Sorry for delay in updating!
27 December. The Dead Sea and Jordan Valley.
Beach holiday time, one of us taking a quick dip in the saline waters of the Dead Sea - a much over-rated pastime. Ten minutes just about did that, Tristram's Grackles watching on, two coveys of Sand Partridge adjacent, a Smyrna Kingfisher on a small inlet stream, a vagrant Oystercatcher optimistically probing for life. For all its lack of aquatic life, the area around the Dead Sea is rich in birds - starting at the inlet of the small stream at Minab, we slowly worked north, stopping here and there - all the expected birds, Desert Larks two'a'penny, Fan-tailed Ravens on a road kill, Palestine Sunbirds and Little Green Bee-eaters in vegetated wadis, Blackstarts and Spectacled Bulbuls abundant. A little to the north, just beyond the confluence of the River Jordan, lies the baptism site of Jesus Christ - supposedly a lush valley full of reeds and dense vegetation, a assemblage of churches and just about the only access point to the whole of the Jordan River, security concerns leaving the rest off-limits. Dead Sea Sparrows are said to be numerous here ...on arrival however, I discovered it was official tours only, a bus around the various spots, a compulsory guide at all times. Not my style, so departed and headed off to explore the fertile farmlands to the north instead.
Good move, stacks and stacks of birds - an important wintering area in the country, random stops kicked up Skylarks and Calandra Larks, Hoopoes, numerous Barn Swallows and a male Hen Harrier, all new birds for the trip. Also several Great Grey Shrikes, plenty of Palestine Sunbirds, the odd Bluethroat or two, plus abundant White Wagtails, Spectacled Bulbuls and, on a small irrigation tank, the first Pied Kingfisher of the trip. Biggest surprises however were a Namaqua Dove, further north than I was expecting, and a male Common Redstart, the first winter record for the country as far as I can ascertain. Somewhere in this general area, via a maze of small farm tracks, there were reportedly two reservoirs, seemed a good idea to seek them out.
Finding them was a different question. Round and round and then on the point of giving up, upon the first I stumbled - Kafrayn Reservoir. Surrounded by arid slopes, this relatively large pool looked rather devoid of birds on first inspection (two Little Grebes and three Coot), but the shallows at the far end were rather better - as well as both Common and Pied Kingfishers, a gang of long legs paddling the waters and adjacent shore! Five Cattle Egrets, 26 Little Egrets, 18 Great White Egrets, four Grey Herons and five Spoonbills, the latter another bird very rarely recorded in Jordan. A nice collection, and then overhead a Black Kite, again a bird supposedly unrecorded in winter! Finding the next reservoir was no easier - but upon arrival, Shuna Reservoir also threw up a couple of bonus birds. Again little on the water, but unexpected birds were first the sudden arrival of four Alpine Swifts to swoop down and drink, then the appearance of two Jackdaws amongst a large flock of Spur-winged Plovers nearby. I had not expected either of these species on this trip.
With that, exit time from the Jordan Valley, up and north, the next destination being the Northern Highlands, a destination in winter that can be snowbound and cold. Arrived at the small town of Ajloun just before dark, a real chill bite to the air. A quick wander round town, then into the Qal'at al-Jabal hotel for the night, nice place.
28 December. Dibbin and Samra.
The Northern Highlands - cool, pleasantly green, a mosaic of scenic pine and oak forests topping the hills, olive groves on the rolling slopes in between. At the heart of the region, Dibbin Forest sits as an oasis of birdlife, a European flavour very much influencing this quarter of the Middle East.
Summer specials such as Masked Shrikes and Olivaceous Warblers long gone, my winter's wander was a peaceful affair, the occasional birds including not just Blue Tits and Chaffinches, along with Song Thrushes and Blackbirds, but also the two targets of the day - gorging on acorns, smart Syrian Woodpeckers and the distinctive atricapillus race of Eurasian Jay, the latter a very nice bird.
