Morocco Birding Trip Report (24th February - 2nd March 2019) - Species List and Locations

Day 1 – Marrakech & Oukaimeden (24^th February 2019)

House Bunting – 24^th February – Marrakech (First seen on the window ledge of our Riad. Abundant in the city with a group of 30+ seen feeding on split grain at close quarters.)

Maghreb Magpie – 24^th February – R203 Marrakech to Tahnaout (Seen foraging next to the road. Abundant and seen well throughout the trip. Recently split.)

Common Bulbul – 24^th February – Ourika (First seen in the trees near the pottery shops driving up to the Atlas Mountains. Relatively common throughout Morocco.)

African Crimson-winged Finch – 24^th February – Oukaimeden (Seen feeding in the car parks and around the ski lift at close quarters. Around 40 birds. Endemic.)

Other birds: (Marrakech) – Little Swift, Pallid Swift, Black Kite (Atlas Mountains) – African Blue Tit, African Chaffinch, Crag Martin, House Bunting 

(Oukaimeden) – Atlas Horned Lark, African Chaffinch, African Blue Tit

Day 2 – Igunane, Oukaimeden, Ourika (25th February 2019)

Levaillant's Woodpecker – 25^th February – Igunane (Single bird heard calling and then seen perched in a dead tree next to the road. Only bird of the trip.)

Other birds: (Igunane) – African Blue Tit, African Chaffinch (Oukaimeden) – Crimson-winged Finch, Alpine Chough, African Chaffinch, Barbary Partridge, Maghreb Magpie, Rock Sparrow, Rock Bunting, Black Wheatear, Atlas Horned Lark 

(Atlas Mountains) – Crag Martin, Iberian Chiffchaff, African Blue Tit, Moroccan Wagtail, Red-rumped Swallow, Common Bulbul

(Ourika) – Barbary Partridge, Woodchat Shrike, Serin, Common Bulbul

Day 3 – Oukaimeden to Marrakech (26th February 2019)

Moussier’s Redstart – 26^th February – R203 Thanaout to Marrakech (First seen in a scrubby field next to the R203. Seen in good numbers around Agadir on the west coast, particularly in rocky ares with trees. Showed extremely well on occasion and one of my favourite birds.)

Other birds: (Oukaimeden) – Crimson-winged Finch, Atlas Horned Lark, Rock Sparrow, Alpine Chough, Black Wheatear, African Blue Tit, Rock Bunting, Crested Lark, African Chaffinch, Serin

(Marrakech) – Spectacled Warbler, Sardinian Warbler, Crested Lark, Maghreb Magpie, African Chaffinch, House Bunting, White Stork

Day 4 – Marrakech to Agadir (27th February 2019)

Brown-throated Martin – 27^th February – Oued Massa (first northern bridge) (A small handful of birds seen with Swallows and Sand Martins over the first northern bridge over the Oued Massa. Plain throat visible compared with the band of the Sand Martins.)

Northern Bald Ibis – 27^th February – Sidi Wassay (First seen on the beach when four birds flew in to feed on the sand. Seen again the next day at close quarters with 2 perched and preening on a low rooftop.)

Other birds: (Oued Massa) – Moroccan Wagtail, Zitting Cisticola, Serin, Subalpine Warbler, Crested Lark, Sardinian Warbler 

(Sidi Wassay) – Moussier’s Redstart, Moroccan Wagtail, Spotless Starling, Yellow-legged Gull 

(Souss Massa) – Little Owl (Desert), Crested Lark, Maghreb Magpie, Moussier’s Redstart, Great spotted Cuckoo, Little Swift, Great Grey Shrike

Day 5 – Souss Massa National Park (Oued Massa), Oued Massa & Sidi Wassay (28th February 2019)

Black-crowned Tchagra – 28th February – Marrakech (First seen on the window ledge of our Riad. Abundant in the city with a group of 30+ seen feeding on split grain at close quarters.)

