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A group of 10 members took part in the first
Ornifolks trip to Morocco in March 2001. After a disappointing start missing
the increasingly difficult Double-spurred Francolin and Marsh Owl (both much
easier in other parts of Africa anyway) the rest of the trip proved to be
a great success. Early highlights included Marbled Duck, Red-crested Pochard,
Crested Coot and a flock of Audouin's Gulls at Lac de sidi Bourhaba, while the
Foret de Sidi Bettache produced the local forms of Chaffinch (africana) and
Blue Tit (ultramarinus), flocks of White Storks, Woodlark, Sardinian
Warbler, and several Lesser Kestrels.
The endemic Levaillant's Green Woodpecker proved
more difficult than hoped, but a pair eventually performed superbly at
Dayet Aoua, near Ifrane. Other highlights here included large numbers of
Firecrest, Nuthatch and Short-toed Treecreeper. Dupont's Lark is always a
tough bird to find and it was to be six hours spread over an afternoon and the
following morning before all members of the group who persisted had got to
grips with this elusive bird. Other distractions in this area included Red-rumped
Wheatear, Desert Wheatear, Black-bellied Sandgrouse and perhaps somewhat
surprisingly a superb Cream-coloured Courser. Moving on to the deserts of
southern Morocco we chalked up our first Desert Larks, Black and White-crowned
Black Wheatears while our excursion into the desert near Erfoud suffered from
increasingly strong winds and an afternoon sand storm. However we still
managed to secure great looks at Crowned Sandgrouse, Hoopoe Lark, a handful of
Sylvia warblers that included Subalpine, Spectacled and the endemic Tristram's
Warbler. Another endemic in the form of a female Moussier's
Redstart was soon secured while Desert Sparrows proved more elusive in the
strong winds, eventually being found in the last cafe before reaching Merzouga
village. Next morning the winds had abated somewhat and we resumed our
search for desert species, connecting with Bar-tailed Desert Lark and Fulvous
Babbler, but failing to find Desert Warbler.
Continuing westwards a stop at Todra Gorge
produced the expected Bonelli's Eagle and good numbers of Crag Martins
and Blue Rock Thrush. We were fortunate to find a Barbary Falcon hunting along
the hillsides south of the gorge. The Tagdilt track disappointed some, but
larks were plentiful. Temminck's Horned Lark was soon located, but the
much desired Thick-billed proved more tricky and was not safely under the belt
until early evening. Other highlights included 12 Cream Coloured
Coursers, plentiful Desert and Red-rumped Wheatears and migrant raptors in the
form of Booted and Short-toed Eagles. Proceeding on towards the coast the next
day, we succeeded in locating Mourning Wheatear with ease and at the same time
rather fortuitously jamming in on a flock of Pin-tailed Sandgrouse. Next day a
visit to the traditional site for Dark Chanting Goshawk at Igoudar
unsurprisingly failed to produce that species (many people have tried and
failed in recent years), but compensation came in the form of our first male
Moussier's Redstarts, Hoopoe, Turtle Dove, Cirl Bunting and 10 species of
raptor. An afternoon visit to the mouth of the Oued Sous produced the hoped
for Slender-billed Gulls, plus large numbers of shorebirds.
Amongst the highlights of a leisurely
exploration of Oued Massa were great looks at Spotted Crake, Squacco Heron,
Laughing Dove, Plain Martin, Black-crowned Tchagra, Wryneck, Olivaceous
Warbler, Spanish Sparrow and the tour's final wheatear species, Black-eared.
The next day started with a flock of Bald Ibis performing at close range close
to the road near the small town of Tamri. A brief seawatch produced several
Cory's Shearwaters, Northern Gannet, Parasitic Jaeger and a Short-eared Owl. A
lonely Snowy Plover met its maker in the form of a Peregrine Falcon. Later in
the day several Calandra Larks completed our set of larks and a pair of
breeding Booted Eagles welcomed our arrival at the hotel in Marrakech.
Our final day was spent in the mountains near
Oukaimeden. Here we quickly located Rock Buntings and Rock Sparrows, while
large flocks of Alpine Choughs were unmissable. Higher up on the slopes
Crimson-winged Finches and Alpine Accentors were eventually located before we
retired to a cafe for coffee accompanied by Black Redstarts. A Golden Eagle on
our way back down to Marrakech concluded a very successful tour.
We hope to run a repeat of this tour in March 2003 and expressions of interest in this trip are welcomed.
A trip report in PDF format is available by
clicking here.
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