OMAN MIGRATION SPECIAL -
MUSANDAM to MASIRAH ISLAND
SATURDAY 10th october to sunday 18th october 2026
DAY 1 MUSCAT - MUSANDAM
We will take the morning flight from Muscat to Khasab, Musandam (1h 5mins) and upon arrival we will head to the wooded park at Sall Ala, about 25 minutes away from the airport. This wooded parkland provides much needed shelter for migrants and we have high hopes of finding some really good species here. Amongst the numerous Lesser Whitethroats, Common Redstarts and various species of shrike we could come across Wood Warbler, Spotted Flycatcher, Bluethroat, Ortolan Bunting and maybe something rarer such as a vagrant Green Warbler, Richard's, Blyth's or Olive-backed Pipit, Yellow-throated Sparrow and many more possibilities.
DAYS 2 - 3 MUSANDAM
Musandam is like no other region in Oman or even in the entire Arabian region. If you look at a map it is a massive promontory jutting out into the Straits of Hormuz and forms part of a land bridge between Arabia and central Asia. Indeed Musandam is less than 60kms from the Republic of Iran and on rare, clear days the mountains of Iran are clearly visible! This topography attracts a variety of migrant birds, and many exciting discoveries have been made here, but in recent years it has unfortunately been largely neglected by visiting birders. But we aim to change that and encourage more birders to visit and following our visit in spring 2025 we can see that the potential for finding some exciting migrants is huge! We will spend the majority of our time exploring the As Sayh Plateau, which is the main migrant trap here. This involves a steep ascent along an uneven road, but it is well worth it, as this plateau is one of the major birding destinations all Oman!
Regular species around Musandam include Chukar (the only place in Oman to see this species), Red-wattled Lapwing, Sooty Gull, Indian Roller, Arabian Green Bee-eater, Desert, Pied, Isabelline & Hume's Wheatears, Black Redstart, Desert Lark, Pale Crag Martin, Graceful Prinia, Lesser Whitethroat, Purple Sunbird, Striolated Bunting and there should be a few Socotra Cormorants around as well. Migration will be in full swing during this mid-October period and that gives us chances of species such as Black Stork, European Roller, Masked, Woodchat & Red-backed Shrikes, European Red-rumped Swallow, Common Rock-Thrush, Menetries's, Upcher's, Red-throated Pipit, Ortolan Bunting and Western Yellow Wagtail of various races. But we will be hoping for rarer species (in Omani terms), so how about Corncrake, Eurasian Dotterel, Shikra, Asian Green Bee-eater, Bay-backed shrike, Black Drongo, Variable Wheatear, Pied Bushchat, Black-throated & Dusky Thrush, Rufous-backed Redstart, Dusky,Yellow-browed & Hume's Warblers, Blyth's Pipit, Radde's Accentor & Trumpeter Finch amongst many more possibilities?
DAY 4 MUSANDAM - MAHOUT
We will take the early morning flight back to Muscat and then head 4 hours or so to Mahout, gateway to the wader-fest that is Barr Al Hickman. Quite often the Muscat area turns up something really rare, so depending on the latest news we may well check out a few areas around the city for Grey-headed (Western) Swamphen, or any previous reported rarity.
The drive south across the desert doesn't hold that many species but we could see Egyptian Vulture, Great Grey Shrike (Aucheri race), Greater Hoopoe-Lark, Desert Wheatear, Asian Desert Warbler & Brown-necked Raven. But we will reach Mahout in plenty of time so that we can check the local sewage works, which can be a really good site to see a few wildfowl, several species of shorebird and there should be a few terns and some passerines on migration.
