So let's start with our first full days birding after arriving in Marrakesh we headed out and spent a few hours around the city. Not sight seeing but birding, we made a bee-line for a large green space, a public park called Cyber Park.
Our riad was really nice, a room each, and indoor pool and a stunning roof terrace. We stayed at the Riad Dekkak in central Marrakesh costing us 50€ each for the one night. A bargain.
On day two we rolled our large suitcases across the cobbles and ancient streets, through the souks and met Hamid who picked us up in a large off road vehicle. We exchanged greetings and also our money, Hamid insisted that we paid the deposit online and then the balance in cash. The deposit was 100€ with the remaining 700€ per person. This included the vehicle, the fuel, the accommodation. costs with one supplementary meal and Hamids guiding expertise.
We drove around an hour heading up in to the High Atlas Mountains and visit Oukaimeden at 2600m altitude. We stopped off just before the ski resort at a parking spot near the lake after Hamid spotted one of or main target birds, the crimson-winged finch. We all jumped out with our cameras at the ready and suddenly realised how under prepared were were for alpine birding. Some of the lads were wearing shorts, we all had t-
shirts on and had our warm cloths packed away in our suitcases.
The first part of our tour was marked by an unusual cloudy weather and very cold temperatures especially up in Ouarzazate we had a spot of and even some sleet showers at times during the first day.
We pause for lunch at one of the local eateries and had a traditional Berber tajine. We all enjoyed it (expect for Patrick) this was for me one of the best meals we had during the entire trip.
A bit more of time in this wonderful location allowed us to have Moroccan Wagtail, great spotted woodpecker and lovely views on a male Cirl bunting.
It was here we got crippling views of the crimson-winged finch as they gathered in very large flocks and were joined by rock sparrows, Thelka's lark and horned larks.
Black Wheatear: Not as common up in the Atlas areas the black-wheatear inhabits steep rocky arid landscapes with rock walls, scattered boulders, bare ground and sparse scrub, avoiding flat terrain. Perfect habitat along the mountain scree and around the old derelict Berber homes.
On our third day we woke from our accommodation within the foothills of the High Atlas, and after our meagre breakfast we journeyed onwards to Boumalne Dades with a stark contrast in the weather, moving away from teh cold and the rain and out of the hoodies and coats and into t-shirts and shorts as the temperature increased.
Red-rumped Wheatear: This was a long drive but an interesting one, with lots of scenic views and Hamid was keen to stop regularly whenever we passed a possible new birds for the trip list.
White-crowned Wheatear: We stopped off for European roller, cattle egret, Western black-eared wheatear, long-legged buzzard, desert lark and plenty of white-crowned wheatear.
This was a great day, very exciting, although we dipped the Tristram’s warbler within a stunning mountain setting. We also stayed at a great Kazbah, a Moroccan fortified, traditional Berber complex ran by an eccentric lady from Canada, and don't call her American, you'll get a whack on the arm!
White-crowned Wheatear: the one thing i didn't fully realise about the Tagdilt Track was that its is a dump! No, I don't mean figuratively, I mean it's literally a dump..
Red-rumped Wheatear: We were walking around bags of rubbish and and decaying animals, through and over trampled bags discarded litter, broken glass and even around bags of what looked liked medical waste, with needles included. All in our trainers!
Northern Wheatear: We weren't on our own either as there were a pack of wild dogs that were living and breeding within the landfill. They were too busy fight each other and attending their puppies to bother with us. But if you go, just be sure ti be aware of the dogs.
These birds are unmistakable large larks with a monster of a pale bill, they have dark-speckled cheek and breast, round cheek spot, and prominent white areas on the wing in flight. Males have more contrasting plumage than females. They favour flat arid deserts with stony and sandy areas.
Desert Lark: The desert lark breed in deserts and semi-deserts from Morocco to western India. Originally, the desert lark was classified as belonging to the genus Alauda until moved to Ammomanes. They were numerous and seen across the stoney desert and sandy semi-desert habitats.
We caught a glimpse of several black-bellied sandgrouse whizzing past, always too far and too fast for my camera skills. We also had a large kettle of black kite in this area catching the thermals and grouping togther.