A couple of hours here, then onward to the rather less scenic - and fragrantly challenged - Samra Water Treatment Plant. A large site, but all bar two pools basically birdless - these two pools however were an absolute delight: quite unexpected, almost 1000 waders of fifteen species, plus several Water Pipits and a female Hen Harrier, plus an out-of-season Yellow Wagtail. With a certain pong on the air, to the waders I turned my attention - impressive totals for mid-winter: over 350 Little Stints, 185 Ruff and 125 Common Snipe for starters, with Wood Sandpipers also logging in at 42 and Green Sandpipers at 45. Also good numbers of Spur-winged Plovers, Lapwings, Ringed Plovers, Greenshanks, Black-winged Stilts, Common Redshanks and Dunlin, with added extras in the forms of five Temminck's Stints, a solitary Marsh Sandpiper and four Kentish Plovers. Truly not what I was expecting at this locality.
And with that, eastward we continued, arriving at Azraq a little before dusk. Checked into the very cheap Al-Zoubi hotel, quickly popped into the wetland centre, then headed to Shaumari for sundown - at least five Pallid Harriers into roost, one Long-eared Owl calling, then departing to hunt over the neighbouring desert, one Red Fox.
Next day would see full exploration of these areas.
29 December. Azraq and the Basalt Desert.
Arzaq is an environmental tragedy. A mere 20 years ago, a vast oasis sat at this locality, kilometres and kilometres in extent, waters many metres deep, hundreds of thousands of wintering wildfowl, a summer buzz of breeding herons and waterside birds. Cool waters, shaded palm groves, an abundance of greenery.
And then they turned the pumps on, diverting water from the underground aquifers to water projects and to the growing city of Amman a hundred kilometres across the desert. In less than ten years the aquifers had been bled dry, the lifeline to the wetlands cut. And all too soon the oasis was gone, the waters evaporated, the water buffalos dead and the birds departed - a birdless dustbowl replacing the paradise. Undoubtedly, one of the single greatest environmental losses in the Middle East in recent years.
Conservation efforts have kicked in - Jordan's Royal Society for Nature Conservation establising a wetland reserve at the former springs, pumping in water to recreate a little of the former glories. But truly it is little - a sad fragment, a couple of small pools with water trickling into a withered reedbed beyond. Major changes are required to ever reclaim this jewel back, though time is probably ticking - the depleted aquifers, their pressure greatly reduced, are suffering increased salinity, salt deposits nearby infilitrating. No rosy future here.
For the birder, there are still reasons to visit - perhaps not for the wetlands themselves, but for desert birds in the neighbouring area. And that is how this day was to start, dawn back at Shaumari, hoping for raptors rising from roost, then a trek to find desert larks as the morning progressed. I was not going to be disappointed. No sooner had I arrived, the sun just peeking above the horizon, and the first Pallid Harriers were quartering, one of the males catching a small rodent and then devouring it at close range. As they drifted off, to a shallow wadi I turned my attention, the low dunes and scrubby vegetation looking most promising. By desert standards, birds everywhere - a splendid flock of about 40 Temminck's Horned Larks most active, scurrying across the sands, rooting about at the base of tussocks. And in their midst, the second of the morning's target, a pair of Hoopoe Larks, most stately individuals.
Dust on the horizon, a jeep approaching - half wondered if I was going to get arrested again (a military airbase is just adjacent), but a friendly wave and off they went again. Crested Larks joined the lark flock, several Desert Wheatears sat atop straggley twigs, two Finsch's Wheatears too. A Great Grey Shrike flew through, Spectacled Warblers flitted off on three occasions, never stopping long enough for fantastic views.
The sun was now high, time to retire to Azraq town and take a quick look at the wetland reserve - very friendly staff at the centre, and a population of White-cheeked Bulbuls inthe surrounding scrub, but the pools take all of five minutes to wander round - the tally of birds not really requiring great effort to count: single Grey Herons and Great White Egrets, a Water Rail darting along the reed edge, plus a Smyrna Kingfisher and a Common Kingfisher, along with a dozen or so Coots. Hardly reminiscent of the days gone by, the totals then in the tens of thousands. One big surprise however - podding about with White Wagtails on the boardwalk, one cracking Citrine Wagtail, a most unexpected find for mid-winter! Again, probably the first winter record in Jordan.
