BBC 2010: Oman

In 2010 Steve and Dick frittered away too much time on work and families, and didn't find time to join the BBC trip - in November Mike and I left the Swiss winter to fly to the coasts and deserts of Oman.

It was the first BBC trip outside of the Palearctic geographic realm - one of six areas of common biology defined by the WWF, which extends from Portugal to Japan, and from Scandinavia and Siberia to North Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia. Oman is in the Afrotropical realm, with the Palearctic to the north and the Indomalayan realm on the opposite side of the Gulf of Oman - it is at a unique meeting point of three realms, and promises a diverse array of bird species.

We flew to the capital Muscat on the northern coast, and drove to Salalah in the far south on the border with Yemen.

We first drove along the coast down to the peninsula of Barr Al Hikman. On the rocks we saw Grapsus Shore Crabs, the same genus I saw in the Canary Islands last year only a different species - G. albolineatus.

Lesser Black-backed Gulls (Larus fuscus) were common along the shores. A number of 'forms' of this gull are recognized breeding across the north of the Palearctic from Portugal to Siberia, and there are discussions over whether some are sub-species or even species. The winter visitors we saw were most likely heuglini ('Siberian Gull') or cachinnans ('Caspian Gull').

The dark gulls pictured here amongst the Lesser Black-backed, with white necks and bluish bills, are Sooty Gulls (Ichthyaetus hemprichii) - common residents from east Africa to India, which can be the only gulls seen in Oman in summer. The latin name was given in honour of the German naturalist Wilhelm Friedrich Hemprich, who went on expeditions to north-east African, Arabia and the Levant and died of fever in the Eritrean port of Massawa. The yellow-billed terns are Crested Terns - more likely Greater (Thalasseus bergii) than Lesser (T. bengalensis), though we saw both. They are common throughout the year on the coasts from South Africa to Australia.

Another common winter visitor, the Eurasian Whimbrel (Numenius Phaeopus). Five sub-species are recognised breeding from Greenland to Siberia - I don't know which one has turned up here.

Squacco Herons (Ardeola ralloides) visit in winter from Africa, Europe and central Asia. However,  Indian Pond Herons (Ardeola grayii) also visit from east Asia - and they are very difficult to tell apart when not in summer breeding plumage.

The Red-wattled Lapwing (Vanellus indicus) is resident from Arabia to South-east Asia. In Oman, it is the aigneri sub-species, which extends east to Pakistan.

Other waders that fly south to take a winter holiday break in Oman are the Redshank (Tringa totanus) and the Greenshank (T. nebularia). Which species is which should be obvious, as shank is an old Eglish word for leg (or shin) - as applied to the tall King Edward I of England, Edward 'Longshanks'.

They are joined by the Dunlin (Calidris alpina) - 'dun' meaning dull brown in old English. This is most probably alpina, one of 10 sub-species, which breeds from Scandianavia to Siberia.

Driving inland into the deserts we saw Green Bee-eaters (Merops orientalis), first described by the 18th century British ornithologist, and man of Kent, John Latham. They are resident from Africa through to east Asia, and two of the nine recognised sub-species occur in Oman - muscatensis and cyanophrys - though I know not which this is.

The Isabelline Shrike (Lanius isabellinus) breeds in central Asia through to China, and overwinters in Africa and Arabia. Isabelline is a recent latin name for a greyish-yellow colour, probably named after Isabella I of Castille, who promised not to change her underwear until Spain was free of the Moors.

The Isabelline Wheatear (Oenanthe isabellina) shares the same species name origin as the shrike. It is resident of Central Asia and the Middle East, and visits Oman in the winter. It can be recognised by having an upright posture compared to other wheatears.

A flock of Spotted Sandgrouse (Pterocles senegallus) make their daily dawn visit to drink. They live in arid regions from northern Africa to southern Asia. Their chief enemy is the Lanner Falcon, which flies low and scoops them up from the ground. As a defence one sandgrouse is always in the air and signals to the others when a falcon approaches - they then freeze on the ground, where their cryptic colouration prevents them from being seen.

The Black-crowned Sparrow Lark (Eremopterix nigriceps). What a name - what a bird! A real arid land specialist - it lives in the Sahara, Arabia and the deserts around Afghanistan. This is the eastern sub-species, melanauchen.

The most common wintering species of eagle in Oman is the Steppe Eagle (Aquila nipalensis), which loves to hang around rubbish dumps. It breeds in the steppes of Cental Asia and Mongolia, and appears on the flag of Kazakhstan.

The Greater Spotted Eagle (Clanga clanga) is also a winter visitor from the steppes.

When we returned to Muscat I went to the municipal beach to wash of the desert sands. I dodged the families having their weekend BBQs and plunged into the water with my snorkling mask on. Immediately in front of me I saw a Green Turtle. I swam after it, and watched it twist and turn its way into open sea.

Oman delivered on its promises. I saw 38 species I had never seen before in my previous travels in Europe, Africa and Asia – including the photographed Sooty Gull, Red-wattled Lapwing, Steppe Eagle, Spotted Sandgrouse, Black-crowned Sparrow Lark and Isabelline Shrike.

As expected, three of the new species only occur in Arabia: Arabian partridge, South Arabian Wheatear and Yemen Serin; Some are found only in the Afrotropical realm to which Oman belongs: Bruce's Green Pigeon, Nile Valley Sunbird, Shining Sunbird, White-breasted White-eye, Fan-tailed Raven, Ruppell's Weaver, African Silverbill and Cinnamon-breasted Bunting; Others were more typical of the Indomalayan realm on the other side of the Gulf of Oman: Pheasant-tailed Jacana, Indian Roller, Red-vented Bulbul, White-eared Bulbul, Hume's Wheatear, Purple Sunbird and Tristram's Grackle; Then there were the cosmopolitan species, found along the coasts and in the deserts across Africa and Asia: Western Reef Heron, Chestnut-bellied sandgrouse, Long-billed Pipit, Blackstart, Arabian Warbler and Palestine Sunbird; Some were winter migrants from the eastern Palearctic - escaping the cold of the arctic, central Asia or Siberia – and difficult to see in Europe: Greater Sand Plover, White-tailed Lapwing, Broad-billed Sandpiper, Terek Sandpiper and Persian Wheatear; And lastly, some occur in eastern Europe or Turkey, but I just hadn’t seen them before: Eastern Imperial Eagle, Citrine Wagtail and White-spectacled Bulbul.

BBC was now Global!