leave Salalah for my summer break. Though, if anything out of the ordinary is seen over the next two days that could change.

Birding here is a little slow at the moment. There is very little movement and the place is left to the residents and summer breeders.

While the monsoon weather could change things slightly, it is still only creeping in slowly.

A visit to Jarziz farm on Friday was the first one I have had this year without any obvious migrants. With all the migrant falcons gone from the farm: Amur falcon, lesser kestrel and even the first Eleonora's falcon for Oman, finally the only bird of prey present was common kestrel.

common kestrel

There were two male birds hovering over the area of the field with recently cut grass. 

common kestrel hovering

That in itself is a little different to the Amur falcon and lesser kestrel which show much less preference for the shorter grass.

the second kestrel

As I walked round I flushed up to 80 chestnut-bellied sandgrouse from the scrub near the large field.

chestnut-bellied sandgrouse

As usual the field was heaving with singing bush lark. There must be well over a hundred on site.

singing bush lark

While Forbes-Watson swift were flying over most of the farm, a  number of crag martins were flying over the small water reservoir.

unidentified crag martin

One of them had very large mirrors in the tail and dark under-wing coverts. By rights this ought to be a European crag martin. It is only the time of year that makes me doubt this.

pale crag martin

The others were more typical pale crag martin.

scaly breasted munia

The main estrildid finch on the farm is African silverbill. However occasionally I see scaly-breasted munia and that was the case on Friday.

While there was were no more Amur falcon on Friday 26th there were still two on my previous visit on Monday 22nd June. This means they were seen almost continually for 8 consecutive weeks.

Amur falcon stretching

The last two were one immature male and one immature female.

perched Amur falcon

Other recent trips have included one to Ayn Hamran on June 23rd. This one was with Michael Immel. Disappointingly the sun was not obscured by any khareef (monsoon) effect and so bird life was subdued in the heat.

first grey-headed kingfisher

The heat did not stop the grey-headed kingfisher from being in evidence though it is difficult for them to hide.

second grey-headed kingfisher

In hot weather near water, it is often good just to stay near the water and watch what visits.

bathed white-spectacled bulbul

Birds were no only drinking but bathing too. The majority were cinnamon-breasted bunting but white-spectacled bulbul and Abyssinian white-eye visited too.

cinnamon-breasted bunting

Arguably the best sighting was not a bird at all. We came across an African wildcat. When it saw us it walked slowly away and promptly sat under a tree and fell into a light sleep. It showed no fear.

African wildcat sleeping

It looks reminiscent of a domestic tabby but the white and black tail as well as the black paws are two of the more obvious distinctions.

an alert African wildcat

The same afternoon we paid a quick visit to the north west corner of Khawr Rori. I am ever hopeful of seeing the malachite kingfisher there again.

There was no sight of it. The only slightly unusual sighting were five black-crowned night heron. Three were adult and two were second calendar year birds.

black-crowned night heron at Khawr Rori

I am travelling a lot this summer and hope to report any any birding I do.

Oman's first Eleonora's falcon

Every time I had visited Jarziz farm between April 28th and June 3rd there was at least one Amur falcon present with the exception of May 31st. The most has been four. 

So on Friday afternoon, when Tommy Pedersen, Bruce Hansen and I went there, I was interested in knowing if any were still on passage or even whether a sooty falcon had turned up.

The search for falcons in the main field had a much bigger surprise than a late Amur falcon or a migrant sooty falcon.

perched Eleonora's falcon 

There were two falcons perched on the main pivot bar. The closer one had our attention. From distance Tommy noted that it was heavily streaked underneath and that the ground colour had a pinkish-brown wash. As we walked closer, hobby became our working assumption.

stretching Eleonora's falcon

Yet something was not right. 

Using Tommy's words: "we approached closer, and the bird flew a few meters down the pivot line. It was now apparent that this was an odd-looking Hobby, with very long wings and tail, looking powerful, yet delicate". 

The second falcon on the pivot bar was a male Amur falcon which was decidedly smaller.

