Work on initiation the Oman Bird Database began in 1971 through a catalogue of cards
prepared by Evie Warer, who wrote on the first
card: "This catalogue of cards began when I was in Oman in 1971 for my
own use and without thinking that it could be read or used by anyone else.
Well, the card catalogue has been widely used and has become a valuable
reference, at least for the publication of data on the birds of Oman"
(Gallagher Woodcock, 1980).
Effie Warr handed over the cards to Michael Gallagher on August 1, 1981, in several plastic boxes.
The cards were later coded, compiled and organized according to bird species groups that were stored at the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism.
Subsequently, data from observer reports were entered by Michael Gallagher and later by David G. J. Foster,
who became the first recorder for the Oman Bird Records Committee.
The card index, which contained around 5,000 cards, was handed over to Jens Eriksen in 1989, who became the new recorder.
In the same year, Jens and his wife embarked on a demanding six-year effort to develop a computerized database,
during which they transferred all the records from the cards into the digital database.
For many years, the Environmental Studies and Research Center at Sultan Qaboos University has invested in developing tools to manage the Oman Birds Database.
In 2001, financial and technical support became available to transfer the computerized Oman Birds Database to the Environmental Studies and Research Center.
Since then, the database has been regularly updated with support from
Dr. Jens Eriksen and the center has published four books since 2001 to monitor the overall status of birds in Oman.
In 2013, the Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems Research Center at Sultan Qaboos University conducted a research project to track the migration of
wintering birds in Barr Al Hikman using GPS devices attached to the birds. This study was the first of its kind to track the Crab Plover and Lapwings along the
West Asia–East Africa flyway. Monitoring bird migration routes and the consistency of migration timing serves as a key indicator of potential climate change at local,
regional, or global scales. In addition, documenting the presence of waterbirds in particular provides valuable indicators of the overall environmental condition of
wetlands. The study revealed that more than one million migratory coastal birds visit the Barr Al Hikman wetlands each year; half of these species migrate long distances. Moreover, the study showed that this area supports 10–15% of the global population of the Crab Plover, making it the most important winter site for this species.