Hamraniyah Fields

25°35'49''N + 055°55'11''E

Hamraniyah Fields is another under-watched large area consisting of agricultural fields some 18 kilometers south of the city of Ra's al-Khaimah, just southwest of Ra's al-Khaimah International Airport.

It is called Hamraniyah fields (plus Digdaga & Khatt) on page 38 in the Shell Birdwatching Guide.

How to get there:

How to get there:

From Al Jazeerah Khor; Continue north towards Ra's al-Khaimah for appx. 8 km until you reach a set of 10 speed bumps, opposite the Bin Majid Beach Hotel. Turn right here to Al Kharran and drive appx. 8 km to this settlement. Turn right at this roundabout to the airport. After 11 km you have passed through Digdagga, and past Gulf Pharmaceuticals you will come to an EPPCO petrol station on your right side just before the airport roundabout. You are now in the centre of the Hamraniyah farming area.

Check the roadside and roadside fields for Indian Rollers, Little Green Bee-eaters, Southern Grey Shrikes, Purple Sunbirds, Spanish Sparrows, Bank Myna, wintering eagles, harriers, Siberian Stonechats and Richard's Pipits.

Go straight through the airport roundabout and past the airport on your right. This road reaches a small roundabout after 4.3 km. Bear right here to Hamraniyah and check all fields to the left and right, plus the telegraph wires. A usually-locked gate on your left side, bearing a sign No entry without permission leads into a large area of agricultural fields. Ask the foreman on duty for permission to enter. Usually no-one is attending the gate, which makes asking permission more troublesome.....

The fields here can look dried up, but they are still favoured by hundreds of birds. Lanner and Barbary Falcon can occur throughout the year with Lesser Kestrel in spring. Rose-coloured Starlings are regular in winter, Pale Rockfinch is sporadically abundant between late February and early April. Striated Scops Owl is common in this area, listen for their call after dark or check out the trees for roosting owls during daytime.

This is the only place in the UAE where European Bee-eater, European Roller, Common Starling and Spanish Sparrows have been found breeding.

Yellow-throated Sparrows are summer visitors to the Khatt area.

These fields have a history of producing surprises, including Crested Honey Buzzard (1992), Black-winged Kite (1992 & 1998), Dotterel (1998), Sociable Lapwing (1992, 1993 & 2005), Red Turtle Dove (1997), Little Swift (1994 & 1995), Bay-backed Shrike (1972), Little Bunting (1995) and Red-headed Bunting (2002).