Birding sites: MAHOUT TO HAIMA
It's a pretty quick 3h 20mins drive from Mahout to Haima along a good road. When you reach Route 31 (South) you will be on a two-lane highway. From here there are a couple of roadside parks worth checking out, but there's not much else to make you pause along this route. There are a few hotels in Haima, but most birders will be heading to Al Ghaftain, Qatbit or even Thumrayt - but the latter is another 3h 45mins drive from Haima.
ROUTE 31 ROADSIDE PARKs
Once on Route 31 the first small park you will come across can be found at GPS: 20.60497, 57.00437 and during migration times it can hold an interesting selection of species.
The next park is called Highway 31 Desert Park at GPS: 20°01'30.2"N 56°22'33.0"E and is a little bigger with species seen here including Turkestan Shrike, Greater Hoopoe-Lark, Bluethroat, Red-breasted Flycatcher, Menetries's Warbler & Clamorous Reed Warbler.
HAIMA PARK
Once you've reached the town of Haima, it's worth checking the Public Park before continuing on your journey. There are some tall trees on the north side, hedgerows and at the far southern side some dense acacias that can hide pretty much anything your imagination can come up with! This site sprung to prominence in November 2023 with the discovery of a Forest Wagtail that lingered for a while, due to it having a missing tail. Previously reported species include Pin-tailed Snipe, Turkestan Shrike, Siberian Stonechat, Upcher's Warbler, Menetries's Warbler, Booted Warbler, Eastern Orphan Warbler and Corn Bunting amongst others. You will probably see your last Indian Roller here if you are heading for Salalah, as this is as far south as they come.
Haima is also a good place to top up with fuel, pick up provisions in the supermarket or grab lunch in one of the numerous restaurants you can find near the Shell petrol station.
Visit the eBird Hotspot here - Haima Public Park
GPS Co-ordinates: 19°57'45.4"N 56°17'08.5"E
HAIMA WTP
Haima Water Treatment Plant is just a quick 6 minute drive from the Public Park and probably isn't worth a visit unless you have plenty of time or are staying in Haima. It's difficult to access and you have to watch from outside the fence but it has produced some good species such as Eurasian Wryneck, Great Reed Warbler, Eastern Orphan Warbler and Rose-coloured Starling.
Visit the eBird Hotspot here - Haima WTP
GPS Co-ordinates: 19°57'06.6"N 56°18'05.6"E
AL WUSTA SMALL FARM
Around 23 minutes drive East from the Public Park (29kms) is a small farm that held a Blyth's Pipit found by Joachim Bertrands et al in November 2024. Seems worthy of more coverage as there's been species such as European Roller, Asian Koel, Common Cuckoo, Turkestan Short-toed Lark, Red-breasted Flycatcher, Red-throated Pipit and Olive-backed Pipit found here over the last couple of years.
Visit the eBird Hotspot here - Al Wusta Small Farm
GPS Co-ordinates: 19°55'14.1"N 56°31'00.0"E