These are great little birds with their striking head pattern that resembles a black Zorro-mask and their black throat, and narrow black “horns” or ear tufts make them looks very elegant.
Greater-hoopoe Lark: Walking through the semi-desert and over the short vegetation we heard the very distinctive call of rising and falling notes consisting of trilled whistles. As Hamid shouted 'hoopoe lark'. Another one of my target birds, much larger than I anticipated and not camera shy.
We watched and followed the hoopoe larks foraging by running or walking in short sprinting spurts, probing and digging the ground. They were approachable.
The courtship display of the male consists of rising with fluttering wing-strokes and then diving down with closed wings to a perch. The slow flappy start to the song flight recall a hoopoe for which this species is named. The striking wing pattern of black wing feathers with a white base and trailing edge; and a white tail with black outer feathers are displayed in flight.
Cream-colored Courser: We continued across the desert plateau where we stumbled across one of the best birds in the world, the cream-colored courser. These captivating birds are a member of the pratincole and courser family and are pretty widespread in these types of habitats, although this one was the only bird we saw throughout the whole trip.
Trumpeter Finch: After having our fill of the courser we continued onwards and again not too far we were lead to a large rocky canyon inhabited by people living in caves. It was here we watched a Lanner falcon nest and saw the bird flying through the canyon.
Pharaoh Eagle Owl Chick: We also struck gold with our only Maghreb wheatear and after a small hike, which was interrupted by a nice, noisy desert lark, Pharaoh eagle owl. A pair had been breeding here and it was no surprise that we quickly located the impressive adult owl.
Pharaoh Eagle Owl: We were looking at a nest the owl and noticed not one, not two, but three chicks looking down on us. It seemed like some baby creche here, as we were also shown (from quite a distance).
Pharaoh Eagle Owl Chick: This area was surprisingly busy, when we arrived there was alreday a tour with over a dozen other birders scoping the nest site. And as we left we past another large group who disembarked a mini-bus type van.
Melodious Warbler: After lunch, we made a stop at the southern part of Barrage El Mansour Eddahbi a few kilometres east of the town of Ouarzazate. Here we had woodchat shrike, a Maghreb Lark showing its thick, large bill very clearly and a Cetti’s warbler shouting from the top of its lungs from the reeds which also held several singing Western olivaceous Warblers and a nice Melodious warbler.
Let me just talk about our accommodation for a sec, on the face of it it was great, decent beds and rooms, really nice to look at with stylish high end moroccan kazbah style. The food was gross it was served like a buffet and each night the packs of French and German guests swamped the food hall acting as they have never seen food before.
Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin: I know English folk have a reputation for queueing that might not be shared by the rest of the hotel guests, but servility and manners I thought would have been. One good thing about the accommodation was its location.
Right outside the back door was the dune systems and next to it was a few shrubs and trees, a perfect migrant trap. We spent both evening and some time during the day here trying to find our own stuff. Picking up scrub-robins, Eastern olivaceous, Melodious, Sardinian, willow warblers and lesser white-throats.
The rufous-tailed scrub robin is found flitting among dense cover but also in more open positions on trees, the tops of bushes and on posts. It is frequently seen on the ground hopping about and flaring and bobbing its tail up and down. When perched it also displays its tail in this way and also sometimes droops its wings before giving them a little flick forward.
Thekla's Lark: Day four and we explored 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.
European Bee-eater: To say that we were excited to be out biding on the desert and dune of Morocco would be an understatement. Although there was a small spanner in the works, I was sick in the night with a dicky tummy and felt rough the following morning.
Desert Lark: I had been up since the erealy hours unable to leave the toilet and eventually met the rest of the guys for a quick breakfast before climbing into the vehicle and speeding off over the desert.
The bumps, lumps and the skidding across the dunes wasn't making me feel any better, I was clenching tight and on the lookout for a 'private place' where I could, you know, go.
Short-toed Snake Eagle: In the afternoon I took a nap and tried to rest up with the hope that i felt better once I had woken up. In the mean time the lads went out with the guide to bird in the late afternoon.
