West side and mystery eagle

I had the pleasure of being a birdingpal with visitors Karen Pickles and Catherine Chatham last Friday.

We went out west starting with Mughsail early in the morning. Needless to say we saw Baillon's crake fairly easily but as always I failed to see my first little crake in Oman.

They were very patient during all this crake finding effort.

Eventually we moved on and looked in and around the main pool more widely than just the reed edges where crakes lie.

clamorous reed warbler

At the side was a clamorous reed warbler. Early morning and late evening are the best times to see this warbler in the open.

squacco heron

The main pool was a little disappointing but not for heronry. A great white egret was present as well as squacco heron and grey heron. A purple heron also flew over.

European coot

A single European coot had been present all summer and it was probably the same bird on Friday.

garganey

We moved on to the second pool where ducks and moorhen were prevalent. The garganey above look well camouflaged against the dappled water.

blue rock thrush

As we walked away from the pool, a blue rock thrush was sighted on the hill side.

blue rock thrush

At the third and smallest pond, an Indian pond heron was seen. As is often the case, it was tamer than a typical squacco heron and allowed close approach.

Indian pond heron

By 10 am we had moved off to Raysut and its settling pools.

Abdim's stork and White stork

The site was packed with Abdim's stork with a few white stork. There were over 300 Abdim's stork on the ground and more in flight.

red-throated pipit

There were large numbers of three ducks: garganey, pintail and northern shoveller. One area has been so moist with overflow water it has developed into a meadow. It contained significant numbers of yellow wagtail, white wagtail and citrine wagtail.  The last twice there have also been a small number of red-throated pipit.

white stork at Raysut settling pools

The density of waders was as high as any time I have visited the place since arriving in Salalah.

common ringed plover

The usual wood sandpiper, green sandpiper, common sandpiper and black-winged stilt were joined by little stint, Temminck's stint, common ringed plover and a large flock of dunlin.

dunlin with a few little stint

There was some variability in bill length and curvature. They almost certainly represented more than one sub-species.

spur-winged lapwing

When we left the fenced area we spent a short amount of time just outside on the eastern perimeter. Here overflows from the main site have created a stream and marsh area. Here we caught up with the long standing vagrant spur winged lapwing and three red-wattled lapwing associates. Greater spotted eagle were there too.

We had been birding non-stop for over seven hours but decided to make one last stop next to the Raysut rubbish dump. It was here that we arguably had the most interesting observation of the day.

Just outside the southern fence of the dump, we came across a very pale eagle which was perched on a hillock inside. It stood out from the steppe eagle and eastern imperial eagle near-by.

pale eagle

Between us, we got pictures of it perched, next to other birds and in flight. However the flight pictures are of the upper wing only.

Three options for the identity of the bird have been suggested: a freakish pale steppe eagle, a fulvescens greater spotted eagle and a tawny eagle.

Separation between them is mostly carried out structurally with plumage features are support. 

We have many pictures in total but these three are representative. I am grateful to Karen and Catherine for permission to reproduce some of them.

In the first picture the bird appears to have an oval (rather than round) nostril, powerful bill and a relatively long gape. This suggests a steppe eagle or tawny eagle. An tawny eagle also has wider feathering (like a steppe eagle) on the lower legs. However this point is difficult for me to intepret.

pale eagle (l) with steppe eagle (r) by Catherine Chatham

The eagle appears slightly smaller than a steppe eagle which is consistent with either a fulvescens greater spotted eagle or tawny eagle.

Taken together this points to me that this may well be a tawny eagle.

pale eagle flying by Karen Pickles

Other structural features to look out for in flight are longer tail and shorter wings compared with fulvescens. Our pictures are not especially helpfully on this point.

Under-wing plumage features which cannot be verified would include the lack of a distinct pale crescent at the carpal. Such a picture would have been very helpful.

My knowledge is not enough to convince a critical eye as provided by a rarities committee and people I have consulted have varying degrees of certainty.

The bird was still present yesterday around the dump. This itself is more typical of a tawny eagle than greater spotted eagle which prefers moist terrain. Either way my friends Saeed Shanfari,  Hedi Khecharem and I failed to get those elusive under-wing pictures yesterday despite seeing the bird.

I would urge visiting birders to keep an eye out for it.

I should end by thanking Karen and Catherine for their company and humour.

Mid week birding

In the middle of last week, I managed two more sessions of birding with Bart De Schutter before he headed north.