I suggested partially in jest that it might be an Eleonora’s Falcon. Using Tommy's words again: "There was much smiling and ‘surely impossible’ etc, but it certainly left a nagging feeling. It was almost big enough to be a small Peregrine, but in size only."

another pose of the perched Eleonora's falcon

Tommy got some excellent photos of the bird in flight. I have reproduced one below with thanks to Tommy.

Eleonora's falcon in flight by Tommy Pedersen

Indeed it was this photo which first made us pretty sure it really was an Eleonora's falcon.  Bruce and I were looking through the photos and guide books while Tommy was driving on to the next destination. Then we saw this photo.

The dark underwing coverts contrasting with the pale grey flight feathers and the dark trailing edge are characteristic field marks of a juvenile and immature Eleonora's falcon.

We still have to submit Bird Rarity Report for official confirmation but informal consultations with experts have all concurred with the identification.

We think that the powerful cyclonic weather of recent days may have had an impact on this bird's route. Although recent work with tagged birds show more fly on the Saudi side of the Red Sea than previously thought. It would still be off-course but less so than under the old belief that all flew on the African side.

Mid morning on Saturday I returned to the farm to check if the Eleonora's falcon was still there. I took the opportunity to inspect the much larger Sawnout farm on the way. 

Nearly all the fields on that farm currently have only very low lying crops or appear fallow. This is unattractive to falcons and might explain their current preference for the much smaller Jarziz farm.

A very distant kestrel at Sahalnout farm

All I could see was a single common kestrel but the picture shows the typical landscape there at the moment on many fields.

At Jarziz farm, I found that the Eleonora's falcon was still there. However I concentrated on the other falcons present. If you remember I was still hopeful of a sooty falcon.

immature male Amur falcon

I didn't see one. However there was an immature male Amur falcon which could easily have been the same one as the day before.

perched Amur falcon

Even from a distance its behaviour showed it was an Amur falcon rather than a sooty falcon. It frequently hovers like a kestrel and lesser kestrel whereas a sooty falcon rarely does.

hovering Amur falcon

A little bit surprising was the sighting of a third falcon on the farm. There was a female (presumably immature given the late date) Amur falcon.

When will they stop coming?

female Amur falcon

This one was more heavily streaked than any others I have seen. It also had a very long (but thin) moustache. I have seen so much variation in those two features.

female Amur falcon in flight

I intend to keep visiting the farm over the next few days. Does it hold any more surprises?

Early June in coastal Salalah

Yesterday, I had time to visit Jarziz farm early in the morning and Khawr Rori in late afternoon. Both are coastal locations and at sea level. 

The visit to Jarziz farm was very short lasting no more than 20 minutes. I went there solely to look for falcons. From April 28th until May 30th there were always Amur falcon every time I went. On May 31st there were finally none.

Yesterday, June 3rd there was one again. This was the 32nd one I have seen there this spring. Its about as guaranteed location as it can get.

I have also been looking for sooty falcon on passage but have seen none.

Amur falcon 1

This bird was a female. It was very tame and allowed me closer than any of the previous 31 birds.

Amur falcon 2

I have seen a lot of variation in the individual birds. This one for example has a longer moustache than most others.

Amur falcon 3

Otherwise, the most eventful sighting while there was a fly-over of about 60 chestnut-bellied sandgrouse heading north out of the farm. I wonder if they were off for their morning drink.

In the afternoon, I headed to Khawr Rori with friends and work colleagues, Michael Immel and Paul Leslie.

mixed terns and gulls

Near the ornamental dhows is always a good place to start. This time there were tens of gulls and terns. The highest number were great crested tern and slender-billed gull. However there were several Caspian tern, Sooty gull and sandwich tern along with smaller numbers of Saunders's tern, white-cheeked tern and whiskered tern. There was also one western reef heron.

Sandwich tern (l), Caspian tern (back), great crested tern (front)

Keeping a wary distance over the water were several grey heron.

We walked north along the eastern bank where there is a marshy area.

female garganey

Here were several black-winged stilt, more western reef heron, moorhen and a female garganey. Four pheasant-tailed jacana weren't seen until flushed and they flew the length of the khawr to the southern part of the west side where there are low lying reeds.

Michael and I elected to go look over that side. This involved driving the car to the sandbar at the southern end of the khawr and walking the rest. 

