Barr Al Hikman

Barr Al Hikman is a low peninsula opposite Masirah where an enormous area of intertidal sand and mudflat is exposed at low water, and it is one of the most important wintering sites for shorebirds in the Indian Ocean: counts run into hundreds of thousands of birds, with crab plover, greater and lesser sand plover, bar-tailed godwit, dunlin, terns and large numbers of flamingos, feeding on flats that support a very dense invertebrate population. Mangrove grows in places and salt pans and lagoons lie behind the shore. There is essentially no infrastructure: a few fishing villages, tracks across sabkha, and camping as the way to stay.

The landscape

• Wader flocks - hundreds of thousands of birds on the exposed flats.
• Flamingos - the flocks on the lagoons behind the shore.
• The tidal flats - the enormous area of sand and mud at low water.
• Fishing villages - the small settlements on the peninsula.

When to go

November to March for the wintering birds, which is also the coolest period. Bird numbers peak with the tide cycle, so timing visits to a rising tide that pushes birds toward the shore matters. Summer is severely hot.

Good to know

There is no accommodation, shop or fuel on the peninsula; camping and self-sufficiency are required. Sabkha tracks trap vehicles that leave the firm route. A telescope is needed to see much. Distances across the flats are deceptive and getting cut off by tide is a risk.

Nearby

Masirah lies east across the channel; Mahout is north.

Key facts