ERG CHEBBI AND MERZOUGA LAKE – RISSANI SUBURBS
WEATHER; lovely warm, sunshine all day with fluffy white clouds. Top temp 27C
It was a perfect morning to start our desert birding, clear blue sky, no wind and a lovely cool temperature. After breakfast we went to the terrace of the hotel to meet with the regular bird-ringing group, I have met this group for the last 10 years and enjoyed some superb birds-in-the-hand. Today was no exception! We started with a Common Whitethroat, then a couple of Subalpine Warblers, another Whitethroat and then during the next round of ringing they pulled a Saharan Olivaceous warbler out of the bag, wowza!! Just what the group were hoping for.
a Saharan Olivaceous Warbler
From the terrace we also noted Brown-necked Ravens, they were building a nest in one of the Tamarisk Trees nearby. We also noted a few Western Bonelli’s Warblers, White-crowned Wheatears, Northern Wheatears and Laughing Doves, a couple of Ruddy shelduck flew over.
the dunes from the terrace of the Cafe Yasmina Hotel
Whilst the seasonal pool at Café Yasmina was totally dry this year the main lake at Merzouga had plenty of water in it and lots of birds had been reported. That was our next destination.
We stopped at several places along the eastern shoreline and noted quite a few species, the most notable because of the numbers was the Greater Flamingo. It was strange watching water-birds in the Saharan Desert, feeding next to camels that were drinking!
Ruddy Shelduck - dozens were on the lake
Ruddfy Shelduck were dotted all over the lake, we picked out both Little and Great-crested Grebes, Common Coot, Shoveler, Gull-billed Terns, Kentish and Little Ringed Plovers.
Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters were hunting over the water in the distance and Yellow Wagtails of several races chased insects on the shoreline. Only a single Marsh Harrier went onto the ‘raptor-list’, whilst Bonelli’s, Subalpine and Sedge Warblers completed our passerine list. Crested Larks and Bar-tailed Larks were all that we saw in the scrub.
it seemed odd to see camels and waterfowl in the same area
We popped into Merzouga to buy lunch supplies and then drove 15 kilometers towards Rissani before stopping to eat it. We parked next to a ‘wadi’ where I have previously seen a good selection of birds including the Desert Warbler. Today, however, we walked for 30 minutes after lunch and saw just one single bird, a Great Grey Shrike! We abandoned our effort to see the warbler.
Magreb Lark - its like a large crested lark with a longer bill.
The suburbs of Rissani have many open areas of scrub and small cultivated plots, all surrounded by low-lying dirt mounds. Large clumps of pine trees are the prime habitat for the Fulvous (Chatterer) Babbler and this is where we concentrated our efforts to find one.
The Magreb Lark ( a large, pale type of Crested Lark) with a long bill, appeared almost as soon as we got off the bus. We saw several of them, a new bird for our list.
a Yellow Wagtail
It was very hot, dry and dusty which was pleasant for walking but that is what we did. We were rewarded for our efforts with the sighting of two Fulvous Chatterers, they didn’t show well but good enough for everyone to enjoy them.
Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters dashed over us but never perched for prolonged views, we also saw both Woodchat and Great Grey Shrikes, lots of White-crowned Wheatears, a Northern Wheatear, several Western Subalpine Warblers and one or two Western Bonelli’s Warblers.
the dunes this evening
A later stop next to a couple of flooded fields found us watching Cattle egrets, Yellow Wagtails ( flava and Iberiae) also Eurasian Hoopoe, Blackcap and more Magreb Larks.
We finished the day sipping coffee at a roadside café before driving back to the dunes to our hotel.