Overview
This report is divided into three sections:
Section 1 - Introduction, logistics general information and itinerary.
Section 2 - Birding sites.
Section 3 - Systematic species list.
With Hanne Eriksen and Jens Eriksen. Socotra had long been near the top of the list of places I would most like to visit. A visit had been planned during an earlier trip to Yemen in 1998. However, just prior to my arrival then, the Yemeni military closed access to Socotra due to a dispute with Somalia, the country to which Socotra is geographically closest.
Long isolated from the African mainland, Socotra has developed a unique set of flora and fauna that in some ways gives the island the feel of a "mini-Madagascar". The famous Dragon's Blood Tree Dracaena cannibari, Cucumber Tree Dendrosicyos socotrana and Desert Rose Adenium obesum on rocky, mountainous hillsides provide a scenic backdrop to some of the more interesting and different birding in the Middle East. With only six to eight endemics, depending on taxonomic view, Socotra is not a particularly arduous birding locality, especially as the number of resident species is low. Due to limited flight connections with the mainland most visiting birders will stay for one week - ample time to explore the island fully, as well as to look for interesting migrants. The general ambiance, scenery and pace of life on Socotra make for a relaxing trip. A few years ago Socotra was well off the beaten path of both general tourists and birders. Recently though, led by development projects from the UN, as well as programmes from the Yemen government, changes and development of the Infrastructure have lead to a rapid increase in interest of tourism to Socotra. In 2005 a total of 3,000 tourists visited, with this number expected to increase substantially in 2006. |
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Eco-tourism is still only a minor portion of this total. The majority of visitors, a large percentage from Italy, come for the beaches and winter sun, with a few for snorkelling and diving. Socotra catches the strong winds from the Indian Ocean monsoon, which as a result attracts wind surfers during the summer months.
It should be noted that the much maligned security issues with Yemen, do not apply well to Socotra - far removed from the Yemen mainland. Should the generally perceived insecurity situation in Yemen improve it could provide a significant boost to tourists visiting Socotra. Due to the current complete lack of any birding trip reports, or readily available information on birding for Socotra, much effort was spent drawing sketch maps and gathering site information in the field, on which to base this report. A GPS was used extensively. As the speedometer and odometer were generally not working in the vehicles we used, driving distances were measured using the GPS. Sketch maps contain driving distances as well as GPS waypoints, the coordinates of which appear in a table at the end of this report.
Throughout the duration of this trip I travelled with my friends Hanne Eriksen and Jens Eriksen, who had planned a bird photography trip at the same time. Indeed, in addition to the birds, Socotra is very photogenic, with some stunning landscapes and interesting people, many of whom are keen for you to take their photograph.
Getting there - Flights and visas
With few exceptions, visitors to Yemen require a visa. Theoretically some European nationalities can obtain a visa on arrival, and certainly a small kiosk was labelled as such in the arrivals halls. However, I would not recommend this without contacting a local Yemen embassy before travel. Obtaining my visa from the embassy in Muscat was quick and simple, though quite expensive at US$60. A 30 day visa was issued, that was valid for travel to Yemen within the next month only.
The international airport at Sana'a has absolutely nothing to recommend it, and can only be described as a shambles. Maintenance appears non-existent, check-in desks have no indication of which flight they are serving, the address system is unintelligible, the flight announcement screens are only in Arabic (and did not even list the current day's flight when I was there), and the toilets are best avoided unless absolutely necessary. Note Yemenia's reputation for delayed flights. Airport security was lax.
Hadibu, the main town on Socotra, situated on the north coast, is currently connected to the mainland via weekly flights from the capital Sana'a (via Mukalla) on Fridays, or Aden on Mondays. For those with limited time, it might be possible to limit a stay on Socotra to three on four days by flying an open jaw in/out from Sana'a and back via Aden. The full cost of the domestic flight to/from Sana'a is around US$300-350. However, by booking through a local agent in Sana'a the price should be well under US$300. It is also rumoured, though I could not confirm it, that those flying to Sana'a on Yemenia, the national carrier of Yemen, can obtain the domestic ticket included within the price of their international flight. Airport departure taxes are included in the prices of tickets, so none were payable at either Sana'a or Hadibu. It is worth mentioning that when reconfirming both my domestic and international flights, the Yemenia office were not interested in the ticket, but rather the booking slip (the small paper printout usually stapled to the inside of the ticket folder.) I found it hard to think of any logical reason for this.
