Photos from a quick trip to Oman

[moloch]

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.
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Some areas were basically just rock with very little soil or vegetation.
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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.
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On my first morning, I stopped and examined this dry drainage. There were a few plants including large, flowering milkweeds.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c386/moloch05/Oman%20Feb%202013/Blue-tailed-Oman-Lizard-hab_zps6e34b6aa.jpg

[moloch]

The flowering milkweeds in the gulley attracted many Plain Tigers (Danaus chrysippus). A larvae is visible in the photo below of the milkweed flowers.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c386/moloch05/Oman%20Feb%202013/habiattiger_zpsbc218805.jpg
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http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c386/moloch05/Oman%20Feb%202013/milkweed_zps14b38190.jpg

After a short walk, I found my first reptile in Oman, a juvenile Bosk's Fringe-toed Lizard (Acanthodactylus boskianus). This little lacertid would nervously flick its tail from side-to-side much like Carlia skinks here in Australia.
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This House Bunting was singing nicely from the top of an Acacia.
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I saw a Sinai Agama (Pseudotrapelus sinaitus) 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.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c386/moloch05/Oman%20Feb%202013/habitatbalha_zpsba80497a.jpg

[moloch]

The high mountains of Oman were spectacular. I drove to a lookout in the mountains above Bahla one afternoon and enjoyed the superb views.
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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.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c386/moloch05/Oman%20Feb%202013/birdDesertLark_zps1c5e923b.jpg




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.
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[moloch]

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.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c386/moloch05/Oman%20Feb%202013/EgyptianVulture2_zps9d2f6cb0.jpg
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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.
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Butterflies were more numerous than I expected and much more common than in the Aussie outback. I would like to thank Les who helped me with the identifications.

Among the species encountered was this Giant Skipper (Coeliades anchises jucunda), one of the largest skippers that I have encountered. They often zipped across the road in front of the car even in habitats that seemed especially bleak. I sometimes saw them puddling near a tiny marsh in one of the wadis.
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[moloch]

I also saw this more typical skipper on a couple of occasions. Les said that he thinks it to be Gegenes pumilio although the spotting on the hindwing was a concern.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c386/moloch05/Oman%20Feb%202013/skipper2_zps3fd04487.jpg


Blue Spotted Arabs (Colotis phisadia phisadia) were also common around one of the plants in the wadi.
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Afican Pierrots (Tarucus theophrastus) were abundant around a flowering pea.
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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!
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c386/moloch05/Oman%20Feb%202013/Fan-footedGeckohabitat_zpsf9a6e969.jpg
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[moloch]

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c386/moloch05/Oman%20Feb%202013/Fan-footedGecko2Ptyodactylushasselquistii_zps9b9501d3. jpg
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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.
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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). This was the site where the Giant Skippers would puddle at times.
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toad
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c386/moloch05/Oman%20Feb%202013/toad_zpsaf07d230.jpg

[moloch]

There were at least three species of fish in this tiny pool. The prettiest was what I think to be Arabian killifish (Aphanius dispar)"
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c386/moloch05/Oman%20Feb%202013/fish_zps73e94e0b.jpg



Castles like this one at Bahla were present in nearly all of the villages
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c386/moloch05/Oman%20Feb%202013/castlebalha_zpsb37860b3.jpg



... I will add more photos later of the Sur region

[Angiud]

Wonderful trip in an environment I particularly love: the desert

[Bluebottle]

Wow, what a trip. Beautiful landscape, flora and fauna photos :thumbsup:

[MinuteMaid]

i always look forward to your travelogues. i find them absolutely fascinating and i'm very jealous that you get to go on trips all around the world so often.

your description always make me feel like i'm there, and get me all excited to go on my own adventure! not to mention you provide wonderful environmental shots as well as good description on the places, which is always helpful.

[LWM66]

Hi David,
So much that you shared about the desert habitat with such varied encounters.
Feel like watching a nature documentary.

Thanks very much and surely look forward to your next trip.

WM