Trip Reports

Central Morocco March 2009

The Moroccan winter rains had fallen in earnest and the snow was piled high on the Atlas Mountains producing a wonderful contrasting vista between the verdant plains and river valleys set against the white-topped mountains. A wonderful bi-product of the rains was a colourful carpet of the most beautiful flowers which were found in every habitat we visited. On the down-side the birds were less numerous than our previous visits, migration had not yet got into full swing, having said that, our search for the ‘most wanted’ species of Morocco was a resounding success. We all had great views of  Houbara Bustard, Crimson-winged Finch, Levaillant’s Green Woodpecker, Desert Sparrow, Desert Warbler, Desert Lark, Bar-tailed Lark, Thick- billed Lark, Hoopoe Lark, Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, Tristram’s Warbler, Bald Ibis  and many more as we toured the wonderful countryside of Morocco. We visited the high Atlas Mountains, the stony plains of the ‘Hammada’, the southeast region of Tafilalt, (the area closest to the Sahara), the lush Sous valley and the coastal region of the Sous Massa National Park.