Itineraries for visiting birders
Based in Dubai;
The two top Dubai-sites are without a doubt Ra's al-Khor Wildlife Sanctuary and Dubai Pivot Fields, followed by Mushrif National Park (Striated Scops Owl), Al Mamzar Park and Safa Park in the right season. Also worth visiting are Qarn Nazwa and Emirates Golf Club (if you can get access).
Dubai area, full day:
1. Start at dawn at Dubai Pivot Fields. Spend 2-3 hours working the whole area while taking care not driving on the grass.
White-tailed & Red-wattled Lapwings present year round and a good site for Pipits, Wagtails and vagrants.
2. If Al Warsan Lakes are still holding birds (check Monthly Reports), stop here for 30 minutes.
Purple Swamphen and Ferruginous Duck are both possible.
3. Make a 180 degree turn at the first roundabout on the way back to Dubai and stop at Nouakchott Street Marsh for 15 minutes to check for
waders and hirundines before continuing to Ra's al-Khor Wildlife Reserve. Visit the Mangrove Hide and Flamingo Hide.
This will take another 2 hours. Brunch in Dubai.
4. Drive to Safa Park, and walk around for appx. an hour, looking for migrants. Indian Rollers are common, and Shikra most probably breeding.
It is good site for Alexandrine's Parakeet.
5. Finish the daylight hours at either Mushrif National Park for Striated Scops Owl or Al Mamzar Park (White-throated Robin in April).
6. Drive to Qarn Nazwa to arrive there 30 minutes before dark for the Paraoh Eagle Owls. Stop 20 minutes at the Lahbab Fields along the highway.
7. Drive to Mushrif National Park to arrive no later than 21:00 (9 PM) for Striated Scops Owl. The park closes at 22:00 (10 PM).
Evening meal in Mushrif Café.
Driving north to Ra's al-Khaimah, full day:
Dubai straight to Ra's al-Khaimah will take 60-80 minutes via the new Emirates Road (120 km/h speed limit).
1. Drive out to Umm al-Qaiwain Breakwater and spend 30-45 minutes here for Socotra Cormorant, Gulls and Terns.
2. Continue north towards Ra's al-Khaimah, stopping 30 min at Dreamland Beach for Crab Plover and possibly Great Knot and 30 min at
Al Jazeerah Khor for Saunders's Tern and Sylvia-warblers.
3. Brunch in the city, then north to Dhayah (Khor Khowair) and check for shorebirds and eagles here (30 min).
4. Drive back and visit the mountains at Wadi Bih, drive as far as the UAE borderpost (passport needed to drive to Dibba). It can appear very
quiet here, but resident birds include Lichtenstein's Sandgrouse, Hume's Wheatear, Trumpeter Finch and Scrub Warbler.
5. Spend the whole late afternoon at Hamraniyah Fields, looking for migrants, Pale Rockfinch and vagrants, then drive back to
Dubai at sunset. It time permits, stop at Khor Ajman, Al Wasit Nature Reserve and Sharjah University City.
6. If there is any surface water in Wadi Bih, arrive here 15 min before sunset for incoming Lichtenstein's Sandgrouse.
Driving east to Fujairah, full day:
Dubai to Fujairah National Dairy Farm will take 100-120 minutes via Al Dhaid and Masafi.
1. Arrive at dawn at Masafi Wadi and look for Chukar, Long-billed Pipit, Red-tailed and Hume's Wheatear, Scrub Warbler,
Plain Leaf Warbler and Striated Bunting.
2. Try to arrive at Fujairah National Dairy Farm at Dibba as early as possible. Spend 2-4 hours in this fantastic place.
3. Drive through Dibba town, stop at Dibba Park before a sea-watch at Ra's Dibba. It varies from empty seas to masses of terns
and shearwaters offshore, depending on season and luck.
4. Drive south and stop at Qurrayah Pools for 60 minutes, then scan the beach at Fujairah Port Beach. A sea-watch from here
has often produced Boobies and Shearwaters. Brunch possible along the main road.
