This page shows the blog pages. For most trips, there is one blog per day. Clicking on the photo for a day will take you to a slider: a photo carousel that shows the photos large. Clicking on the title will take you to another page with more information about the photos.
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| Titel | Day 2: High Atlas Mountains |
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| After the travel day, the birding trip really starts. The expected cool weather in the High Atlas was not there: despite the fact that we are well above 2000 meters high, it was T-shirt and sunny weather. We see birds that we know from Spain, but also a number of species that are really specific to North Africa. It is soon clear that the mountains are difficult for me, so I limit myself to the easy paths. | |
| Date: | 2024-10-08 |
| Titel | Day 3: To the Boumaine Desert |
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| A day with many kilometers and relatively short stops. I have to skip the first walk: a wide path, but the group can go up faster than I can. They come back with beautiful observations. So I amuse myself with the finches that look different here. It is a subspecies of the finch that also occurs in Europe. | |
| Date: | 2024-10-09 |
| Titel | Day 4: The Boumaine Desert |
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| The desert is dry, but there are always pools and they attract birds and birdwatchers. It rained a lot a few weeks ago, so there is less activity than the guide expected. It is striking that as soon as there are a few green bushes, the goats are ready. In the entire Atlas there are almost no flowers or insects because of the grazing. Just like in the Netherlands, the farmers have far too much cattle. We also walk through the Gorges de Todhra, a narrow ravine with high and steep rock walls. Through the short gorge is a wide asphalt road with space for souvenir sellers and buses. | |
| Date: | 2024-10-10 |
| Titel | Day 5: From the Boumaine Desert naar Merzouga |
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| There are desert eagle owls in this area, but finding them is another story. Fortunately, a local guide comes to help, and he points out two eagle owls that are watching the world from their crevices. Also us, but they correctly estimate that they are safe. The group continues, but I am amused by small birds. A little further on we walk past an area where even something has been sown after the rain. We find a thick-billed lark, a bird with a beak that is unusual for larks. The camel herders have moved with the times: they ride their mopeds through the steppe with their herd. | |
| Date: | 2024-10-11 |
| Titel | Day 6: From the Boumaine Desert naar Merzouga |
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| We have one day of off-road vehicles with a local guide. He knows the area like the back of his hand and knows how to find special species. Not only because he looks well, but also because he has a network of informants who call him. You don't find nightjars, for example, they are pointed out to you by someone who has been looking for hours. In this case, a goat herder heard the nightjar at night, and in the morning he searched for 4 hours until he found it: the Egyptian nightjar. Then things go quickly: our local guide received a phone call. It was a good half hour's drive through the desert, and the man showed the bird. The suggested tip as a thank you was 200 durham (20 euros). He also found the lanner falcon in a rock face and the sandgrouse in the desert after a tip. The crowned sandgrouse was one of the species that the guide was able to find after a phone call. However, it had rained a lot a few weeks ago, so the sandgrouse did not have to come to the drinking places. After two hours of searching without any results, the redeeming message arrived |
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| Date: | 2024-10-12 |
| Titel | Day 7: Very windy at Merzouga |
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| The hotel was adjacent to the dunes of Erg Chebbi. The sand is very special. In combination with the wind, the sand gets everywhere. It is very fine, and gives sandstorms very quickly. I had given myself a day off, so I have few photos from today. It was photogenic though when the wind died down for a while. | |
| Date: | 2024-10-13 |
| Titel | Day 8: Lots of rain |
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| My photo website can only show animals and plants. If there is no scientific name for the species, I cannot show the photo. The most beautiful photos showed the torrential rain, but those picture are not on the site. The only bird I saw was a new species for me: a black stork. | |
| Date: | 2024-10-14 |
| Titel | Day 9: To the coast |
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| We have to make a lot of kilometers, so we didn't do much birding. Most of the pictures were taken near the road and at the stops for food and drinks. We spent the night fairly close to the coast. | |
| Date: | 2024-10-15 |
| Titel | Day 10: The Qued Sous River and the coast above Agadir |
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| In the morning we walk 2 kilometers along the Qued Sous river. Close enough to the sea to see the tide in the salt marshes, but far enough from the coast not to disturb the king. We see the same kind of water birds as in the Netherlands, but some species are different. The Lesser White Tern breeds in Libya, and winters in Morocco. North of Agadir we see the Northern Hermit Ibis on the coast. The Northern Hermit Ibis is a very rare species. A few years ago there were only 200 specimens in Morocco, and that was more than in Syria and Turkey. Protection in Morocco has reduced the species to 800 species in Morocco. Of which our guide found a group of 5 specimens. It is actually a special place. On the beach mussels were farmed by people who seemed to live in poor huts near the beach. One of the ladies in our group speaks a little Arabic, and they told her that they worked in those huts during the day, and went to their houses on the rocks next to the lighthouse at night. They were big new houses. It's not always what it seems! |
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| Date: | 2024-10-16 |
| Titel | Day 11: The Qued Massa River |
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| We drive to the Qued Messa River in the morning. The river runs through a small-scale farm area, which is very suitable for the small brown birds in the bushes. There are many herons and spoonbills in the river. There is no visible tide here, although we do see a common snipe. It is a beautiful area, where life is different from the Netherlands. At the parking lot, the manager announces that he wants to show a nightjar for 50 Durham per person. We get a small discount, and the bird appears to be sleeping in the bush next to his house, 50 steps from the parking lot. But just like the previous nightjar, it takes a long time before I see it, but when I see it, I understand that those birds have enough protection with their camouflage. I skip the last trip of the day, my energy is gone. The group sees another group of curlews. |
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| Date: | 2024-10-17 |