Swift Tern - Sterna Bergii
We took a trip up the Omani coast in a Dhow recently, driving over to Dibba on the East coast of the UAE (technically Fujeirah) to meet with our boat. We had to cross the border into Oman at a police check point which was all straightforward - but not before I had a panic about what was packed in the car for the trip.
We have not done a boat trip out with an overnight camp on deck before - its something I would recommend just to get the feeling of being out of Dubai for 24 hours ! The Dhow went North up the coast for 3 or 4 hours and then we snorkelled next to the shoreline (we were stung a bit by jelly fish). The coral fish were stunning - squid and cuttlefish, pilot fish, the smaller parrot varieties, lots of wrasse, angel fish and the little damsel fish tucked away in the corals. Hard and soft corals on this occasion which I have not really seen before. I must have counted about 40 species of fish in an hour or so.
Not so much fun were the swarms of sea snakes that we had seen from the boat - thankfully they were not close in to shore. Some of the banded snakes were a good 6 foot long - not my idea of a fun swim !!
We then did some handline fishing - between us (not me) and the crew we caught some Red Snapper, Hammour and a Barracuda.
We parked up near a small coastal village with no road access where the locals had cars shipped in for the 2 km of seafront road !! After dark we were ferried into the beach for a meal cooked over a firepit. Sleeping on deck was quite relaxing - not too cold and the noise of the water slapping against the hull was soporific. I tripped in the night trying to find the "heads" but I managed not to fall overboard.
We have not done a boat trip out with an overnight camp on deck before - its something I would recommend just to get the feeling of being out of Dubai for 24 hours ! The Dhow went North up the coast for 3 or 4 hours and then we snorkelled next to the shoreline (we were stung a bit by jelly fish). The coral fish were stunning - squid and cuttlefish, pilot fish, the smaller parrot varieties, lots of wrasse, angel fish and the little damsel fish tucked away in the corals. Hard and soft corals on this occasion which I have not really seen before. I must have counted about 40 species of fish in an hour or so.
Not so much fun were the swarms of sea snakes that we had seen from the boat - thankfully they were not close in to shore. Some of the banded snakes were a good 6 foot long - not my idea of a fun swim !!
We then did some handline fishing - between us (not me) and the crew we caught some Red Snapper, Hammour and a Barracuda.
We parked up near a small coastal village with no road access where the locals had cars shipped in for the 2 km of seafront road !! After dark we were ferried into the beach for a meal cooked over a firepit. Sleeping on deck was quite relaxing - not too cold and the noise of the water slapping against the hull was soporific. I tripped in the night trying to find the "heads" but I managed not to fall overboard.
Where we tied up for the night we had great views of a party of Ospreys. There were 4 birds at one point - presumably a breeding family. There was a lot of calling and swooping about.
The bird that is the real subject of this post is the Swift Tern. A life tick for me - a pair in particular were just chasing eachother round and round the Dhow - I think one bird was trying to get the first bird to drop its catch on each occasion. They are a big powerful Tern with a decent metre or so's wingspan.
I'll let the photos speak for themselves.
Oman, Musandam Peninsula
February 2013
I'll let the photos speak for themselves.
This final pictire gives you an idea of the areial dual that was playing out round and round our Dhow.
Swift Tern, Sterna BergiiOman, Musandam Peninsula
February 2013
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