Other birds: (Souss Massa NP – Oued Massa) – Moussier’s Redstart, Subalpine Warbler, Sardinian Warbler, Crested Lark, Blue Rock Thrush, African Chaffinch, Spotless Starling, Spanish Sparrow, Wryneck, House Bunting, Yellow-legged Gull, Laughing Dove, Common Bulbul, Hoopoe, Serin, Cirl Bunting 

(Oued Massa) – Brown-throated Martin, Cirl Bunting, Little Owl (Desert), Zitting Cisticola, Sardinian Warbler, Great-spotted Cuckoo, House Bunting, Moussier’s Redstart, Crested Lark, Quail (heard only) 

(Sidi Wassay) – Northern Bald Ibis, Crested Lark, Maghreb Magpie, Moussier’s Redstart, Spotless Starling, House Bunting

 Day 6 – Taroudant & Paradise Valley (1st March 2019)

Fulvous Babbler – 1st March – Taroudant (Several found perched in shrubs inside the Aéroport de Taroudant compound as viewed from outside the fence. 7 in total and the only birds of the trip.)

Tristram’s Warbler – 1st March – Paradise Valley (Singing male seen observed in one of the large car parks heading up the valley. Possible wintering or breeding grounds. Territorial. Only bird of the trip.)

Other birds: (Taroudant) – Laughing Dove, Crested Lark, Subalpine Warbler, Sardinian Warbler, Pallid Swift, Zitting Cisticola, Spanish Sparrow, Maghreb Magpie, House Bunting, Common Bulbul

(Paradise Valley) – Sardinian Warbler, Black Wheatear, Moussier’s Redstart, Pallid Swift, Bonelli’s Eagle, Common Bulbul, House Bunting

Day 7 – Oued Sous & Paradise Valley (2nd March 2019)

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Other birds: (Oued Sous) – Greater Flamingo, Laughing Dove, Maghreb Magpie, Moroccan Wagtail, Subalpine Warbler, Zitting Cisticola, Sardinian Warbler 

(Paradise Valley) – Bonelli’s Eagle, Moussier’s Redstart, Maghreb Magpie, Crested Lark, Sardinian Warbler, African Chaffinch, Subalpine Warbler

Morocco Birding Trip Report - Day 7 (Saturday 2nd March 2019)

With almost a whole day ahead of us before our flight back to Manchester, we headed back to the Oued Sous in daylight, notching up a small flock of Greater Flamingos on the sandbar as a small number of Avocets and Greenshanks probed in the shallows. Several Sandwich Terns fished further out to shore, whilst both Maghreb Magpies and a duo of Moroccan Wagtails put on a great show at close quarters.

Maghreb Magpie - recently split this is now recognised as its own species - mainly due to the blue patch of colour behind the eye.

Laughing Dove

Moroccan Wagtail

The Oued Sous

With the rest of the morning and afternoon free, we decided to head back up to Paradise Valley for a final look at Moussier’s Redstarts, the valley being one of the best sites of the trip for them. We weren’t disappointed, managing to locate a further four birds, a single female next to a smallholding remarkably our first non-male of the trip. The pair of Bonelli’s Eagles were once more in action, while a male Sardinian Warbler was a nice consolation for the absence of any Tristram’s Warblers today.

Moussier's Redstart

Our first female of the trip - subtle yet identifiable (complete with Argan nuts!)

The famous goats eating the famous Argan nuts! I hadn't actually realised it was Argan trees we had been seeing until back in the UK. Argan trees (famed for their Argan oil) are endemic to the Souss Valley of southwestern Morocco and to the region of Tindouf in southwestern Algeria.

With our flight approaching, we made our descent, using up the last of the fizzy water to try and clean some of the dust and grime off our hire car before finally relenting and heading to the car wash outside the airport in an attempt to avoid any cleaning fees!

During our stay Morocco had completely blown us away with its charm, and there is a certain chaos that is quite unlike any other country I have visited before. From the unruly Marrakech city centre roads and the frenzied rural street markets to the ancient Berber villages in the imposing Atlas Mountains, the people of Morocco were all part of the magic, and this was a fantastic gentle introduction to Moroccan birding.

Oukaïmeden

A traditional Berber village

The grounds at Aurocher - our hotel whilst in the Atlas

The high Atlas

With many tours taking in the whole of the Atlas Mountains, the Sahara, Agadir and even Fez in one trip, with limited time this was an ideal itinerary for us, concentrating solely on the Atlas Mountains and Agadir, with the aim of returning again to focus on the desert species and Marsh Owl. This gentler pace really allowed us to savour the landscapes, culture and birdlife on offer on what had been a truly fantastic trip and in amazing country.