Money
During our visit the exchange rate was approximately US$1 = 200 Yemen Riyals (YR). We saw neither money changers nor banks at the airports. However, money exchange is easy to find in Sana'a town. As we changed money in Sana'a we did not note any exchanges in Hadibu, though asking around will invariably find someone willing to change dollars. A credit card was not used, and we would not recommend relying on one, other than for purchasing flight tickets.
Health, safety and hassles
Much has been published about the on-going security, or rather lack of it, situation in Yemen. Government travel advisories are understandably cautious about recommending travel into, and around Yemen. At the time of writing certain areas of northern Yemen are considered off-limits. Socotra is currently deemed safe to visit, and certainly once on the island it is hard to imagine any security issues. Our driver/guide had no qualms about leaving the vehicle unlocked when venturing into the field.
Foreigners are still a novelty on Socotra, especially to children, who occasionally become irritating due to their persistence in simply following visitors around. Your driver comes in handy on these occasions for controlling this nuisance. Outright begging was not common, though we were asked for sweets, and pens, on occasion.
Hygiene standards vary, with Yemen somewhere near the bottom of the pile – a health inspector's nightmare come true. However, we suffered no ill effects from eating in local restaurants throughout; reducing the risk by avoiding obviously suspect foods such as salads. In view of the limited amount of medical remedies and doctors, travellers would be advised to take standard precautions and bring basic treatments for diarrhoea. Insects were not bothersome during the day, but mosquitoes were around the hotel and restaurant in the evenings. Socotra is considered a malaria risk zone.
Getting around
The only realistic option for visiting birders is to rent a 4x4 vehicle with driver. Although these can easily be found simply by asking at any hotel, the preferred option, by far, is to arrange a vehicle and driver in advance through a recognised tour agent in Yemen. This will also ensure that the driver has some understanding of English – an important consideration when travelling in Yemen. A driver, together with his invariably "well-used" Toyota Landcruiser should cost something in the region of US$50/day; maybe less for an extended trip. This cost would include fuel, available seemingly only from the rundown station on the intersection with the airport road, where the attendant starts the generator for each customer.
All travel arrangements were made through Arabian Eco-tours in Sana'a, a relatively new company managed by Yousuf Mohageb. They handled all accommodation bookings and payments, vehicles, drivers, airport collects/drops and domestic flights, all of which worked well logistically. Yousuf himself has a growing interest in birding, and knows all the key environmental and conservation groups and staff in Yemen.
Other miscellaneous information
We saw no public telephones on Socotra, although I would have thought one or two must be available in Hadibu. The hotel had a fixed line phone. Mobile phones were fairly common and worked in some areas away from town. For the visitor the best option for making international calls is to purchase pre-paid calling cards that can then be used from a hotel or other public or private facility. Try to purchase the cards in Sana'a as we were warned that cards might not be available on Socotra. A 1,100 YR pre-paid card provided five minutes talk time to European destinations.
Not surprisingly, Internet facilities are not yet found on Socotra. The electrical supply is nominally 220V, 50 Hz. Plugs varied, with both the round two-pin type commonly used throughout Europe, as well as the three pin type found in the UK. Power seemed available only during the hours of darkness. During our visit the sunrise and sunset times were approximately 05:50 and 17:20 respectively. Socotra uses the same time zone as mainland Yemen which is GMT+3.
