2017 Western Palearctic Big Year (20 Viewers)

[Paul Chapman]

Isn't Pallid Scops Owl quite easy in Israel when you know where to look for it?

Almost everyone sees it at the Tea Gardens in Birecik but I anticipate that you are right:-

http://www.netfugl.dk/ranking.php?id=wp&mode=hhhb&species_id=457

Finsch's Wheatear is pretty widespread in Turkey and Black-crowned Sparrow-lark is unmissable on Cape Verde and in Western Sahara.

For visitors to Western Sahara, the start of this Simon Reeve programme is interesting:-

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00rmrcy

All the best

 

[dantheman]

A Jird is nearly a Bird (at least on my keyboard).

Under the impression Birecik was in the news 6 months ago with a bombing at a wedding - still safe/advisable?

 

[Paul Chapman]

A Jird is nearly a Bird (at least on my keyboard).

Under the impression Birecik was in the news 6 months ago with a bombing at a wedding - still safe/advisable?

Current guidance is linked below:-

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/turkey

All the best

 

[Jos Stratford]

Current guidance is linked below:-

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/turkey

Not referring to Turkey per se, but FCO advise is certainly tainted by considerable bias, risks overplayed in respects to favoured countries, while downplayed in others.

That said, I would agree in this case that any western birders visiting the border areas of south-east turkey would be well-advised to ask themselves if a few birds are really worth the risk of ending up on the national news for all the wrong reasons.

 

[Paul Chapman]

Not referring to Turkey per se, but FCO advise is certainly tainted by considerable bias, risks overplayed in respects to favoured countries, while downplayed in others.

That said, I would agree in this case that any western birders visiting the border areas of south-east turkey would be well-advised to ask themselves if a few birds are really worth the risk of ending up on the national news for all the wrong reasons.

Indeed. Tricky. The Western Sahara guidance map includes Aousard:-

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/western-sahara

All the best

Paul

 

[DanielDoer]

Indeed. Tricky. The Western Sahara guidance map includes Aousard:-

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/western-sahara

All the best

Paul

Do the WP Big Year birders have Western Sahara on their planned itinerary?

 

[Paul Chapman]

Do the WP Big Year birders have Western Sahara on their planned itinerary?

As an adjunct to their Morocco trip. Three weeks is a pretty big slog:-

http://bigyearwp.hyber.org/index.php/itinerary/

"•Morocco/Western Sahara. Feb 1-22. Coast and desert. Double-spurred Francolin, Barbary Partridge, Royal Tern, Marsh Owl, Golden Nightjar, Maghreb Lark, Sudan Golden Sparrow, Cricket Warbler."

http://www.go-south.org/?p=4055

Sudan Golden Sparrow is not guaranteed being sporadic. Not sure of any current reports. Cricket Warbler and Dunn's Lark are relatively straightforward as well as Royal Tern, Desert Sparrow, African Desert Warbler and Fulvous Babbler. A decent chance of Thick-billed Lark as well and maybe a vagrant. Timing and success on Golden Nightjar will be interesting.

All the best

 

[Tor Olsen]

Indeed. Tricky. The Western Sahara guidance map includes Aousard:-

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/western-sahara

All the best

Paul

But you would not need to go past the military camp half-way between Dahkla and Aousard to get the target species, i.e. stay within the green zone of the map. At least when I was there in 2010 all sought-after species were found between Oeud Jenna and the mentioned military camp.

 

[Paul Chapman]

But you would not need to go past the military camp half-way between Dahkla and Aousard to get the target species, i.e. stay within the green zone of the map. At least when I was there in 2010 all sought-after species were found between Oeud Jenna and the mentioned military camp.

Tor

Indeed. Perfectly possible. I was simply making the point that people regularly go to Aousard despite the guidance. Nothing more. (In fact, we chose not to go into Aousard.)

We camped at Oued Jenna and Gleb Jidane last year and I do not recall a military camp then between Dakhla and Oued Jenna.

Alas we were there in early February and did not record Golden Nightjar though I note that they were north of the road as well as on the road at Oued Jenna:-

http://www.magornitho.org/2016/04/caprimulgus-eximius-aousserd/

https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewe...l=22.671985815441452,-14.480287703619978&z=16

All the best

 

[Andy Adcock]

In 98 in Morocco (not in the Sahara) we made camp in the desert in the pitch dark not realisng we were about 50m from a military barracks. We only became aware when armed soldiers came out and moved us on!


