MOROCCO - THE BIG BUTTONQUAIL HUNT

Well this was it. THE DAY. Our date with destiny and search for one of the Holy Grail birds of the WP…. Small Buttonquail. Getting here at first light gave us our best shot at nailing it….. To cut a long and very tedious story very short, after a combined total of 12 + hours spent over 2 days, we had a 6 second flight view of a bird that had been calling repeatedly in a hay field as it shot out and flew away. 

Now that really undermines our magnificent effort, stamina and sheer tenaciousness for sticking it out. We had checked field after field without hearing any buttonquails, although it was rather amazing to hear so many Common Quails calling. They were practically in every field! So we decided to try the wheat field where we had the calling buttonquail yesterday and staked it out. Hassan had employed the local farmer who owned the field and we stood in a track in the middle of the field, frustratingly having the buttonquail calling from various spots in the field, sometimes seemingly quite close. We waited and waited and some of us had given up. It was 11am, hot, we were all tired and rather bored to be honest. I had literally just said that maybe we should give it up and leave but I’m nothing if not stubborn and Hassan also wanted to give it one last try. So I beckoned everyone to get together for one last attempt and with the farmer’s permission we walked back up the field and suddenly the bird was calling right in front of us. All of a sudden it shot up out of the field and veered left and into dense cover, allowing everyone a decent flight view, revealing its pale flight feathers and small size. YES! We had done it and seen one of the Western Palearctics most wanted, rarest, hardest to see species! I cannot describe the elation and I think a few of the guys were a little stunned that we’d only gone and done it!

 After a lovely cup of coffee we headed off to our next hotel in Rabat, about 3 hours away.

Moving on to Northern Morocco

We had a late breakfast before going to look for an Eurasian Wryneck that Steve & Andy had found earlier, but for most of us it was just a voice in the distance. However, a Common Whitethroat was a trip tick and we saw a few more Cirl Buntings before heading off towards Bastia. At Etang de Biguglia we spent a little time scanning the area and enjoyed seeing 8 European Honey Buzzards flying high overhead and heading north, plus we had Zitting Cisticola and a singing Sedge Warbler. Driving around this huge complex to get to the airport we passed a small beach where an Audouin’s Gull was found and was the last new bird for our visit to Corsica. The rest of the afternoon and evening was spent flying to Marseille and then on to Casablanca, where we reached our hotel shortly before 11pm.

Spotless Starling

After a late breakfast we left the hotel with our guide, Hassan and headed south-west towards the buttonquail site. We spent the morning looking for Small Buttonquail, hearing one call distantly but all too briefly. We did pick up many Spotless Starlings, Great Grey Shrike, a bunch of common shorebirds on some lagoons, but a group of Audouin’s Gulls were very nice, and a posing Little Owl was also cool. After lunch in the nearby village we drove to our next hotel in El Jadida for a rest as it was really hot and bird activity was low.

In the early evening we returned to Sidi Abed and had another buttonquail calling, this time much closer but in a wheat field with no chance of seeing it. How frustrating! We did have an Eurasian Golden Oriole flying over, along with another group of Audouin’s Gulls, but not a lot else.

CORSICA DAYS 3 - 5

We had a walk around the grounds before breakfast, seeing a brief Moltoni’s Warbler, Sardinian Warbler, Eurasian Hoopoe, Italian Sparrow & Cirl Bunting. After breakfast we drove up into the mountains to a different area in the forlorn hope of seeing Lammergeier. Sadly nothing doing with the big bird, however we managed excellent views of Corsican Finch, with a pair feeding right beside the road and the male literally filling the view in the scope. 

