Tour Dates:
Tour 1: Saturday 20th November – Friday 3rd December 2027 (Muscat to Salalah) 1 place remaining
Tour 2: Saturday 4th – Friday 17th December 2027 (Salalah to Muscat) Full
Tour Price 2027: £4,199 plus flight
Estimated Flight Price: London – Muscat – Salalah – Muscat- London approx. £750 return
Deposit: £600 per per person
Conservation Donation from Wise Birding: £150 – £200
Minimum Number: 6 people
Maximum Group Size: 6 people

Target Birds:
Jouanin’s Petrel, Persian Shearwater, Crab-plover, Great Knot, possibly Collared Kingfisher, Spotted Thick-knee, Sociable Lapwing, Cream-coloured Courser, Pallas’s Gull, Omani Owl, Desert Owl, Arabian Scops Owl, Arabian Eagle Owl, Arabian Partridge, Sand Partridge, Arabian Warbler, Graceful Prinia, Delicate Prinia, Egyptian Nightjar, up to 4 species of Sandgrouse, Grey Hypocolius, African Collared Dove, Arabian Golden-winged Grosbeak, Verreaux’s Eagle, Yemen Serin, Sunbirds (4 species), Wheatears (7 species), waders, terns & more! Around 200+ species are expected on this tour.

Tour Summary
Oman is a must visit destination for birdwatchers, and for good reason. Sitting in a key location at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula, it is on a migration flyway and also hosts an excellent range of resident and wintering species. Visiting in November provides the best range of species, as we will see wintering birds in their hundreds of thousands, witness migration, and have a good chance of bumping into a vagrant or two. The renowned Dhofar region of southern Oman, centred on the city of Salalah, provides a range of species hard to match anywhere in Arabia. Several African species reach the northern edge of their range here and some with very restricted ranges. Our tour starts in Muscat and the Al Hajar Mountains (where Jebel Shams rises to over 3,000m) where we will attempt to see the enigmatic Omani Owl, as well as northern Oman specialities such as Hume’s Wheatear and Plain Leaf Warbler. After two nights at Nizwa we head south-east to the coast, visiting Masirah Island and Barr Al Hikman. The area is famous for the sheer numbers of wintering birds using the mudflats in this vast area, and is unmatched in the whole of Arabia with perhaps millions of birds spending the winter here. Great Knot will be a target, along with Crab-plover, and Broad-billed Sandpiper, and we will hope for a rarity or two on Masirah. An overnight stop at Mahout breaks up the journey south via the famous Empty Quarter, where we will stop at a few key sites in the desert looking for migrants fuelling up in the barren landscape. An overnight stop in Thumrait will put us in prime position to try for one of our top targets, the enigmatic Grey Hypocolius, along with Nile Valley Sunbid and African Collared Dove, and we will also try some desert farms where we hope to locate Sociable Lapwing and more migrants. Our tour will finish in Salalah where we will be based for six nights, with most sites less than an hour away. Targets here include Arabian Golden-winged Grosbeak, Yemen Serin, Verraux’s Eagle, Desert Owl, Arabian Eagle Owl and Arabian Scops Owl. Common species in this area include Tristram’s Starling, Cinnamon-breasted Bunting and Abyssinian White-eye. Several nearby coastal sites are excellent for waders, gulls and terns. We will also head out for a short pelagic trip from Mirbat where the target species will include the range restricted Persian Shearwater and Jouanin’s Petrel. We may bump into some cetaceans too with Sperm Whale and Spinner Dolphins being seen regularly.

Jouanin’s Petrel, Oman by Chris Townend

Accommodation: 13 nights in Oman
2 nights Nizwa, 2 nights Masirah Island, 1 night Mahoot, 1 night Al Ghaftain, 1 night Thumrait, 6 nights Salalah.
A mix of good quality comfortable hotels (1 night stay in more basic accommodation due to lack of choice in best birding area) 
Inclusive meals: All meals

Note: You may wish to arrive a day before the tour start date to catch up on sleep as all flights arrive into Muscat in the early morning.
Our recommended Travel Counsellor Sacha Barbato can organise an overnight stay and flight package for you.

Day 1: Muscat – Al Hajar Mountains
Meet at airport for your morning arrival and travel a short distance east where we will spend a few hours leisurely birding in Muscat at Al Qurum Natural Park, where targets will include Purple Sunbird, Indian Roller and Delicate Prinia and Grey Francolin. We may visit some nearby sewage ponds to see a good selection of waders including Red- wattled Lapwing. During the afternoon we will head south into the spectacular Al Hajar Mountains. We will spend our first evening trying for the highly sought after Omani Owl. This species was only discovered in 2013 by The Sound Approach Team. and it is never easy to see, but we wil give it our best effort. Overnight Nizwa

Day 2: Al Hajar Mountains
A day up on the impressive Sayq Plateau above Nizwa in the Al Hajar Mountains. Today, key target species include Hume’s Wheatear, Red-tailed Wheatear, Scrub Warbler, Plain Leaf Warbler, Arabian Babbler, Sand Partridge and with the chance of migrants and scarce winter visitors including Black- throated Thrush and possibly Eversmann’s Redstart. Once again, in the evening we will return to the impressive scenery of the deep wadis to try our luck for owls. Overnight Nizwa.