Blue Cheeked Bee-eater: On fifth day started early, before we heading back out onto the desert. We passed a small quarry are that was buzzing with emerald green birds.
The Seebohm's wheatear was formerly regarded as the North African subspecies of the widespread Northern wheatear of Eurasia, Greenland and northern North America, however, it is now regarded as a full species.
These where common and widespread up there, their upperparts are similar to adult male Northern wheatear but sometimes has more white on the forehead and less extensive area of black on the tip of the tail where the white colour may extend along the outer tail.
I loved these, they were great to photograph, they like stony deserts from the Sahara and Arabia across to Iraq and is largely resident but has occurred as a rare vagrant to western Europe as far away as Great Britain!!! I can only dream.
This place was stunning and we were treated to a three course 'set' meal.
Desert Wheatear: We started our fourth day by heading out to the famous and renowned Tagdilt Track. Even when I came out here with Dawn back in 2014 I was trying to get here, and even looked at hiring a car.
The Tagdilt Track is really well known for a whole host of really special species, including the red-rumped wheatear, hoopoe lark, Temminck’s lark, short-toed lark, Thekla's lark, trumpeter finch, cream-coloured courser, and my all time favorite thick-billed lark.
The wheatears were the stars of the show here, alighting on the plastic waste and fences posts throughout the dump.
Maghreb Wheatear: The recent unseasonal wetter weather had definitely had an impact on the birds, for example we were expecting to see many more lark species within the dump area but rains have made the wider habitat much more lush with vegatation and better food sources for the larks.
Thick-billed Lark: But this is where Hamid really earn't his money, he knew precisely where the thick-billed larks would be. Having seen them from the car on a previous tour he noted they had moved to an area close to the main road.
Western Black-eared Wheatear: We were glad to leave this smelly and potentially hazardous area and drove only a short distance north over the semi-desert habitat.
They have pale, sandy-brown plumage, a yellowish bill, and faint streaks on their underparts.
Maghreb Crested Lark: There was a small pool which had attracted a few interesting birds, a few more lark species including Maghreb, and a few short-toed larks.
Temminck’s Lark: Around the pool a pair of horned larks were foraging, unlike the pale short-toed lark that stood out these horned larks blended into the open habitat with shrubs, grasses, and extensive bare sandy and stony areas.
Greater Short-toed lark: This is a small pale lark, smaller than the skylark. It is dark-streaked greyish-brown above, and white below, and has a strong pointed bill that is pinkish with a grey culmen. It has a pale supercilium, dark patches on each side of its neck and a dark tail.
Black-bellied Sandgrouse: We circled around back to the small pool and spent some time scanning for bird when a pair of black-bellied sandgrouse dropped in for a drink.
From here we drove out to our accommodation nestled within the dune system on the edge of the Sarahah Desert. It was pretty impressive seeing the giant dunes creep over the horizon as we approached.
These were a very active flock of stunning blue cheeked bee-eaters. These awesome birds breed in Northern Africa, and the Middle East from eastern Turkey to Kazakhstan and India. It is generally strongly migratory, wintering in tropical Africa
Like other bee-eaters, this species is a richly coloured, slender bird. It is predominantly green; its face has blue sides with a black eye stripe, and a yellow and brown throat; the beak is black
the sound of sparrow like chirping could be heard as we approached before sliding down the dunes and walking in where the birds were acting like sparrows but, in the desert.
Desert Sparrow (female): The desert sparrow is a species of bird in the sparrow family Passeridae, found in the Sahara Desert of northern Africa. A similar bird, Zarudny's sparrow, is found in Central Asia and was historically recognised as a subspecies of the desert sparrow, but varies in a number of ways and is now recognised as a separate species
The male of this bird is gray in upper parts, sandy color in the underparts of his body, and a black bib, black lines in front of the head that makes him so beautiful. and the female has a sandy color in all parts of her body with some white parts in her wings. The female is a long and slim body against the male is Short and fat a little.
