A very fun day out yesterday at the Tamri river mouth got me one of my best personal finds!
21/11/2020 (Estuaire de l'Oued Tamri, Morocco)
BIRDS:
173 - Common gull, Larus canus
Common gull is not a true rarity per se in Morocco but it's a species that has only recently started to be more regular on the Moroccan coasts, especially in winter. A few years ago, it was still a species that needed homologation but nowadays with a little of luck and skimming through large gull groups at the right time of the year (which is exactly what I did), you are bound to find one.
37 species in total were seen at that spot, other highlights including eight Ferruginous ducks (second time seeing them ever), a Western swamphen (second time seeing one in my region), a Northern bald ibis, a very closeby Eurasian sparrowhawk as well as a group of at least nine Eurasian crag martins (only my third time seeing them, second time in Morocco)!
Been a while I haven't updated my list on here so I thought I would do so before the year ends. December has been a really good month of birding for me!
05/12/2020 (Embouchure de l'Oued Souss, Morocco)
BIRDS:
174 - Common shelduck, Tadorna tadorna
It started with a quick visit to my local spot with a few nice highlights (Common kingfisher, Bonelli's eagle, five duck species etc...) and one addition to the year list: a group of 12 Common shelducks, which at the time, was only the second time I had ever seen the species wild.
20/12/2020 (Estuaire de l'Oued Massa, Morocco)
BIRDS:
175 - Eurasian wigeon, Mareca penelope
176 - European robin, Erithacus rubecula
177 - Water pipit, Anthus spinoletta
Didn't have much time to bird until the start of the holidays but when I did bird, it was particularly fun! My first visit of Massa since August was a way for me to try to tick Little owl, which was one of the common species I was still lacking for the year, but also to maybe try and get the rare wintering Richard's pipit. It yielded neither but it was still full of higlights: 5 duck species including three Eurasian wigeons, a lifer for me, a Great spotted cuckoo, my second time seeing cranes, our two ibis species, two European robins (only my second time seeing the species in Morocco) and a lifer in the shape of Water pipit. All-in-all, 56 species and a really nice day that apparently wasn't over:
20/12/2020 (Near Draid, Morocco)
BIRDS:
178 - Little owl, Athene noctua
Instead of getting Little owl at my regular spot for them at Massa, where I had missed them the same morning, I just so happened to see one sit on a wall by the road! I was afraid to miss the species for the year so that was a welcome sight.
24/12/2020 (Estuaire de l'Oued Tamri, Morocco)
BIRDS:
179 - Great tit, Parus major
A particularly lifeless session at Tamri, with only 20 species recorded and nearly no ducks nor waders when I'm used to seeing multiple species there, still gave me an addition; namely Great tit, the second time I see them in Morocco.
24/12/2020 (near Aourir, Morocco)
BIRDS:
180 - Merlin, Falco columbarius
The best bird of the day was on the road though, as a Merlin, a lifer for me and a scarce winterer in Morocco (probably the hardest falcon species to get here), flew right above us with its distinctive fast wingflaps. With this, I only have one species of falcon left to see in Morocco to complete the set of Morocco's regular falcon species!
25/12/2020 (Issen, Morocco)
MAMMALS:
4 - Red fox, Vulpes vulpes
26/12/2020 (Issen, Morocco)
BIRDS:
181 - Western barn owl, Tyto alba
I knew that there were barn owls at one of my regular spots so I knew it was only a question of time before I see one there and indeed while looking for them at night, a ghost-like silhouette flew right in front of me! Only the second time I've seen this species.
27/12/2020 (Imouzzer des Ida-Outanane, Morocco)
BIRDS:
182 - Rock bunting, Emberiza cia
183 - Red crossbill, Loxia curvirostra (ssp. poliogyna)
And the best for the end! The region where I live (Souss-Massa) doesn't have many pine forests or any forest (barring eucalyptus, acacia and argan ones) at all and so that means that a few select places have very special species. That's the case of the Imouzzer valley which is one of the few places in my region where the likes of Levaillant's woodpecker, Stock dove, Hawfinch, Eurasian jay etc.. and especially Red crossbill can be seen. I thought I'd try my shot at these, with my main target being Red crossbills, even though it is well-known that mountain birding can be very frustrating with almost no species seen.
On our way up to the village, we got fleeting views of Rock bunting which is a very nice species and a lifer. We decided to stop at a random spot where three or four pine trees stood and to my surprise, there was a group of 4 crossbills! I continued birding even though I got my target and in particularly nice habitats but didn't see much that was interesting, which goes to show how variable mountain/forest birding can be.
All-in-all a very great month of birding that puts me at 183 bird species for the year so far as well as 196 species for Morocco (4 left to reach 200!) and 241 species overall. I'm hoping to bird one last time tomorrow to end off what has been my best year of birding, hopefully with one or two additions in the bag.
I was also delighted to see 100s of waders (including some juvenile stilts) from the bird hide but just as I was about to lift my binoculars to try and test my limited wader id skills, a low-flying sea eagle sent them all into a panicked flight. I will have to try again soon as that spot seems to be a pretty reliable area for waders. Today at the local park, I was surprised to see a new resident amongst the reeds near a small stream and I later confirmed it as an Australian Reed-warbler. Really nice addition for the list and it just goes to show the surprises that come with wildlife watching even close to home.
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