Morocco March 6th to 11th. 2009

John Jennings & Steve Lister.

From Mar 6th to Mar 11th we covered a route devised by Steve. This was in an area mostly not covered by the main tour which we were doing with Spanish Nature from Mar 11th to the 22nd. The area covered in this section was:

Mar 6th. Stopping en-route at sites from Marrakech to Oukamaden, stopping overnight at Club Louka Hotel Oukamaden.

Mar 7th From Oukamaden to Agadir stopping at various sites along the route and staying four nights at the Hotel Jacaranda in Agadir.

Mar 8th Oued Massa Area, south of Agadir for the Bald Ibis plus much more.

Mar 9th. Tamri area for the Bald Ibis finishing off at the Oued Sousse estuary, Agadir.

Mar 10th Oued Massa area.

Mar 11th Starting at Oued Sousse estuary then driving to Marrakech to join the main group. We stayed at the Hotel Andalous for one night.

March 6th

Today was the start of my first ever trip to Africa and the day started well in the UK when a Barn Owl flew over the car at around 2.30am as we drove down the M1 towards Luton Airport.

Our next stop was Ourika village and here I added two more Lifers. Common Bulbul and African Blue Tit.

It was time to move onto Oukamaden. What a stunning area. We had to drive through the cloud to get to it but once we had it was brilliant sunshine and all ahead of us was covered in snow. On the day I missed out on my target Bird which was Crimson-winged Finch but we had incredible views of Shorelark (down to four feet), loads of Alpine Chough (300 plus) quite a few Red-billed Chough as well as forty plus Rock Sparrow. Other bonus birds were Rock Bunting and Water Pipit. We stayed the night here in the Club Louka Hotel.

Five lifers at the end of day one. House Bunting, Common Bulbul, Moussiers Redstart, Barbary Partridge and African Blue Tit.

March 7th

Not so much birding today as we had a very long drive to Agadir, some 300 Kilometres away.

We started birding before breakfast in the hope that the Crimson-winged Finch would be there and weren’t disappointed. Another Lifer. These birds became very confiding once the sun came up and came to within ten feet of me giving me some good chances of photographing them. Also the Chough were in good numbers plus about thirty minutes later came the alpine Chough. I also managed a relatively distant photo of a Rock Sparrow.

After breakfast we made our way to Agadir going via the Asnir Pass to Asnir first. We stopped at a few places in the hope of seeing Levaillant’s Green Woodpecker but that wasn't to be. Just before the turn off to Asnir Steve spotted a Cirl Bunting.

We came to an area with some of the Moroccan buildings buikt into the side of the hill. Good decision. After taking a couple of photos Steve said he thought the area might be good for Tristram’s Warbler. He looked hard through the trees and spotted a Dartford warbler. I decided to get my laptop out and open up my BWPi programme and to play the sound of the warbler. It worked a treat and a few minutes later a Trstram’s Warbler came to investigate. Another Lifer. The bird was always on the move making it impossible to get a good photo but I managed a long distance record shot of one. Whilst here a pair of Long-legged Buzzards came into view but they were extremely high.

At Asnir we did add a couple more birds to the list with Cattle Egret and a little further on I spotted a Red-rumped Swallow.

Now came a long drive through some incredible scenery. Along the way I managed a few shots of some of the spectacular views we had.Mountains and into the plains of Sousse. Birds added along the way were Magpie, Southern-grey Shrike and Woodchat Shrike.

We were hoping to get a couple of hours at the Sousse Estuary by Agadir but we were very late, arriving just before dark. We were hoping for Red-necked Nightjar. We did hear one but never saw it. Birds added here were Med Gull, Flamingo, Sanderling, Grey & Ringed Plover, Bar-tailed Godwit, Sandwich Tern, Oystercatcher and Stone Curlew.

Two more lifers for the trip Crimson-winged Finch & Tristram’s Warbler.

March 8th.

Today was to be a concentrated effort to stay in one area. The Oued Massa area, primarily after Bald Ibis and Black-crowned Tachgra. The latter we failed on but managed a good look at two of the Tchagra’s. This was another lifer in the book.

Main impression on the day was no Migrants. It was relatively quiet. We covered three areas. The first bridge then the beach at Sidi Wassey then the river to the estuary. At the bridge we saw our first Black-crowned Tchagra. We could hear a few Quail in the fields, some quite close, but none of them showed themselves. We did see our first Laughing Dove of the year plus other new ones for the year were Zitting Cisticola, Yellow Wagtail of the Iberian subspecies and a couple of over flying Glossy Ibis. There were also large numbers of Chiffchaff and a very vocal Cetti’s Warbler.

Next was a village alongside the sea. This is a good place for Bald Ibis but today none showed despite a 90 minute search. Out at sea were a couple of Balearic Shearwater, two Gannet, two Common Scoter, a Yellow Legged Gull plus a Little Owl and six over flying Common Crane.

Finally we spent four hours walking the river to the Estuary. By now it was getting extremely hot and there was also a storm brewing behind us, complete with thunder and lightning. Star birds here were eight Marbled Duck followed by seven Audouin’s Gull, 19 Spoonbill, thirty plus Greater Flamingo, a Turtle Dove and a few waders including Spotted Redshank, Ruff, Greenshank, Green Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper & Snipe.

We did move to another site to try for Plain Martin but by then the storm had caught up with us and we only stayed for a short while before a speedy departure was taken. The drive home was quite nervous as the rain was extremely heavy.

One Lifer today. Black-crowned Tchagra

March 9th.

