First Birdwatching in Morocco (1 Viewer)

[ehargv]

Hello all,

You may have seen on other threads that I am new to Birding. Hopefully I will be travelling to Morocco in the not too distant future, and I thought it would be as good a place as any to jump into it all. Where's good in Morocco to make a start (I can spare a day or two), and what should I be looking out for?

Thanks so much.

Evelyn

 

[lgonz1008]

Hi Evelyn,

Not too familiar with the region as others are here, but depending on where in Morocco you are, you'd probably have different targets. If you want to do a 2 day trip, try around Agadir in the coast with targets like Northern Bald Ibis, Barbary Quail, Marbled Teal, and African Blue Tit among many others.

 

[DMW]

It's too broad a question to answer really, as it's a big country and there are excellent birding sites all over Morocco. If you know roughly what your general itinerary will be, we could give suggestions.

 

[ehargv]

It's too broad a question to answer really, as it's a big country and there are excellent birding sites all over Morocco. If you know roughly what your general itinerary will be, we could give suggestions.

Broadly I'm aiming for a few days in/around Marrakech, and then a couple of days in Casablanca, though its flexible!

 

[DMW]

Broadly I'm aiming for a few days in/around Marrakech, and then a couple of days in Casablanca, though its flexible!

Assuming you will have a vehicle, Oukaimeden is certainly worth a day trip from Marrakech, giving access to the High Atlas. It's a ski resort, so can be quite busy in winter, but is very quiet in Summer.
If you have time to go further afield, the arid steppes along the Tagdilt Track near Boumalne Dades is another excellent site.

It might be useful to read a tour company itinerary to get an idea of the top sites and what you can potentially see e.g. https://www.birdquest-tours.com/birding-tours/morocco/

 

[opisska]

If you can get your hands on this (and the other similar) "book" - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Finding-Birds-Morocco-Coast-Mountains/dp/1907316345 - that would tell you everything you need to know about how the sites looked a few decades ago (and it still gives you reasonable overview). If you can't (it's probably long out of press), I can photograph a few pages with specific destinations for you.

Personally I think for a good introduction to the variety of species, the Souss-Massa estuaries south of Agadir can be good. As "new to birding" you may appreciate the sheer number of birds and species more than the specific rarities. Or more northerly around Oualidia, but I am not sure how good that is outside of winter (when the pools were really overflowing with birds). In general the coastal sites are super rich in winter and probably good in spring as well for a big variety of species. However the sites more towards the north (north of Rabat) I did not care much for because the area is heavily populated. Neither was I to thrilled with Tamri (the Bald Ibis area).

I understand the suggestion of the "Tagdilt Track" because it has some attractive steppe birds, but in our visit, it was pretty dead and frankly, it is also a large rubbish dump ... I would maybe suggest to go to Goulimine/Guelmin instead, especially if you want to take it together with Agadir. The desert proper is surprisingly good for birding, but the best area is probably Merzouga, which is really far off even from Marakesh and no place in the desert is really good for a "1/2 day affair" from you itinerary.