Morocco & Western Sahara

27 February - 15 March 2014

Albert de jongMark de Vries

Jorrit VlotThijs FijenRuben vlot

Introduction

From 27 February to 15 March 2014, five Dutch birders took a plane to Morocco for two weeks of diehard birding. We landed in Marrakech and from there we drove southwards to Western Sahara for the desert species that this area has to offer. After spending a few days in the Western Sahara, we travelled back north, where we further birded the southeastern parts of Morocco. We took the southern route, which proved to be an excellent choice (cliffhanger!). From there we travelled to the desert in southeast Morocco before we went on our way back via the Zeida plains. Because the trip went very smoothly, we had some spare days, which we spent in Merja Zerga and Sidi Yahya. We ended our trip in the Atlas Mountains, to add several Atlas-specialties to our list. Overall, it proved to be a great trip, with a total of 219 species seen, and almost all our targets! We hope this trip report can be a good addition to your preparation for a trip to Morocco and Western Sahara.

Ruben VlotOn behalf of the other ‘crew members’ Mark de Vries, Albert de Jong, Jorrit Vlot and Thijs Fijen

Trip report Morocco & Western Sahara

Highlights

Black-crowned Tchagra, Brown-throated Sand Martin, Scrub Warbler, Crowned and Spotted Sandgrouse, Thick-billed Lark, Dunn’s Lark, Black-crowned Sparrowlark, Cricket Longtail, Desert Sparrow, Sudan Golden Sparrow, Royal Tern, Lichtenstein’s Sandgrouse, Bonelli’s Eagle, Desert Warbler, Egyptian Nightjar, Pharaoh Eagle Owl, Dupont’s Lark, Marsh Owl, Double-spurred Francolin and African Crimson-winged Finch.

Route

Birding sites along the route included Tamri, Cap Rhir, Oued Massa, Guelmin area, Knifiss lagoon, Dakhla bay, Aousserd road, the southern route (via Tata), Tagdilt area, Erfoud / Rissani / Merzouga, the Zeida plains, Merja Zerga and the Atlas Mountains. In total we drove 6000+ kilometers. Although it sounds quite a lot for 16 days, we did not get carsick of driving. Only the drive to and from Dakhla was a tiring one, but with some short birding stops along the road it was bearable.

Logistics

We flew from Rotterdam to Marrakech and back again. We paid €190,- per person including all taxes and insurances. No visa is required for European citizens. The car was hired beforehand on www.rentalcars.com, with the company Aircar. We booked a Renault Kangoo, which proved to be the perfect birding car for five persons. Spacious seats and luggage compartment to store our bags, telescopes and cameras. We paid €132,- each for the car, for 16 days. For this type of car and the length of our rental a very reasonable price in our opinion. On location it took a while to arrange that we all were allowed to drive, but in the end we all gave a copy of our driver license, and it seemed to be OK (although we are still not sure whether it really was OK). The petrol prices are quite okay in Morocco, but much better in Western Sahara where we paid about €0,70 per liter Diesel. In Morocco it’s around €1,00 per liter.

Sources

Whilst planning our route, as well as on-route, we have used the well-known Finding Birds in Morocco guides by Dave Gosney. We used ‘coast and mountains’ as well as ‘the deserts’. In this report I will mention various visited sites mentioned in the Gosney’s and specify if necessary or where Gosney is outdated. Furthermore, we used www.observado.org, to look for past sightings in several areas, which could be very helpful to find exact locations. In the field, Mark and Thijs used the app Obsmapp to process our own sightings immediately, so of most sightings we have an exact location. You can visit their profiles on http://observado.org/user/profile/4897 (Mark de Vires) and http://observado.org/user/profile/1246 (Thijs Fijen). We also used several trip reports from the web, mainly accessed via www.cloudbirders.com. I have listed the most helpful trip reports below. Finally some websites helped us with additional information. Especially www.go-south.com by Patrick Bergier proved to be very helpful. Also during our trip we checked the website when possible, to get the latest information about special sightings in Morocco and Western Sahara.

Published Literature• Finding Birds in Morocco: coast and mountains. Dave Gosney, 2011. (mentioned with ‘A’)• Finding Birds in Morocco: the deserts. Dave Gosney, 2009. (mentioned with ‘B’)• Collins Bird Guide, the most complete bird guide to the birds of Britain and Europe. Lars

Svensson et al., 1999.

Trip reports (all accessed via www.cloudbirders.com) • 4 – 22 April 2010 – Trip report Morocco and Western Sahara – Ernst Albegger• 14 – 21 February 2008 – Western Sahara and Southern Morocco – Thomas Pettersson• January 2010 – Western Sahara – Alex Lees (Punkbirders)• 25 February – 3 March 2012 – Westerns Sahara – Birdfinders• 3 – 14 July 2010 – Morocco and Western Sahara – Richard Bonser• 4 – 25 February – Birdwatching in Morocco – Tina and Mads Elley

Websites• www.go-south.org• www.observado.org• www.moroccanbirds.com• www.moroccanbirds.blogspot.com••Sleeping and eating

We mostly slept in cheap hotels, which can be found everywhere. Only in Marrekech and in Oukaïmeden, the prices are much higher than at other places. Normally we paid 3 to 5 Euros per night per person. Do not expect to sleep in good hotels, however most of them were reasonable. Sometimes even with wifi included. We camped twice, only when necessary. Ahead, we thought we would sleep more often in our tents, but with these cheap prices, we generally could not withstand the temptation of the ‘luxury’ of a hotel.

We basically lived on bread with cheese spread (la vache qui rit, or similar) with tomatoes. For a change we sometimes had bread with sardines in tomato sauce for lunch. In addition we bought a lot of fruits, which is very cheap. Especially, the mandarins are great! For dinner we often had a traditional tajine, which tastes really nice. Also chicken with fries and vegetables or pizza was sometimes on our menu, together with a Coca Cola or Pepsi. Prices for dinner were between 4 to 5 Euros. We bought water along the way, and we always tried to have enough available. Better too much than too little. Especially for our trip into the desert to Aousserd, we bought a lot of water, which was necessary, because the weather and the dust makes you very thirsty. We generally used a bottle a day per person.

Tips & Tricks

There are a lot of police checkpoints in the southern part of Morocco and Western Sahara. In general we had no problems, with the mostly very friendly policemen. However, it can be time-consuming, because often they want to have all your passport details. In order to speed up the process, we would advise you to bring about 15 copies of your passport with you, together with a form with additional information. At the end of this report I have add a format which should

contain sufficient information for most police officers along the route. NB. “Police flirting” (as we called it) works! Remain friendly, make them smile, and most likely you can continue rapidly.

Never drive too fast! There are a lot of speed controls, and they are not hesitating to give you a fine of 300 dH when you exceed the speed limit. We made that mistake on our very first day, but luckily we did not get any other fine for speeding afterwards. Good lesson!

Check whether your rental car has a ‘danger triangle’. We got a fine of 300 dH because our car didn’t have one (which we discovered after we unpacked our car entirely in the middle of a very windy and sandy desert! Thanks police guy… not!).

In cities we tried to find guarded parking places, or a guy who wanted to stay around the car during the night. For 10 – 20 dH a local guard was often willing to do so.

Cheap accommodation can be found everywhere. We did not book anything ahead and had no problems at all in finding low budget hotels. Sometimes you have to ignore the smelly toilets and itchy blankets, but in general we had good nights. As said, we also brought two tents, so several times we camped along the road to be directly at the right place at dawn. We encountered no problems at all, except the coldness during the night.

