Environment Authority monitors bird species in North Al Batinah

Sohar: The Environment Authority, represented by its administration in North Al Batinah Governorate, monitors different types of migratory birds at environment sites in the governorate, due to its diversity between the plain, sea and mountains during the summer and winter seasons.

Amani bint Abdullah Al-Shibliyya, an environmental inspector in the Environmental Conservation Department of North Al Batinah Governorate, said: "Through periodic monitoring and environmental analysis, more than 27 species of migratory birds were monitored in several locations in North Al Batinah Governorate from December 2022 until this September, including 16 species of visiting birds during the winter, nine resident species throughout the year, in addition to two species of migratory birds during the migration season, and one species of visiting birds in the summer.

She added that environmental diversity has contributed significantly to preserving the crossing, migration, or settlement of these types of birds in lakes, coastal creeks, and sandy beaches, as well as agricultural lands on the governorate’s coast, and tidal mudflats constitute the best environments for these types of birds.

She stated that among the birds residing throughout the year in North Al Batinah are the gray egret, the rock heron, the red-cheeked plover, the sooty gull, the swift tern, and the common mynah. Examples of visiting birds in winter are the little egret, the great egret, the little sand plover, the little crested tern, and the sandpiper, red leg and water curlew.

The most famous species of visiting birds in the summer is the pink tern, while the common tern and the white-cheeked tern are among the most famous birds seen during the migration season in the North Al Batinah Governorate.