Greetings everyone,
Earlier this month, I went on a work trip to Spain for a couple of weeks. On the return journey to Sydney, I decided to break the flight in Dubai, hire a car and set off to Oman for a few days. I spent 4 days in the northern part of the country and visited the rugged mountains near Bahla/Nizwa and then sites near the coastal town of Sur. Oman was an easy place for travel with an excellent roads system. The roads will even be better soon since there is a massive amount of construction underway. Finding hotels in the interior was not so easy but with a little net research, I eventually found suitable places to stay.
February is a winter month in Oman. Temperatures were mild with highs in the upper 20s/low 30s C and overnight lows in the upper teens. It really was a pleasant time for visit when compared to the summer when temperatures can reach an oven-like 50C. At first, I was afraid that nights in the mountains would be too cold for reptiles since I did not see any at all on my first night. However, I found that walking the wadis (dry, rocky stream beds) was effective. The rocks retained heat and I could feel this radiating from walls of the gorges at night.
Most of the north of Oman was covered by rugged, dry mountains. After entering Oman near Hatta (UAE), I followed the coastal highway southeast until I reached a turnoff to Rustaq. I took this and then travelled along backroads from the Ibri area to Bahla where I spent the next couple of nights.
Some areas were basically just rock with very little soil or vegetation.
Camels were a frequent sight along the way. I don't know if these were truly wild animals or free-ranging domestics. I had a close encounter with one that ambled out onto the highway. Despite their size, they blend well and were easy to overlook.
On my first morning, I stopped and examined this dry drainage. There were a few plants including large, flowering milkweeds.
After a short walk, I found my first reptile in Oman, a little Blue-tailed Oman Lizard (Omanosaura cyanura). This little lacertid would nervously flick its tail from side-to-side much like Carlia skinks here in Australia.
I did not find any other reptiles here although there was plenty of sign about. I suppose that they were detecting me and hiding before I spotted them. The flowering milkweeds in the gulley attracted many Plain Tigers (Danaus chrysippus). A larvae is visible in the photo below of the milkweed flowers.
This House Bunting was singing nicely from the top of an Acacia.
I saw a Yellow-spotted Agama (Trapelus flavimaculatus) in this area but it unfortunately vanished while I pulled the car off the road. It was a beauty and looked like a Sceloporus that had been dipped head first into turquoise paint. I never saw the species again.
The high mountains of Oman were spectacular. I drove to a lookout in the mountains above Bahla one afternoon and enjoyed the superb views.
Desert Lark. Most of the desert birds were various shades of brown or grey. I liked a pair of Scrub Warblers that I saw in the same area. They looked and behaved much like Striated Grasswrens in the outback of Australia.
Long-billed Pipit.
While walking along a trail here, I found many of these tiny Rock Semaphore Geckos (Pristurus rupestris). These were day active geckos that were only a few cm in length.
Egyptian Vultures were numerous up here. One pair appeared to be involved in a courtship flight. They would sail out from a ledge, spiral around each other then land side-by-side back on the ledge. They did this repeatedly. The third shot below was of a juvenile.
Later in the day and then again at night, I worked this wadi in the lowlands along the road near Al Hoota Cave (Bahla area). This area was the home of Jayakar’s Oman Lizards (Omanosaura jayakari). I found two of these large lacertids. Also in this photo was a Tamarisk tree growing where it belongs unlike those in the southwestern deserts of the US and in the western deserts of Australia.
These rocks were the home of an incredible gecko at night. I saw at least 6 of these Fan-footed Geckos (Ptyodactylus hasselquistii). These were wary and quick geckos that would usually leap from rock to rock and then disappear into a crevice before I could get within photographic range. I love the toes!
While exploring the wadi, I found this crevice that was the source of a tiny stream. I visited it at night and found that it was home of what were probably Gallagher’s Leaf-toed Geckos (Asaccus gallagheri). These geckos were great looking animals that were quite elegant in shape.
I am not certain about this gecko that also lived in the crevice. It looked and behaved much like a Cyrtodactylus in FNQ.
I thought that this would be a perfect place for Oman Saw-scaled Vipers (Echis omanensis). I searched all around the cave and surrounding rocks but did not spot any of these interesting snakes.
The tiny stream that emerged from the crack fed this pool that was full of Arabian Toads (Bufo arabicus).
toad
There were at least three species of fish in this tiny pool. The prettiest was what I think to be Arabian killifish (Aphanius dispar)"
Butterflies were more numerous than I expected. Among the species encountered was this Giant Skipper (Coeliades anchises jucunda), one of the largest skippers that I have encountered. Blue Spotted Arabs (Colotis phisadia phisadia) were also common around one of the plants in the wadi.
Afican Pierrots (Tarucus theophrastus) were abundant around a flowering pea.
