Oman is a top birding destination, known for its warm hospitality, excellent infrastructure, and diverse birdlife influenced by the Indian subcontinent and Africa.

Our journey focuses on Salalah, a lush oasis between the Dhofar Mountains and the Arabian Sea, offering a unique mix of Arabian, Asian, and African bird species. We’ll explore coastal habitats rich in shorebirds and embark on two pelagic trips from Mirbat, where we may spot rare seabirds, whales, dolphins, and sea turtles.

Beyond Salalah, we’ll venture into Oman’s desert interior, targeting various desert species, as well as migrating European and Asian birds, attracted to the sunfarm oasеs.

This tour blends world-class birding with Oman’s stunning landscapes and cultural richness—an unforgettable adventure for birding enthusiasts!

Tour itinerary

Day 1

Arrival at Salalah Airport or pickup from a hotel in Salalah no later than 11:00 a.m.

The tour will start at one of Dhofar’s most picturesque sites, Wadi Darbat. This lush, green, mountainous gorge looks surreal amidst the predominantly desert landscapes of the Dhofar region of Oman. The area’s rivers, lakes and waterfalls attract many species of birds, includingBruce’s Green Pigeon, Pheasant-tailed Jacana, Forbes-Watson’s Swift, Oriental Honey Buzzard, Lappet-faced Vulture, Verreaux’s Eagle, Bonelli’s Eagle, Arabian Scops Owl, Arabian Eagle Owl, Diderick Cuckoo, Gray-headed Kingfisher, Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, Barbary Falcon, African Paradise Flycatcher, Fan-tailed Raven, Horsfield’s Bushlark, Graceful Prinia, Rock Martin, White-spectacled Bulbul, Arabian Warbler, Abyssinian White-eye, Tristram’s Starling, Blackstart, Arabian Wheatear, Palestine Sunbird, Shining Sunbird, Rueppell’s Weaver, African Silverbill, Long-billed Pipit, Yemen Serin, Striolated Bunting, Cinnamon-breasted Bunting and more.

We will then continue to Jabal Samhan, the prime area in Oman for Verreaux’s eagles. The landscape and the view of the entire Dhofar coastal region from here is outstandingly beautiful and worth the visit in itself. Other bird species that might be seen here include Fan-tailed Raven, White-spectacled Bulbul, Tristram’s Starling, Hooded Wheatear, Desert Wheatear, Blackstart, Arabian Wheatear, Palestine Sunbird, Shining Sunbird and Long-billed Pipit.

We will check in to Hotel Hojari Jabal Samhan for two nights and explore the surroundings in the afternoon.

Day 2

In the morning, we will visit Tawi Atayr in search of the Yemen Serin, an endemic Arab species. Other bird species we might see here include the Arabian Partridge, Namaqua Dove, Bruce’s Green Pigeon, Abdim’s Stork, Forbes Watson’s Swift, Lappet-faced Vulture, Bonelli’s Eagle, Grey-headed Kingfisher, Barbary Falcon, Black-crowned Tchagra, African Paradise Flycatcher, Isabelline Shrike, Fan-tailed Raven, Horsfield’s Bushlark, Rock Martin, White-spectacled Bulbul, Arabian Warbler, Abyssinian White-eye, Tristram’s Starling, Blackstart, Arabian Wheatear, Palestine Sunbird, Shining Sunbird, Ruppell’s Weaver, African Silverbill, Long-billed Pipit and Striolated Bunting.

In the afternoon, we will travel to Ayn Tabraq in search of the Namaqua Dove, Lichtenstein’s Sandgrouse, Forbes-Watson’s Swift, Bonelli’s Eagle, Arabian Scops Owl, Grey-headed Kingfisher, Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, Black-crowned Tchagra, African Paradise Flycatcher, Red-tailed Shrike, Fan-tailed Raven, Graceful Prinia, Rock Martin, White-spectacled Bulbul, Arabian Warbler, Abyssinian White-eye, Tristram’s Starling, Blackstart, Palestine Sunbird, Shining Sunbird, Ruppell’s Weaver, African Silverbill, Long-billed Pipit, Arabian Grosbeak, Striolated Bunting and Cinnamon-breasted Bunting.

Day 3

Today, we will take our first pelagic trip from Mirbat Harbour. As well as many species of seabird, including Pomarine Jaeger, Brown Noddy, Bridled Tern, Great Crested Tern, Lesser Crested Tern, Red-billed Tropicbird, Wilson’s Storm Petrel, Swinhoe’s Storm Petrel, Jouanin’s Petrel, Flesh-footed Shearwater, Wedge-tailed Shearwater, Sooty Shearwater, Persian Shearwater, Brown Booby, Masked Booby and Socotra Cormorant, we will also have the chance to see Blue and Sperm Whales, Common and Spinner Dolphins, as well as four species of sea turtle: Green, Olive Ridley, Loggerhead and Hawksbill.