Accommodation
The few hotels on Socotra are all found within Hadibu town. Prices will no doubt be similar as facilities offered are similar - basic but adequate. We stayed at the Taj Socotra Hotel on the western outskirts of town, which was quiet and clean with a restaurant adjacent. The hotel had its own generator during the day. Facilities included a fridge, satellite TV, ceiling fan, cold water shower and, surprisingly an A/C unit, although the later was not used as the fan sufficed.
For those wanting to explore for more than a day trip from Hadibu it will be necessary to camp, which we did one night on the west coast. Additionally we planned to camp near Quryah on the north coast, but heavy rain forced our retreat to Hadibu. Weather permitting it would also have been interesting to camp on the Dixem plateau.
Food
Due to its remote location, arid habitat and lack of wealth, Socotra understandably offers a rather limited cuisine. Local restaurants serve a plain, simple fare centred on fish, chicken, goat, rice and potatoes. Fresh fish should be available daily and is highly recommended. All meals we ate were piping hot and straight from the oven or pan, including flat Arabic bread that seemed to be served with every meal. Mostly we ate lunch in the field, buying oranges, bananas, tomatoes, cucumber and processed cheese from town, supplemented with extra bread ordered at breakfast.
The few shops in Hadibu stock basic commodities including bottled water, soft drinks, tinned fish, soap etc. The lack of power during daytime means that fresh food requiring refrigeration is unavailable. Away from Hadibu, supplies were virtually non-existent. To break the monotony, it's a good idea to bring along a few supplies from overseas or Sana'a. We supplemented our diet with muesli, nuts, chocolate, potato chips and other non-essentials. Vegetables, as with most things on Socotra, are flown or shipped in, and consequently become relatively expensive. In the past, the only commercially grown crop has been dates. However, a development program has now started to help locals start small garden farms, and we certainly encountered a few small lots around Hadibu.
Early breakfasts did not present a problem. People rise early on Socotra, with restaurants serving breakfast from 05:30. Being a Moslem country, alcoholic beverages are not freely available in Yemen, other than in major hotels in Sana'a. Alcohol can however be brought into the country via duty-free from outside. Non-alcoholic beer was available in the restaurant at our hotel on Socotra.
Language
English is not widely spoken in Yemen, and in rural areas no one will speak any. For this reason, unless you speak Arabic, a local driver with some knowledge of English will be invaluable to easing travels.
Topology
The scenery is dominated by mountains and a limestone, highland plateau of the interior. The most impressive peaks are the granite formations of the Haggiers, located on the eastern half of the island, overlooking Hadibu, with their highest peak at 1,630 metres. An impressive escarpment rising over 500 metres backs the arid southern Nowged Plain and runs along most of the southern side of the island. Massive sea cliffs are found along the inaccessible western edge of the island.
Climate
A ready assumption might be that weather on Socotra is predominantly hot and dry. Certainly it is hot, but the island is strongly affected by the Indian Ocean monsoon with stiff southwesterly winds during June, July and August. In the past, prior to an air connection with the mainland, these winds and associated heavy seas cut Socotra off for three months a year. The winds abate during September and finish by the beginning of October. The rains fall mainly during November and December, with a yearly average of 160 mm, although this is highly variable from year to year.
January to March offers the best weather with cool temperatures and little or no rain. Indeed the first five days of our trip in January were perfect, although the last two days brought unseasonable, heavy rain to the northern coast and central mountains. The months of April and May are hot with daytime temperatures well above 40 Centigrade. From a birders perspective, the optimal time to visit would be between January and March. However two important specialities, Jouanin's Petrel and Forbes-Watson's Swift are not generally locatable at that time. For these species a visit in October or November is advisable, baring in mind the weather.
References
Porter, R.F., Christensen, S. and Schiermacker-Hansen, P. (1996). A Field Guide to the Birds of the Middle East. Currently the only guide that comprehensively covers Sumatra.
Additionally, a bilingual (English and Arabic) simple educational book on the Birds and Plants of Socotra (20 species of each illustrated in colour) has been prepared for the island's conservation education programme. This can also be obtained on Socotra at the Biodiversity Project Centre in Hadibu or from BirdLife International in Cambridge, UK. The price was around £6.00.
