| Morocco - February 2011 | | Print | |
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This wonderful tour through the awe-inspiring Moroccan landscape covers the birdlife of desert, mountain, coast and wetlands, plus the spectacle of spring migration from Africa to Europe. Morocco has specialities and near-endemics only found in the south of the Western Palearctic, and the country could have been designed purely for birding! The variety of habitats includes; arid stony deserts, dry wadis, sand dunes, lakes, rivers, estuaries and the omnipresent snowy Atlas Mountains, which we’ll travel through, reaching a height of about 2,600m. (8,450ft.).
Morocco still has a rural style of life, lost in most European countries, which has helped its birdlife to survive. In early spring, passerines are migrating to Europe and the beautiful Moroccan landscape explodes into bloom, helping birds such as Nightingale, warblers and buntings on northward migration and adding an extra dimension to our tour. By fully exploring all these habitats we should find a mouth-watering list of species.
Our Top 20 target species for this trip
Bald Ibis Thick-billed Lark Desert Sparrow Tristram´s Warbler Pharaoh Eagle Owl Crimson-winged Finch Mourning Wheatear Red-rumped Wheatear Moussier´s Redstart Hoopoe Lark Houbara Bustard Blue-cheeked Bee-eater Egyptian Nightjar Desert Lark Bar-tailed Lark Cream-coloured Courser Fulvous Babbler Crowned Sandgrouse Desert Wheatear Levaillant´s Woodpecker
Morocco – Tour Itinerary
Day 1 We’ll be met at Marrakesh airport by our guide and will make our way to Agadir city. Pallid and Little Swifts are abundant. Before dinner, a short walk around the hotel gardens will produce some interesting birdwatching and we could see Sardinian Warbler, Common Bulbul, one of the world’s rarest gulls, Audouin´s Gull. Overnight in Agadir.
Day 2 An early start will see us head to the Atlantic coast. We will spend the morning in the Sous Massa National Park where we shall spend some time on foot looking for the endangered Bald Ibis, one of the rarest birds on the planet. Sous Massa NP holds an important bird population and we’ll search the vegetation along the water's edge for skulking Squacco Heron, whilst the distinctive call of Black-crowned Tchagras ring out from dense cover. More easily observed birds can include Marbled Duck, Marsh Harrier, Osprey, Black-shouldered Kite, Glossy Ibis, Purple Heron, Ruddy Shelduck, Plain Martin and possibly Tawny Eagle. Other possibilities include Savi's, Western Olivaceous and Moustached Warblers, Zitting Cisticola, Great Spotted Cuckoo, Pallid Swift, Red-rumped Swallow, Common Bulbul and Spotless Starling. After lunch we will drive along the semi arid steppes of the Sous valley with good chances for Lesser Short-toed Lark, Cream Coloured Courser, Stone Curlew and sandgrouse. Later in the afternoon we will visit the Oued Sous - a delightful area which is very good for waders, terns and large flocks of roosting gulls, including Slender-billed, Audouin's and Mediterranean. Other species here include Greater Flamingo, Zitting Cisticola and Sardinian Warbler. At dusk we will check a nearby site for Red-necked Nightjar. Overnight in Agadir .
Day 3 After Breakfast we will drive to Tamri where we will see one of the world's biggest colonies of Bald Ibis, and where we hope to see Barbary Partridge, Moussier's Redstart and Sardinian Warbler. We then make our way from Agadir to Taroudant. We have designed this day to break up our journey and avoid making the strenuous and tough driving from Agadir to the desert area in one step. Near Taroudant we pass through olive groves and orchards, home to Black-shouldered and Black Kites. Before dusk we will try to find Red-necked Nightjar. Overnight in Taroudant .
Day 4 After breakfast we drive from Taroudant to El Kelaa, following the fertile Sous Valley through scrub thickets and citrus groves where we could find European Roller, Black-shouldered Kite or Western Orphean Warbler. We could find anything from Black Kites migrating overhead, Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters resting on roadside wires, to skulking Suba Subalpine Warblers or a Rufous Bush Robin in a roadside wadi. Several stops will produce interesting migrants, passerines, raptors, waders and storks. At Oued Iriri we will look for Bonelli's Eagle and Southern Grey Shrikes. Overnight in El Kelaa.
Day 5 After a good night's sleep, we shall have an early morning start to visit the famous and exciting Tagdilt Track. Despite the nearby rubbish tip and its plastic bags spread by the wind all over the area, this is still an excellent spot for some very special birds. Careful searching of the area could reveal Cream-coloured Courser, Black-bellied & Crowned Sandgrouse, Thick-billed, Bar-tailed, Desert and Temminck's Horned Larks, as well as Red-rumped and Desert Wheatears and Trumpeter Finch. In 2006 we were lucky to spot Houbara Bustard 10m from our vehicles - this bird had not been recorded in the area in many years. Overnight in El Kelaa.
