*Crested Honey Buzzard, Al Nahda Resort, Barka, Oman*

A LATE BREAKFAST WAS PERFECTLY TIMED with a magnificent male Crested Honey Buzzard in the resort gardens at Barka. Panic ensued in the dining hall (and in the gents toilet!), as mobile phones were abandoned and we raced back to rooms for cameras etc. Fortunately it hung around long enough for everyone to manage a good view as well as some frame-filling photos, including the blood red eyes that identify it as a male. I have learnt from experience that they can be remarkably confiding in Oman and although they are now regular in winter in the south they are still quite uncommon in the north of the country.

CRESTED HONEY BUZZARD