Records and photographs for Around the Region should be sent as soon as possible after the event to Around the Region, OSME, c/o The Lodge, Sandy, Bedfordshire SG19 2DL, U.K.  You can also email records to atr@osme.org

The following assisted in the compilation of this review:
Alexander Abuladze, A. Alsirhan, Dr Svetlana Annenkova, Vaughan Ashley,
Dawn Balmer, Andrew Bailey, Jamie Buchan, Mark Chichester, Tom Coles, Judy Dawes, Jeff Delve, Hugues Dufourny, Pekka Fagel, Peter Flint, Brian Foster, Ramezanali Ghaemi, George Gregory, Nader Hamidi, Tomas Haraldsson, Peter Kaestner, Brendan Kavanagh, Abolghasem Khaleghizadeh, Howard King, Guy Kirwan, David Murdoch, Khaled al Nasaralla, Uzi Paz, Yoav Perlman, Kalle Raino, Colin Richardson, Nir Sapir, Dave Sargeant, Michael Schulz, Marius Teeuw, David Whaley, Ingo Waschkies, Frédéric Vanhove, Frédéric Veyrunes, Laurent Veyrunes, Sidonie Veyrunes, Peter Wilson and Süreyya Ysfendiyaroglu.

A Brown Booby Sula leucogaster was at Fujairah 18 January–7 March (first arrived on 1 December 2004) and one was at Ras Diba on 6 May, (11th and 12th records). A White-fronted Goose Anser albifrons was at Sharjah tip for several days from 9 February (16th record). An Imperial Eagle Aquila heliaca was at Khor Dubai and Wimpey Pits from 18 January–15 February. A Goshawk Accipiter gentilis was at Ghantut Polo Club on 15 February (8th record). A Merlin Falco columbarius was at Al Wathba Camel Track on 15 January. Two White-breasted Waterhens Amaurornis phoenicurus were at the Emirates golf course on 23 February (20th record). Two Sociable Plovers Vanellus gregarius were at the Dubai Pivot Fields from 4 January–4 March (20th record). A reported Lesser Yellowlegs Tringa flavipes at Wimpey Pits on 21 April will be the 1st record if accepted – and only the 3rd for the OSME region). A Black Tern Chlidonias nigra was at the Ghantut Polo Club on 25 February and another was at the Fujairah breakwater 7 April (9th & 10th records). A reported Common Noddy Anous stolidus at Ras Dibba on 25 February will be the 9th record if accepted. Single Rufous Turtle-Doves Streptopelia orientalis were at the Emirates golf course on 20 February and at Dibba on 7 March (10th and 11th records). A count of 155 Pin-tailed Sandgrouse Pterocles alchata observed coming to a waterhole near the new Bab Al Shams Desert Resort Hotel, inland of Dubai on 9 April is the highest number recorded of this species which is rarely reported. Reports of Koels Eudynamys scolopacea were from Dibba on 18 February and 11 March (different birds) and near Dhaid on 25 March (8th–10th records if accepted). Up to two Sykes’s Nightjars Caprimulgus mahrattensis were reported at Al Wathba camel track fields between 14 January–6 March (4th record). The two wintering Long-eared Owls Asio otus were still present in Mushrif Park, Dubai, to 18 January, one remaining 19 February (12th record).

A Calandra Lark Melanocorypha calandra was still present Al Wathba Camel Track on 14 February, having been observed first on 25 November 2004 (6th record). Two Buff-bellied Pipits Anthus rubescens first discovered on 24 December 2004, remained at the Dubai Pivot fields 13 January, and one remained until 27 February. Another was reported for about two weeks at Umm on Nar golf course, Abu Dhabi until 27 February (11th and 12th records). A Yellow Wagtail Motacilla flava of the race leucocephala (often known as White-headed Wagtail) was in Abu Dhabi’s Bateen Park from 25–26 March (2nd record). A Forest Wagtail Dendronanthus indicus was in Abu Dhabi, opposite the GMC showroom on 12 March, after which two were present on 13 March. The only report of Grey Hypocolius Hypocolius ampelinus was a single in Ghantut plantation on 25 February. A Mistle Thrush Turdus viscivorus was at the Dubai Pivot Fields on 26 February (15th record). A Dusky Thrush Turdus naumanni was still at Ghantut Hotel garden until 27 February–26 March (2nd record). A Hume’s Yellow-browed Warbler Phylloscopus humei was in the wood at Al Wathba Camel Track on 25 February and another one was in Bateen Park on 25 March. A River Warbler Locustella fluviatilis was in Mushref Palace Gardens on 8 May (11th record). An Icterine Warbler Hippolais icterina was at Khalidiyah on 9 May (14th record and first since April 2001). A Long-tailed Shrike Lanius schach was at Jebel Dhanna on 2 May (4th record). A Linnet Carduelis cannabina was at Al Wathba Camel Track on 15–22 April (4th record and first since 1987). Three Grey-necked Buntings Emberiza buchanani were reported at Al Wathba Camel Track on 22 April and will be the 1st record if accepted). Away from its breeding range the species has only been reported from Oman where there have been two records.