UAE winter birding

20 Jan - 6 Feb - A very successful trip with Sunbird, guided by Nick Moran and James Lidster, although we managed to coincide with the first storm in UAE for nearly a year, which frustrated our efforts for some of the coastal birds. On arrival at Dubai we drove to Abu Dhabi and stayed in a slightly surreal hotel at the summit of Jebel Hafeet, 1000m metres above the surrounding desert, with extensive views, rocky mountain habitat and lots of specialities, especially Wheatears - Hume's. Red-rumped, Hooded and Eastern Mourning were all present the next morning, and Egyptian Vultures gave a close flyby, one wearing a satellite transmitter from a tagging programme. We did well in the park at the base of the mountain, with a smart female Black-throated Thrush, and the first afternoon we also visited a wetland, Zakher Lake, with good numbers of shorebirds, especially Little Stints, and a supporting cast of Slender-billed Gulls, Bluethroat, Citrine Wagtail and Purple Heron. The next couple of days involved desert areas with another wetland. The desert varied from classic sand dunes with palms, to a camel race track complete with pedigree camels being exercised..... also a superb wetland Ramsar site, Al Wathba, a highlight of any Abi Dhabi itinerary. The desert areas produced (not surprisingly) Desert Wheatear and Desert Warbler, and Desert Lark was already on our list. Introduced Arabian Oryx were nevertheless exciting to see and epitomised the Arabian desert in the dusk. A male Pallid Harrier flew by and a Lappet-faced Vulture soared overhead, and Al Wathba was incredible with thousands of Flamingoes, many waders including White-tailed Lapwings, Grey-headed Swamphen, Ferruginous Duck, Black-necked Grebe and Marsh Harriers in numbers, together with our first (distant) Spotted Eagle. Moving north into Dubai the desert here held Cream-coloured Courser and Hoopoe Lark, together with Sandgrouse - a highlight was excellent views of Bimaculated Lark. Together with Dibba dairy farm, we added Isabelline and Variable Wheatear to the list, also Buff-bellied, Long-billed, Tawny and Richard's Pipits - Indian Rollers were numerous - and Bonelli's Eagle and Eastern Imperial Eagle cruised overhead. The greenery of the farm fields is a great oasis for wintering birds, and Plovers and Shrikes also winter here. We also added Wire-tailed Swallow and a Great Spotted Cuckoo (both UAE rarities). Wadis in the desert nearby were very scenic, and the habitat for Warblers including Plain Leaf and Scrub, as well as more Wheatears. Dibba waterfront cafe gave close views of Crested (Swift) and Lesser Crested Tern, as well as Sooty and Slender-billed Gulls - all while having lunch in the shade. Finally, the inclement weather on the west coast of UAE meant that photographing the Pallas's Gulls in the gale was a challenge - however we had a great spectacle of coastal species including a vagrant Kittiwake - the hoped-for Crab Plovers were rather distant although seen well through the scope, and other waders here included Terek Sandpiper and Great Knot. Last but by no means least, the last morning en route to the airport we logged the spectacle of 15+ Spotted Eagles rising up from their roost in the mangroves Khor Dubai and giving close views on the thermals. A very rewarding week, pleasant temperatures, good infrastructure and a great selection of wintering waders and eastern wintering specialities.