If you are travelling in February / March (and probably also the other winter months) it can be advisable to bring gloves and other warm clothes, because it was freaking cold in the Atlas mountains without. Nevertheless, the target species proved to be very easy. We found all of the within the first two hours after our arrival.

Pictures and audio

More pictures of this trip can (soon) be found at:www.pbase.com/ruben_jorritwww.pbase.com/albertdejong/maroc__western_sahara_2014

Sound recordings by Thijs Fijen can (soon) be found at www.xeno-canto.org/contributor/YEEQSGIKMT

Itinerary

27 February Arrival in Marrekesh after 3 hours delay in Rotterdam. Arrived around 20.00h and drove then towards Essaouira to be as close as possible. Some 100km before Essaouira we were tired of driving late at nights, so stayed in a motel along the road

28 February Early wake up to drive to Tamri. At first instance no Bald Ibis could be found, so we tried our luck at Cap Rhir, where we did not have luck either. During lunch we watched over sea, and after we drove back to Tamri where we finally found Bald Ibis. We finished the day with some good birding in Oued Sous.

1 March Early morning visit to Oued Massa for Black-crowned Tchagra and Brown-throated Sand Martin. We visited several Gosney sites with resulted in seeing both targets together with some nice migrant species. After lunch we drove to Tantan, with a late afternoon stop south of Guelmin to find the first desert species. Overnight in Tantan.

2 March Long drive towards Dakhla but with some birding along the route. Arrived at Dakhla around 22.00h.

3 March Birding around Dakhla bay, starting with some seawatching southwest of Dakhla and scanning the nearby bushes. After lunch in town we headed northwards along the bay looking for terns and waders. At the end of the afternoon we drove to the famous sandgrouse pool of Gleb Jdiane in the hope to find Lichtenstein Sandgrouse, but without success. On the way back we spotlighted for mammals.

4 March Started at Gleb Jdiane again but now for the Crowned and Spotted Sandgrouse. Late morning we continued to Oued Jenna, while birding on the route. In Oued Jenna we settled our tents, and birded until dusk. We finished with some spotlighting before sleeping time.

5 March Waked up by the first bird calls in Oued Jenna. The morning was spent to do some more birding in the wadi. Late morning we first drove to the end of the road to Aousserd, before driving back to Dakhla again. Since we arrived quite early, we still had time to do some ‘baywatching’ from our hotel room balcony.

6 March Driving back north towards Tantan, with some short stops along the route. We birded an hour in the oasis south of El Ayoune. We arrived late at Tantan.

7 March From Tantan we took the southern route to Tata, with birding stops along the route.

8 March Birding around Tata, in order to check some places where Lichtenstein’s Sandgrouse is sometimes seen. Late afternoon we drove further to Ouarzazate.

9 March From Ouarzazate towards Gorges du Dades and Tagdilt. In the afternoon we headed to Rissani to spend the night there.

10 March A full day in the Rissani – Merzouga area to find our last desert specialties.

11 March From Rissani to the Zeida plains for Duponts Lark. We ended our day in a hotel in Azrou.

12 March Back to the coast again, to Merja Zerga for the Marsh Owls. During the night we drove to Sidi Yadja to camp at the car park at the Double-spurred Francolin spot.

13 March A long drive towards the Atlas Mountains, Oukaïmeden.

14 March Full day in the Atlas Mountains

15 March From the Atlas Mountains back to Marrakech, where we played for tourists before our plane would go back to Rotterdam. At 23.00h we arrived in Holland again.

Rotterdam – Marrakech – Chicaoua

It was planned to leave just after lunchtime from Rotterdam – The Hague airport, but due to a broken window in the plane, the flight was delayed with 3 hours. Therefore we arrived after sunset in Marrakech, so no birds could be added to our list this first evening. We planned to drive to Essaouira, but about 100km before arriving there we stopped to have a good sleep in a shabby motel along the road.

Day 0 - February 27th

Chicaoua – Tamri – Cap Rhir – Inezgan

From today on, our alarm clocks would ring early for the coming two weeks. Before sunset we continued our trip towards Tamri, which is the site for Northern Bald Ibis. With the sun appearing, birding could begin! Jorrit and Thijs had been in Morocco before and Ruben did an earlier trip to Tunisia, but for Mark and Albert it should become a very productive trip for their life list with dozens of lifers. First new species included Spotless Starling, Common Bulbul and House Buntings. A stop to scan some agricultural immediately resulted in great views of Morocco’s ornithological beauty: a male Moussier’s Redstart. In addition Spectacled Warbler, Sardinian Warbler, Atlas Chaffinch, Southern Grey Shrikes and Maghreb Magpies gave us the first real taste of birding in southern Morocco! After this short stop, we continued towards Tamri. Just north of the village we stopped to scan the area for the Bald Ibises, but without any luck. However, we had a nice Moroccan Wagtail, the first Black Wheatear and a flock of 60 Short-toed Larks. On our search for the Bald Ibis we drove south, to Cap Rhir, where they are also seen every now and then. First we had lunch, while sea-watching. Gannets were abundant and several Great Skuas flew along. Highlights were 3 Balearic Shearwaters and a Pomarine Skua. Further scanning the area did not result in our target for today, the ibis. Since Tamri is the place where they are most seen in winter, we decided to go back. We parked our car near the three telephone poles, and walked northwards. Two Stone-curlews gave good views, just before we found 13 Northern Bald Ibises wandering around. After satisfying views of these ugly but also beautiful birds, we left the area. In the evening we birded around the smelly Oued Sous, with a good number of roosting gulls including 10 Mediterranean Gulls, 3 Great Black-backed Gulls, many Lesser Black-backed Gulls and a Little Gull. A small pool close to the wall of the

Day 1 - February 28th

Royal Palace had some Marbled Ducks, a Teal and Flamingoes, while an Osprey was watching the area. We left the area after sunset to listen for the Red-necked Nightjar. We heard two from the parking place. A good end of our first day, and after we found a hotel in Inezgan, we felt asleep satisfied.

Day 2 - March 1st

Inezgan – Oued Massa – Guelmin – Tantan

Arriving early at Oued Massa (Gosney A pp. 25, site 3) quickly led to a singing Black-crowned Tchagra, but without seeing it. Large numbers of swallows and swift were flying over the river including some Pallid Swift and a Little Swift. The agricultural fields along the river were full with migrants, including Barn Swallow, Bluethroat, Subalpine Warblers, Song Thrush, many Iberian Wagtails and a Sedge Warbler. A Eurasian/African Reed Warbler was singing in the riverside vegetation. We heard another Tchagra singing at the other side of the river, and after a good search, two birds gave splendid views! Here also our only Spotted Flycatcher of the trip was seen. Another target here was the Brown-throated Sand Martin, but here only common Sand Martins. So we decided to scan the river at some other locations. At the last site we checked (Gosney A pp. 25, site 5) we found two Brown-throated Sand Martins flying around.

After a lunch along the river, producing our first Cirl Bunting, Great White Egret and Caspian Tern, we continued our route south towards Tantan. On route, we had several stops along the

way. At 8km after Guelmin we stopped to look for Scrub Warbler, without any luck. However, we had some Desert Wheatears, Woodchat Shrikes and a couple of Snipes and Little Ringed Plover in a small pool of water. At the 100km-sign before Tantan (Gosney B, pp. 31, site 4)we stopped again to bird in the fields. We started at the eastside of the road, and soon a light coloured wheatear attracted our attention. After some minutes of observing we identified it as an Isabelline Wheatear. Except for this, this side of the road was not very fruitful so we decided to check the western side, which looks more desert-like. In and around the vegetation we found a Hoopoe with a displaying Hoopoe Lark on his site. The first Bar-tailed Desert Larks were found, and we found a Scrub Warbler, running like a mouse through the scrub. Just after sunset we drove to Tantan to find a hotel. The next day we had a long way driving ahead towards Dakhla.