Moussier's Redstart

African Crimson-winged Finch

Northern Bald Ibis

Black-crowned Tchagra

Tristram's Warbler

Atlas Horned Lark

Levaillant's Woodpecker

Brown-throated Martin

Alex's super video capturing a snapshot of Moroccan birds from our trip

Morocco Birding Trip Report - Day 6 (Friday 1st March 2019)

Awaking bright and early and taking a punt on some info we’d found online for Fulvous Babbler, we headed east towards the town of Taroudant, an hour or so away from Agadir. With scattered Babbler records in the area dating back a few years, whilst not nailed on we felt it was at least worth a shot, and sure enough, upon arrival in this unlikely location the habitat looked ideal, with numerous shrubs and bushes on the parched ground – perfect for Babblers! 

Prime Babbler habitat at Taroudant aerodrome

After parking up at the side of the compound fence at the aerodrome, almost immediately Alex remarkably locked on to a Fulvous Babbler, perched on one of the prominent branches and providing good but distant views from in-between the chain-link fence.

Fulvous Babblers

As with other Babbler species, Fulvous Babblers form social groupings, and we eventually counted seven emerging from inside the shrub and foraging in the sand, moving as a flock from bush to bush.

Flying in to the gatepost trees beside us sadly saw us too slow with our cameras to get any meaningful shots, and the Babblers eventually melted in to the foliage and away.

A quick scan of the track around the compound resulted in an abundance of House Sparrows with a scattering of Spanish Sparrows thrown in for good measure, while a small flock of Common Bulbuls posed obligingly by the side of the road. Subalpine and Sardinian Warblers busying themselves in the low down gorse unfortunately didn’t contain a Tristram’s amongst them, but a duo of Maghreb Magpies put on a good display as they hopped amongst a pile of abandoned oranges.

Common Bulbul

Maghreb Magpie

With nothing more of note around Taroudant apart from a Thekla Lark, we headed back out of town and north towards Paradise Valley, stopping to admire the swarms of Pallid Swifts screeching excitedly along the city walls.

Thekla Lark

With Vallée d'Imouzzer at the top of Paradise Valley holding ad-hoc records of Tristram’s Warbler during the winter and buoyed on by our Fulvous Babbler success, we decided to give it a go, the incredible scenery at least a bonus even if the warblers didn’t show.

Climbing the twisting mountain roads resulted in an abundance of Moussier’s Redstarts en-route (not quite as showy or photogenic as our Souss Massa superstar), while healthy numbers of Sardinian Warblers busied themselves in the spiny shrubbery. 

The beautiful scenery of Paradise Valley

Stopping off at the first main car park on our ascent, a quick scout around unearthed yet more Sardinian Warblers, before remarkably I picked up a male Tristram’s Warbler belting out its full song above us on the slope. Calling Alex over, we watched as it flew from bush to bush, getting ever closer, before it eventually landed in the tree in front of us, eyeing us inquisitively before retreating up the mountainside.

Tristram's Warbler

The slope in the car park the Tristram's Warbler was favouring

With only a smattering of records in this area during the winter months, this male clearly appeared to be on territory – begging the question of whether Tristram’s Warblers are in fact breeding here.

A highly range restricted species in North Africa, being found mainly in Morocco and Tunisia, it was great to catch up with this star bird, and we enjoyed further views on our descent back down the valley when we passed the car park again later that afternoon.

The car park in question

Once at the top of the valley, a pair of Black Wheatear provided a nice show against the fabulous backdrop of the gorge below, while a pair of Bonelli’s Eagles powering down the ridges were our first of the trip. Having already scored on the Tristram’s Warbler front, we never actually made it as far as Vallée d'Imouzzer, instead drinking in the views before making out descent.

Bonelli's Eagle - note the white patch on the back

The views were stunning!

With time remaining before darkness set in, we tested out Oued Sous in an attempt to see if the Red-necked Nightjars were still present. Sadly there was neither sight nor sound of them as the darkness enveloped the car around us, a lone Zitting Cisticola calling before roost all we had for company avian-wise amongst the many bikers and fishermen settling in the car park. 

Zitting Cisticola

Suitable habitat for Nightjars at Oued Sous?

Previously a hotspot to see the nightjars, sadly access restrictions by the palace now mean the area the nightjars favoured is no longer accessible, and we headed back to the hotel empty handed, a final dinner of lamb cutlets fueling us for our concluding day ahead.