Crowned Sandgrouse: We also spent the early part of the morning on the desert plains, a wide expanse of sand, stony semi-desert and patches of scrub. Hamid leaped out of the vehicle and we watched as he turned on a concealed tap, to create a small pool. A small watering hole.
Spotted Sandgrouse: We waited and waited, and waited before we could hear the distinct sound of sandgrouse, the nasal, yelping, or rattling sounds. A true desert species that is more likely to be seen flying overhead in small flocks, very seldom coming to ground, unless there is suitable water in the early or late hours of the day.
This area was littered with small pools, the recent unseasonal wet weather had done us a big favour. Eventually several dozen sandgrouse came down to drink and bath.
Crowned Sandgrouse: We got very close to both the spotted and crowned sandgrouse, but failed to see the pin-tailed sandgrouse. This was such a great experience an the bird showed extremely well.
Sandgrouse inhabits a variety of arid and semi-arid habitats, including desert scrublands, rocky plateaus, and dry grasslands. It is often found in areas with sparse vegetation and open terrain, where it can forage for food and find suitable nesting sites.
Sandgrouse are typically seen foraging in small flocks, especially during the early morning and late afternoon when they are most active. They may travel long distances in search of food and water, often visiting waterholes or other sources of moisture.
Desert Lark: Next to the a large water body called Lake Yasmina are stands of tamarisks, an Old World shrub or small tree with tiny scale-like leaves borne on slender branches, giving it a feathery appearance. These are fantastic for migrants that have just passed over the Sahara on their way north. These are being studied by Catalan ornithologists who set up a ringing station every spring. In wet years there are also two lakes here which support waterbirds.
Hoopoe Lark: Hamid was really friendly with the ringing team and had pre-organised a visit for us all to attending a ringing session. We walked down and checked the nests where small birds were carefully removed.
Then we returned to the nearby hotel rooftop and observed several Western olivaceous warblers, reed warbler and a few house sparrow, Gary volunteered to release one of the sparrows, and dropped it!
Desert Warbler: Our guide took us to an area close to were te sandgrouse were seen, this area was more like a desert scrub and home to the desert warbler. we hunted for this following its call and watching as it perched high on the short bushes.
The African desert warbler is a diminutive and unassuming bird, the smallest within its genus. It presents a pale sandy yellow-brown plumage on its upper parts, contrasting with a whitish underside.
Not far from Lake Lake Yasmina when we were greeted by a local farmer and instructed to pay him around £10 in Moroccan Dirham. He then took us to the are where the nightjar was roosting.
Apparently this local searches the desert each morning and finds the nightjar roost before letting the bird guides know he's got it and invited them to come and see it, and bring paying customers.
Egyptian Nightjar: This site is famous with birders, a proper Moroccan birding experience. We were taken to a spot overlooking the rooting nightjar, told be be hushed and to be respectful and not get too close. Well for the tenna.
The Egyptian nightjar is native to North Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and the Middle East. In Morocco, they are found in the eastern desert regions, but there are also reports from the Sous Valley.
The habitat in this are was is for species such as Fulvous babbler, blue-cheeked bee-eater and rufous bush chat. We explored this area picking some babbler and wheatear species
One out final day we made out way back to Marrakech, a very long drive back, but with plenty of stops for birding on the way back.
Fulvous Babbler: We stopped at Boumalne Dades, but first we visited the Todra Gorge, a famous tourist destination which is essentially a river that has cut through a large massif and has created a very scenic canyon. That is, if you can see past all the tourist.
However, it can be a good place for species like Tristram’s Warbler, so we had a walk around. We didn’t see much of interest so quickly decided to move onwards.
Tristram’s Warbler: We spotted off at a site for Barbary falcon, a subspecies of the peregrine falcon where we also found some fossils, pretty cool. Or maybe thats more of the geek in me, excited to ass some more to my fossil collection.
Tristram's warbler breed in the Atlas and related mountains of Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. We finally managed to catch up with one after a lengthy search within a very steep valley. It was too steep that only Kris and I took on the challenge and were rewarded with some spectacular views!