The scope views were much better than this photo shows - Corsican Finch

We also had a pair of Golden Eagles, Common Cuckoo, Northern Ravens, very distant Alpine Choughs, and a superb sighting of a singing Marmora’s Warbler right in front of us. We also enjoyed further Corsican Finch sightings later in the morning as well. We then drove to the rather picturesque Gorges de la Restonica and saw another pair of Golden Eagles, had the most bold Firecrest imaginable, along with a fantastic experience watching a White-throated Dipper repeatedly bringing food to its nest somewhere below us. Watching it going underwater in the crystal clear mountain river and finding food was incredible.

A Firecrest - everybody loves them....

Marmora's Warbler

I always like to try and incorporate some habitat around the birds I photograph. Well, that's my excuse as I don't try and get too close to the bird.....! And to be honest, i generally don't put too much effort into getting a shot. But i've upgraded to a new camera setup and it really is making it easier to get better shots now. I'm using Nikon Z8 with a Nikon Z 600mm pf lens, thanks to a suggestion from my friend Eduard Sangster.

The following morning we had a rare 8 o’clock breakfast being something of a luxury on a birding tour and nothing planned before this, some of the group checked out the local area and found 3 Whinchats had dropped in overnight, and a Corsican finch was also seen. We headed 20 minutes drive down to the coast and checked out various lakes for most of the day and added some padders to our list. Nothing special really but birding to the backdrop of numerous Common Nightingales and Cetti’s Warblers is really something special…! We added Common Shelduck, Red-crested Pochard, Mute Swan, Mediterranean Shag, Stone-Curlew, Common Tern, and a heard only Common Reed Warbler to our list. We also spent some time trying to get a few photos of a large flock of European Bee-eaters perched on telegraph wires close to the road. As well as enjoying a fine lunch in a local restaurant before heading back to our cabins, where there were now 8 Whinchats and a pair of Corsican Finches, plus a Moltoni’s Warbler seen in a light drizzle. After a fine evening meal we finally made a successful attempt at seeing the noisy Eurasian Scops Owl before the heavens opened and we hit the sack!

Moltoni's Warbler

We headed up to the Vallee d’Asco with the main aim of finding a Lammergeier, after our previous failed attempt. Only just over an hour’s drive from our cabins we were soon driving through an impressive gorge on our way ever higher to a ski resort. At the first stop we had some incredible luck with a very confiding Moltoni’s warbler giving us our best views so far – and the previous ones weren’t too bad either! Over the course of the rest of the day we scanned from various vantage points, looking up at ever impressive craggy peaks for Lammergeier, interspersed with a couple of stops for coffee at the ski resort – well it was pretty chilly here! We drove lower down at one stage and had further views of an aggressive Corsican Nuthatch, whilst back up higher we came across a small group of 4 Corsican Finches feedig on the ground and later calling away from the conifers next to the car park. Eventually we picked up a Lammergeier soaring across a ridge above us, and relief all round. It was a lifer for one of the group and reason enough to have a few beers this evening with our dinner.

CORSICA DAYS 1 - 2

 Well after Egypt it was Corsica and some more Western Palearctic targeted birding. Love it..!!

The group arrived around midday and we were soon on our way along the country lanes around the back of the airport. I was hoping to find a Red-footed Falcon, a few of which had been seen migrating over the past few days. Alas, no falcons but we still enjoyed seeing our first European Bee-eaters sitting on telegraph wires, as well as Spotless Starlings, European Turtle Dove, Western Yellow Wagtails and others. Heading south, we followed the coastal road and called into a small port where Italian Sparrows proved a bit tricky to see in the high wind, but we needn’t have worried as they were quite conspicuous at our hotel later this afternoon! We called into the Dunes De Prunette where several Scopoli’s Shearwaters were seen albeit distantly. A male Montagu’s Harrier flew by, and there were several Red Kites and Western Marsh Harriers up in the sky. We reached our hotel shortly after 3pm and enjoyed a nice siesta before heading out to a nearby beach at 5pm for a seawatch. This time, with scopes at the ready, we had 20+ Scopoli’s Shearwaters, some of which were quite close. A couple of Mediterranean Shearwaters also whizzed by at high speed as well.

