Sandra (Taylor)
Well-known member
Just back from a super holiday in Egypt - except for getting a finger crushed between two boats at Aswan and visiting hospital - on which we had a good number of birds. The most interesting one to me was a great painted snipe which we saw from the bridge to the Jolie Ville hotel on Crocodile Island. We had to wait until we got home to identify it as we couldn't find its like in the Lars Johnssen book. Could just remember this dumpy bird with a light coloured band round its chest, which constantly bobbed as it fed at the edge of the reeds.
One or two LBJs and bigger BJs will remain forever unidentified I'm afraid.
Superb spur-winged plovers in the fields surrounding the hotel. Black-shouldered kite in evidence on the two occasions we visited - on our first and last days of the holiday.
Bob's favourite was a sunbird seen in the bushes on the hotel side of the bridge - and another unidentified bird which someone may be able to help with was in the same tree as the Nile sunbird - about the same size but it was yellow underneath and had a tail similar to a bee-eater with a long feather (looked up bee-eaters but nothing with this same colouring). A blue-throat was nearby. I thought at first it was a blackbird.
Green bee-eaters were seen frequently, as were gull-billed terns.
There were more rats in evidence on the banks of the river than I remember on previous visits.
We loved the pied kingfishers seen both on the island and from the garden of our hotel in Luxor.
These are a few of the many highlights of our week in Egypt, staying at the Sofitel in Karnak. I'll give a complete list of the birds seen shortly.
One or two LBJs and bigger BJs will remain forever unidentified I'm afraid.
Superb spur-winged plovers in the fields surrounding the hotel. Black-shouldered kite in evidence on the two occasions we visited - on our first and last days of the holiday.
Bob's favourite was a sunbird seen in the bushes on the hotel side of the bridge - and another unidentified bird which someone may be able to help with was in the same tree as the Nile sunbird - about the same size but it was yellow underneath and had a tail similar to a bee-eater with a long feather (looked up bee-eaters but nothing with this same colouring). A blue-throat was nearby. I thought at first it was a blackbird.
Green bee-eaters were seen frequently, as were gull-billed terns.
There were more rats in evidence on the banks of the river than I remember on previous visits.
We loved the pied kingfishers seen both on the island and from the garden of our hotel in Luxor.
These are a few of the many highlights of our week in Egypt, staying at the Sofitel in Karnak. I'll give a complete list of the birds seen shortly.