So, there you have it thats our Moroccan birding trip all rapped up. I'd like to personally thank Hamid, perhaps not the most talkative bird guide, I would have like more information as we progressed and more details on the bird and places we saw. But he definitely knew his stuff and put in a lot of time and effort finding our target birds.
Morocco is generally considered a fantastic birding destination, particularly for those interested in Western Palearctic and desert specialties. I loved it, it was such a great trip and one I have always wanted to do 'properly' since I visited with Dawn. Morocco offers diverse habitats, including mountains, deserts, and coastlines, leading to a wide variety of bird species and it's a must-visit location for unique species and breathtaking scenery.
We ended up with 124 birds for the trip list, including 10 larks, 8 wheatears and 15 warblers.
https://birdwatchingmoroccotours.com/
1. Collared Dove
2. White Stork
3. Little Swift
4. Woodpigeon
5. Spotless Starling
6. Feral Pigeon
7. House Bunting
8. Barn swallow
9. Common Bulbul
10. Blackbird
11. House sparrow
12. Greenfinch
13. Pied Flycatcher
14. African Chaffinch
15. Booted Eagle
16. Turtle Dove
17. European Serin
18. Western Olivaceous Warbler
19. Great Tit
20. Sardinian Warbler
21. Pallid Swift
22. Kestrel
23. Bee-Eater
24. Egyptian Vulture
25. Black Kite
26. Maghreb Magpie
27. Black redstart
28. Seebolhm’s Wheatear
29. Coot
30. Atlas Horned Lark
31. Crimson-winged Finch
32. Rock Sparrow
33. Red-billed Chough
34. Alpine Chough
35. Blue Rock Thrush
36. Common Raven
37. Black Wheatear
38. Rock Bunting
39. Moussier’s Redstart
40. Thekla’s Lark
41. Grey Wagtail
42. Dipper
43. Cirl Bunting
44. African Blue Tit
45. Nightingale
46. Blackcap
47. Levaillant’s Woodpecker
48. Goldfinch
49. Red-rumped Swallow
50. Stonechat
51. Corn Bunting
52. Great Grey Shrike
53. Western black-eared Wheatear
54. Cattle Egret
55. European Roller
56. Woodchat Shrike
57. Red Crossbill
58. Coal Tit
59. Western Subalpine Warbler
60. Tristram’s Warbler
61. Willow Warbler
62. Hoopoe
63. House Martin
64. Desert Lark
65. Desert Wheatear
66. White-crowned Wheatear
67. Maghreb Lark
68. Mallard
69. Sand Martin
70. Melodious Warbler
71. Black Stork
72. Yellow Wagtail
73. Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin
74. Red-rumped Wheatear
75. Pipit Species (?)
76. Northern Wheatear
77. Temminck’s Lark
78. Greater short-toed Lark
79. Greater Hoopoe Lark
80. Black-bellied Sandgrouse
81. Cream-coloured Courser
82. Thick-billed Lark
83. Spectacled Warbler
84. Maghreb Wheatear
85. Trumpeter Finch
86. Pharaoh’s Eagle Owl
87. Lanner Falcon
88. Fulvous Babbler
89. Saharan Scrub Warbler
90. Bar-tailed lark
91. Short-toed Snake Eagle
92. Blue-cheeked Bee-eater
93. Desert Sparrow
94. Lesser Whitethroat
95. Ruddy Shelduck
96. Brown-necked Raven
97. Spotted Sandgrouse
98. Crowned Sandgrouse
99. African Desert Warbler
100. Egyptian Nightjar
101. Little Ringed Plover
102. Black-winged Stilt
103. Reed Warbler
104. Chiffchaff
105. Greater Flamingo
106. Avocet
107. Gull-billed Tern
108. Grey Heron
109. Redshank
110. Western Bonelli’s Warbler
111. Garden warbler
112. Common Redstart
113. Barbary Falcon
114. Laughing Dove
115. Crag Martin
116. Little Egret
117. Linnet
118. Alpine Swift
119. Green Sandpiper
120. Crested Lark
21. Wryneck
122. Western Orphean Warbler
123. Spotted Flycatcher
124. Long-legged Buzzard