Morocco - A Bald Ibis Break!

Transcription

1 Naturetrek February 2012 Report compiled by Mohamed Zaki Naturetrek Cheriton Mill Cheriton Alresford Hampshire SO24 0NG England T: +44 (0) F: +44 (0) E: W:

2 Morocco - A Bald Ibis Break! Tour Leader: Mohamed Zaki Participants: Trevor Barry Cherrett Kenneth Cherrett Christopher Coe Janet Coe Phillipa Stephenson Ruth Kingdom Day 1 Tuesday 14th February Arrival and drive to the Massa R overlooeserve via Souss River. Weather: sunny, clear and cold breeze The group left the UK and landed 30 minutes earlier than expected. We left the airport and went to a restaurant for lunch near Ait Melloul. On the wall near the road we found our first interesting bird: the Moroccan Magpie. We enjoyed the tagine and continued to the Souss river mouth. On the way, many storks were turning in the sky above a rubbish dump. We crossed the city quickly and reached Souss River. More Moroccan Magpies were on a wall, and Stonechat, Serin, Sardinian Warbler and Chiffchaff were in the bushes. Moussier s Redstart was nice to watch. A small pool held one Coot, one Little Grebe and one Shoveler. In the river itself more storks were there with a large group of flamingos, a few Grey Herons and many Black-headed Gulls. Some waders were present too, such as Grey Plovers, Oystercatchers, Redshanks, Curlews and Black-winged Stilts. We left Souss River and went south in the direction of Tiznit. We turned right to Sidi Rbat in Massa. Two things surprised me this time: firstly, the deserted plateau was very poor, and secondly the entire road to Sidi Rbat was asphalted. So all we found here on the stony walls were Little Owl and Southern Grey Shrike (algeriensis). On a telegraph post, a Peregrine Falcon was waiting for the right time to attack his prey. Our hotel is the famous Ksar Massa, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Day 2 Wednesday 15th February Costal area and Massa Reserve Weather: very cold in the morning, warm sun Three people decided to go for a little walk before breakfast. It was 7:00 am when we left the hotel, and we saw a Kestrel waiting for the sun on a telegraph post near the hotel. We went north to the desert plateau first. On the plateau we had only few Crested Larks and White Wagtail. Then we turned down to the sea. Near the water we had a few Oystercatchers, Turnstones, Sanderling and Ringed Plover. We came back to the hotel and it started to get a bit warm, so more birds came out: Bulbul, Spotless Starling, Sardinian Warbler and Stonechat. We had breakfast with a superb view of the ocean. Naturetrek March 12 1

