randombirder

Another day of culture but with the first look at some natural areas within the city. The Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque is an impressive sight as you pass by on the expressway, appearing in full grandiose, radiating against the warm Arabian sun. The nearby Natural Park was a good place to wander in the comfortable warm afternoon sun.  The adjoining nature reserve is unfortunately closed to the public and maybe rightly so given the amount of litter (particularly single-use plastic) that gets discarded but more of that later. The reserve itself can be viewed from the road that runs along Qurum Beach on the opposite side, and more conveniently from a couple of the rooftop cafes located along the beach road. Within the reserve, an  Osprey  successfully snared a fish from the lagoon making a couple of circuits before settling down for lunch.  A female  Marsh Harrier  was quartering the area.  A Great Egret and Western Reef Egret stal...