Ruby
Well-known member
Hi All,
Just back from a week in Morocco.... definitely not a birding trip, but you've always got your bins, so did see quite a few good birds, so thought I'd post a trip-report here in case it might be of use to others thinking of heading out to this increasingly popular holiday destination.
Itinerary was to spend 2 days in Marrakesh, staying at a western-style hotel with large gardens on the outskirts of the new town, then up and over the High Atlas mountains on a 3-day organised trip touring the semi-desert areas between there and the Algerian border, before heading back to Marrakesh for a final day before flying back to the UK.
It was after dark on the day of our arrival, and therefore first birding experience was the dawn-chorus on day 2.... and what a dawn-chorus it was, far louder than anything I've heard for many years, and being lead by something that was unfamiliar, so I was up and about in the pre-dawn half-light and found the culprit - Common Bulbul - the first of several lifers on the trip.
Have to say that it was a great surprise and pleasure to find so many birds in the hotel gardens... We had deliberately chosen a hotel with some extensive grounds, but the sheer number of birds exceeded all expectations. Admittedly, 90% of them were made up of common birds - Blackbirds, House Sparrows, Collared Doves and Bulbuls, but also great to see Serins, Nightingales, Greenfinches, Sardinian Warblers, with Booted Eagles, Cattle Egrets and White Storks overhead, plus numerous Swifts, Swallows and Martins.
Heard another unfamiliar call - put me in mind of a loud and buzzy Coal Tit - and tracked it down to a House Bunting... another lifer. Mind you, feeling a bit less smug when I realised just how many House Buntings there were in Marrakesch - one on every house seemingly - and I was told that their name in Arabic translates to 'Mosque Bird'.
My day-list for the hotel garden finished at 21 species, so pleased with that... but better still was to be in an environment with so many birds.
Day 3 was spent in the historic medina area of Marrakesh, and didn't see too many new birds - just loads more House Buntings and a few Spotless Starlings.
Off to the Atlas Mountains tomorrow.
Just back from a week in Morocco.... definitely not a birding trip, but you've always got your bins, so did see quite a few good birds, so thought I'd post a trip-report here in case it might be of use to others thinking of heading out to this increasingly popular holiday destination.
Itinerary was to spend 2 days in Marrakesh, staying at a western-style hotel with large gardens on the outskirts of the new town, then up and over the High Atlas mountains on a 3-day organised trip touring the semi-desert areas between there and the Algerian border, before heading back to Marrakesh for a final day before flying back to the UK.
It was after dark on the day of our arrival, and therefore first birding experience was the dawn-chorus on day 2.... and what a dawn-chorus it was, far louder than anything I've heard for many years, and being lead by something that was unfamiliar, so I was up and about in the pre-dawn half-light and found the culprit - Common Bulbul - the first of several lifers on the trip.
Have to say that it was a great surprise and pleasure to find so many birds in the hotel gardens... We had deliberately chosen a hotel with some extensive grounds, but the sheer number of birds exceeded all expectations. Admittedly, 90% of them were made up of common birds - Blackbirds, House Sparrows, Collared Doves and Bulbuls, but also great to see Serins, Nightingales, Greenfinches, Sardinian Warblers, with Booted Eagles, Cattle Egrets and White Storks overhead, plus numerous Swifts, Swallows and Martins.
Heard another unfamiliar call - put me in mind of a loud and buzzy Coal Tit - and tracked it down to a House Bunting... another lifer. Mind you, feeling a bit less smug when I realised just how many House Buntings there were in Marrakesch - one on every house seemingly - and I was told that their name in Arabic translates to 'Mosque Bird'.
My day-list for the hotel garden finished at 21 species, so pleased with that... but better still was to be in an environment with so many birds.
Day 3 was spent in the historic medina area of Marrakesh, and didn't see too many new birds - just loads more House Buntings and a few Spotless Starlings.
Off to the Atlas Mountains tomorrow.