Trip Report - Morocco, April, 2025

Crimson-winged Finch: I've finally got around to writing up the Morocco birding trip. I had a ton of images to pour over and sort through, had to even buy an external hard drive to help organise my photos.




Moussier's Redstart: This was my second trip to Morocco after my trip with Dawn back in January 2014, this time I had the great company of Gary Edwards, Patrick Earith and Kristian Wade. And unlike my 2014 trip, this time I booked a tour guide.





Thick-billed Lark: We booked Hamid Mezane who run Bird Watching Morocco Tours, he's an exceptional birder and lives with his family in Erg Chebbi of the Sahara Desert. 





Pharaoh Eagle Owl: Bird Watching Morocco Tours have several tour programs, and believed in two simple premises: they want all of their clients to share in the excitement and fun of a top-notch birding adventure, and they want to provide the best service possible to both our tour participants and their independent travel clients.






Levaillant's Woodpecker: Morocco offers fantastic birdwatching opportunities, with diverse habitats ranging from the Atlas Mountains to the Sahara Desert and the Atlantic coast. Popular birding destinations include Merja Zerga, the Souss and Massa estuaries, and the Tagdilt track.
Desert Lark: This trip repot covers our way from the high Atlas to the Sahara Desert. From driving around an hour  from Marrakesh heading up in to the High Atlas Mountains and visiting Oukaimeden at 2600m altitude to the dunes of the Sahara.



Hoopoe lark: Exploring the Merzouga region where you can find desert specialties such as Egyptian nightjar, African desert warbler, desert sparrow, blue-cheeked bee-eater, spotted and crowned sandgrouse. 





Blue-cheeked Bee-eater: Morocco is generally considered a fantastic birding destination, particularly for those interested in Western Palearctic and desert specialties. And I couldn't agree more, I loved it, it was such a great trip and one I have always wanted to do 'properly' since I visited with Dawn. 




Spotted Sandgrouse: We ended up with 124 birds for the trip list, including 10 larks, 8 wheatears and 15 warblers. Check out the trip report at the footer of my blog or click here. 




 



09/08/2025 Walberswick, Southwold, Suffolk

Zitting Cisticola: These small, brown birds with a distinctive streaked back and a broad, white-tipped tail that it frequently flicks are also known as the fan-tailed warbler are are visitors to the UK with fewer than ten records recorded in the UK. They primarily breed in southern Europe and are largely sedentary and classed as resident in their range.

Having been mad busy with work I was unable to go mid-week, so had the nervy wait until Saturday when Kris and I embarked on the 10 hour round trip to Southwold, Suffolk.  




Black Stork: Zitting Cisticola are known for their characteristic "zitting" song that erupts into a series of sharp, repetitive calls given during an erratic, undulating display flight. 


When we arrived the bird was singing from the buckthorn which by all accounts it had been doing most of the early morning. But, not long after we arrived the bird changed its behaviour and widened its ranged, moving over the marshy grassland  and taking regular display flights.

Walberswick is a tourist hotspot for crabbing, birdwatching and those who enjoy a serene seaside holiday, the village of Walberswick is one of Suffolk's gems and was not only home to the very rare Zitting Cisticola, but a juvenile black stork too.
We soon made our way to Boyton Marsh and Slaters Pit near Lowestoft and relocated the large bird sleeping on the side of a small dyke. The Black Stork is a large bird, with a glossy black body and white underparts. It is a rare but regular visitor to Britain, breeding in eastern Europe and migrating to Africa. 
This was my 2nd black stork that I've seen the the UK with the first being at Spurn, although at the time it was miles way and obscured in the tall grass, this one however was could not have been any more different. 


It was too close at times I had to back off in order to it in in my camera lens. An amazing experience seeing one like this, I've only ever been this close to black stork in Lesvos. I could have picked it up and taken it home! 



 

01/08/2025 Oare Marshes Nature Reserve, Kent

Bonaparte's Gull: Working in Kent I was unable to resist a trip to Oare Marshes, the reserve is at it's best in spring and autumn when it is visited by migrant waterfowl but in summer it's famous for being a summer home to a Bonaparte’s gull. 

These diminutive gulls are rare, but annual visitor to the UK they are primarily seen during the autumn and winter months. You're be forgiven to think that they are named after Napoleon Bonaparte, but they are actually named after Charles Lucien Bonaparte, a French ornithologist. 


Bonaparte's gulls  are the third smallest gull in the world and the only gull species that regularly nests in trees.
This is the 13th summer in a row that this individual has returned to Oare Marshes. originally the gull was found on the site back in May 2013 and has returned each year ever since.