Red Kite

We ended the day along a quiet country lane looking for the Category C ‘mega’ California Quail, one of the trickiest of Corsica’s specialities! Having been here a couple of days earlier in preparation for this trip I was apprehensive and didn’t really rate our chances. Well, how wrong could I be? Some sharp spotting by Vince produced up to 4 birds in an open area some distance away, in company with 2 Red-legged Partridges. As the birds were some distance away we could exit the minibus and set up a scope to watch them. Amazing! What a stunning bird and one hard to add to your WP list. Once the birds disappeared we left to drive back to the hotel, stopping to look at an European Roller perched up on a telegraph pole.

A distant California Quail

The next morning we were out at 6.30am and returned to the quail area in the hope we could get some closer views. Well we quickly found a close male California Quail perched in a dead tree but he flew off as soon as the engine of our minibus stopped. We had another male on the other side of the road, but rather distantly before another pair were picked up along the road in front of us, but only the female came out to feed at the edge of the road. An Eurasian Golden Oriole called nearby and a Water Rail & Great Reed Warbler were also heard in the nearby marsh. We then drove 20 mins up to the Dunes de Prunete where another Scopoli’s Shearwater was seen, along with many Red Kites and Western Marsh Harriers, and our first Sardinian Warbler, but the female Red-footed Falcon picked up by Vince was our best sighting.

We returned to our nice hotel in Alaria before setting off up into the mountains. After about 40 minutes we checked out a fine viewpoint and enjoyed seeing our first Moltoni’s Warbler that performed admirably. 

Moltoni's Warbler

Next up was the Col de Sobri and great views of a couple of Corsican Nuthatches – one of the top 2 targets on this island. In fact we were able to get repeated views over the course of a couple of hours, either side of our picnic lunch. A pair of Corsican Finches gave brief but close views as they fed on the ground beside the road as we walked back up to the minibus.

 Corsican Nuthatch

Leaving here we dropped to a lower altitude and had coffee and beers at a roadside café before staking out an open area for Corsican Finches. We managed further view of the finches as they fed amongst the grasses but the views weren’t as close as we would have liked. However, we did see a close Woodlark, along with Cirl Buntings and eventually a superb Marmora’s Warbler to round off a brilliant day. 

Marmora's Warbler

We retired to our cabins beside a fast-flowing river listening to calling Eurasian Scops Owl….

 

EGYPT - THE NILE VALLEY DAYS 6 - 8

We bid our farewells to Ismael, who had been a fantastic guide and took the first flight at 04;40 back to Cairo and hooked up with our next excellent local guide Alfred Firo, before driving a couple of hours to Abassa. 

The local race of Barn Swallow (Savignii)

Everyone loves a Hoopoe!

Red-throated Pipit

This area of fishponds is rather famous as THE place to see Senegal Coucal, but it wasn't easy! The first good sighting was of 4 Greater Painted Snipes sitting quietly at the edge of the first pond and those females looked really impressive in the scope! There were many Eurasian Hoopoes, Red-rumped Swallows, Zitting Cisticola, and lots of European Bee-eaters present. 

Senegal Coucal

We walked out into the middle of this huge area searching for councils without seeing any, finding yet more Greater Painted Snipes (7 in all) which never disappoint. Returning to the minibus, we walked another side road and after a bit off a wait a Senegal Coucal began calling nearby. Somehow we had walked right by it and it was behind us. Slowly it made its way to the top of a roadside tree and began giving a fantastic display as it bowed his head each time he called and didn't seem the least bit perturbed by us.

Greater Painted Snipe

The following day began at Wadi Degla where we hoped to find Hooded Wheatear. it was less than an hour's drive and we arrived really early, so began walking through the arid wadi with overcast skies and relatively cool temperatures which made for a nice change. We saw numerous White-crowned Wheatears, a brief Mourning Wheatear, whilst frustratingly only heard Sand Partridge and Scrub Warbler. Migrants were on the move and we saw several Masked Shrikes, Woodchat Shrike, a female Ruppell's Warbler, Common Nightingale and a stunning male Common Rock Thrush. But alas no hoodies! 