Day 3: Barr Al Hikman / Masirah Island
We will spend the morning driving south-east from our base in Nizwa to the coastal mecca of Barr Al Hikman. Possibly the greatest spectacle in the whole of Arabia, during the afternoon we will be soaking in the sight of hundreds of thousands of waders, herons, turns and gulls with our target birds including the enigmatic Great Knot and Crab-plover. Late afternoon we will take the short ferry from Shannah to Masirah, arriving at dusk. Overnight Masirah Island

Juvenile Steppe Eagle, Oman by Chris Townend

Day 4: Masirah Island
A relaxed day exploring the unique Masirah Island. There is a good chance of some scarce migrants and vagrants including Asian Koel, Crested Honey Buzzard, Amur Falcon and Olive-backed Pipit – It is an exciting place to be birding here as it is hugely underwetched and anything can happen here! We also have some excellent sites to check for shorebirds, which could include Pin-tailed Snipe, Terek Sandpiper, Broad-billed Sandpiper, Tibetan and Greater Sand Plovers. The spectacle of tens, if not hundreds, of Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse coming in to drink is almost guaranteed. Masirah also gives us the best chance of seeing Pallas’s Gull on this trip, as well as significant flocks of terns including Lesser and Greater Crested. Overnight Masirah Island

Day 5: Barr al Hikman
We will leave Masirah on a morning ferry, and will spend a few more hours birding again at Barr al Hikman focussing on waders, gulls and terns. Here we hope to find an exciting array of waders including Great Knot, Broad-billed Sandpiper, Terek Sandpiper and hundreds of Bar-tailed Godwits. We will also try for the highly localised Collared Kingfisher and Indian White-eye. Overnight Mahout

Day 6: Barr al Hikman – Al Ghaftain
If needed, we may also get a second chance to try for Collared Kingfisher and Indian White-eye, plus more time for waders. We then drive south to spend a night at Al Ghaftain. Overnight Al Ghaftain 

Day 7: Al Ghaftain – Muntasar – Qatbit – Al Balid
Today is a transition day as we make our way to southern Oman through the edge of the famous Empty Quarter. En route we will stop at several hot spots for migrants in the desert, including the highway rest-stops at Al Ghaftain and Qatbit, and the oasis at Muntasar. Anything is possible at these sites, as the trees and vegetation provide a haven for migrant birds in the desert. If we have time we will also check the farms at Al Balid. Overnight Thumrait

Day 8: Mudayy – Shisr – Salalah
An early start will see us head an hour west to Mudayy, where we will search for Grey Hypocolius, a unique bird and the only regular wintering site for this species in Oman. In the afternoon we will search the farming area of Shisr, which gives us a chance of the endangered Sociable Lapwing as well as migrants including harriers, larks, waders and potentially something unexpected. Late afternoon we will drive south to our final destination, Salalah. Overnight Salalah

Grey Hypocolius by Dave Astins

Days 9 – 13: Dhofar region (Salalah)
The next five days will see us birding the mecca that is the Dhofar region of southern Oman, centred around Salalah. We will have flexibility during our stay in Salalah. On either the Monday or the Tuesday we will take a morning pelagic trip from Mirbat where the key targets are Persian Shearwater and Jouanin’s Petrel, but where other exciting species may include Flesh-footed Shearwater, Masked Booby, Bridled Tern and Red-necked Phalarope. We may also get lucky with cetaceans, and should see a Green Turtle or two.  All of the land-based sites are within an hour of our base in Salalah, many less than 30 minutes, so the travelling during this part of the tour is kept to a minimum. We will bird sites along the coast, in the foothills of the Dhofar Mountains, and in the mountains themselves. Key targets will include Arabian Golden-winged Grosbeak, Desert Owl, Arabian Scops Owl, Arabian Eagle Owl, Verreaux’s Eagle, Yemen Serin, Brown Booby, Socotra Cormorant, and all the Dhofar specialities including Cinnamon-breasted Bunting, Ruppell’s Weaver, African Silverbill, Arabian Sunbird, Palestine Sunbird. Overnight Salalah

Day 14 Salalah Airport
Transfer to Salalah airport where the tour concludes. Flight to Muscat and then on to UK.

Please note this is a flexible itinerary which may need to be adjusted slightly dependent on arrival / departure times, weather conditions and the most recent information from our local guides

Leaders: Dave Astins & other WB leader
Included in cost: Accommodation in twin en-suite rooms, all meals, water, ferry to Masirah Island, pelagic trip from Mirbat, ground transport and services of leaders.
Not included in cost: International airfare, travel insurance, Visa (if required) and any alcoholic drinks (rarely available in Oman).
Single Supplement: £299
Transport: 4×4 vehicles (4 people per vehicle including guides)
Difficulty: Easy Most of the birdwatching is done from or short walks from the vehicles.
Climate: Can be very warm, generally late 20s or early 30s, humid on the coast (Salalah area). Cooler in the mountains but still in the 20s, warm at night
Tour Start Point: Muscat International Airport, Oman
Tour End Point: Salalah, Airport, Oman
Suggested Airlines: Oman Air