On Tuesday afternoon, we went to Raysut settling pools where we saw 51 species. This is a big haul for such a small place.

When I last went there only about 45 Abdim's stork had arrived. 

Abdim's stork

This time we observed around 240 though other people's records show that around 410 were around. This means they were not obviously harmed by cyclone chapala in Yemen on their way to Raysut.

Abdim's stork in flight

A great snipe had been spotted the two days before at the site. This is rare bird in Oman. We failed to see it if it were still around.

Pin-tailed snipe in flight

A pin-tailed snipe with an usually short bill was the closest we got.

citrine wagtail

Four types of wagtail were present: grey wagtail, citrine wagtail, white wagtail and yellow wagtail.

spur-winged lapwing

The long standing vagrant spur-winged lapwing was easily seen as were four red-wattled lapwing which were often associating with it.

soiled greater spotted eagle

The city rubbish dump is near-by and it attracts large numbers of eagles most of which are steppe eagle. Some flew close as usual. A soiled greater spotted eagle was resting within the settling pool site. It's soiling was consistent with getting too close to the surface of the two advanced settling pools.

whiskered tern

There are usually a few terns. This time the small number were whiskered tern.

The duck numbers were the highest I have seen this season. There were all pintail, garganey, shoveller and teal.

Outside the eastern perimeter of the site, the water overflows creating a small wetland and a stream down a natural wadi. We stopped for a while outside the fence and at the wetland.  Huge numbers of Ruppell's weaver starting arriving to roost in a near-by cluster of trees along with lesser numbers of African silverbill.

male bluethroat

The most interesting birds here were bluethroat and a couple of great reed warbler.

While we were still at Raysut the day before we heard that a watercock had been sighted at Khawr Taqah. We had resisted the temptation to drop everything at Raysut and twitch at Taqah. However we resolved to go there on the Wednesday afternoon. 

We heard Wednesday lunch time that the bird hadn't been seen by those who immediately went over on Tuesday. So by the time we arrived we undertook more general birding with an eye on any specialities rather than a twitch.

In an otherwise relatively flat session, one of the best moments there was a close view of an Indian pond heron. The dark loral strip is particularly obvious on this bird.

Indian pond heron

They are generally more two-toned than squacco heron with far less intermediate buff colourations. Again this bird was a good example.

sanderling

We walked the beach near-by where there was quite a diversity of waders. I don't see many sanderling in winter but there were plenty there.

dunlin

I found it quite remarkable that several dunlin were still showing some signs of summer plumage.

scaly-breasted munia

To finish off, we ventured into the small farm at Taqah. As well as large numbers of European collared dove and less numbers of white wagtail, myna and rose-ringed parakeet there was a flock of scaly-breasted munia. I had not seen them outside the city of Salalah before. The best sighting there though was a booted eagle which flew over.

spiny-tailed lizard at Taqah farm

On Friday, I travelled out east of the city again. Arguably birds of prey stole the show. I will blog about this session next.

Mid March at Raysut

Late on Saturday afternoon, I headed to Raysut where I visited two sites. One was the settling pools and the other was the treated water lake. As I have said before they are quite different. One is smelly and dirty while the other is a lake of very clear and clean water. Both attract large numbers of birds.

The settling pools are looking much better habitat overall than they were when I first starting visiting about 3 months ago. The overflow form two of the settling pools is being allowed to run off creating an impromptu marshland with a few natural looking pools and where cover is steadily growing. I hope they don't tidy this up too quickly.

The main settling pools themselves are square and concrete bounded. These alone attract birds. Walking around them on Saturday were several flamingo. Three little grebe were seen in one. Another had several slender-billed gull though the black-headed gull observed all winter have gone.

flamingo flying around the settling pools

There are always a few waders at the water's edge on the concrete but this time the main birding action was in the new (and hopefully not temporary marshy areas).

desert wheatear

Leaving the drier part of the complex behind, along with the odd tawny pipit and desert wheatear, I walked over the eastern side where the wetter area is.

eastern imperial eagle

There were several eagles on site. All were either eastern imperial eagle or greater spotted eagle. There are steppe eagle still around but many have left. Their dominance, in Raysut district as whole area, by 30 or 40 to one against the other eagles has gone.

greater spotted eagle

In the wet parts of the settling pool site was a large array of wader species. Wood sandpiper, common sandpiper and green sandpiper were joined by at least two marsh sandpiper.

