Photos with this report (click to enlarge) | |||
Black-crowned Sparrowlark |
Following a visited to Ghana, Bill Watson and I had two days in the United Arab Emirates to break the journey home, staying in Dubai. We had a full day out with local businessman Gary Burns who runs wildlife-spotting tours and can highly recommend his services (contact him through his website https://www.desertwildlife.me/). I have published a blog post with images and further information (http://sunshinecoastbirds.blogspot.com/2023/05/united-arab-emirates-arabian-oryx-other.html).
We left Dubai with the aim of securing a few bird and mammal targets and seeing more of the country. We left early in the morning, heading east from Dubai on the road to Kalba, driving 1.5 hours to reach our first destination, Wadi Alrawasi. This is a desert wadi - a low sandy area wedged between rocky crags. Here we found three key targets: Arabian Babbler, Arabian Bee-eater and Sand Partridge. We visited a nearby second wadi, Wadi Tuwa, finding another target, Humes’s Wheatear and more partridges.
We continued eastwards to the Indian Ocean at the port of Dibba on the border with Oman, having crossed the country. Here we scrutinised various inlets in search of Socrota Cormorant, finally connecting with a sub-adult on rocks at the entrance to the fishing harbour. We then drove west and south to the Al Marmoon Reserve in the Al Qudra Desert, quickly finding another target - Black-crowned Sparrowlark, along with Pharoah’s Eagle-Owl. In the white and red sand dune desert we also found three key mammal targets.
BIRDS (+ = lifer]
Crested Tern, Caspian Tern, Caspian Gull (2 in Dubai), Bridled Tern (several Dibba),
Red-wattled Lapwing, Little Ringed Plover, Kentish Plover,
Common Sandpiper, Pied Stilt, Common Snipe, Osprey, Shikra,
Mallard, Egyptian Goose, Striated Heron, Great Egret, Cattle Egret,
Grey Heron, Eurasian Moorhen, Greater Flamingo (100+ on artificial wetland Al Qudra),
+ Socrota Cormorant (1 Dibba fishing harbour),
Eurasian Collared-Dove, Laughing Dove, Wood Pigeon, Rose-ringed Parakeet,
Indian Roller,
+ Arabian Green Bee-eater (small numbers in both wadis and Al Qudra),
Grey Francolin,
+ Sand Partridge (2 Wadi Alrawasi, 4 Wadi Tuwa),
Pharoah’s Eagle-Owl (2 Al Qudra),
+ Arabian Babbler (parties of 4 and 3, Wadi Alrawasi),
Isabelline Wheatear (small numbers in the wadis),
+ Humes’s Wheatear (1 Wadi Tuwa, 2 more on powerlines while leaving the wadi),
Rufous-tailed Scrub-Robin (2 Wadi Alrawasi), Rufous-tailed Rock-thrush (1 Wadi Tuwa),
Eastern Olivaceous Warbler, Scrub Warbler (2 Wadi Tuwa),
Southern Grey Shrike, Spotted Flycatcher,
Desert Lark (common in the wadis), Crested Lark, Greater Hoopoe-Lark (1 Al Qudra),
+ Black-crowned Sparrowlark (common Al Qudra),
White-eared Bulbul, Purple Sunbird, House Crow, Brown-necked Raven,
Common Myna, Bank Myna, House Sparrow. 6 lifers
MAMMALS
+ Arabian Desert Gazelle (common Al Qudra),
+ Sand Gazelle (common Al Qudra),
+ Arabian Oryx (1 individual and a small herd, Al Qudra),
Cape Hare (distinctive race arabicus, Al Qudra). 3 lifers.