A

 

[Jos Stratford]

Indeed. Tricky. The Western Sahara guidance map includes Aousard:-

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/western-sahara

An interesting sentence in this FCO advice (referring specifically to Western Sahara, not Morocco)...

"British nationals visiting as tourists for up to three months do not need a visa. Make sure your passport is stamped when you enter the territory. Some tourists have experienced difficulties leaving the country because their passports had no entry stamp."


I have been to Western Sahara twice and my passports were not stamped. Given that Morocco considers it an integral part of its territory, I would be rather surprised if they ever issued entry stamps.

Has anybody had their passport stamped on entry?

 

[Paul Chapman]

An interesting sentence in this FCO advice (referring specifically to Western Sahara, not Morocco)...

"British nationals visiting as tourists for up to three months do not need a visa. Make sure your passport is stamped when you enter the territory. Some tourists have experienced difficulties leaving the country because their passports had no entry stamp."


I have been to Western Sahara twice and my passports were not stamped. Given that Morocco considers it an integral part of its territory, I would be rather surprised if they ever issued entry stamps.

Has anybody had their passport stamped on entry?

Jos

Interestingly, we did have a problem with this. We flew in to Cassablanca and on to Dakhla. Our passports were stamped when we went into Western Sahara but we had some issues on getting back through Cassablanca airport on the way out. As with most things, it was eventually cured by filling in forms, getting to the front of queues before being sent to another queue, etc. Our car hire also let us down.

We were given a card for a future car hire option by a chap from Association Nature Initiative:-
Dakhla Safari
Location de Voitures
Hay Biranzaran
Av. Ali Ould El Ben No. 22
Dakhla
Tel: 06 61 40 01 20
Fax: 05 28 93 49 25
Gmail: [email protected]

All the best

 

[Jos Stratford]

Our passports were stamped when we went into Western Sahara ...

Presumably not as an entry stamp to the independent nation of the Western Sahara Entry stamp to a restricted Moroccan region?

By road there was nothing, except filling in passport details and other assorted facts at numerous checkpoints.

 

[temmie]

Sudan Golden Sparrow is moving up and should be gettable (per Lee Evans on FB, in a discussion about the Fuerteventuran SGS and its 'wildness')

 

[Paul Chapman]

Four additions with another rarity - Hume's Warbler - 129 species:-
Category 1 - 90 species
Category 2 - 27 species
Category 3 - 8 species (White-tailed Lapwing, Hypocolius, Black-throated Thrush, Bank Myna, Common Babbler, Lesser Sand-plover, Crab-plover & Red-vented Bulbul)
Category 5 - 4 species (Crested Honey Buzzard, Indian Roller, Lesser Flamingo & Hume's Warbler)

http://www.bigyearwp.com/index.php/igoterra-ticks/

All the best

 

[Paul Chapman]

Sudan Golden Sparrow is moving up and should be gettable (per Lee Evans on FB, in a discussion about the Fuerteventuran SGS and its 'wildness')

Does he back it up with any population data or sightings?

I recall a single juvenile last year at Oued Jenna but no reports from the 2015 location of Bir Anzarane and Eric Didner did not have any at the traditional location of Choum in Mauritania despite several at other locations.

All the best

 

[Brian J Small]

Four additions with another rarity - Hume's Warbler - 129 species:-
Category 1 - 90 species
Category 2 - 27 species
Category 3 - 8 species (White-tailed Lapwing, Hypocolius, Black-throated Thrush, Bank Myna, Common Babbler, Lesser Sand-plover, Crab-plover & Red-vented Bulbul)
Category 5 - 4 species (Crested Honey Buzzard, Indian Roller, Lesser Flamingo & Hume's Warbler)

http://www.bigyearwp.com/index.php/igoterra-ticks/

All the best

On their list at number 80 they have Sundeval's Jird... a new mousebird?

B

 

[ronaldnuiver]

On their list at number 80 they have Sundeval's Jird... a new mousebird?

B

It's a rodent

 

[Richard Prior]

Brian was having a joke Ronald!

 

[Paul Chapman]

Two additions - Oystercatcher & Mourning Wheatear - 131 species:-
Category 1 - 91 species
Category 2 - 28 species
Category 3 - 8 species (White-tailed Lapwing, Hypocolius, Black-throated Thrush, Bank Myna, Common Babbler, Lesser Sand-plover, Crab-plover & Red-vented Bulbul)
Category 5 - 4 species (Crested Honey Buzzard, Indian Roller, Lesser Flamingo & Hume's Warbler)

http://www.bigyearwp.com/index.php/igoterra-ticks/

All the best