marsh sandpiper

A small number of common redshank and two common greenshank were also observed.

greenshank

The variety included both little ringed plover and ringed plover.

little ringed plover

The ringed plover were in the same place as a large group of little stint.

ringed plover

There were thirty of them packed densely.

little stint

As I continued to walk round, I came across four cattle egret high on a tree on the perimeter.

cattle egret

As well as waders the marshy area with pools had attracted yellow wagtail. The one below is of the sub-species thunbergi  (grey-headed wagtail) as the ear coverts are darker than the crown.

thunbergi yellow wagtail

The vagrant spur-winged lapwing was still present as it has been all winter. The red-wattled lapwing it had been associating with appear to have left.

spur-winged lapwing

If this part of the settling pool complex continues to be kept marshy then the spring passage could be very interesting here. Of the birds I haven't yet seen in Oman, collared pratincole and several types of warbler must be possible.

On leaving the settling pools I went down the road 2 kilometres to the treated water lake.

In this cleaner environment there were fewer birds but these included common moorhen and several more little grebe.

A close look showed that one of the squacco heron was in fact an Indian pond heron.

Indian pond heron

There are always very many Indian house crow at this site and they are often seen intimidating other birds. 

Indian house crow

They even try to intimidate eagles.

House crow and Eastern imperial eagle 1

I saw one continually goad an Eastern Imperial eagle from behind.

House crow and Eastern imperial eagle 2

Each time it pecked the eagle it immediately retreated and reared up into the air.

House crow and Eastern imperial eagle 3

In the end the crow normally succeeds in displacing the eagle.

Eastern imperial eagle

Yellow birds were very much in evidence at the treated water lake: yellow wagtail, citrine wagtail and Ruepell's weaver.

yellow wagtail

The male weavers were busy making more nests. Looks like some breeding takes place before the Dideric cuckoo return.

Ruepell's weaver weaving

On Monday's afternoon, I visited Khawr Rori and got a surprise addition to my Oman list. I will blog about that next.

Migrants include taiga flycatcher at Qatbeet

I drove over 650 kilometres yesterday to visit Qatbeet motel gardens. This site is a wooded garden in the middle of the desert on the Salalah- Muscat main road.

It is known to have some exotic winter vagrants from time to time probably because it is the only mixed wooded habitat for many tens if not a hundred kilometres. For example last winter a rare black throated thrush was seen in the same bush as a vagrant dusky thrush.

It was this prospect that enticed me to make this very long journey starting out at 4.30am from Salalah.

I arrived at about 7.30 am and it still very cold in the desert. The birds were just stirring. 

Indian pond heron

The very first two birds I saw were a good start. One was my first desert whitethroat in Oman, the second was a surprising Indian pond heron in a tree. The middle of the desert is a strange place for a pond heron.

female taiga flycatcher

However the real exotic was seen about half an hour later in the most shaded and dampest part of the wood. It was a female taiga flycatcher!  I am not sure it has ever been officially recorded in Oman though I know through the grapevine that at least two sets of birders claim to have seen separate ones in the Salalah area recently.

Note it has no buff colours as with a female a red-breasted flycatcher. It is just greys, black and white. The overall impression is much colder. The bill is uniform dark, the underparts are a light grey with a distinct bright white throat. The rump is very dark too.

There are more pictures which I am using in the rarity submission.

You may want to look how closely it resembles a bird seen in Dubai two winters ago. http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/n-8dK28/i-hXSJ8rw

song thrush

Nothing could beat that observation in the rest of the time at the motel. However there were some other migrants including this song thrush.

bluethroat

I briefly observed a bluethroat too.

chiffchaff

There were three chiffchaff. This one was in the same place as the flycatcher.

white wagtail

White wagtail were the easiest migrant to see being most out in the open.

desert wheatear

Wheatears are more common outside the garden wall but at least one was inside.

black necked raven

There were resident local birds around too of course. A brown-necked raven put on a show on a lamppost.

second view of brown-necked raven

The male nile valley sunbird are starting to moult into breeding plumage.

nile valley sunbird

Certainly the most common resident is laughing dove.

laughing dove

The other two main residents are Eurasian collared dove and house sparrow.

collared dove

Unlike the house sparrow to their south and west these are quite happy on buildings. Indeed they nest on the motel. They are more "normal".

house sparrow

I also visited two more desert sites. I will blog about these next.