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| Oman is a favourite destination for British birders at this time of year |
THE flare-up in the Middle East has created a worry for the many birders currently on holiday in Oman and other parts of the region during for the spring migration.
There are already deadly missiles in the sky, and the situation will only get more dangerous if Iran decides to expand the conflict.
Among tour companies currently running holidays in Oman is Naturetrek whose customers are believed to be midway through a 13-day break in pursuit of desert specialities (including sandgrouse and Greater Hoopoe-Lark), seabirds (such as Persian Shearwater, Jouanin’s Petrel and Red-billed Tropicbird) and numerous waders, plus exciting residents including Arabian Eagle-Owl, Arabian Golden-winged Grosbeak and Arabian and Hume’s Wheatears.
Oman is not in the front line of conflict apart from one incident at the commercial port, Duqm, which was targeted by two drones, one of which struck a mobile workers' housing unit, injuring an expatriate worker
Debris from the second drone landed in an area adjacent to fuel storage tanks, with no resultant loss of life or material damage.
However, Foreign Office advice to nationals is not to travel to the southern city of Salalah (or within 100km) where the last four days of the birding holiday are due to be spent before the flight back to Heathrow.