Tantan – Knifiss – Dakhla

We woke 1,5 hours before sunset, to reach Knifiss at the first light to avoid the heat gaze. At this place the gulls are normally at a large distance from the viewing point, so good light conditions are required to find the Kelp Gull amongst the Greater Black-backed Gulls. Scanning the lagoon resulted only in several of the latter one, but no confident Kelp Gull. Other noteworthy birds in the lagoon were a Whimbrel, Curlew, Red Knot and Osprey. Behind the buildings along the parking area we also found another Scrub Warbler and a very cooperative Desert Wheatear.

Day 3 - March 2nd

Dakhla Bay

We had in mind to spend the first hours of the day sea-watching. We based ourselves at a good watching point on the west side of Dakhla, but besides some Gannets and Great Skuas, the sea seemed very quiet. Therefore, the bushes along the coast were more attractive to search for migrants. Migrants discovered included Chiffchaffs, White and Iberian Wagtails, Northern Wheatears and two Tree Pipits. The most spectacular sighting was a female Ring Ouzel. According to Patrick Bergier just the third sighting of this species for the Western Sahara.

We tried our luck for sea birds at the bay itself, which was a good choice. We based ourselves at the km-9 road sign from Dakhla and soon we found three distant Storm Petrels spec. (European/Madeira). Only one could be identified as a definite European Storm Petrel.

The rest of the day was mainly spent on driving to Dakhla, which is a very long trip through a very boring looking landscape. Just before Al Ayoune we had our lunch break at the wadi where large numbers of Black-winged Stilts, Flamingoes and Cattle Egret were present. Our dinner stop was at Tchoukan, 169 km north of Dakhla, where Pied Crows have been seen until 2010. As expected we did find none, but a migrating Nightingale at the pumping station was a welcome bird to make our day a bit more lively. 1000+ kilometers and many police controls we arrived around 22.00h in Dakhla.

Day 4 - March 3rd

Another new lifer could be added to our list in the form of a Royal Tern. For the rest it remained quiet. Therefore we headed towards the most southern tip of the peninsula. Passing large numbers of Audouin’s Gulls and Lesser Black-backed Gulls, we reached the south-eastern tip (near a small fishermen village). This shallow area resulted in good numbers of waders including 500+ Bar-tailed Godwits, 200+ Red Knot and 50+ Sanderling. Another hour of seawatching at Punta de la Sarga only produced some Gannets, Great Skuas and Sandwich Terns.

We wanted to spend the evening at the drinking pool at Gleb Djiane, to give a try for Lichtenstein’s Sandgrouse coming to drink. On our way, we checked the beach at km 24 from Dakhla. Several Royal Terns were present on the beach amongst the Sandwich and Caspian Terns. Also two Kentish Plover could be added to our list. Arriving at Gleb Djiane late afternoon, we still had time enough to do some proper birding before sunset. The bushes around the pool held some Chiffchaffs, Woodchat Shrikes, a Bluethroat and a Willow Warbler. Trumpeter Finches, Yellow Wagtails and some Barn Swallows came to drink, accompanied by two Little Ringed Plovers and a Wood Sandpiper. All of a sudden two Thick-billed Larks were shortly present at the pool, giving some good views for this new lifer for most of us. Around sunset we waited for sandgrouses, but in vain. Next morning we would be here again at dawn to wait for Crowned and Spotted Sandgrouse. While spotlighting, we drove back to Dakhla, resulting in a Rüppell’s Fox and a jumping Lesser Egyptian Jerboa.

Caspian Tern

TrumpEter Finch

Dakhla – Aousserd

For today and tomorrow, the desert would be our home. We started early morning at the drinking pool at Gleb Djiane again. The Little Ringed Plovers were still present, but it took quite a while before the first sandgrouses appeared. A small flock of 10 Crowned Sandgrouse landed near the pool and cautiously approached the pool. While watching, a group of Spotted Sandgrouses was discovered in the field. They had managed to get there unnoticed, but luckily we still found them. With pleasure we watched the sandgrouses walking with enormous cautiousness to the pool. Finally, when they all got their daily drink at the pool, we could leave the place well, to start our drive into the real desert, towards Aousserd.

Common species along the route included Brown-necked Ravens, Greater Hoopoe Larks, several Cream-coloured Courser, Southern Grey Shrikes ssp. elegans and Northern and Desert Wheatears. However, it became more interesting after about 100km from Aousserd. At km sign 91, the first Desert Sparrows were seen. The wadi also attracted some migrating Tree pipits and Red-throated Pipits. Some small, long-tailed birds took our attention, and we expected to see our first Desert Warblers here, but after having good views it proved to be our first Cricket Longtails already. At our next stop at sign 68 from Aousserd, we again had several Cricket Longtails, which were far more common than expected along this road. At the same spot, a lark took our special attention, and soon we could identify it as a very confiding Dunn’s Lark, giving good views from less than 5 meters.

Day 5 - March 4th

At km 32, more Desert Sparrows, Cricket Longtails, Greater Short-toed Larks and Bar-tailed Larks were found. Also, our one and only Tawny Pipit of the trip was walking around here, together with a Hoopoe Lark. Our final destination for the day was Oued Jenna at km-24 from Aousserd. This wadi could be entered safely, without danger of mines (as said in other trip reports). We based our tents here for the night, but before sunset we had still time to do some birding in the wadi, so we started our search for the most-wanted Sudan Golden Sparrow. However, regarding the size of the wadi, our high expectations were vanished like fresh snow. With the five of us we started to sweep through the southern part of the wadi. Spectacled and Subalpine Warblers, Desert Sparrows, a couple of Western Orphean Warblers and Cricket Longtails made it a good place for birding. A flock of Black-crowned Finch-larks even caused some more excitement. However, this excitement paled into insignificance after a call by Jorrit… SUDAN GOLDEN SPARROW!!! Like lunatics, the rest of us ran through the wadi in order not to miss this mega-rarity for the Western Palearctic. Luckily we all were able to have great views of a male and female Sudan Golden Sparrow amongst the Desert Sparrows. After about 15 minutes the group disappeared, and we could release our excitement. Just one hour after entering Oued Jenna, and the main target was in the pocket!

At night we did some spotlighting again. In the first instance it was not very fruitful, but on our way back we had a Sand Cat just next to the car, and a Lesser Egyptian Jerboa gave stunning views. So quality above quantity. Back at our campsite we had a well-deserved sleep in the desert.

Black-crowned Sparrow-Lark

Dunn’s Lark

Aousserd – Dakhla

With many targets in the pocket already, we quietly started our day with some birding in the wadi again. This time we could not relocate the Sudan Golden Sparrows, but we had luck to see our only Seebohm´s Wheatear of the trip, together with a Western Black-eared Wheatear. Singing Cricket Longtails were abundant in the wadi, and also the Black-crowned Sparrow-larks gave good views again. Our main target left here was the Fulvous Babbler, but within this mood we were confident that we would see this species. And we were right. Soon a group of Fulvous Babblers was discovered, showing up nicely. It was great to experience the migration in the middle of the desert, with quite a lot of Barn Swallow, several Sand Martin, many Subalpine Warblers, Chiffchaffs and Willow Warblers. Also several Western Marsh Harriers gave us a feeling of great respect for those birds passing the Sahara. Back at our car, a Lanner Falcon flew along. Later on, it surprisingly turned out to be our only Lanner Falcon this trip.

