5th Feburary 2023
At last I’ve caught up with Spotted Thicknee after spotting 2 birds while driving near to Khawi East
Easy day that turned out to be a good one. Later than usual on the road. A 30 minute drive east from Salalah to my third visit to Al Mughsayl. I’ve never seen one before but there is a Lesser White-fronted Goose there. I’m not into geese as most of the rare ones that turn up in the UK, you can’t say if they’ve jumped a fence or they’re wild. However, I found this one very flighty and couldn’t get near it. Who knows? Other wildfowl included, 4 Teal, 26 Garganey, 16 Pintail, 4 Shoveler, 3 Tufted Duck and a single Pochard. Terns or waders were a bit thin on the ground but in the nearby area of note were 5 Tawny Pipit and single Bonelli’s Eagle and Blue Rock Thrush.
Lesser White-fronted Goose Fence jumper or wild bird?
5 of the 26 Garganey
There were up to 5 Tawny Pipit in the nearby area
Al Mughsayl looking from the west
Returning back to Salalah for somethin to bite before making a very short drive to Khawi West where I got the long staying very rare 2 Long-tailed Cormorant. Pretty easy to spot being smaller than Cormorant but getting a pic was another thing. I thought I would end the day at Khawi East. On my ways there, I couldn’t believe my luck, when on the corner of junction, shading under a small tree, was the unmistakable shape of a Spotted Thicknee. It’s when I had a closer look, there were two! Ideal! Snapped off some shots and then left them alone to watch the traffic pass by only meters away from them both. At the latter sight, not as busy as usual with folks or birds. However, the highlight was a single Pin-tailed Snipe that flew off with other snipe.
Spotted Thicknee shelting from the next to a not so busy road.
Only a handful of Little Stint at Khawi East
Caspian Tern
My first Great White Egret of the trip
Heavily cropped pic of a Pin-tailed Snipe flying away
SCILLYSPIDER 2 