Back at the harbour, we will search for Abdim’s Stork, Socotra Cormorant, Sooty Gull, Heuglin’s Gull, Steppe Gull, Striated Heron, Reef Egret and Tristram’s Starling.

After that, we will continue our journey with a two-hour transfer to Mudayy via the picturesque road towards the Yemeni border.

Mudayy is located on the edge of the Dhofar Mountains and the vast Arabian Desert, and its oasis attracts many desert bird species. Here, we will look for Sand Partridge, Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse, Spotted Sandgrouse, Crowned Sandgrouse, Lichtenstein’s Sandgrouse, Oriental Turtle Dove, African Collared Dove, Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, Arabian Green Bee-eater, Black-crowned Tchagra, Arabian Grey Shrike, Bar-tailed Lark, Desert Lark, Rock Martin, White-spectacled Bulbul, Asian Desert Warbler, Menetries’ Warbler, Hooded Wheatear, Desert Wheatear, Blackstart, Hypocolius and Nile Valley and Palestine Sunbirds. We will spend two nights in Thumrait.

Day 4

Today we will visit the sunfarms to the north of Thumrait, which are magnets for many desert and migrating species of birds like Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse, Spotted Sandgrouse, Crowned Sandgrouse, Sociable Lapwing, Cream-colored Courser, Black-winged Kite, Amur Falcon, Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, Red-tailed Shrike, Arabian Gray Shrike, Greater Hoopoe-lark, Black-crowned Sparrow-lark, Bimaculated Lark, Arabian Lark, Turkestan Short-toed Lark, Oriental Skylark, Desert Wheatear, Upcher’s Warbler, Menetries’s Warbler, Desert Wheatear, Richard’s Pipit.

In the evening we will explore again the area around Mudayy.

Day 5

On the second morning in the desert, we will be in Wadi Rabkut looking for Sand Partridge, Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse, Spotted Sandgrouse, Crowned Sandgrouse, Lichtenstein’s Sandgrouse, Arabian Green Bee-eater, Arabian Gray Shrike, Greater Hoopoe-lark, Black-crowned Sparrow-lark, Upcher’s Warbler, Asian Desert Warbler, Blackstart, etc. Then, on the way back to Salalah, we’ll stop briefly at the Thumrait Waste Disposal Site to check for raptors, such as Lappet-faced Vultures, Egyptian Vultures, Greater Spotted Eagles, Steppe Eagles and Eastern Imperial Eagles.

We will arrive in Salalah at noon, where we will check in for five nights at the Samharam Coastal Resort to the west of the city.

In the afternoon we will first check the lagoon near the hotel, West Khawr, where we can expect to see Cotton Pygmy-goose, White-tailed Lapwing, Greater Sand-plover, Lesser Sand-plover, Pheasant-tailed Jacana, Sooty Gull, Heuglin’s Gull, Steppe Gull, White-cheeked Tern, Great Crested Tern, Lesser Crested Tern, Intermediate Egret, Indian Pond Heron, Western Reef Heron, Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, Isabelline Shrike, Graceful Prinia, Clamorous Reed Warbler, Rock Martin, Rueppell’s Weaver, African Silverbill. And in the evening we will check Raysut Lagoon, where many gulls and terns come to spend the night and our targets here will be Greater Sand Plover, Lesser Sand Plover, Pheasant-tailed Jacana, Sooty Gull, Heuglin’s Gull, Steppe Gull, Pallas’s Gull, Saunders’s Tern, White-cheeked Tern, Great Crested Tern, Lesser Crested Tern, African Openbill, Socotra Cormorant, Intermediate Egret, Indian Pond Heron, Western Reef Heron, Graceful Prinia, Clamorous Reed Warbler, Rock Martin, Rueppell’s Weaver, African Silverbill, etc.

Day 6

This morning, we will visit the Ayn Razat and Ayn Sahnawt wadis. The target species here include Bruce’s Green Pigeon, White-breasted Waterhen, Forbes-Watson’s Swift, Arabian Scops Owl, Arabian Eagle Owl, Diderick Cuckoo, Black-crowned Tchagra, Fan-tailed Raven, Graceful Prinia, White-spectacled Bulbul, Arabian Warbler, Abyssinian White-eye, Tristram’s Starling, Blackstart, Palestine Sunbird, Shining Sunbird, Ruppell’s Weaver, African Silverbill, Long-billed Pipit, Striolated Bunting and Cinnamon-breasted Bunting.