After a good morning at Oued Jenna we packed our stuff, and continued our route to Aousserd, where a UN-camp is based. The day earlier we met a group of Spanish birders who had seen Pale Crag Martin around the pumping station, but besides some White-crowned Wheatears, Eurasian Turtle Doves and nice militaries, we didn’t see much special around here. Our idea was to do some birding along the road from Aousserd to Tichla, but unfortunately this road was closed. That made us decide to drive back to Dakhla, with some stops along the road to find our latest target left; Desert Warbler.

Day 6 - March 5th

At km-41 from Aousserd we scanned the wadi. Desert Sparrows, Cricket Longtails and Black-crowned Sparrow-larks were all very easily seen here. Also present were some Fulvous Babblers and a Great Spotted Cuckoo. Other stops along the road did not result in anything new, so halfway the afternoon we arrived in Dakhla again. For Desert Warbler we would get a second chance in southern Morocco. From the balcony of our hotel we did some seawatching and after a while, several European Storm Petrels were seen in the bay.

Day 7 - March 6th

Dakhla – Al Ayoune - Tantan

A long and boring way driving back was the planning for today. And long and boring it was. It was late afternoon when we reached Al Ayoune. From the trip report of Richard Bonser (July 2010) we knew that there nice oasis near the town. Coming from the south, it can be accessed by a rough trek next to a petrol station. Following this track lead you to a rubbish dump. We parked the car, and walked a bit closer to the oasis, to have a better view. Highlights included 50+ Marbled Ducks, 120 Glossy Ibis, 50 Ruddy Shelduck, 200 Northern Shoveler, a Northern Pintail, 2 Mallard, 5 Little Grebe and 12 Pied Avocet.

With the sun going down, we decided to continue to Tantan. We had slept there before in a good hotel, so we knew that good accommodation was available there. We arrived rather late, but luckily we could still get a pizza somewhere. We had wifi in the hotel, so it was time to make our home front jealous with pictures of all the great species we had seen in the last couple of days.

Tantan – Tata

The next days were planned for some birding in the southern part of Morocco, where not many birders come. Via Akka, Tata, Foum Zguid and Tazenakht we hoped to find some good, hardly known birding locations, with our main target Lichtenstein’s Sandgrouse. This species is sometimes reported in the area via www.observado.org, and we wanted to try our luck in the area around Tata.

We left Tantan, and after 100 km, we again birded the area around the 100km sign. Besides the ‘normal stuff’ which we also saw the previous time here, we had good views of a Quail and our first Temminck’s Larks of the trip. Ruben was lucky to see an adult male Pallid Harrier, but unfortunately the others were too distant to warn them in time. Still a great addition to the trip list!

From Guelmin we turned east. We planned to stay the night in Tata, so we had plenty of time for birding along the route. It proved to be great for wheatears and larks. The best sighting of the afternoon was 53 km before Akka, where 4 Thick-billed Larks gave excellent views.

Day 8 - March 7th

Tantan - Ouarzazate

We started the day with some birding in a wadi about 18km south of Tata. Not many birds were seen, but we had two Tristram’s Warblers here. Next to a Nightingale and two passing Short-toed Eagles, no other mentionable birds were seen. From there we slowly drove further east and just after lunchtime we reached Tissint. Around this small town Lichtenstein’s sandgrouse is sometimes reported. At lunchtime we stopped at Oued Tissint, 56 km before Foum Zguid. From here we could see the river, with a small amount of water. We made plans to overnight here, since from Lichtenstein’s Sandgrouse it is known that they normally drink in the evening. We spread over the area, but all of a sudden Mark was trying to get our attention from a distance. His gestures looked urgent, so we had to run again. Arrived at Mark, he told us that he had just flushed a male Lichtenstein’s Sandgrouse. Luckily he had relocated the bird, so we all could share in the excitement. We slowly approached the bird, so we could have extreme good views of this scarce species in Morocco! Happiness all over the place, and we spent quite a while watching this magnificent bird. What a highlight!

Because the Lichtenstein’s was in the pocket, there was no need to camp at this place. And it was still early afternoon, so we decided to continue our route towards Ouarzazate so we would win one day at our planning. At the end of the trip, this proved to be very helpful to see some more (unplanned) Moroccan specialties, but later more about that in this report.

At 58 km west from Ouarzazate, we stopped along the N9. In his previous trip, Jorrit had some good views of Scrub Warbler here, so we also wanted to give it a try. Desert Larks were present,

Day 9 - March 8th

Ouarzazate – Tagdilt - Rissani

We started our day at the shores of barrage El Mansour Eddahbi, just east of Ouarzazate. Soon we found the long-billed cousin of the Crested Lark, better known as Maghreb Lark. A wheatear took our special attention, but after a good look we could only identify as another unexpected Isabelline Wheatear. The lake itself was mainly full with Ruddy Shelducks, but other species included Northern Shoverler, Great Crested Grebe, Osprey and Grey Heron.

From here we decided to drive to Tagdilt. Although Jorrit and Thijs, who had been at Tagdilt before, told us that the place was very ugly, loaded with rubbish, we still decided to check the area. However, first we went to Gorge du Dades. Arrived in the gorge we parked the car at a nice viewing point (near a hotel). Our first Rock Buntings of the trip were heard singing, a Blue Rock Thrush showed up nicely, and Black Wheatears were common. Although nice, that was not what we came for. However, we did not have to wait long, before our target appeared: a wonderful Bonelli’s Eagle. It landed on the rocks, so we were able to show it to some impressed elderly tourists before it disappeared again.

giving good views, and soon after two Scrub Warblers perfectly showed themselves in the last light of the day. In our opinion a very good spot to try for this species on your trip through southern Morocco!

Day 10 - March 9th

From here we drove to the Tagdilt track, mentioned in the Gosney B guide, pp. 19. The rest of us could imagine why Jorrit and Thijs were not quite charmed of the area, because litter was truly everywhere. No idea what brings all those birds to this dirty area, but since everybody goes there with success, we wanted to give it a try as well. However, besides two Thick-billed Larks and an Algerian Hedgehock the site could not impress us, so we decided to leave and drive further east towards Rissani. We arrived late here, but luckily we were warm welcomed by the hotel staff who served us a tasty Moroccan meal as well!

surroundings of Rissani

Our mission for today: Egyptian Nightjar, African Desert Warbler and Pharoah Eagle Owl. As student travelers we did not want to spend money for a guide, so we had to do it on our own. It creates much more excitement when you find birds yourselves by the way, so another reason not to hire a guide. On www.observado.org we found a wadi east of Rissani where Egyptian Nightjar was seen quite regular, so we decided to spend some time there. Driving over the unpaved roads, hoping we would not get a flat tire, we finally arrived at our target spot. We soon realized that it would be a day where quality would exceed quantity. Hardly any birds were present in the wadi except some Desert Wheatears, migrating Barn Swallows and Hoopoe Larks. But two hours of walking it was Mark again who attracted our attention. A nightjar had just flushed in front

Day 11 - March 10th

of his feet, and he still knew where it landed! Not soon after we could relocate the bird and we saw an Egyptian Nightjar resting beneath a small bush! It did not remain unnoticed by some local nomads that we were walking in the wadi, and one of them started a conversation with us. He tried to tell us to come with him a bit further. To satisfy him, Ruben walked with him. All of a sudden he pointed to the ground a few meters ahead, and then Ruben saw another splendid Egyptian Nightjar amongst the stones! First sub-mission accomplished. This one showed itself even better, so soon the others were warned to observe this strange-looking, magnificent bird. Lucky bastards as we are, we also had 11 Spotted Sandgrouses flying over and 3 Deserts Sparrow flying by while watching the nightjar.

