Flamingos in Dubai

After four years in Dubai, I’ve lost count of the amount of times I’ve heard people scoff at the suggestion that flamingos are native to the region. Yet a trip to Dubai Municipality’s Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary shows how the birds are flourishing here, giving residents a rare chance to see these magnificent birds in their natural habitat.

Drive along Al Awir Road past a row of curiously-placed independent electrical shops and mechanic stores (with pun-tastic names such as ‘Dubike’), and across the road to your left you’ll hopefully catch a glimpse of the birds standing in the water at the sanctuary. Do a U-turn at the junction where Nadd Al Hamar Road crosses over Al Awir, and exit onto the second service road you see. The set-up is simple: just wander up the short, screened jetty to the flamingo hide, a shed-like observation room where you can pick up a pair of binoculars and peer out at the birds.