3 Our next walk was in the Massa Reserve. On the beach, we located a large group of Western Yellow-legged Gulls with a few Audouin s. At the beginning of the lagoon, a large number of Sandwiched Terns were with some Grey Herons and Curlew. Sanderling and Little Ringed Plover were running on the sand. Later, about eight Glossy Ibis joined the terns. In the forest, five Barbary Partridges flew and entered in the reserve. We walked inside the reserve for a while before we saw a Common Sandpiper and Kingfisher from a distance. A Blackshouldered Kite passed above our heads. We came back for lunch at 12:30pm. After a little rest, we decided to use the car and drive to the farthest gate of the reserve. Our target birds were some ducks and teals. On the plateau, we had a female Northern Wheatear. In the valley a Blue Rock Thrush and House Bunting were on a small cliff. In the river we found few Coots, one Moorhen and Little Grebe. We spent more time in the reserve and further up in the valley and came back to the hotel seeing a beautiful sunset. Day 3 Thursday 16th February Massa Valley Reserve and Sidi Ouassay Weather: sunny, windy in the middle of the day: After breakfast at 8:00, we decided to use the car for a full day. Before leaving, we saw the same birds as the day before in the garden. Ruth and Phillipa saw a Black-crowned Tchagra. We stopped near the reserve s fences to watch our Peregrine on his post. Suddenly we located four gazelles inside the park. They walked and disappeared behind the trees. In the sky, many Little, Pallid and Common Swifts and a few Plain Martins were turning. Further on the plateau a large flock of birds flew and landed further. It was a good colony of Meadow Pipits. We crossed Massa Valley quickly seeing a Zitting Cisticola pass overhead. Cetti's Warbler came very close and a Subalpine Warbler was in a bush. We headed to Sidi Ouassay on the ocean. We hoped to find the famous Bald Ibis there. We looked around the village and continued to walk north. Further up, a Black-crowned Tchagra showed himself very well. At the lagoon we found the same group of birds as the day before: more Glossy Ibis, Sandwich Tern and Grey Heron. We arrived back at the hotel for lunch. In the afternoon we decided to drive to different parts of the lagoon and river. It was 3:30 pm when we left the hotel. We drove up the valley and went on the old road to Tiznit. We stopped and went for a walk in fields. We located a mixed flock of birds in a distance. They were turning in the sky. We approached and asked a local man where this flock landed. He showed them to us in a flooded field. It was about 40 Glossy Ibises with Grey Herons, few Black-winged Stilt, two Shoveler, Ringed Plover, Black-tailed Godwit, one Grey Plover and one Ruff. Grey, White and Yellow Wagtails were there as well. In the big trees we scanned and found Laughing Dove, North African Chaffinch, Greenfinch and Spanish Sparrow. We came back to the hotel as the sun was setting. Day 4 Friday 17th February Plateau and costa Sidi Rbat. Reserve and valley of Massa Weather: sunny and warm, with a pleasant breeze. 2 Naturetrek March 12

4 Three of the group members came with me this morning. We went up to the plateau in the north of the village because we wanted to find a Cream-coloured Courser. We had a few Crested Larks and some Cattle Egrets; so we turned down to the coast. From there, we located Oystercatcher, Turnstone, Sanderling and Whimbrel on the rocky coast. A Gannet flew up by the sea. Barn Swallow, Pallid Swift and House Martin turned in the sky. On the way down we had a good view of an Osprey. In the afternoon, we drove again and went to a different place in the valley. We arrived at a freshwater river. Here we found five Tufted Ducks, Shoveler and a couple of Gadwall. In the trees we had Corn Bunting, Goldfinch, Serin and Robin. Our first Hoopoe flew over and landed in the distance. We carried on to the other side of the valley and looked again in a different part of the river. We were surprised to find one Great Egret. We left the river and came back to the hotel. On the way back, we finished our day with the usual peregrine on the post and one Southern Grey Shrike (algeriensis). The sun set was beautiful. Day 5 Saturday 18th February Transfer to Marrakech. Visit to Tifnit village. Weather: sunny and warm. Some clouds on the Haouz Plain: We checked out of the hotel. As we did not have a chance to see the Bald Ibis in Massa Valley, I decided to take the group to the village of Tifnit. It is a good place where the ibis come frequently to eat. We looked near the village and suddenly Phillipa shouted "Here it is! Here it is!" Nine birds came and landed not far from the parking area at the gate of the village, and we had a good view of them! We continued on the freeway to Chichaoua for lunch. We reached the hotel and Riad Aya at about 16:30. I said goodbye to everybody and left the group to continue on with their visit Marrakech before returning back to the UK. Receive our e-newsletter Join the Naturetrek ing list and be the first to hear about new tours, additional departures and new dates, tour reports and special offers. Visit to sign up. Naturetrek Facebook We are delighted to launch the Naturetrek Facebook page so that participants of Naturetrek tours can remain in touch after the holiday and share photos, comments and future travel plans. Setting up a personal profile at is quick, free and easy. The Naturetrek Facebook page is now live; do please pay us a visit! Naturetrek March 12 3