Southern Yemen and Socotra. Sandgrouse Volume 17. (1996). Ornithological Society of the Middle East, UK.
Jennings, M. (2001). Phoenix 18. ABBA Survey 28: Socotra, December 2000. National Commission for Wildlife Conservation and Development, Saudi Arabia.
Collar, N.J (editor) (2000). Threatened Birds of the World, BirdLife International, Lynx Ediciones and BirdLife International.
Clements, J.F. (2000). Birds of the World: A checklist. Ibis Publishing Co.
Lonely Planet Guide. Yemen. Useful for pre-trip planning, but unused on Socotra as we had information from other sources.
No birding trip reports existed for Socotra on the Web. A potentially useful starting point was the OSME website. A search here on "Socotra" brought up some basic information.
No commercial sound recordings are available specifically covering the birds of Socotra, and none were taken, other than recordings of Nubian Nightjar which we failed to find. Most species on Socotra are readily found, including the scops owl which is common. We did take sound recording equipment of which we made limited use.
Acknowledgements
I would most like to thank my travel companions Hanne and Jens Eriksen, for helping to make the week on Socotra so memorable, and being such great travel companions. Additionally, we would thank Mike Jennings, Richard Porter and Simon Aspinall who provided information to assist with trip planning. Finally, also to Ahmed Saeed who accompanied us in the field, taking care of logistics and whose company we greatly enjoyed.
Itinerary
11 Jan. The Oman Air flight left Muscat on time at 20h40 to arrive in Dubai one hour later.
12 Jan. Connected with Yemenia Airways early morning 01:40 flight to Sana’a, which surprisingly left on time. The one hour time change between Dubai and Yemen meant that I arrived by 03:30 to a very quiet airport. Being Eid, the Islamic holiday associated with the Haj pilgrimage, it seemed the airport staff would have been happier at home given the expressions on their faces. Not only was immigration slow, but they seemed to develop on immediate suspicion of a lone traveller entering Yemen at the dead of night.
Having stamped me into the country the police immediately confiscated my passport and started asking questions about my reason for being in Yemen and who was meeting me. Fortunately the driver from Arabian Eco-Tours was outside the customs hall and I was allowed to retrieve him to support my story. Welcome to Yemen! Not a great start and it didn’t exactly put me in a good mood at 04:00 in the morning. With baggage loaded into the vehicle, the driver was next subjected to some hassle from the airport police for “allegedly parking in the wrong place”; evidently looking for a small payoff that they didn’t receive.
We drove across a deserted Sana’a. The place was like a ghost town with only the occasional armed police at strategic junctions, glaring at us as we sped by. I saw not a single person on the streets. Admittedly it was early, but in a capital city one would have expected someone to be out. Decidedly eerie. The driver dropped me at a friend’s where I rested the little remaining time till daybreak, and then met up with Hanne and Jens who had already been on mainland Yemen the past week.
By 07:00 we were working our way across the city again toward Wadi Haml, one of the closest birding areas to the city itself. The cliffs here are usually home to Lammergeier, our target bird, but the best thing we could find in the early morning were two immature Verreaux's Eagles. We continued on foot up the wadi, spending the morning scanning the ridges for Lammergeier; eventually seeing one distant bird. Other species of interest included Arabian Waxbill, Arabian Serin and Yemen Linnet, plus wintering Eurasian Sparrowhawk and Black Redstart. With the heat of the day we returned to Sana’a for lunch, after which we ran some errands in preparation for Socotra; visiting a supermarket, purchasing telephone cards and reconfirming flights.
13 Jan. Up for breakfast at the ridiculously early hour of 02:00! Left the house. and again crossed the deserted streets of Sana’a to arrive at the airport by 03:00 for an early check-in for the 05:00 Socotra flight. We’d been warned to arrive a full two hours before the flight, as late check-ins sometime result in baggage left behind due to the large amount of cargo routinely carried by the Socotra flight. In the event, the departure and flight went smoothly, and we arrived in Hadibu ten minutes ahead of schedule at 07:35, where we were met by Ahmed, our guide and driver. We also ran into Ian Sinclair and friends who'd spent a week on the island, successfully locating the endemics within the first couple of days.