From here we drove across to Faiyoum and checked out some pools where in the midday heat our best find was a pair of Black Storks. We searched in vain for Red Avadavat, and this proved frustratingly to be our only dip of the tour.

Black Stork

However, we saved the best for last as our final day saw us driving nearly four ours south of Cairo towards Minya and our quest to see one of the rarest Western Palearctic species - Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse. After parking the minibus and leaving our police escort behind, we walked some distance out into the semi-desert towards a cultivated area where we eventually picked up this fabled species, thanks to Vince's sharp eyes. In fact there were a number of sandgrouse present, mainly hiding in the grass. Over time we enjoyed fantastic flight views as they came and went from this favoured feeding area and needless to say, everyone was highly delighted at seeing this species, which was thought extinct in the WP until it was relocated in this small area in 2012. 

Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse - mega!!

We also saw many Crested Larks, a Tawny Pipit and a superb male Montagu's Harrier quartering the fields as well. And that was pretty much our birding over with. W head another delicious meal before heading back to Cairo where yet another meal was taken, as we enjoyed watching the light show at The Pyramids of Giza before retiring for the night.

All that remained was to say our goodbyes to Alfred, who had been an excellent guide and set out on our journeys home and preparations for the next WP adventure!

Egypt - The Nile Valley Days 3 - 5

We left early doors and drove just over 3 hours south to Abu Simbel, which in my opinion is one of the most exciting destinations in the Western Palearctic. By 10am we were searching a lakeside area not too far from the town in the hope of finding a very recent colonist to the area - Crimson-rumped Waxbill. Boy it was hot but that didn't deter us as this is a key species and one we needed to find. The first spot was quiet apart from a few Indian Silverbills, so we walked on to a spot right on the shores of Lake Nasser which had large and very tall roadbeds all around. Not so surprisingly we found another African Pied Wagtail sitting in the side of a fishing boat, and as we watched this a Crimson-rumped Waxbill appeared briefly in a dense area of scrub and reeds. 

The mega Crimson-rumped Waxbill

Unfortunately it didn't linger long enough for everyone to get on it, but we needn't have worried as just around the corner we found a small group of waxbills coming to drink at the base of the reeds. Then at least 5 birds decided to perch in the reeds and began to preen, allowing everyone to see them very clearly and for about 20 minutes. Wow! What a fantastic result and high-fives all round. This proved to be a particularly good area with numerous Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters flying around, a Little Bittern seen in flight, several African Green Bee-eaters, many Clamorous Reed Warblers and Eastern Olivaceous Warblers all providing an interesting distraction. 

After checking in to a superb hotel, we had a short siesta before venturing out to explore the shoreline of this vast lake. Our primary targets fell quite quickly, with close views of 10+ Kittlitz's Plovers and 6 stunning Yellow-billed Storks. With both targets nailed we enjoyed a fine selection of other species and what a great area this was, with Egyptian Goose, Senegal Thick-knee, Marsh Sandpiper, Little, Gull-billed & White-winged Terns, Glossy Ibis, many European Bee-eaters, Masked Shrike, Brown-necked Raven, Greater Hoopoe-Lark and 2 African Pied Wagtails.

Village Weaver - another mega WP sighting...!

