One day birding in Jordan from Amman (1 Viewer)

[Tony Knight]

As the title suggests I have a full day at the end of a business trip (late August). I'm not interested in seeing the historical sites and will probably make a separate weekend visit to Petra another time. I guess it will be really hot at that time of year so realistically it will be just a few hours at the start and end of the day when anything will be moving and visible ?

Any suggestions for where to go ? Wadi Dana and the Dead sea ?
It looks like getting a big camera and bins through the airport is very risky as they are frequently confiscated so I would probably hire a decent camera and 300mm lens for the day out there.

Thanks for any info.

Tony

 

[Himalaya]

I went to Jordan in 2012 early March and loved it. If you have a full day Dana is good but not sure exactly what mid-day temperatures would be there?

Never heard of binoculars or cameras being confiscated.

 

[Tony Knight]

Thanks. There is a whole thread on the subject including how when you go to pick them up on return to the airport you can basically pick up any optics you like !

I'm likely to be there for 3 days now so will probably try Azraq Wetland Reserve, Petra, and the Dead Sea, maybe visiting Dana on the way to the dead sea from Petra.

 

[jogresh]

WRT to optics/airports, I've previously been in touch with Aqaba B.O. on FB, and they said that bins usually get through fine whereas scopes are confiscated til your return. I didn't ask about cameras. A guy from Scotland used to go there a fair bit iirc; I chatted to him at Rutland Bird Fair. There was also a blog post about an Aug trip on the Biggest Twitch website if want to try Googling. HTH.

 

[Tony Knight]

WRT to optics/airports, I've previously been in touch with Aqaba B.O. on FB, and they said that bins usually get through fine whereas scopes are confiscated til your return. I didn't ask about cameras. A guy from Scotland used to go there a fair bit iirc; I chatted to him at Rutland Bird Fair. There was also a blog post about an Aug trip on the Biggest Twitch website if want to try Googling. HTH.

Thanks. My camera with lens is the same size as a scope so that doesn't sound too promising. Will try Aqaba B.O on facebook. Found the report on Big Twitch but no comment on getting through the airport.

 

[jogresh]

I've been in touch with the people in the blog post; one persons large camera lens was confiscated but not bins; they didn't take scopes.

 

[Tony Knight]

I've been in touch with the people in the blog post; one persons large camera lens was confiscated but not bins; they didn't take scopes.

Thanks. Do you know when this was ? I'm planning to take my big very expensive lens through in 8 days time !

 

[jogresh]

An August trip, not sure of the year but prob 5+ years ago.

 

[Tony Knight]

Thanks. Fingers crossed.

 

[Davecr24]

Thanks. Do you know when this was ? I'm planning to take my big very expensive lens through in 8 days time !

Hi Tony how did you get with your big camera lens I'm going to jordan with my 600f4 end of March and I am slightly panicking about going now

 

[Tony Knight]

Hi Tony how did you get with your big camera lens I'm going to jordan with my 600f4 end of March and I am slightly panicking about going now

Hi Dave. I was worried so I actually cheated a little. They guys I was visiting were fairly "influential" in Jordan (it was primarily a work visit) and when I mentioned this concern they arranged for someone to meet me as I came off the plane and walk me through immigration/passports etc to make sure there were no issues and I've no idea if the border folk actually asked any questions at all about the camera. So sorry, I can't really help you. I would suggest if you are part of a tour group, or have a fixed itinerary, ideally prepared by a 3rd party/tour company/guide, that you make sure you have a copy of that to hand, and maybe some bird photos on the card in the camera to evidence your interest, as it might help if anyone asks any questions.

 

[Davecr24]

Hi Dave. I was worried so I actually cheated a little. They guys I was visiting were fairly "influential" in Jordan (it was primarily a work visit) and when I mentioned this concern they arranged for someone to meet me as I came off the plane and walk me through immigration/passports etc to make sure there were no issues and I've no idea if the border folk actually asked any questions at all about the camera. So sorry, I can't really help you. I would suggest if you are part of a tour group, or have a fixed itinerary, ideally prepared by a 3rd party/tour company/guide, that you make sure you have a copy of that to hand, and maybe some bird photos on the card in the camera to evidence your interest, as it might help if anyone asks any questions.

Thanks Tony I've just sent a private message whlie you must have been writing this message 😀

 

[Tony Knight]

Thanks Tony I've just sent a private message whlie you must have been writing this message 😀

Yes just got it ! Good luck if you decide to take it. I'm sure you'll do/have done a google search to see if anyone has reported issues in the last 3 years or so.

 

[Davecr24]

Yes just got it ! Good luck if you decide to take it. I'm sure you'll do/have done a google search to see if anyone has reported issues in the last 3 years or so.

I have looked everywhere for issues, but can't find anything so I'm thinking I might take my 100-400ii with 1.4x instead I hope we can find out more before we go🤞🏻