Our first port of call was the Taj Socotra Hotel, primarily to offload baggage. Here we discovered the knock-on effect of the weekly flight - that all hotel rooms are vacated and turned round simultaneously, with all and sundry trying to check-in simultaneously; in our case together with a large group of Italians. Following a quick breakfast, which by this time felt more like the middle of the day, we drove the few hundred metres into the dusty centre of the one horse town of Hadibu, to stock up on a few basics for lunch in the field.
From here, we headed the few kilometres to Wadi Dihazafaq, where in the heat of the day we encountered the common endemic Socotra Sparrow and Socotra Sunbird, as well a Peregrine Falcon and a number of Somali Starling. The habitat was more verdant than expected with some sizeable trees in the wadi. The dusty plain of Hadibu surrounded by a ring a verdant mountain slopes is somewhat reminiscent of the Salalah region of Oman. Having spent a couple of hours here we drove slowly back toward the coast scanning the open areas for Cream-coloured Courser, several adults of which we found together with a pair of chicks. We then drove west, past the airport to the low beach scrub near Deham, the closest area to Hadibu where Socotra Cisticola is still common, in a very restricted and unprotected patch of salt scrub. Gulls on the beach proved to comprise only two species – Heuglin's Gull and Sooty Gull. At dark we returned to our hotel to celebrate, over the first of our many fish dinners with non-alcoholic beer that were to come that week.
14 Jan. Compared with yesterday, a late breakfast at 06:00. After watching the local goats hoover-up left leftovers on unattended tables, we departed to Wadi Ayhaft National Park. Another impressively green wadi with towering mountains and a rough road that gets rougher and rougher the higher one goes. Socotra Sunbird was common in the lower sections, and after a few photography stops, we arrived at the small village at the end of the road, around which both Socotra Golden-winged Grosbeak and Socotra Warbler were found in relative abundance. We also found Socotra Buzzard here.
Returned to Hadibu in time for a late lunch, after which we drove to Wadi Shoq to hunt in the date palms for Socotra Scops Owl. Initially this proved quite difficult, and other than disturbing a couple of Black-crowned Night Heron, we saw little. However, around 16:20, a full hour before dark a couple of scops owls called briefly enabling us to concentrate our search, with Ahmed locating one perched high in a palm. We remained until dark, by which time several scops owls were calling all over – definitely not an uncommon species. During our return to town we tried a couple of spots for Nubian Nightjar without success.
15 Jan. An early departure for a full day on the Dixem plateau. Our target today would be the hardest of the Socotra endemics – the Socotra Bunting. The weather, as it had been to date, was glorious. The newly paved road leading onto the central highlands plateau makes the journey from Hadibu quick and straightforward, though as usual we stopped en route for photography, including the very photogenic Dragon’s Blood Trees. A walk on the plateau also provided us with sightings of our first Socotra Starling. The shorter tail and duller appearance provide an easy separation from the commoner Somali Starling.
From the end of the drivable track it was a two kilometre walk across the scenic boulder strew hills to the main area we would concentrate our search, where last week’s group had seen the bird. As none was found in the same area we continued our search farther along the valley, and after about three hours located a couple of Socotra Bunting. Flushed with success we spent several hours in the area finding in total around six individuals, as well as walking up to the viewpoint overlooking the northern coast. A late afternoon return to Hadibu and another look for Nubian Nightjar, which again resulted in nothing, followed by another Taj special fish dinner.
16 Jan. As we had been concentrating on seeing and photographing the endemic species, to date we had largely ignored the interesting looking Hadibu lagoon just east of town. To rectify this we spent the first couple of hours after dawn making a circuit of the lagoon, and an inspection of its surrounding date plantations. This proved very rewarding, with us recording several species either rare or vagrant in Socotra such as Intermediate Egret, Citrine Wagtail and Yellow Bittern. A brief look at the sea also added Persian Shearwater to the list.