It was decided to try for Bald Ibis again but this time at a different site. This one was situated at Tamri.

The day started well when as we came out from the hotel after breakfast Steve spotted a few Black Kites. By the time I had joined him they numbered five.

Along the way to Tamrie we passed many beaches, some with Gulls on them. We decided to stop at a beach near Aghroud. Amongst the Lesser Black-backed were 27 Audouin’s Gulls. It wasn’t worth stopping at every beach so we carried on and just outside of Tamri we came across a Peregrine that gave us a display of one of its power dives.

A bit further on and we hit pay dirt. One Bald Ibis flew past us and if I had been a bit quicker I would have got a half decent image, but I was too late and missed it.

Just at this point a few other good birds began to show. Subalpine & Spectacled Warbler, two Ravens a Marsh Harrier and a few Thekla Larks.

It was decided to go back and bird Oued Sousse Estuary but first calling into a lagoon that was on the outskirts of Tamri. Good call as a few minutes after we arrived first 20, then another 2 Bald Ibis came over the lagoon and for the next 10 minutes gave us a display. Sadly too far away for any decent photography. Also at this lagoon were a couple of Ruddy Shelduck, a few Yellow-legged Gulls, a Kentish Plover and more impressively 45+ Audouin’s Gulls. A Skylark also made a brief experience.

A quick seawatch at Cape Ghir only produced a few Gannet for me plus on land a House Bunting, Thekla lark and 12 Short-toed Larks.

Oued Sousse Estuary was full of birds. Masses of waders including Little-ringed & Ringed Plover, Dunlin, B.W Stilt, Sanderling, Knot, Barwit & Blackwit, Redshank, Curlew, plus about 15 plus Med Gulls, a Common Gull Sandwich Terns, 190+ Flamingo, 4 Spoonbill, a Ruddy Shelduck, an Osprey and a Marsh Harrier.

We tried again for the Red-necked Nightjar but again we heard them but never saw them. The night finished when 2 Stone Curlews came into our headlights plus a Red-necked Nightjar could be heard, but not seen at our hotel.

One lifer today. Bald Ibis

March 10th.

We concentrated on the Oued Masser area today. First port of call was the bridge area not far from the Café del la Poste. We hadn’t been there on Sunday and Steve was hopeful of a few Hirrundines here including Plain Martin, which would have been a Lifer for me. It was not to be as apart from very few distant birds it was very quiet here but on the walk back to the car at the edge of the village a few Hirrundines e into view, one of them a brown Martin. It took ages for us to pin down the dark throat but eventually we confirmed that it was indeed a Plain Martin. We also connected with a few House & a lone Sand Martin.

From here we went to the river at the Oued Masse National Park. Here I managed a fairly good photo of a Black-crowned Tchagra as well as a few other birds but the highlight here was towards the end of the day when an obvious movement of Swifts and Hirrundines was on the go. Amongst them were large numbers of Alpine Swilfts and a small flock of Seven European Bee-Eaters, of which I only saw one of them. There were also huge numbers of Pallid Swift, and Steve saw a couple of Common Swifts & huge numbers of House & Sand Martins.

Out on the water were six Common Crane, twenty plus Spoonbill, twenty plus Glossy Ibis, at least a dozen Squacco Heron and nine Marbled Duck, plus a couple of Shovellers, which were new for the trip.

Another highlight was watching the Black-crowned display flight. One slight disappointment was not being able to find any of the two Nightingales that we could hear, one of them less than ten foot away from us.

We had time for thirty minutes seawatching at Sidi Wassey and this produced twenty Avocet flying north over the sea. A small movement of Gannets and a large movement of Swifts were also noted. One other large movement was of Painted Lady Butterfly’s. Quite a few had been noted throughout the day but at Sidi Wassey they were prominent by the large numbers through the car park and out on the beach.

We had thirty minutes at the bridge further up the road. There was still a large movement of Swifts and Hirrundines but nothing new was seen.

One lifer today. Plain Martin.

March 11th.

Today was the last day before we met up with the rest of the group in Marrakech. It was decided to do a couple of hours at the Oued Sousse Estuary then just drive to Marrakech with just one lunch stop.

The two hour at the estuary turned out to be a good decision. Steve found a Wryneck but try as he did he couldn’t put me onto it but he did point out both a Purple Heron and a couple of Black-eared Wheatears. Earlier he had found four Curlew Sandpipers and I had managed some decent photos of a Moussiers Redstart and an Osprey in flight. Whilst photographing the Osprey I noticed possibly about ten Kentish Plover but they were too far away to photograph.

It was time to move on and we drove quite a way until a stop at a café that Steve had been to before. It was situated about eighty kilometres from Marrakech. It was on the Marrakech end of a town called Chichadua and the café was called Complex Alfouki. This is well worth stopping here if you are driving along the road from Marrakech to Agadir as it has a few nice birds around there and the food is good. Steve spotted a Calandra Lark but it was too quick for me and I didn’t see it. I did find a Hoopoe plus an over flying Osprey. Other birds there were Sardinian Warbler, Common Bulbul and a male & two female House Bunting. There were also four Red-rumped Swallows flying around the buildings.

It was time to drive onto Marrakech. We were staying at the Hotel El Andalous and it wasn’t long before I was watching a lifer from the apartment window as two Little Swifts drifted by in front of us. Also hundreds of Pallid Swifts and a lone Red-rumped Swallow. A grand finale to a good last pre-tour day.

One lifer today. Little Swift.

That was the end of this part of the birding vacation. The next 11 days is on another trip report with the link to it below.