Oman: Birding for Two Prized Bird Families at the Crossroads of Asia and Africa

The Sultanate of Oman is truly unique. For many, this will be the first and perhaps only Sultanate that they will visit, a “mega-tick” straight off the bat. Beyond this though, it is a land of stark and wonderful contrast: towering desert mountains to deep azure ocean, and ochre desert to the lush Afrotropical southern coast. Sitting on the tip of the Arabian Peninsula, flanked by the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea, Oman sits far enough from the rest of the Middle East to have entirely avoided the troubles that often plague the region. It is an ancient land, with strongly traditional values; crime is almost non-existent, and the people are incredibly welcoming. Not only does it have some of the best and most varied birding in the region, but it is also an easy and safe place to visit, with great infrastructure, comfortable accommodation, and excellent food.

Oman is unique in its bird life thanks to its position at the southern tip of Arabia, making it a natural bridge between Asia and Africa. This tour takes in the Oriental north, the African south, and the starkly Arabian interior in a two-week adventure. There are many resident target birds, plus a huge abundance of wintering migrants from the three continents that meet here. For the growing group of birders interested in bird families, the main tour visits one of the strongholds for the strange Hypocolius, a monotypic bird family. For those wishing to ensure the addition of TWO very important bird families – Hypocolius, as well as Crab Plover; and for those interested in avian spectacles, a short extension to Barr al Hikram must not be missed. We travel south from Muscat to the town of Al Hij and spend two nights at Barr al Hikram, a sandy coastal spit that features some of the most mind-boggling numbers of shorebirds anywhere, including the unique Crab Plover.