Desert Birding in Morocco with Boletas Birdwatching Centre.

For some years now I have wanted to experience the desert birding in Morocco and during 2017 I was fortunate enough to achieve my goal and I spent a week there, between 10th March and 20th March, birding in the special desert areas. I traveled with Boletas Birdwatching Tours, operated by Josele Saiz. Our team comprised of 7 birders, most of which were also keen photographers, two leaders – Chris Townend and Danny Cazo Monesma and not forgetting our brilliant driver, Mohammed. It was a stunning trip, managing to see 30 new species and over 170 species for the week, 11 species of butterfly, 4 species of dragonfly, not to mention 3 species of frog and a single species of gecko. A massive thank you to Chris and Danny for their superb leadership skills, to the rest of the guys on the trip (Steve x 2; Pete, Rob, Chris and Karim), to Mohammed and lastly to Boletas Birdwatching Tours.

I saw all my target birds, which included Bald Ibis, Pharoah Eagle Owl, Crowned & Spotted Sandgrouse, Brown-throated Martin, Thick-billed Lark, Moussier’s Redstart, Egyptian Nightjar, Red-rumped Wheatear, White-crowned Wheatear, Magreb Wheatear, Seebohm’s Wheatear, Scrub Warbler, African Desert Warbler, Crimson-winged Finch, Levaillant’s Woodpecker, Temminck’s Lark, Hoopoe Lark, Bar-tailed Lark, Black-crowned Tchagra, Tristram’s Warbler and Desert Sparrow. Some of which I managed decent photos, some were only record shots. Nevertheless all the birds were seen well. Some of the best views of Quail I’m ever likely to get, thanks to Danny, the “Quail King”, along with a stunning “Swift Extravaganza” and we even found a Lesser Scaup, the 7th record for Morocco and also, what was almost certainly, a Rock Martin. All in all some fabulous birding experiences.

Summary of the trip – We commenced our birding journey in Marakesh, spending a full day in the high Atlas Mountains. Then a long drive east to Boulmane Dades, visiting the stoney desert area of Hammada and the Tagdilt Track. Another long drive further east to the Sahara Desert, staying in Merzouga for three nights and birding the vast desert area. Our return journey was via Ouarzazate, visiting the Anti-Atlas Range and the large Mansour Reservoir, where we found a Lesser Scaup. Then on to Agadir, birding the coastal river and the famous Sous Massa area and finally returning to Marakesh. 

I thought my time with Morocco’s Desert Birds was summed up perfectly in an email that Chris Townend sent to me – ” Hope you are not missing the Desert too much – The sand stays in the optics for weeks afterwards” –  very true words and I’m missing it already…

This BLOG will take some time to complete, as I have so many photos to trawl through. So I will keep updating from time to time.

Egyptian Nightjar – Merzouga Desert, Morocco –  March 2017 –Tony Davison© – Difficult to choose from so many stunning birds but I think this is my star bird of the trip.

African Desert Warbler – Merzouga Desert, Morocco – March 2017 – Tony Davison© – A difficult species to track down but we managed to find two different birds

Alpine Chough – Oukaimedem, Atlas Mountains, Morocco – March 2017 – Tony Davison© Hundreds around the mountain village plains 

Red-billed Chough – Oukaimedem, Atlas Mountains, Morocco – March 2017 – Tony Davison© Hundreds around the mountain village plains 

Bald Ibis – Above 6 images – Sidi Boulefdayl, Oued Massa, Morocco – March 2017 – Tony Davison© – A rare species which we were fortunately able to find amongst the large coastal dune area, around 60 birds

Bar-tailed Lark – Above 3 images – Common in the desert areas of Morocco  –  March 2017 – Tony Davison©

Black Wheatear – Oukaimedem, Atlas Mountains, Morocco – March 2017 – Tony Davison© 

Black-crowned Tchagra – Oued Massa, Morocco – March 2017 – Tony Davison© – We found two birds both reasonably approachable 

Blue-cheeked Bee-eater – Rissani, Morocco – March 2017 –  Tony Davison© – 4 birds in the area – Absolute stunners..

Collard Dove – Merzouga Desert Area, Morocco – March 2017  – Tony Davison© 

Common Whitethroat – Cafe Ibrahim, Morocco – March 2017 – Tony Davison© – several species of migrants at this desert oasis – I wondered at the time if this was a bird on it’s way to the UK

African Crimson-winged Finch – Oukaimedem, Atlas Mountains, Morocco -March 2017 – Tony Davison© – Another cracking bird that was on my wanted list

Crowned Sandgrouse – Above 2 images – Kekemia, Morocco – March 2017 – Tony Davison© – A fantastic trip into the desert with 4 x 4 vehicles for the Sandgrouse, Nightjar and other specialities

Desert Lark – Tagdilt Plains, Morocco – March 2017 – Tony Davison© – Common in the desert areas

Desert Sparrow – Above 2 images – Male top / female above – Merzouga Desert, Morocco – March 2017 – Tony Davison© – Rare in this area of Morocco

Hoopoe Lark – Above 7 images – Merzouga Desert area, Morocco – March 2017 – Tony Davison© A bird I’ve long wanted to see and hear – Mission accomplished – Another stunning bird. The song is amazing.

House Bunting – Erg Chebi, Morocco – March 2017 – Tony Davison© – Common seen every day

Iberian Yellow Wagtail – Mansour Reservoir, Morocco – March 2017 – Tony Davison© – plenty of these attractive wagtails on passage

Laughing Dove – Begaa Oasis, Morocco – March 2017 – Tony Davison©

Little Owl – Sidi Boulefdayl, Oued Massa, Morocco – March 2017 – Tony Davison© – note the sandy brown colour phase to our local UK birds.