Following a stock-up on fruits and vegetables we drove westward to Qalansiyah on the western end of the island, arriving at Ditwah Protected Area, a beautiful tidal saltwater lagoon, for lunch. Once the temperature had cooled we headed to the nearby Qalansiyah lagoon. The rubbish and filth strewn around the lagoon was in stark contrast to the rest of Socotra. Here we saw Egyptian Vulture wading along the water’s edge picking through household waste together with flocks of gulls surrounded by discarded plastic buckets and old tyres. Apparently the lagoon has been cleaned and cleared by the environmental agency in the past, but the villagers simply revert back to using it as a dumping area. Despite the rubbish, the lagoon held a number of interesting species we didn’t see elsewhere on Socotra, including Collared Pratincole, Striated Heron and Garganey. Offshore were large numbers of Socotra Cormorant, Sooty Gull and Brown Booby.
Returning to Ditwah, we camped under the stars in one of the beach shelters. During the night we were regularly woken by the persistent goats wandering around the shelter looking for scraps of food. Throwing a few rocks usually got rid of them for five minutes before their next round.
17 Jan. Ahmed had arranged a local fisherman to take us along the coast to a small area of mangrove at Shoep. As yesterday, on our arrival at the lagoon the annoying and pestering young boys of Qalansiyah greeted us. We set out in calm seas hugging the massive, impressive sea cliffs, along which we recorded Socotra Cormorant, Brown Booby and Peregrine Falcon. We had a single Masked Booby pass by.
The beach at Shoep comprises an impressive long sandy bay; completely deserted, other than for the small village at one end. We took breakfast in the shade of some mangroves on the beach edge, from which several Socotra Cisticola were calling. A walk along the edge of this large lagoon proved disappointing for birds, with very few waders present, although one Indian Pond Heron was seen, as well as Socotra Warbler singing from adjacent scrub. The bare surrounding areas were checked for Lichtenstein's Sandgrouse without success. During our return amble along the beach we could see the view was somewhat spoilt by the arrival of a small group of tourists from Hadibu.
On departure we were able to approach a small pod of Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin which proved a difficult photo opportunity. We’d gone to Shoep in the early morning in anticipation of any afternoon winds making the sea choppy, and once rounding the protection of the western point of the island our thoughts came true. A reasonable swell and choppy conditions made for an interesting ride of the last leg home. It was good to arrive back on firm ground. Once again the obnoxious Qalansiyah kids were out in force but we soon departed and headed to the camp of road workers paving the Qalansiyah – Hadibu road. According to Ahmed the camp bakes great bread. However, today they hadn’t, so for some inexplicable reason, we simply took our lunch sat on the ground in the camp surrounded by diesel drums and piles of rubbish. The only apparent advantage of the overflowing rubbish bins was the photo opportunity for Egyptian Vulture, Somali Starling and Socotra Sparrow which were completely fearless.
The return to Hadibu was via Khor Ghuba where we found the only Lesser Sand Plover of the trip amongst a large group of Kentish Plover. On the last leg home I stopped to photograph the well-rusted Soviet tanks overlooking the beach before the airport. A welcome clean-up at the hotel followed by another fish dinner and pseudo-beers at the Taj restaurant.
18 Jan. An early start at Khor Sirhin for me, which I thought warranted further exploration, while Hanne and Jens returned to Wadi Ayhaft for photography. In contrast to all our previous morning starts, the day was dull and overcast, with low cloud cover. A walk around the khor, as well as further exploration into the surrounding palms and vegetable patches failed to produce any further surprises save for a single Indian Pond Heron. I then walked the coastline right the way along the town’s shore, stopping to seawatch from the western edge, which provided large numbers of the usual suspect – Socotra Cormorant. Gave up by 12:00 and joined up with Hanne and Jens whom had had a disappointing photo session due to low cloud in the mountains.