DAYS 5 - 8 MASIRAH ISLAND
We will be on the first ferry crossing to Masirah Island this morning, and it will be with great excitement when we reach this island which has been dubbed the Fair Isle of Arabia! The main site for rarities and migrants is Al Shamkaiah Park where common migrants to be expected include Isabelline & Turkestan Shrike, Red-breasted Flycatcher, Bluethroat, Clamorous Reed Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat, various Phylloscopus warblers, Citrine Wagtail, and in recent years Forest Wagtail & Olive-backed Pipit have become regular. But that's not all, as we have a fantastic opportunity to find a rare migrant at Al Shamkaiah Park, where potential species include Brahminy Kite, Long-toed Stint, Oriental Pratincole, Amur Falcon, Red Collared Dove, Oriental Turtle Dove, Asian Koel, Chestnut-winged Cuckoo, Common Hawk-Cuckoo, Grey-bellied Cuckoo, Streak-throated Swallow, Grey-throated Martin, Oriental Skylark, Long-tailed Shrike, Asian Brown Flycatcher, Blyth's Reed, Thick-billed, Paddyfield, Green, Eastern Orphean & Booted Warbler, Common Rosefinch, Forest Wagtail, Brahminy Starling, Grey-necked & Rustic Bunting and many others have been found in the past. It certainly will be an exciting site to visit.
Adjacent to the park is Hilf Sewage Works, which is basically an extension of the woodland around the park and offers the chance of Pheasant-tailed Jacana, White-breasted Waterhen, various shorebirds and wildfowl, as well as offering some dense thorn/acacia scrub that numerous skulkers find attractive! And directly across the road is Hilf Coastal Wetland, a small overflow area from the sewage works that can be good for Little Crake, Water Rail, various shorebirds including White-tailed Lapwing, Jack & Pintail Snipe, and others.
Half an hour further south is the sand & mudflats of Sur Masirah where we have outstanding opportunities to get really good views of Crab-Plover, with up to 500 forming a superb spectacle at high tide. Amongst the multitude of shorebirds we will also look for Great Knot, a species present in small numbers but usually stays reliable to one or two high tide roosting sites. Other great species include Greater & Tibetan Sandplovers, Broad-billed Sandpiper, Terek Sandpiper, and in 2022 we found the 1st Grey-tailed Tattler for Oman just across the bay. Just scanning through the multitude of shorebirds present is a highlight in itself and it's a fantastic place to see all of those familiar shorebirds from Europe - but in huge numbers. There's also many herons & egrets, up to 8 species of tern and a variety of gulls all present here. Again, we need to check every bird as it is highly likely thee's something rare hiding amongst the many thousands of birds flocking along the tideline.
DAY 9 MASIRAH ISLAND - MUSCAT - END OF TOUR
We will have another full morning to check for rarities and migrants at the various locations, as well as checking Sur Masirah for any recently arrived shorebirds, before taking the midday ferry back to Shannah Port and setting out on the 4 hour drive back to Muscat where the tour concludes this evening.
GROUND PRICE IN EUROS: €2950.00 - Muscat/Salalah
SINGLE SUPPLEMENT: €350.00
DEPOSIT: €500.00
GROUP SIZE: Maximum of 6 with 2 guides
INCLUDED: Accommodations based on two persons sharing a two-bedded room. All meals from lunch on Day 1 to lunch on Day 8. We will stay in good hotels convenient to our birding destinations. All transportation in 4x4's, ferry crossings, domestic flights, bottled water, juice & soft drinks during the day and services of guides
NOT INCLUDED: Insurance, drinks with dinner and items of a personal nature.
INFO: A relaxed birding break for all levels of ability and fitness. We provide dawn to dusk birding for those who want and will spend as much time as possible on foot out in the field searching for migrants. We provide all food, which includes picnics out in the field for breakfast & lunch at good birding localities, whilst dinners will be at a good local restaurant. We also have tea, coffee and juices available all day, a variety of snacks & fruit and cater for all food preferences/allergies etc. You can't beat having a coffee, whilst scoping a few good birds! Nobody does Oman like us!
Musandam
There's a good variety of habitat at Musandam to attract migrants. Its location is superb to begin with but the woodland of Sall Ala, As Sayh Plateau and various small coastal inlets all provide great food sources and shelter to a variety of species on migration.
MASIRAH ISLAND
There's a variety of habitats providing excellent hiding places for all manner of shorebirds, larks, warblers, flycatchers, buntings etc. This Fair Isle of Arabia is an amazing migrant & rarity agent and we are sure of some amazing finds here. And there's the spectacle of hundreds of Crab-Plovers on the mudflats too. And during a recent scouting trip we found further areas that could well be great for migrants that we are keeping a secret!