5 Species List Birds ( = recorded but not counted; H = heard only) February Common name Scientific name Little Grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis 2 Gannet Sula bassana 3 Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo Moroccan Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo maroccanus 4 Great Egret Ardea alba 5 Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis 6 Little Egret Egretta garzetta 7 Grey Heron Ardea cinerea 8 Eurasian Spoonbill Platalea leucorodi 9 Glossy Ibis Plegadis falcinellus 10 Northern Bald Ibis Geronticus eremita 11 White Stork Ciconia ciconia 12 Greater Flamingo Phoenicopterus ruber 13 Mallard Anas platyrhynchos 14 Gadwall Anas strepera 15 Shoveler Anas clypeata 16 Tufted Duck Aythya fuligula 17 Black Kite Milvus migrans 18 Black-shouldered Kite Elaneus caeruleus 19 Marsh Harrier Circus aeruginosus 20 Osprey Pandion haliaetus 21 Common Kestrel Falco tinnunculus 22 Peregrine Falco peregrinus brookei 23 Barbary Partridge Alectoris barbara 24 Common Moorhen Gallinula chloropus 25 Coot Fulica atra 26 Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus 27 Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus 28 Stone-curlew Burhinus oedicnemus 29 Ringed Plover Charadrius hiaticula 30 Little Ringed Plover 31 Kentish Plover Charadrius alexandrinus 32 Golden Plover 33 Grey Plover Pluvialis squatarola 34 Knot Calidris canutus 35 Sanderling Calidris alba 36 Ruff Philomachus pugnax 37 Black-tailed Godwit Limosa limosa 38 Curlew Numenius arquata 39 Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus 40 Redshank Tringa totanus 41 Greenshank Tringa nebularia 42 Audouin's Gull Larus audouinii 43 Black-headed Gull Larus ridibundus 44 Western Yellow-legged Gull Larus michahellis michahellis 45 Western Lesser Black-backed Gull Larus fuscus graellsii 46 Sandwich Tern Sterna sandvicensis 4 Naturetrek March 12

6 February Common name Scientific name Black-bellied Sandgrouse Pterocles orientalis 48 Rock Dove/Feral Pigeon Columba livia 49 Collared Dove Streptopelia decaoto 50 Turtle Dove Streptopelia turtue 51 Wood Pigeon Columba palumbus 52 Little Owl Athene noctua 53 Little Swift Apus affinis 54 Pallid Swift Apus pallidus 55 Kingfisher Alcedo atthis 56 Hoopoe Upupa epops 57 Crested Lark Galerida cristata 58 Sand Martin Riparia riparia 59 Plain Martin Riparia paludicola 60 House Martin Delichon urbica 61 Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica rustica 62 Meadow Pipit Anthus pratensis H 63 White Wagtail Motacilla alba 64 Grey Wagtail Motacilla cinerea 65 Yellow Wagtail sp Motacilla flava 66 Common Bulbul Pycnonotus barbatus 67 Robin Erithacus rubecula 68 Stonechat Saxicola torquata 69 Moussier's Redstart Phoenicurus moussieri 70 Wheatear Oenanthe oenanthe 71 Blue Rock Thrush Monticola solitarius 72 Blackbird Turdus merula mauritanicus 73 Cetti's Warbler Cettia cetti 74 Fan-tailed Warbler Cisticola juncidis H 75 Sardinian Warbler Sylvia melanocephala 76 Chiffchaff Phylloscopus collybita 77 Subalpine Warbler Sylvia cantillans 78 Great Tit Parus major 79 Black-crowned Tchagra Tchagra senegala H H 80 Southern Grey Shrike Lanius meridionalis algenensis 81 Moroccan Magpie Pica pica mauritanica 82 Spotless Starling Sturnus unicolor 83 Spanish Sparrow Passer hispaniolensis 84 House Sparrow Passer domesticus 85 'North African' Chaffinch Fringilla coelebs africana 86 Serin Serinus serinus 87 Linnet Acanthis cannabina 88 Goldfinch Carduelis carduelis parva 89 Greenfinch Carduelis chloris voousi 90 Corn Bunting Miliaria calandra 91 House Bunting Emberiza sahari Naturetrek March 12 5