Days 6 & 7 From El Kelaa to Merzouga. After a last look at the Tagdilt Track we drive on towards our secluded auberge at Merzouga, situated right on the edge of the Sahara Desert. The drive east will, no doubt, be punctuated with stops to check out the numerous wadis and palm-fringed oases, as we look for Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, Lanner and migrants such as Subalpine Warbler and European Bee-eater amongst others. A short walk before Merzouga will give us the chance to see the magnificent desert race of Eagle Owl. Our auberge, with its attractive gardens and surrounding palm trees, attracts a good variety of migrants, and the immediate area is worth checking at every opportunity for species such as Hoopoe, Woodchat Shrike, Wryneck, Rufous Bush Robin or Nightingale. We will spend a whole day checking various sites around the edge of the red sand dunes of the Erg Chebbi - the largest dune system in Morocco. Our major prize should be found around the various cafes that are dotted about the landscape, and in one of these remote outposts we hope to find the elusive Desert Sparrow. Other species we will search for include Fulvous Babbler, Hoopoe Lark, African Desert Warbler and Brown-necked Raven. There are sometimes seasonal lakes, which attract numerous wildfowl and waders - an amazing sight out here in the desert! It is also worth scanning the skies for visible migration and, as the day warms up, it is possible to see good numbers of storks and raptors rising on the thermals and heading north towards their breeding grounds. We will also spend some time at dawn or dusk searching for the rather unpredictable Egyptian Nightjar, which sometimes breeds in nearby wadis. Other species in this area include Short-toed and Bar-tailed Desert Larks, Desert and Black-eared Wheatears, Dartford and Spectacled Warblers, Trumpeter Finch, Southern Grey Shrike and possibly Spotted Sandgrouse. Early one morning we will drive through the desert areas near the Algerian border in search of the increasingly scarce Houbara Bustard. Overnight in Merzouga.
Day 8 A travelling day from Merzouga to Ouazarzate. We will drive through the Ante-Atlas. This area holds a series of rocky hills, cliffs and deep gorges of volcanic geological formations. Roadside birding will produce migrants and lots of wheatears; in 2005 we were lucky to find a Bonelli´s Eagle nest. Walk around Ouazarzate reservoir with an exquisite selection of birds which include Moussiers Redstart, Wryneck, Western Bonelli´s, Western Orphean, Subalpine & Olivaceous warblers, Desert Northern & Black-eared Wheatear, Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, Rock & House Bunting among other migrants. Overnight in Ouazarzate.
Day 9 Ouazarzate to Marrakesh. We will drive through the High Atlas Mountains where snowy peaks, visible from miles away, decorate the landscape, passing through an unexpected series of different habitats. We will stop at the scenic and rather impressive Tizi `n' Tichka pass to admire its fabulous geological rock formations before continuing on our journey to the plains. On one of our previous trips we discovered a super place from which to watch raptors; resident and migrant birds such as Lanner, Barbary Falcon, Lesser Kestrel, Black Kite, Long-legged Buzzard, Short-toed and Booted Eagle can be observed gliding together below the clear, blue Moroccan sky. The road through the mountains is extremely winding and we will take our time on the journey, stopping at a few convenient locations to look for a number of interesting and exciting birds such us Levaillant´s Woodpecker, Mourning Wheatear and Trumpeter Finch. Overnight in Marrakesh.
Day 10 This morning we will drive up into the High Atlas Mountains and visit Oukaimeden (2600m). As we drive along the cultivated valley floor we should find a good mix of resident and migrant species such as, Woodchat Shrike, Common Crossbill, Hawfinch, Brambling, House , Rock and Cirl Bunting and we may well see our first stunning Moussier's Redstart. Slightly higher up among the rocky slopes we will search for Barbary Partridge, Blue Rock Thrush and the endemic Levaillant's Woodpecker. When we finally reach the ski resort of Oukaimeden we will take some time to admire the stunning scenery before beginning our search of the snowline for the handsome Crimson-winged Finch. Other species here include Rock Sparrow, Water Pipit, the seebohmi race of Northern Wheatear, Red-billed and Alpine Chough and Shore Lark. Raptors to keep an eye out for include Golden Eagle and possibly the majestic Lammergeier. There will be an optional visit to Marrakesh city after dinner. Overnight in Marrakesh.
Day 11 After breakfast, time permitting, we’ll take a short walk around the nearby gardens for some final birding, before driving to the airport for our flight back home. |