At 14:00 we set off for the large khor of Quryah National Reserve, stopping at the polluted wadi in Hadibu town where the last few House Crow still elude capture. Much of the road to Quryah is still unpaved, so despite being only 25 kilometres from Hadibu, the drive takes over an hour. A few Northern Pintail were present at one end of this very large khor, but despite the extensive sandy and muddy areas few waders were present. We had intended to camp in the park and explore further the following morning, but the continuing drizzle and looming clouds pushed us into deciding to return to Hadibu. During our return, at dusk, we tried a regular spot for Nubian Nightjar but had no luck. Shortly after, the rains began, turning the road slowly into a mud-bath, reinforcing our decision to return to Hadibu.
19 Jan. By daybreak the unseasonable, heavy overnight rain had diminished to drizzle. Given the look of the weather and the state of any off-road tracks our only realistic option would be a day on the south coast, so we retraced our route along the coast to ascend the paved road toward Dixem. In places the road up to Dixem resembled a wadi bottom with rocks and debris washed down in last nights downpours. A few kilometres uphill we stopped in the Croton scrub where we had excellent views of Socotra Warbler and Socotra Golden-winged Grosbeak; the dissipating cloud cover, warming things up, had given the bedraggled residents time to forage and sing. We had a further, long stop, to explore the rushy Wadi Zerig past Dixem, which held wintering Bluethroat and from which we flushed a pair of Common Quail. Further views of Socotra Starling were also obtained.
Once over the central plateaux, the road was still unpaved and very dusty as this side lies in the rain shadow – the south coast being exceptionally arid. Flowering Desert Rose were a prominent feature along the route. Once over the escarpment we followed the main coastal road turning off toward the beach to explore a few empty pools and palm plantations, which were largely birdless. We took a midday lunch in one of the small villages where we shared the meal with the villagers own mix of goat soup and entrails. On leaving we were shown the nest of Lichtenstein's Sandgrouse containing three eggs.
The return drive to Hadibu took around three hours with several stops to photograph the looming clouds, mountains and Dragon’s Blood Trees. Further heavy rain was encountered on approach to Hadibu. We had a final celebratory dinner in the Taj Restaurant and totted up the trip list to record a very respectable 89 species
20 Jan. Although this was Friday the 20th, it rapidly turned to Friday the 13th. We wondered if the further heavy overnight rain would have any impact on our return flight. We arrived at the airport at 06:45, two hours before departure. to find the airport closed. This seemed to wake the guard who opened up and we duly formed the queue for check-in. Although not totally unexpected, the incoming flight was two hours delayed, which caused me much consternation as my connecting international flight would now be leaving within 30 minutes of my arrival in Sana’a. We were further delayed at Mukalla, meaning the landing at Sana’a left me only 10 minutes to run to the international terminal.
Grabbing bags and running hard I burst into the international departures area to find it deserted - no check-in queues functioning and no other passengers. On locating a Yemenia staff I was informed that the flight would be “delayed by three hours”. Good news for getting to Dubai but bad news for my connection onward from there. And, it went downhill from here. When the check-in queues eventually opened I discovered my flight reservation had been cancelled, despite reconfirming it! I was then requested to rebook the reservation at the Yemenia office outside, which I duly did. For reasons unknown, on checking in again the agent determined the booking was not valid and I had to return, with Yemenia staff, back to the booking office, where an argument in Arabic ensued about the validity of my booking between the two Yemenia staff! Eventually I was booked, and with a further 30 minute delay arrived in Dubai where after another run to the transfer desk I was informed that my Muscat reservation was also cancelled and how did I manage to book my luggage through to Muscat? Thank you Yemenia! Fortunately the connecting flight was also delayed and I was able to remake the reservation and arrived back in Muscat 18 hours after leaving Socotra – a distance of only 1,700 km as the crow flies.
Section 2 - Birding sites.
Section 3 - Systematic species list.