5. Khor Kalba just to the south is good for wintering gulls, Collared Kingfisher and Sykes's Warbler. Beware of soft sand, it can
easily bog you down, even if in a 4WD vehicle. Dinner in Fujairah before driving back to Dubai.
You can also reverse the trip by driving from Dubai to Hatta, stopping at Qarn Nazwa before sunrise for Pharaoh Eagle Owl, passing along the border fence along the Huwaylat Road (military patrols often asking for papers or asking you to leave) looking for Lappet-faced Vulture, Lichtenstein's Sandgrouse, Variable, Hume's and Red-tailed Wheatears, Yellow-throated Sparrow and Striated Buntings. This road leads you directly to Khor Kalba town. Check out Khor Kalba before continuing north via Khor Kalba Harbour, Fujairah Port Beach, Qurrayah Pools, Ra's Dibba, FNDF at Dibba and Masafi Wadi at dusk.
Driving east to Al Ain, full day:
Dubai straight to Jebel Hafeet will take appx. 90-120 minutes.
1. Arrive at dawn at Green Mubazzarah at the foot of the majestic Jebel Hafeet (jebel means mountain in arabic).
Spend 60-90 minutes here checking for migrants, watching out overhead for overflying Lappet-faced Vulture and eagles.
2. Drive up to Mercure Grand Hotel for garden birding and breakfast. The hotel gardens have turned up good rarities in the past.
Explore the rest of the mountain from the main road, looking for Egyptian Vulture, Barbary Falcon, Sand Partridge,
Hooded and Red-tailed Wheatears and Striated Buntings. Desert Larks are common here. 2 hours needed.
3. Drive slowly down to Green Mubazzarah again (cheap lunch at the cafés here possible), then to Wadi Tarabat on the back side of
Jebel Hafeet. A 4WD car necessary. Check for Lappet-faced Vulture, Sand Partridge, warblers and wheatears. 90-120 minutes needed here.
4. Drive via Ain al-Fayda Park (30-45 min) to the Neima Pools (30 min) to Al Ain Compost Plant (30-45 min) and Zakher Pools
(30-45 min).
5. End the day at Al Maqam Fodder Field checking for migrants.
6. Check Karaa Dairy Pond along the Al Ain - Dubai highway on the way back to Dubai if time permits.
Driving south-west to Abu Dhabi, full day:
Dubai straight to Abu Dhabi City will take appx. 70-90 minutes.
1. Start at Jebel Ali Hotel & Golf Resort at dawn for migrants and vagrants. The hotel harbour is good for Striated Herons.
Breakfast at the hotel.
2. You could also start at dawn at Ghantoot, checking for morning Hypocolius activity (although they are more reliable in the
afternoons. Cream-coloured Coursers on the Polo-Club lawns and Sylvia-warblers in the bushes. Check the Jazira Hotel grounds
for migrants.
3. Spend 2-3 hours on Abu Dhabi Island, discreetly checking out hotspots like Mushrif Palace Gardens, Khalidiyah,
Hilton/Spinneys area, Hotel Intercontinental and Abu Dhabi Golf & Equestrian Club.
The police are well known for stopping birders asking for identification, as they find older men with binoculars rather suspicious.
On rare occations you will be asked to join them to the police station for questioning, and possible confiscation of binoculars,
so be aware. Having any form of cameras out will almost certainly result in confiscation. Dinner in the city.
4. Drive up to Al Wathba Lake and check the area outside the fence for rare hirundines and waders.
5. Spend the first 90 minutes after dark on Al Wathba Camel Racetrack, driving around on the gravel roads on the inside of the
track itself. Egyptian Nightjars are virtually guaranteed in season, and Sykes's Nightjar a possibility.
If you arrive before dark, check the fields for Bimaculated Larks.
Another good site for wintering nightjars (discovered December 2007) are Fujairah National Dairy Farm, near the goat farm.
Driving back to Dubai wou will meet heavy traffic on Sheik Zayed Road around Emirates Golf Course all the way to the Garhood
Bridge. This short stretch of road can easily take up to 2-3 hours, so if your are trying to catch a flight, allow for traffic.