Morocco
.Eleven Day Birdwatching Tour - South + Central Morocco - March 22nd - April 1st 2010
Now - 10 nights for just £1090
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Morocco is a wonderful country offering idyllic surroundings for the visiting birdwatcher with an extensive range of habitats found nowhere else in the Western Palearctic. It has vast mountain ranges, hundred of miles of steppe, semi dessert scrub, palm groves, coastal mudflats, marshes and of course, the desert itself. The quiet roads lead to fantastic surroundings with a vast variety of landscapes that are at least stunning and at best breathtaking.
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This 11 day tour takes in the majestic atlas mountain range that dissects the country, we visit at a time when the snow capped peaks, that reach over 4000 meters, offer a wonderful back-drop to the flat, stoney plains. We visit these high peaks just as the snow is receding and where Alpine Chough, Alpine Accentors and Crimson-winged Finches feed on the newly exposed scree. They are joined by Rock Sparrow and the Shore Lark, a bird that we usually associate with the winter shoreline in the eastern counties of the UK.
The central plateau of stoney steppe, called ‘hammada’, offers an entirely new set of surroundings with miles of flat plain and wadis (dry river beds) supporting a great number of Larks and Wheatears. We will hear the fluty call of the Hoopoe Lark and search for groups of Cream Coloured Coursers with a supporting cast of Red-rumped, Desert, White-crowned Black and possibly Mourning Wheatears. Other Larks that may be encountered include Temminck’s Horned, Thick-billed, Thekla and Short-toed Lark.
Travelling further eastwards the landscape becomes more barren and palm groves begin to appear, wadis and oasis are the order of the day and in the distance the high dunes systems are an imposing back drop. Trumpeter Finches are quite common here and a four wheeled vehicle drive into the desert will give us the opportunity to see the very rare Houbara Bustard. Bar-tailed and Desert Larks can be found with Desert Wheatear and perhaps Desert Warbler. The Palm groves and oasis break up the ‘regs’ (pebble deserts) and offer shelter to Fulvous Babbler, and Tristram’s Warbler. Many passing migrants and wintering warblers shelter in the Acacia thickets that grow along the wadis.
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A visit to the numerous ‘cafés’ that are positioned along the Erg Chebbi sand dunes may produce the much sought after Desert Sparrow and a little further south we will visit the large seasonal lake at Merzouga. In recent years the lake has produced many waders and wildfowl including a flock of seventy Marbled Duck together with Shoveler, Garganey and Pintail.
An evening visit to a Pharaoh’s Eagle Owl site may produce more Warblers, Egyptian Nightjar and Brown-necked Raven. After our 3 day visit to this desert region we must bid the dunes a sad farewell and drive back west to visit the coastal areas around Agadir for our final few days.
After an overnight stop midway through our journey we continue westward and enter the Sous valley. This is a vast open area with large tracts of arable fields interspersed with dry scrub and hedgerows. A great number of birds inhabit this area, which include Shrikes, Black-crowned Tchagra, Moussier’s Redstart, Black-winged Kite, Common Bubul, Larks, Buntings and Storks.
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Arriving late afternoon on the outskirts of Agadir we check into our hotel for a 3 night stay. We will spend the rest of the day visiting the superb Oued Massa nature reserve which has a variety of habitats ranging from heathland to reedbeds. There is a stoney plateau supporting Spectacled Warbler, Tawny Pipit and Stone Curlew. The riparian woodland-scrub holds Cetti's and Moustached Warblers, Nightingale and Zitting Cisticola. The river itself attracts a good variety of wildfowl, gulls, terns and waders all waiting for our attention. Lastly we travel a little further south, beyond the village of Massa, to search an area of small track-side pools and a quiet stretch of the river, this is the best place to look for Plain Martin. We may also encounter Moussier's Redstart, Moustached Warbler, Laughing Dove, Moroccan White Wagtail, Whiskered Tern, Red-rumped Swallow, Osprey and Marsh Harrier.
From the hotel there is easy access to Oued Sous (a large river and estuary), designated a nature reserve, which can be reached within minutes. Our pre-breakfast visit will cover the mudflats that hold many waders, flamingos, herons, egrets and has the potential to produce rarer Terns such as Lesser Crested, Caspian and even Royal Tern. After breakfast we will drive north along the coastline in search of one the rarest birds in the world – the Bald Ibis. Morocco supports a colony of about 250 pairs that breed in this coastal area and if we are really lucky we may encounter a feeding party. Our last night will be spent in Agadir there will be an opportunity to search for Red-necked Nightjars. If time permits there may be an opportunity for another pre-breakfast jaunt to the local nature reserve for some last minute birding before we set off to the airport for our return flight to London.
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Itinerary in brief.
- Day 1 - Arrive Marrakech transfer to Oukaimeden. Nights at Oukaimeden. (March only)
- Day 2 – Travel to Boumalne Dades- 2 nights Boumalne Dades.
- Day 4 - Travel to Erfoud – 3 nights Erfoud.
- Day 7 - Travel to Taliouine – nights at Taliouine.
- Day 8 – Travel to Agadir. 3 nights Agadir.
- Day 11 – Travel to airport for return flight to UK.
The tour cost includes: 10 nights half board hotel accommodation, all transport, and the services of the guide. Flights not included
Ground price £1090. Single supplement £100
Return airfare London – Marrakech with Easyjet will cost approx £80 - £150.