The following day we headed out on a boat into Lake Nasser. It's hard to comprehend how massive this lake is and it took a couple of hours to reach some small, reed-fringed islands where we saw several stunning Village Weavers. We mostly saw the magnificent males in breeding plumage and only had two sightings of females. Having seen this species numerous times across Africa, these males were like gorgeous bright-yellow lightbulbs absolutely glowing in the sunshine, and nothing like I remembered them to be! Amazing! After lunch at our hotel we headed out to a section of Airport Bay to see what was around. At least 6 Kittlitz's Plovers were found on the drier areas just inland from the water's edge, and we also had a Yellow-billed Stork fly in and appeared to be ready to roost. There was also a decent selection of commoner species with a large group of Little Stints and others. We waited until dusk hoping for Egyptian Nightjar, but that didn't go to plan although the views of several Plain (Brown-throated) Martins as they hawked for insects right above us were really cool.

Yellow-billed Stork

Our last day at Abu Simbel began with a repeat visit to the waxbill site, where despite being early was pretty quiet. So Ismael took us to another spot nearby overlooking some weedy fields where we found a flock of 20+ Crimson-rumped Waxbills feeding with a bunch of Indian Silverbills. We spent quite a while watching them and trying to get some photos and was a thoroughly enjoyable experience.

Crimson-rumped Waxbill - another WP mega!

Following this we returned to the same section of Airport Bay, seeing much the same species as yesterday, although a Marsh Sandpiper was new in. So we decided to call it quits and return to the hotel for lunch and to pack before driving back up to Aswan. We'd a very early morning flight to Cairo the following morning so upon arrival at a lovely little guest house not too far away from the airport we decided to just chill and have a look what we could find in the immediate vicinity. 

The hotel was in a superb location, being surrounded on three sides by reedbeds and waterways adjacent to the Nile and several small islands. And what a good time we had, seeing Little Bittern, Purple Heron, Eastern Olivaceous Warbler and others from the hotel. A little walk out in the early evening sunshine produced some really close African Green Bee-eaters, Senegal Thick-knee, African Pied Wagtail and even an immature Yellow-billed Stork. 

Another Yellow-billed Stork - this time at Aswan near our hotel

African Green Bee-eater

We rounded the day of with some sneaky beers and a delicious dinner before retiring to our beds for a short sleep!!!

EGYPT - THE NILE VALLEY DAY 2

Our plan today was to leave the hotel with a boxed breakfast at 7.00am, take their boat across the Nile to our waiting minibus and head over to Philae Lake for another boating session. We’d ordered coffees for 6.45am and whilst waiting a pair of Reed Cormorants flew upriver and dropped onto the river and began fishing a couple of hundred metres away from us. What a result and certainly not a species we expected to see around Aswan. This is a major WP target for birders and they are usually found around Abu Simbel, way to the south. 

This pair of Reed Cormorants were the only ones we saw during the entire tour!

A few Indian Silverbills were also showing well in the small cultivated patch right next to the hotel as well – so a very good start to the day. 

Once we made it across to the east bank and met up with Ismael we drove towards Philae Lake, checking out a few smaller patched of water along the way, but only a single White-crowned Wheatear was noteworthy. Once aboard our boat we headed out on what was for all intents and purposes a relatively quiet 3 hour boat trip. Birds were few and far between, save for numerous Whiskered & Gull-billed Terns, Black & Yellow-billed Kites, and all the usual herons & egrets. However, we managed to find a pair of African Pied Wagtails hanging around the shoreline thanks to some sharp spotting from Ian. In fact, as we turned our boat around to get better views the wagtails flew onto one of the marooned boat wrecks and one of them started to sing as we watched from a few metres away. Wow! So two mega Western Palearctic species so far this morning!

Another major target - African Pied Wagtail

Next up was a trip to Philae Temple and a short guided tour for my group, whilst I sipped a cappuccino in the café. I am culturally shallow. Always have and always will be!!! Another huge lunch followed at a lakeside restaurant and then we spent another couple of hours boating on the lake seeing not a lot. So an early finish was agreed and once back in the minibus we called in to a wine shop in downtown Aswan I’d found last year, to pick up some beers. 

Good habitat right next to our hotel

We returned to our guesthouse/hotel around 5pm and met up with the last member of our group, Eric Jan Ablas from The Netherlands.