We went for a Moroccan tea at Auberge Yasmina, where you have a great sight over the sand dunes from the terrace. We met a group of birders who told us that they had just seen African Desert Warbler quite easy in a nearby wadi, which crosses the N13 (same location as mentioned in Gosney B, pp. 13, site 4). From Yasmina we drove west, and when we found the mentioned wadi we decided to park the car and walk through the wadi. Wrong choice… we started to walk westwards, towards the N13. After more than an hour, with only seeing some Desert Wheatears and Hoopoe Larks, Albert decided to go back to get the car. The rest of us walked along, and when we almost reached the main road N13, Thijs finally found an African Desert Warbler after two hours of walking through the desert. We had deserved good views of one bird, which had ‘the peculiar habit of ‘tailing’ a Desert Wheatear’ as described by Collins in his bird guide.

One target left. For Pharaoh Eagle Owl we went to Gosney B site 3, pp. 9. When we arrived there, a Moroccan guy on the bike arrived soon: Ali the Nomad, as mentioned by Dave Gosney B. Ali told us that the owls were not present anymore at this site, so he would drive with us to a site nearby. As soon as we arrived he looked at the rock, and just said: ‘Good luck today’. Soon we found the bird and looked in the eyes of a Pharaoh Eagle Owl. Mission accomplished! After having some good views and making fun with Ali, we brought him back to his bike and paid him 200 dH. He is a good guy, and we could only advice you to do the same as us. Just go to the Gosney site, and wait for him. Most likely he is waiting for you up there!

Late afternoon we tried Gosney B site 1, pp.9, in the hope that Saharan Olivaceous Warbler had already returned from its wintering grounds, but we could not find any warbler. However, we had a lonely Fulvous Babbler here. Just before sunset we headed back to the Eagle Owl spot, because Thijs wanted to try to get some sound recordings of a calling Pharaoh Eagle Owl. It was still present, and even giving better views than earlier the afternoon. It was calling, just after we arrived, but Thijs had not installed himself yet. The rest of the evening it remained silent. When it was almost dark, the bird flew into the valley. While waiting we also had two Foxes.

Rissani – Zeida Plains – Azrou

Actually we already finished our pre-planned trip (except the Atlas), but we had still some spare days left. We needed to decide what to do with those spare days. Would we spend them all in the Atlas mountains for relaxed birding, or would we continue die-hard birding, and include northern Morocco in our planning for the last couple of days? One choice was easily made, let’s try the Dupont’s Lark at the Zeida plains. After that we would decide on how to continue. Since the distance between Rissani and Zeida is not too much, we slept in a bit before we left Rissani. The route through the mid-Atlas proved to be quite good for (migrating) raptors including Western Marsh Harriers, Black Kites, Short-toed Eagles, Osprey and Booted Eagle. A welcome addition to our triplist were two Golden Eagles in the Atlas mountain pass.

After having lunch in Midelt, we arrived on the plains of Zeida. Much earlier than expected. Dupont’s Lark is most easy heard after sunset or just before sunrise, so we planned to camp here. But with so much time left, we started to walk through the area in the hope to find a Dupont’s Lark by daylight. Many larks were present in the fields, mainly Short-toed and Lesser Short-toed Larks. Also a group of 8 Thick-billed Larks wandered around the car, and two Black-bellied Sandgrouse flew over. On our reptile list, we could add Greek Tortoise.

After two hours of scanning the field in front of us Mark (again!) pointed at a skulking lark and soon he was almost convinced it was a Dupont’s. It took a while before the others found it, but finally we all were convinced that we were looking at a foraging Dupont’s Lark! We went a bit closer, and soon had much better views every now and then. It even uttered two short song

Day 12 - March 11th

strophes. This all went much easier than expected, so we had to rethink our plans. Since it was windy and rather cold (compared to the desert) we soon decided not to camp here anymore and look for a hotel. But what for the next couple of days? Unanimously we decided to continue northwards, to add two other Moroccan targets to our list: African Marsh Owl and Double-spurred Francolin.

For the night we drove to Azrou, but before we drove through the beautiful low Atlas mountain region. Thijs could even add another lifer to his list: Several Red-knobbed Coots were present on a small lake along the road, together with a Ferruginous Duck and Eurasian Coots. In the woods close to Azrou we parked the car to listen for Tawny Owl, and with success we could also add this species to our trip list.

Zeida Plains - Habitat for Dupont’s Lark

Azrou – Merja Zerga – Sidi Yahya

We started our day in the nearby mountains, mainly because we wanted to see the Barbary Macaques, but also to add some forest species to our list already. Already on our way we saw our first Barbary Macaque walking on the road, and arrived on the parking area there were even more. We heard a lot of forest species including Short-toed Treecreeper, Hawfinch, Robin, Wren, Firecrest, Nuthatch, Coal Tit, Jay, Mistle Thrush and Great Spotted Woodpecker. A very productive early morning for our trip list!

From here, we drove towards Merja Zerga. We did not choose for the toll highway, but took the smaller roads towards the coast. That took a bit longer, but the views along the way made it worth it. Arrived at Merja Zerga we went to Gosney A site 4, pp. 7. In a trip report by Tina and Mads Elley, we read that they met a guide named Hamaroudir up there, who was able to show them the Marsh Owls. Arrived in the village (via the worst road we experienced in Morocco and Western Sahara), we asked around for Hamaroudir, and after a while we met the guide. He took us to his house for a tea and some food, and at the end of the afternoon he would bring us to a nearby side where we would be able to see some ‘hibou’, as the owls are called in French. Late afternoon we departed to the eastern side of the lagoon.

While waiting we heard a Water Rail and Common Quails. Several Montagu’s Harriers were present amongst the many Western Marsh Harriers, and waders in the lagoon included amongst others good numbers of Pied Avocet, Black-tailed Godwit, Spotted Redshank and Northern Lapwing. Striking were the many Great Egrets which came there for sleeping.

Day 13 - March 12th

In total we saw 44 of them. We could also add our only Sparrow-hawk, Black-winged Kite and Jackdaw of the trip, so we didn’t mind waiting. After a while we had one African Marsh Owl flying shortly over the typical vegetation! Yes! We waited until dusk, and we were lucky to see two more Marsh Owl flying around. One was even sitting on a pole in the vegetation for a while, giving us good views. At nightfall, several birds were calling around us, creating a great mysterious atmosphere on the shores of the lagoon. We went back with Hamaroudir to his home for a late dinner. He offered us a place to sleep, but we planned to travel southwards this night to camp at the spot for Double-spurred Francolin. However, we would highly recommend you to stay with Hamaroudir for the night. He is even building some accommodation for future birders coming along. He did not request for money, but we gave him a deserved amount for his service and hospitality. Hamaroudir can be contacted at: +212 68492479. A little knowledge of French is required, since Hamaroudir doesn’t speak English. We did not contact him before either, so just going to the village and asking around should also lead to him most likely, but takes also more time.

Around 21.00h we left, because we wanted to reach Sidi Yahya. We took the highway, and a good two hours later we arrived at the spot. We decided to camp at the parking place as described by Gosney A (site 3, pp. 37). While setting up the tent, we already heard a Double-spurred Francolin calling close by! What a piece of luck again! We felt asleep highly content, with calling Stone Curlews on the background.