Crossing the sandbar I saw three black-tailed godwit. When I finally reached the place the pheasant-tailed jacana had gone to there was plenty of other bird activity. Ten flamingo were out wading in the deeper water. Eight little grebe were swimming together including several young birds.

little grebe

An over-summering male pintail was swimming around.

male pintail

The pheasant-tailed jacana were very flighty. They flew off as soon as I arrived near-by despite my stealth. Luckily this time they flew only a short distance.

two pheasant-tailed jacana

The female is the brighter coloured bird and can be polyandrous although it looked to me as if there were only pairs at Khawr Rori.

female pheasant-tailed jacana (left)

Khawr Rori closes at 6pm so we started to make our way back to the car in good time. On the way, we were following a whimbrel that flushed towards the sand bar.

whimbrel

As we got close to it, it flushed again on to the beach. It was there that I got lucky.

record shot of brown noddy

A dark brown bird flew around the beach and on to the near-by sea.  Both Michael and I got pictures but the sun was waning and behind a late afternoon cloud giving poor light.

record shot of brown noddy by Michael Immel

Nevertheless, I have consulted and found that it was a brown noddy albeit a well-worn and faded one. I particularly thank Andrew Bailey in UAE for his help in identification. 

Brown noddy has been reported in this bay before but it's not common for a brown noddy to come to a mainland.

It became bird 285 on my country list and was totally unexpected.

Jarziz round up

Work is very busy at them moment so most birding is very local to home as this takes up less time. Jarziz farm is one of the closest sites.  I have been visiting regularly not only because it is close but also to study the Amur falcon making their way through as much as I can before they are all gone for another season. 

They have not been the only birds of prey present.

Lesser kestrel have been observed in roughly 1/3 to 1/2 the numbers of Amur falcon.

female lesser kestrel

In many ways they are similar. Both eat mostly insects and both can be seen hovering before they catch prey which is near or on the ground. Their profile in the air is not dissimilar either.

lesser kestrel hovering

Less frequent birds of prey visitors have been Bonelli's eagle and Osprey.

Bonelli's eagle

Osprey is actually more common at the site in winter. It is only one kilometre directly from the sea and is not as surprising as you might think to see them there.

osprey

Between April 28th and my last visit on May 26th, there have always been at least two Amur falcon in the field.

perched female Amur falcon #1

I have noticed quite a lot of variation presumably between immature birds and adult females.

perched female Amur falcon #2

A few do not have an all white ground colour to their underparts.  This is also accompanied with a very short or non-existent moustache. I presume these are young birds.

perched female Amur falcon #3

The immature males can be subtly different too.

flying male Amur falcon #1

One of the main variations is the amount of dark streaking in the underparts.

flying male Amur falcon #2

The other main one is the lightness or otherwise of the neck.

chestnut-bellied sandgrouse

I still chestnut-bellied sandgrouse every time I go to the farm. It's a guaranteed place to see them.

marsh warbler

Marsh warbler are a spring passage phenomenon. Some days in late April and in May there are several in the long grass. Other days there are none.

pallid swift

One day there was a big influx of Forbes Watson swift early in the morning. There were at least 60 birds. My guess is they had just returned to Dhofar for the summer and were gorging. It only happened once. Most other days there are only a handful of swifts now the main passage of other swift types has finished.


In among the Forbes Watson swift I believe have been a small number of pallid swift though they are very difficult to separate. Not the very pale forehead in the bird above which helps me think that this one was a pallid swift.

European roller

European roller have still been passing through until the last few days. I think their spring passage has just about finished now.

One thing I like about birding in Dhofar is the unexpected. This happened this evening when I snatched a little bit of birding time before dusk. Continuing to see Amur falcon this late in the month was a little unexpected but almost walking into two spotted thick-knee was more so.

first spotted thick-knee

I hadn't see one this year but every time I have seen them I have been on foot.

both spotted thick-knee

I have also been lucky enough to see them in daylight each time though they are more active at night.

second spotted thick-knee

This was the most exposed place I have observed them without a bush within 200 metres. Despite this they were very difficult to see.

It was an enjoyable moment at the end of a hard week.