Castles like this one at Bahla were present in nearly all of the villages
... I will add more photos later of the Sur region
Earlier this month, I went on a work trip to Spain for a couple of weeks. On the return journey to Sydney, I decided to break the flight in Dubai, hire a car and set off to Oman for a few days. I spent 4 days in the northern part of the country and visited the rugged mountains near Bahla/Nizwa and then sites near the coastal town of Sur. Oman was an easy place for travel with an excellent roads system. The roads will even be better soon since there is a massive amount of construction underway. Finding hotels in the interior was not so easy but with a little net research, I eventually found suitable places to stay.
February is a winter month in Oman. Temperatures were mild with highs in the upper 20s/low 30s C and overnight lows in the upper teens. It really was a pleasant time for visit when compared to the summer when temperatures can reach an oven-like 50C. At first, I was afraid that nights in the mountains would be too cold for reptiles since I did not see any at all on my first night. However, I found that walking the wadis (dry, rocky stream beds) was effective. The rocks retained heat and I could feel this radiating from walls of the gorges at night.
Most of the north of Oman was covered by rugged, dry mountains. After entering Oman near Hatta (UAE), I followed the coastal highway southeast until I reached a turnoff to Rustaq. I took this and then travelled along backroads from the Ibri area to Bahla where I spent the next couple of nights.
Some areas were basically just rock with very little soil or vegetation.
Camels were a frequent sight along the way. I don't know if these were truly wild animals or free-ranging domestics. I had a close encounter with one that ambled out onto the highway. Despite their size, they blend well and were easy to overlook.
On my first morning, I stopped and examined this dry drainage. There were a few plants including large, flowering milkweeds.
After a short walk, I found my first reptile in Oman, a little Blue-tailed Oman Lizard (Omanosaura cyanura). This little lacertid would nervously flick its tail from side-to-side much like Carlia skinks here in Australia.
I did not find any other reptiles here although there was plenty of sign about. I suppose that they were detecting me and hiding before I spotted them. The flowering milkweeds in the gulley attracted many Plain Tigers (Danaus chrysippus). A larvae is visible in the photo below of the milkweed flowers.
This House Bunting was singing nicely from the top of an Acacia.
I saw a Yellow-spotted Agama (Trapelus flavimaculatus) in this area but it unfortunately vanished while I pulled the car off the road. It was a beauty and looked like a Sceloporus that had been dipped head first into turquoise paint. I never saw the species again.
The high mountains of Oman were spectacular. I drove to a lookout in the mountains above Bahla one afternoon and enjoyed the superb views.
Desert Lark. Most of the desert birds were various shades of brown or grey. I liked a pair of Scrub Warblers that I saw in the same area. They looked and behaved much like Striated Grasswrens in the outback of Australia.
Long-billed Pipit.
While walking along a trail here, I found many of these tiny Rock Semaphore Geckos (Pristurus rupestris). These were day active geckos that were only a few cm in length.
Egyptian Vultures were numerous up here. One pair appeared to be involved in a courtship flight. They would sail out from a ledge, spiral around each other then land side-by-side back on the ledge. They did this repeatedly. The third shot below was of a juvenile.
Later in the day and then again at night, I worked this wadi in the lowlands along the road near Al Hoota Cave (Bahla area). This area was the home of Jayakar’s Oman Lizards (Omanosaura jayakari). I found two of these large lacertids. Also in this photo was a Tamarisk tree growing where it belongs unlike those in the southwestern deserts of the US and in the western deserts of Australia.
These rocks were the home of an incredible gecko at night. I saw at least 6 of these Fan-footed Geckos (Ptyodactylus hasselquistii). These were wary and quick geckos that would usually leap from rock to rock and then disappear into a crevice before I could get within photographic range. I love the toes!
While exploring the wadi, I found this crevice that was the source of a tiny stream. I visited it at night and found that it was home of what were probably Gallagher’s Leaf-toed Geckos (Asaccus gallagheri). These geckos were great looking animals that were quite elegant in shape.
I am not certain about this gecko that also lived in the crevice. It looked and behaved much like a Cyrtodactylus in FNQ.
I thought that this would be a perfect place for Oman Saw-scaled Vipers (Echis omanensis). I searched all around the cave and surrounding rocks but did not spot any of these interesting snakes.
The tiny stream that emerged from the crack fed this pool that was full of Arabian Toads (Bufo arabicus).
toad
There were at least three species of fish in this tiny pool. The prettiest was what I think to be Arabian killifish (Aphanius dispar)"
Butterflies were more numerous than I expected. Among the species encountered was this Giant Skipper (Coeliades anchises jucunda), one of the largest skippers that I have encountered. Blue Spotted Arabs (Colotis phisadia phisadia) were also common around one of the plants in the wadi.
Afican Pierrots (Tarucus theophrastus) were abundant around a flowering pea.
Castles like this one at Bahla were present in nearly all of the villages
... I will add more photos later of the Sur region