COAL TIT ssp. atlas

Barbary macaque

Sidi Yahya – Oukaïmeden

We woke up very early. Soon we had several Double-spurred Francolins calling, but all at quiet a distance. We walked along the road to check the gates of the Royal hunting area, described in Gosney A pp. 37, site 4 and 5, but no luck with Francolins here. We had however a confiding Black-crowned Tchagra, which was nicely singing. Furthermore, our first African Blue Tit was seen here, another lifer for two of us. On our way back to the car, Thijs was lucky to see a Francolin flying away, but that remained the only view of this species. We packed our tents, and left for the Atlas Mountains. While driving away from the car park, a Barbary Partridge caused some excitement, but it was ‘just’ a partridge, instead of the hoped Francolin. After a 5,5h drive, we arrived in the Atlas mountains. We immediately drove to the top, where it was freezing cold. The day before it had snowed, so the landscape was fully white. Morocco, a country of contrasts. We checked in in a ski-hostel. Everything up here proved to be quiet expensive compared to the rest of Morocco, but since there is nothing else, we had no choice. We got warmly dressed before we went out for a walk around the ski station. In the following hour, we saw all our Atlas target, except for Dipper (what’s in a name?). In front of the hotel at the parking area, we immediately had good views of Atlas Horned Lark and African Crimson-winged Finch. Red-billed Choughs were everywhere, together with a few Alpine Chough. Near the ski lift we found an Alpine Accentor and several Rock Sparrows. From here we also heard a Levaillant’s Woodpecker calling in the village. Following his call, we soon found the bird on the electricity poles, giving good views just before dusk. After that, we got a good meal in the village, and a well-deserved warm coffee in the hostel. Tonight was movie-night (on the laptop), and after that we hit the hay.

Day 14 - March 13th

Oukaïmeden – Marrakech

In the morning we birded around the village again, mainly to find the Dipper. It was now quickly found at the creek down the reservoir (Gosney A site 11, pp. 31), and so we could also add the North-west African White-throated Dipper to our list (what’s in a name again!). Moreover, we found all species of the previous day as well. Funny thing was that this morning the Alpine Choughs were far more abundant than Red-billed Choughs contrary to the day before. We took our time for a good coffee, before we headed down again.

On our way down we stopped several times along the road, which produced several forest species like Coal Tit, Firecrest, African Blue Tit, Hawfinch, Atlas Chaffinch and Mistle Thrush. Along a mountain creak we added Grey Wagtail to our trip list at the last moment. It was still around lunchtime when we reached the valley again. Next day we would fly back to Holland late afternoon. We decided to play tourists in the morning by visiting the souk of Marrakech, but for now we still wanted to do some proper birding. On his last visit, Jorrit had seen several Brown-throated Sand Martins along a irrigation canal south of Marrakech, so we decided to spend our time on this. This would also increase our chances to add one species to our trip list, which was surprisingly not on the list yet: Little Owl. At a certain moment Ruben said ‘this would be the perfect place for a Little Owl’. And within a minute, Albert stopped the car because a Little Owl was nicely displaying on a rock along the road… our final species for our trip, leading to an unexpected amount of 219 species! Something to be content with!

Day 15 - March 14th

We couldn’t find any martins, so we headed towards Marrakech. We first went to a car wash, where our car was cleaned thoroughly. We left all the collected sand and dust of the last two weeks at the car wash, and went straight to Marrakech. We found a relatively cheap hotel near the town centre, and went into town for a pizza. Bird watching ended here.

Marrakech – Rotterdam Airport

The morning was spent in the souk, inclusive buying some souvenirs for the home front. While drinking a coffee at the main square in the souk, Djemaa El Fna, the Little and Pallid Swifts were flying over our heads, and surprisingly a Booted Eagle came to have a look from above at the busy centre. We realized that we were more made for a natural environment, than this crowded place. So we went back to the hotel, packed our stuff, had a relaxed lunch and headed towards the airport. Here, a House Bunting sang a goodbye song for us, before we boarded. Our trip trip to Morocco finished here, but we could look back at two very successful weeks!

Albert ended the trip with a mentionable number of 56 (!) lifers, Mark had 35 lifers, Ruben 28, Thijs 12 and Jorrit ended the trip with ‘just’ 8 new species for his list.

Day 16 - March 15th

Target species

Northern Bald Ibis More difficult to find than expected at Tamri. We finally found a small flock of them near the telephone poles north of Tamri. However, they could be found anywhere in the nearby region here.

Marbled DuckQuite easy in Oued Sous and in the oasis south of Al Ayoune. We also had two birds in Oued Massa.

Bonelli´s EagleLike in many trip reports, we had one in Gorge du Dades, after some waiting.

Black-winged KiteOne bird hunting above the fields at the southeastern part of Merja Zerga

Lanner FalconStrange enough we had only one bird, flying along in Oued Jenna. From other reports we read that they almost always see them on the road from Al Ayoune towards Dakhla on the electricity poles. We checked the poles regurlarly, but without success. Also in southern Morocco we were unsuccessful in seeing this species.

Species List

Barbary FalconOne of our two missed species. We could not find them near Tamri, where we only had some Peregrines. Also during the rest of the trip we were frequently startled by a large falcon, but everytime it proved to be a Peregrine. So no Barbary Falcon for us this trip...

Double-spurred FrancolinAt the well-known site in Morocco: Sidi Yahya. We heard several calling from the parking place. The other mentioned places mentioned by Gosney A, pp. 37, were not fruitful for us. Unfortunately no sightings, but regarding the thick bushes that is not surprising us. You just need some luck for seeing one.

Barbary PartridgeQuite common in southern Morocco. Funny detail: almost always seen in pairs.

Cream-coloured CourserLess abundant than expected. We mainly had them along the road to Aousserd, where it was quite easy. Also at the 100km from Tantan spot (Gosney B site 4, pp. 31).

Crowned SandgrouseThe small pool at Gleb Djiane is a well-known spot for sandgrouse. In the evening we tried our luck for Lichtenstein’s Sandgrouse already (but no birds weer seen as expected), but we went back next morning for Crowned and Spotted Sandgrouse. Unfortunately there were quiet a lot of lorries filling their water tanks at the pump, and it took a while until the last one left. We had to wait until 10.30h, before the first sandgrouses appeared. This first flock were 10 very shy Crowned Sandgrouses. It took them ages to finally reach the pool, but that gave us the chance to have very nice views. After a short drink they all disappeared, loudly calling. Same for Spotted Sandgrouse.

Spotted SandgrouseSee Crowned Sandgrouse. We also had 11 birds flying over (also calling) near Rissani.

LICHTENSTEIN´S SANDGROUSEWhat a highlight! We just wanted to give it a try, because we had plenty of time. However, we were far from convinced that we would see one. We looked for a place with some water, to base

Spotted Sandgrouse Cream-coloured Courser

ourselves for the evening. We found that place at the road from Tata to Foum Zguid, exactly at km-post 56 from Foum Zguid. Here is a small wadi, which runs into a riverbed. In the riverbed, there was a small amount of water. Here we wanted to try our luck. The small wadi crosses the road. Because we had plenty of time, we just birded in the surroundings of this wadi. Here we found a male Lichtenstein’s Sandgrouse, resting in the shadow of a small tree. Totally unexpected we could have splendid views of this rare species in Morocco. We only could advise you to give it a try. If you are without luck... the scenery along the road is already worth a visit.

Egyptian NightjarWe checked the wadi north of Auberge Yasmani and east of Rissani. It seemed quite hopeless, because the entire wadi looks like perfect Egyptian Nightjar habitat. But with some perseverance, by keep on walking through the wadi, we were lucky to find two nightjars resting. Great birds, and we proved that it is possible to find them without an expensive guide.

Red-necked NightjarWe listened at dusk at the parking area at the end of the road at Oued Sous. Just avoid the smell. At nightfall, two birds were singing near the Royal Palace fence.

Pharaoh Eagle OwlWith help of Ali the Nomad, which we met at Gosney B site 3, pp. 9. If you go there, you will most likely met him there.

