And is it consider safe to go up to the Monastery?
Hi Phil,
Got back from Egypt late last night. Will post details of sightings over next week or so.
With regards to visiting St Catherine's Monastery/Mt Sinai, holiday companies such as Thomas Cook has stopped the trips. However, the UK Gov website states it is safe to visit.
We went by using a trip organised by Marjo Glerum(a Dutch lady living in Sharm). She has Bedouin friends who were perfect hosts and gave us a safe and enjoyable visit to the area.
The walk was pretty intense and must have involved c.8 miles walking up and down the mountain so walking boots, plenty of water etc are a must. However, this secured 40-50 Sinai Rosefinches with superb views, along with 5 Chukar, 50+ Tristam's Grackles, sev Scrub Warblers, many Desert Larks, sev W-C Blk Wheatear, and Yellow-Vented Bulbul.
I feel this trip is much better for birding and pretty much secured the key targets which may not always be the case with the generic trips ran by larger tour operators.