In the afternoon, we will visit the Al Balid Archaeological Park in Salalah. As well as preserving the medieval ruins of Zafar, which acted as an important port for the frankincense trade, the park is also home to a variety of bird species, including the Spotted Thick-knee, the Pacific Golden Plover, the Sooty Gull, the Heuglin’s Gull, the Steppe Gull, the Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, the Isabelline Shrike, the Graceful Prinia, the Clamorous Reed Warbler, the Rock Martin, the White-spectacled Bulbul, the Shining Sunbird and the Rueppell’s Weaver.

In the evening, we will search for the Desert Owl and the Egyptian Nightjar in one of the wadis. Other bird species that we might see in the wadi include Sand Partridge, Arabian Partridge, Bonelli’s Eagle, Arabian Green Bee-eater, Desert Lark, Rock Martin, Tristram’s Starling, Desert Wheatear, Blackstart, Arabian Wheatear, Long-billed Pipit, Striolated Bunting, Cinnamon-breasted Bunting and some mammal species such as Arabian Ibex, Rüppell’s Fox and Hyrax.

Day 7

We spend another morning offshore looking for seabirds, whales, dolphins and sea turtles.

If we don’t feel too exhausted after lunch, we can take the long but especially scenic road to Ash Shuwaymiyah (a journey of around 3 hours).  At the lagoon near Ash Shuwaymiyah, we can expect to see Greater Flamingo, White-breasted Waterhen, Pacific Golden-Plover, Greater Sand-Plover, Lesser Sand-Plover, Pheasant-Tailed Jacana, Sooty Gull, Heuglin’s Gull, Steppe Gull, Great Crested Tern, Lesser Crested Tern, Masked Booby, Socotra Cormorant, Indian Pond Heron, Western Reef Heron, Isabelline Shrike and Clamorous Reed Warbler. In the wadi near the town, we may see Sand Partridge, Lichtenstein’s Sandgrouse, Egyptian Nightjar, Desert Lark, Rock Martin, Arabian Wheatear and Shining Sunbird. On the way back, we can opt to take the slightly longer road via the desert to look for desert bird species and even spend a couple of hours looking for mammals after dark.

Day 8

In the morning we will visit the coastal lagoon of East Khawr, where we will look for Cotton Pygmy Goose, Greater Flamingo, Spotted Thick-knee, Pacific Golden Plover, White-tailed Lapwing, Greater Sand Plover, Lesser Sand Plover, Caspian Plover, Pheasant-tailed Jacana, Long-toed Stint, Pin-tailed Snipe, Crab Plover, Small Pratincole, Sooty Gull, Heuglin’s Gull, Steppe Gull, Saunders’s Tern, White-cheeked Tern, Great Crested Tern, Lesser Crested Tern, Socotra Cormorant, Yellow Bittern, Intermediate Egret, Indian Pond Heron, Western Reef Heron, African Spoonbill, Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, Red-tailed Shrike, Graceful Prinia, Clamorous Reed Warbler, Rock Martin, White-spectacled Bulbul, Rueppell’s Weaver, African Silverbill, etc.

In the afternoon we will visit the Raysut Settling Pools, where we may see Greater Flamingo, White-tailed Lapwing, Pin-tailed Snipe, Small Pratincole, Abdim’s Stork, African sacred ibis, Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, Rock Martin and Rueppell’s Weaver. After that, we can return to Ayn Razat to look for the Arabian Scops Owl and the Arabian Eagle Owl.

Day 9

On our last full day in Oman, we will visit the wadis of Ayn Hamran and Wadi Kheesh, where our targets will be Arabian Partridge, Oriental Тurtle Dove, Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse, Lichtenstein’s Sandgrouse, Egyptian Nightjar, White-breasted Waterhen, Forbes-Watson’s Swift, Verreaux’s Eagle, Bonelli’s Eagle, Arabian Scops Owl, Arabian Eagle Owl, Pied Cuckoo, Diderick Cuckoo, Gray-headed Kingfisher, Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, Barbary Falcon, Black-crowned Tchagra, African Paradise Flycatcher, Red-tailed Shrike, Isabelline Shrike, Arabian Gray Shrike, Fan-tailed Raven, Black-crowned Sparrow-lark, Horsfield’s Bushlark, Graceful Prinia, Upcher’s Warbler, Rock Martin, White-spectacled Bulbul, Scrub Warbler, Arabian Warbler, Menetries’s Warbler, Abyssinian White-eye, Tristram’s Starling, Desert Wheatear, Blackstart, Arabian Wheatear, Palestine Sunbird, Shining Sunbird, Rueppell’s Weaver, African Silverbill, Long-billed Pipit, Arabian Grosbeak, Striolated Bunting, Cinnamon-breasted Bunting, etc.

Again, for the afternoon and evening birding we will decide depending on what we have missed to see so far.

Day 10

Birdwatching around Salalah in the morning. We will decide which sites to visit based on our success in previous days.

In the afternoon, we will transfer to Salalah airport.

To get the tour check-list, please contact us.