African Marsh OwlAt the southeastern edge of the lagoon of Merja Zerga. With the help of a local guide named Hamaroudir (+212 68492479. A little knowledge of French is required).

Levaillant’s WoodpeckerEasy in the village of Oukaïmeden. You heard it calling from a large distance, and was easy to locate.

Desert LarkA few birds at Gosney B site 3, pp. 31, at km-post 22 km from Guelmin. Also at the Scrub Warbler site (see description Scrub Warbler) near Ouarzazate.

Levaillant’s Woodpecker Hoopoe Lark

Bar-tailed Desert LarkQuite common in the desert areas. Especially along the road to Aousserd.

Temminck’s LarkTwo birds at km-post 100km from Tantan, Gosney B site 3, pp. 31. Also one bird seen from the car, along the road from Tagdilt to Rissani.

Atlas Horned LarkVery easy in the High Atlas Mountains in Oukaïmeden.

Dupont’s LarkAt the Zeida plains. We had one bird, showing quite well at south of Gosney B site 4, pp. 3. We parked the car near the fork, and from there we scanned the fields, resulting in one Dupont’s Lark, which obviously had a nest around.

Dunn’s Lark A very confiding bird at km. 68 from Aousserd.

Black-crowned Sparrow-larkHard to miss from 41-km from Aousserd. Especially easy in Oued Jenna where you can access the wadi without danger for mines.

Thick-billed LarkSeen more often than expected. First birds at the drinking pool of Gleb Djiane. More sightings at 53 km from Akka on the road from Guelmin to Tata, the Tagdilt track (Gosney B site 2, pp. 19) and the Zeida plains (Gosney B site 2, pp. 3).

Hoopoe LarkAs soon as the landscape gets more desert-like, Hoopoe Larks are quiet common. Especially their call can be heard from everywhere.

Brown-throated Sand MartinTwo birds at Oued Massa, Gosney A site 5, pp. 25.

Bar-tailed Desert Lark Moroccan Wagtail

White Wagtail ssp. subpersonataAlso known as Moroccan Wagtail. A few birds just north of the Tamri estuary (Gosney A site 8, pp. 21).

North-west African White-throated DipperWe found this subspecies of Dipper at Gosney A site 11, pp.31, just south of the reservoir.

Moussier’s RedstartQuite common north of the Atlas mountains and along the coast.

Seebohm´s WheatearLater in the year they seem quite easy in the Atlas region, but in March they are not back there yet. So we were lucky to see a migrating bird in Oued Jenna.

Isabelline WheatearWe did not expect to see this species in Morocco, since by our knowledge it migrates along the eastern part of Africa. However, we still saw an Isabelline Wheatear at two different locations, so it is likely that it also partly migrates via Morocco. The first sighting was at Gosney B site 4, pp. 31, at the 100-km from Dakhla sign. The other sighting was at the shores of barrage El Mansour Eddahbi, just east of Ouarzazate.

White-crowned WheatearVery common in stony deserts, mainly in rural areas.

Maghreb WheatearUnfortunately we missed this bird. We could not find very reliable spots, so we’d hoped to find it along the way. Especially on route from Tagdilt to Rissani, we scanned the roadside for this wheatear, but without any luck. Also in the Rissani surroundings, we did not stumble across one. Just missed it. Good reason to go back one day...

Scrub WarblerOne bird at km-sign 100 from Tantan (Gosney B site 3, pp. 31). Another one near the parking area at Knifiss lagoon. The best sighting however was along the N9, 58km west from Ouarzazate. Here

Desert Wheatear White-crowned Wheatear

is a small wadi, with only a little strip with scrub. We parked the car along the road, and walked into te wadi, and Scrub Warbler was very easy. Since Jorrit had Scrub Warbler also here last summer, it seems to be a good spot for this species, so worth a try!

Cricket LongtailOnly in February 2008 it was discovered in Western Sahara, namely at Oued Jenna (Dutch Birding, vol. 33, pp. 229-233, 2011). Since then, more and more sightings came from this area, and nowadays it is hard to miss when birding around Aousserd. We had plenty of them, already starting from 91 km. from Aousserd. After that, we found them at almost every other place we stopped before Oued Jenna. In Oued Jenna itself it is very easy to see.

African Desert WarblerWe did not see any along Aousserd road, despite our tough searching. Luckily we got a second chance around Rissani. Here we found one in the wadi that crosses the N13, east of Auberge Yasmina (close to Gosney B site 4, pp. 13).

Tristram’s Warbler As expected they did not return to their breeding grounds, but we found several at other places. The first sighting was at a pass near Guelmin, where we also had Subalpine, Spectacled and White-throated Warbler. The second sighting was in a wadi, about 18 km south of Tata (Gosney B pp. 25, site 2).

African Blue TitSome at the car park of Sidi Yahya (Gosney A site 3, pp. 37), and several on the slopes of the Atlas Mountains.

Black-crowned TchagraEasily heard in Oued Massa, Gosney A site 3 (pp. 25). However, seeing a bird took a little longer. Luckily two birds showed up very wel at the northeastern part of the bridge, in the bush edges of the agricultural fields. At the end of the trip we also had several birds singing at Sidi Yahja.

Brown-necked Raven Fulvous Babbler

Fulvous BabblerQuite easy along the Aousserd road. During our second walk through the southern part of Oued Jenna, we found a flock of 7 birds. Later on, another flock of 14 babblers was seen a bit further ahead. Another group was seen along Aousserd road, around km-sign 41km from Aousserd. We also had a single bird near the bridge, west of Rissani (Gosney B site 1, pp. 9).

Maghreb Magpie ssp. mauretanicaQuite common in southern Morocco, especially in Oued Sous.

Brown-necked RavenVery common along Aousserd road, and also quite easy along road towards Dakhla. Also a group of 10 birds near Auberge Yasmina (Gosney B site 3, pp. 15).

Desert SparrowHard to miss along Aousserd road. First birds were seen at 91 km from Aousserd. After that, in most of the visited wadis we found at least a few Desert Sparrows. In Oued Jenna we often ran into large flocks. We also had three birds flying by in the wadi north of Yasmina, while watching the Egyptian Nightjar.

SUDAN GOLDEN SPARROWHighlight of the trip (together with Lichtenstein’s Sandgrouse). Shortly found after we arrived at Oued Jenna. 300-400 meters south of the road in a flock of Desert Sparrows. Splendid views of a male and female.

African Crimson-winged FinchRather common around Oukaïmeden. Just after we arrived, we found the first flocks around the parking place. They were quite tame, and therefore showing nicely. Also a few birds near the ski station.

Trumpeter FinchQuite easy as soon as the landscape turns into desert.