Edging in from the south, high cloud appeared, the first time we'd seen anything but blue skies - it appeared a front was approaching. Having seen most of what we wanted in the Azraq area, we decided to try and squeeze the rest of our planned excursions in this area into the afternoon - not very difficult, the first was exploring the desert castles around Wadi al Butm, the two castles we visited being barely larger than a tablecloth (!) and the total birdlife three Desert Wheatears and one more pair of Hoopoe Larks! A long cross-desert drive added nothing, bar a Red Fox.
I did have one final target bird in this remote quarter of the country, the so-called Basalt Wheatear, a bird whose taxonomy is not completely understood - restricted to the arid deserts of black basalt, this birrd is now generally considered a dark morph of Mourning Wheatear, but it may just be a completely new species. Either way, the way to find it is to head towards Iraq, a long lonely road inhabited by occasional Iraqi trucks, even rarer signposts spitting out the distance to the border with Iraq. Birds occurred at a rate of about one per ten kilometres, desert birding at its most productive! And for our efforts, the final result for three hours crawling along, scanning rock tops, a total of four species - several Desert Wheatears, two dark morph Desert Larks, a super flock of six Bar-tailed Desert Larks and one falso alarm with Basalt Wheatear - a dark wheatear looking just perfect in a rocky wadi. saw it flit up as I drove by, then spent 20 minutes to relocate it ...and then as it flew, the disitnctive tail pattern - a juvenile White-crowned Black Wheatear, drat!
Back in town, the cloud seemed to be gathering. Time for felafal and an early night in the hotel.
30 December. Southbound, Return to Petra.
5 a.m. lying in the dark, an unfamiliar sound - rain pattering against the roof. My hunch had been right, a depression moving in from the south, it was now torrential rain outside!
A quick peep through the door revealed conditions I had no wish to take desert strolls in, so with my planned itinerary now completed anyhow, we opted to try and beat the weather by driving all the way back to the south of the couuntry. Up we got and departed, dawn still an hour away. Arrived in Amman, still raining, stopped for breakfast, still raining. Began the long journey down the Desert Highway, diverting east a little south of the International Airport to search for wintering larks on extensive agriculatural plains. Still raining and somewhat slippery as we sloshed along muddy tracks, expecting to get stuck at any minute. Birding by car at its best - though failing to locate huge numbers of larks, it was surprisingly good for the conditions, notching up not only a good range of species, but also two new for the trip. Corn Buntings in excess of 120, Finsch's Wheatears dotted about, Black Redstarts and Stonechats, a second Black Kite of the trip slowly quartering a field. At the end of one particularly slippery track, with rain rather heavy, we found the best spot of the day - overgrown and abandoned, an old farm building in ruins surrounded by grass and weeds. Full of birds - one Spectacled Warbler, an unseasonal Tawny Pipit and, best of the lot, a large flock of mixed finches, the bulk of which turned out to be Desert Finches, 90 at this site alone, which another 40 not far off. Two Hoopoes too, plus Crested Larks, Meadow Pipits and assorted others.
From here, we contiuned south, taking the fast Desert Highway all the way - few birds seen, but two great hulks perched on roadside pylons made for an impressive stop, Steppe Eagles both ...looking rather miserable in the gloom! Early afternoon, with the skies finally beginning to clear, we arrived back at Petra - just enough time to check into a hotel and then have a couple of hours in the irrigated lands at Little Petra. Good numbers of residents and migrants as before, Palestine Sunbirds and Bluethroats, a big flock of Chaffinches, more Hoopoes and ever present Chiffchaffs. A couple of additions to the previous tally - my one and only Dunnock of the trip, plus a very nice flock of pipits feeding on a watered meadow ...settled down to enjoy, at least 15 Water Pipits and, in a variety of plumages, at least 18 Red-throated Pipits, most smart birds.
As dusk approached, it seemed only right to try for owls again - no Hume's Tawny Owl at the original locality, but soon located yet another a few kilometres along the road. One Green Toad completed the night's tally.
Clear skies above, good weather expected for the next day.
