On arrival there was the usual initial orientation issue, especially as the Site was busy with trucks coming and going.
We found a likely spot and started to scan the Cliffs. We both got our Scopes out (Rob has the same Bins and Scope)...like Father...
We soon picked up a few Egyptian Vultures distantly on the high Cliffs. Superb Birds looking resplendent in the bright sunshine.
After a while a guy appeared asking what we were doing, we explained and there was no problem. He wished us well.
More scanning revealed another area with open waste that looked promising. We drove down but there was an entrance gate. Rob popped in and we were thankfully granted permission to enter. Once into the compound we drove the track towards the waste and parked up.
The sight we now saw was truly remarkable. We were looking at c300 Egyptian Vultures!!! Truly amazing...at least to us. As you probably remember I've spent far more time going West than East so it's great to start enjoying the Birds of this region.
We then started to try and pick out some Eagles. After around 20 minutes we saw a couple of Great-spotted on the deck some 50 yards away.
Then...a perched STEPPE!!! A huge magnificent beast some 30 yards away. Truly special. Even better when it eventually flew right over the Jeep at house height!!!!!
We then drove up to a higher area where we would have the sun behind us and some of the Birds would be at eye-level. The next hour was incredible with great views of STEPPE (4) and IMPERIAL (3) in flight at varying distances, on occasion very close. Not forgetting the Vultures of course.
We tried a couple of other spots but they didn't really work out due to access issues. To be honest though...it didn't really matter at all. Fantastic to share the occasion with my lad who genuinely enjoyed it.
I've decided to leave the pics (I have some belters...he says modestly) until we reach Salalah. Robert is my priority.
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