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SOHAR LAPWING SPECTACULAR

The critically endangered Sociable Lapwing, Sohar Sun Farms, Oman (Mike Watson)

SOHAR SUN FARMS IS UNFORTUNATELY CLOSING DOWN and we were very lucky to make what will probably be our very last visit to one of the most productive birding sites in the whole country. It has been noticeable that business operations have been winding down here for a number of years but the farm has finally reached the end of the line and even the cows were being trucked out during our brief visit. Many of the cow pens have fallen into disrepair but the sewage treatment tanks are still intact and we were delighted to find a couple of recently cut pivot fields of alfalfa grass. These have always been magnets for migrants, such as lapwings, larks, pipits and wagtails and it was the former that was the highlight of the day. After an extensive search we eventually found the small wintering flock of Sociable Lapwings. At first eleven birds were feeding on a sandy track by one of the pivot fields, before moving out onto the grass to join the many Red-wattled and a couple of smart White-tailed Lapwings gathered there. Counting again it became apparent that another three birds had joined them, making a total of 14 of this critically endangered species. WOW! This was more than most of us had seen in total in our lifetimes and flocks like this will soon be a thing of the past as they slip further towards extinction. It was a wonderful experience to watch them around our vehicle, feeding by shuffling a foot forward in the grass to disturb invertebrates and flashing their black-and-white wings as they moved to another area of the field. Few other birds could put the nearby super-smart White-tailed Lapwings in the shade! The grass fields also held some other good birds like: Pacific Golden Plover (10) Oriental (3) and Eurasian Skylarks; Richard’s and Water Pipits (both c.10) and a singing Corn Bunting, our first in Oman. Wagtails were scarce this time with predominantly White but there were a couple of Citrine and a single Black-headed.

White-tailed Lapwing, Sohar Sun Farms, Oman (Mike Watson)

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PALLAS'S GULLS IN OMAN

Pallas's Gull, Ras as Sawadi, Oman

OUR AUTUMN MIGRATION TOUR OF OMAN IS ALWAYS TOO EARLY TO SEE THE AWESOME PALLAS'S GULL, however, this month's Omani Owl Expedition offered a golden opportunity to get to grips with it. Despite at least one million 4x4 ethusiasts bombing up and down the beach at Ras as Sawadi the gulls stayed put just long enough for us to get a little closer to them. Our peak count over a couple of visits was an impressive 51, some of which were already showing fairly solid black hoods. A couple of Black-headed Gulls, scarce winter visitors to Oman, were also present and terns included Caspian, Greater and Lesser Crested and Sandwich as well as a Little/Saunders’s out of range for identification. A pair of Egyptian Vultures, and a Western Osprey were resting on the offshore islands here and a big push of Pallid Swifts had reached around 100 by the time we left in the evening. Four Eurasian Oystercatchers, a couple of Grey Plovers, Bar-tailed Godwits, Kentish, both Lesser and Greater Sandplovers (some of the latter in nice breeding plumage) were the most interesting shorebirds present, however, there was a large number of phalaropes out to sea, fluttering over the waves like insects while Arctic Skuas chased distant terns on the horizon.

Pallas's Gulls, Ras as Sawadi, Oman

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WHITE-WINGED SCOTER

White-winged Scoter, Parrish Park, Titusville FL

CONTINUING THE THEME OF ARCTIC BREEDING BIRDS, a White-winged Scoter had been found during the birding festival near the A. Max Brewer Causeway to Merritt Island. Happily I was able to chase it on my last morning and it was still loafing around under the bridge at Parrish Park. Another Florida rarity and, following its recent split, a very welcome world lifer for me, which I had missed in several other places until now. The flat calm waters of the Indian River also provided a refuge to a couple of Black Scoters, with hundreds of Lesser Scaup, four Common Loons (or Great Northern Divers) and seven Horned Grebes of note. Whilst watching the scoter I spotted some air bubbles, away from where the loons were fishing and to my delight a Manatee's head popped up out of the water and I was able to take a short video of it as it swam by a few metres away. After a quick visit to the world famous Ron Jon's surf shop in Cocoa Beach I called in at St Cloud on the way to the airport, where on the shores of East Lake Tohopekaliga I added a Snail Kite and four very accommodating River Otters before it was time to start the long journey home. The temperature was back to a more normal-for-Florida 82 degrees fahrenheit today...  although the 'Polar Vortex's' next cold front was only a day away. I also see that 'Storm Brigid' is forecast to bring chaos to the UK after I get back as the series of severe weather events continues.

Snail Kite, East Lake Tohopekaliga

River Otters, East Lake Tohopekaliga

Skater's paradise at Ron Jon's (IPhone 5S Hipstamatic).

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NORTH FLORIDA SHORES

One of two Purple Sandpipers on the Lighthouse Point jetty, Daytona Beach Shores

PURPLE SANDPIPERS WINTER FAR TO THE SOUTH ON THE USA'S ATLANTIC COAST. Following a tip from Andy Wraithmell early morning saw me at Lighthouse Park at the southern end of Daytona Beach Shores. Even though it was also a new ABA area bird for me I need no excuse to look for Purple Sandpipers, another one of my favourites! Following heavy overnight rain the rocks of the jetty were suicidally treacherous so I had to wait until the sandpipers eventually worked their way towards the landward end of the jetty, in the company of Ruddy Turnstones. Happily they were incredibly tame and I was even able to approach them from the beach as they fed at the water's edge. Several bottle-nosed dolphins were feeding in the channel of the Halifax River, attracting numerous Brown Pelicans and Laughing Gulls to join their frenzy. A Palm Warbler hunted insects on the rocks of the jetty and the fishermen there trying in vain to catch something complained about the strength of the tidal race, which makes their task  very difficult. From here I headed north to the pretty Anastasia State Park at St Augustine. Very similar to Little Talbot Island it is an area of protected dunes and foreshore stretching for miles. Of note here were 13 Semi-palmated Plovers seven Black-bellied Plovers, a handful of willets and the scattered beach roosts of gulls and terns included around 300 herring gulls.

A willet, presumably western, wades belly deep in the surf at Anastasia SP

Anastasia SP beach

Anastasia SP beach

Returning south I stopped at Daytona Beach Shores for the gull 'fly in',  parking at Frank Rendon Park. I had seen it before but this evening's spectacle was even more amazing at high tide the gulls were squeezing on the narrow stretch of beach and being flushed constantly by millions of beach walkers. Some would take care to give the gulls some room but others delighted in flushing them deliberately. Sifting through the thousands of Laughing and Ring-billed, a couple of hundred herring gulls and a few Royal Terns I did manage to find an Iceland Gull (roughly behind the Best Western Plus Hotel), five Lesser Black-backeds and two Great Black-backeds.

Iceland Gull, Daytona Beach Shores

Daytona Beach Shores

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