Desert Sparrow African Crimson-winged Finch

Total Triplist Name (EN) subspecies

1. Balearic Shearwater2. European Storm Petrel3. Northern Gannet4. Greater Cormorant maroccanus/lucidus5. Western Cattle Egret ibis6. Great White Egret alba7. Little Egret garzetta8. Grey Heron cinerea9. White Stork ciconia10. Northern Bald Ibis11. Glossy Ibis12. Eurasian Spoonbill leucorodia13. Greater Flamingo14. Ruddy Shelduck15. Common Shelduck16. Mallard platyrhynchos17. Northern Pintail18. Northern Shoveler19. Marbled Duck20. Eurasian Teal crecca21. Ferruginous Duck22. Tufted Duck23. Common Scoter24. Osprey haliaetus25. Golden Eagle homeyeri26. Bonelli's Eagle fasciata27. Booted Eagle28. Short-toed Eagle29. Montagu's Harrier30. Pallid Harrier31. Marsh Harrier aeruginosus & harterti32. Black Kite migrans33. Long-legged Buzzard cirtensis34. Eurasian Sparrowhawk punicus35. Black-winged Kite caeruleus36. Common Kestrel tinnunculus37. Lesser Kestrel38. Lanner Falcon erlangeri39. Peregrine Falcon brookei & minor40. Water Rail aquaticus41. Double-spurred Francolin ayesha

42. Barbary Patridge spatzi43. Common Quail coturnix44. Little Grebe ruficollis45. Great Crested Grebe cristatus46. Common Moorhen chloropus47. Eurasian Coot atra48. Red-knobbed Coot49. Eurasian Oystercatcher ostralegus50. Pied Avocet51. Black-winged Stilt himantopus52. Eurasian Stone-curlew oedicnemus & saharae53. Cream-coloured Courser cursus54. Little Ringed Plover curonicus55. Kentish Plover alexandrinus56. Common Ringed Plover hiaticula57. Grey Plover squatarola58. Eurasian Golden Plover59. Northern Lapwing60. Red Knot61. Sanderling62. Ruddy Turnstone interpres63. Dunlin64. Curlew Sandpiper65. Wood Sandpiper66. Green Sandpiper67. Common Sandpiper68. Spotted Redshank69. Common Redshank totanus70. Common Greenshank71. Black-tailed Godwit limosa72. Bar-tailed Godwit lapponica73. Eurasian Curlew arquata74. Eurasian Whimbrel phaeopus75. Common Snipe gallinago76. Ruff77. Great Skua78. Pomarine Skua79. Black-headed Gull80. Slender-billed Gull81. Mediterranean Gull82. Yellow-legged Gull atlantis83. Audouin's Gull84. Lesser Black-backed Gull graelsii85. Great Black-backed Gull

86. Little Gull87. Common Tern hirundo88. Sandwich Tern89. Whiskered Tern hybrida90. Caspian Tern91. Royal Tern albididorsalis92. Spotted Sandgrouse93. Crowned Sandgrouse coronatus94. Black-bellied Sandgrouse orientalis95. Lichtenstein's Sandgrouse targius96. Rock Dove97. Wood Pigeon excelsus98. Collared Dove decaocto99. Laughing Dove phoenicophila100. Great Spotted Cuckoo101. Egyptian Nightjar saharae102. Red-necked Nightjar ruficollis103. Pharaoh Eagle Owl104. Marsh Owl tingitanus105. Tawny Owl mauritanica106. Little Owl glaux107. Pallid Swift brehmorum108. Common Swift apus109. Little Swift galilejensis110. Alpine Swift tuneti111. Eurasian Hoopoe epops112. Common Kingfisher atthis113. Levaillant's Woodpecker114. Great Spotted Woodpecker maritanus115. Maghreb Lark macrorhyncha116. Crested Lark many subspecies indet.117. Thekla Lark many subspecies indet.

At least ruficolor and theresae118. Greater Short-toed Lark rubiginosa119. Lesser Short-toed Lark minor120. Desert Lark payni121. Bar-tailed Lark arenicolor122. Temminck's Lark123. Horned Lark atlas124. Dupont's Lark duponti125. Dunn's Lark dunni126. Black-crowned Sparrow-lark albifrons127. Thick-billed Lark128. Greater Hoopoe Lark alaudipes129. Sand Martin riparia

130. Brown-throated Martin mauritanica131. Crag Martin132. Red-rumped Swallow rufula133. House Martin meridionale134. Barn Swallow rustica135. Tawny Pipit136. Meadow Pipit137. Tree Pipit trivialis138. Red-throated Pipit139. White Wagtail alba & subpersonata140. Yellow Wagtail iberiae & flava141. Grey Wagtail cinerea142. White-throated Dipper minor143. Alpine Accentor collaris144. European Robin rubecola145. Common Nightingale megarhynchos146. Common Bluethroat147. Black Redstart gibraltariensis148. Common Redstart149. Moussier's Redstart150. Northern Wheatear151. Seebohm's Wheatear152. Isabelline Wheatear153. Western Black-eared Wheatear hispanica154. White-crowned Wheatear aegra155. Black Wheatear syenitica156. Desert Wheatear homochroa157. Red-rumped Wheatear moesta158. European Stonechat rubicola159. Blue Rock Thrush solitarius160. Song Thrush philomelos161. Mistle Thrush deichleri162. Common Blackbird mauritanicus163. Ring Ouzel164. Scrub Warbler saharae165. Cricket Longtail166. Blackcap167. Western Orphean Warbler168. Sardinian Warbler melanocephala & valverdei169. Common Whitethroat170. African Desert Warbler171. Tristram's Warbler maroccana172. Spectacled Warbler conspicillata173. Western Subalpine Warbler174. Sedge Warbler

175. Zitting Cisticola cisticola176. Cetti's Warbler cettia177. Reed Warbler indet178. Common Chiffchaff179. Iberian Chiffchaff180. Willow Warbler trochilus181. Eurasian Wren kabylorum182. Common Firecrest balearicus183. Spotted Flycatcher striata184. Great Tit excelsus185. African Blue Tit ultramarinus186. Coal Tit atlas187. Eurasian Nuthatch hispaniensis188. Short-toed Treecreeper mauritanica189. Woodchat Shrike rutilans190. Southern Grey Shirke elegans & algeriensis191. Black-crowned Tchagra cucullatus192. Common Bulbul barbatus193. Fulvous Babbler maroccana194. Eurasian Jay minor195. Western Jackdaw spermologus196. Maghreb Magpie mauritanica197. Northern Raven tingitanus198. Brown-necked Raven199. Alpine Chough graculus200. Red-billed Chough barbarus201. Spotless Starling202. House Sparrow tingitanus203. Spanish Sparrow hispaniensis204. Desert Sparrow saharae205. Rock Sparrow barbara206. Sudan Golden Sparrow207. Common Chaffinch africana & coelebs208. African Crimson-winged Finch209. Common Linnet mediterranea210. Eurasian Goldfinch parva211. Eurasian Greenfinch voousi212. Hawfinch buvryi213. European Serin214. Trumpeter Finch zedlitzi215. Common Reed Bunting schoeniclus216. Cirl Bunting217. House Bunting sahari218. Corn Bunting calandra219. Rock Bunting cia

lIST WITH mAMMALS List with Reptiles

Red Fox Spanish Pond Turtle Rüppell’s Fox Greek Tortoise Lesser Egyptian Jerboa Sudan Mastigure African Savanna Hare African Wild Cat Desert Hedgehog (road kill) Barbary Ground Squirrel Fat Sand Rat Barbary Macaque

African Wild Cat Barbary macaque

Greek Turtoise Moroccan Spiny-tailed Lizard

Pictures in this report are taken by Jorrit Vlot and Albert de Jong.

Printable version (without pictures) is available on request.

For questions, don’t hesitate to contact us at

rubenvlot@gmail.com or thijsfijen@gmail.com

Happy ´crew´ after seeing Sudan Golden Sparrow At Oued Jenna

Form for police controls

Together with a copy of your passport, this form will speed up your travel through Western Sahara. About 15 copies will be sufficient.

Nom / Name

Prenoms / First names

Date de Naissance / Day of birth

Lieu de Naissance / Place of birth

Nom de Pere / Name father

Nom de Mere / Name mother

Nationalite / Nationality

Profession / Profession

Addresse / Address

Numero de Passeport / Passport number

Date de Deliverance / Delivery date

Lieu de Deliverance / Place of delivery

Date d’expiration / Expiry date

Motif du Voyage / Motive of travelling

Marque du Vehicule / Car brand

Date D’entrée en Maroc / Entry date

Ville d’entrée / Town of entry

Numero de Police (number on entry stamp)