We are 3 British birdwatchers who went on a private trip with Brahim and Otman (our 4x4 driver) from 26th March to 3rd April in 2014 visiting the Atlas and the eastern deserts. We can recommend Brahim as an excellent and knowledgeable local guide - see www.gayuin.com for further details and a fuller testimonial.
We wanted to focus on Larks and Wheatears and therefore, given the time available, decided to forego the long drive to the coast. This worked for us but obviously it did limit the range of species available and even then we covered a lot of kilometres.
We found the use of a 4x4 an essential tool for birdwatching in Morocco and gave access to many of our target birds.
The weather was very varied in late March/early April; hot 30C in the desert to snow and 0C in the high arid plains; often quite windy; so go prepared for variable weather!
We travelled by Easyjet and left, and arrived early, on all legs of the trip. At Marrakech we encountered the slowest passport control in the world which somewhat negated the early arrival. You can get local currency in the arrivals hall from a bureau de change or from an ATM. You’ll only need this to pay for incidentals as the rest of the time is taken up by birding. You will probably also see House Bunting in the airport building.
Day 1 - 26th March - Marrakech to Ourika Valley via Oukameiden.
We left Marrakech Airport at midday and headed for the High Atlas and were soon birding on the outskirts of the growing city and enjoying Desert Shrike, Woodchat Shrike, Spotless Starling, Swift, Pallid Swift and Little Swift. A resident pair of Little Owls looked sandier brown than the birds we were used to - this happened a lot during the trip! Also there were Sardinian Warblers, Bee Eaters (we saw these every day), Crested Lark, the local Magpie and Hoopoe. The next stop was under a mature avenue of trees (Brahim do you want to say where? or would you rather not?) and we were soon hearing and seeing a number of Levaillant's Woodpeckers, including a female with an amazingly long upper mandible (3 times the length of the lower). Also there were Great Spotted Woodpecker, African Chaffinch, White Stork and a Long-legged Buzzard perched in the trees. A picnic lunch of flatbread with Sardines, Olives, Tomatoes and Moroccan Tea was very welcome - as was the accompanying Black Wheatear. Shortly after we stopped for a spiral of 11 Black Kite moving north. Then we moved on to the ski resort at Oukameiden where the local Crimson-winged Finch perching on ski tips and Moroccan Horned Lark were incredibly confiding. Nearby were a number of Rock Sparrows. We drove beyond the ski lift and eventually found a freshly arrived, very smart, male Seebohm's Wheatear. This was shared with a Sunbird group and then a trip up to one of the local summits with lots of communications masts and astronomical telescope eventually yielded 4 Alpine Accentors, Moussier's Redstarts, Black Redstart, Rock Buntings, Kestrels and the incongruous sight of a Levaillant's Woodpecker on the cliff face. We then drove down to the Ourika Valley for our hotel, a well earned supper and fell asleep to the sound of the river and the resident frogs.
Day 2 - 27th March - Ourika Valley to Ouzazate
The frog chorus had changed to Cetti's Warblers and Common Bulbuls by the morning with accompaniments from Blackcaps and House Buntings. Our first stop down the valley was in orchards where Nightingales, Robin, Wren, Cuckoo, Sardinian Warbler and Cattle Egret were found. A series of frequent stops produced Corn Bunting, Crested Lark, Southern Grey Shrike, Red-rumped Swallow and numerous White Stork. As we began to climb higher back into the Atlas mountains we started to see birds of prey including Black Kite, Booted Eagle (Light phase), Bonelli's Eagle, Short-toed Eagle, and Long-legged Buzzards. A stop at a Tristram's Warbler site didn't produce the bird but we did meet up with Dave Gosney's tour and did see Moussier's Redstart, Whitethroat, Nightingale, Cirl Bunting, Barbary Partridge, Cuckoo and Short-toed Eagle. A lunchtime stop on the Tizi-n-Tichka Pass with 60+ Choughs and 4 local Ravens, and visible migration with numerous Swallows and Bee Eaters passing north. Once over the top a stop for a Black Wheatear also produced 2 Levaillant's Woodpecker, Common Redstart and Hoopoe. Once into the stony desert we left the main road and soon found 5 Trumpeter Finch and 2 Desert Lark. Brahim saw a male Maghreb Wheatear fly off so we set off in pursuit and eventually found a female which was joined by 2 Desert Wheatear and then they all flew off together! A distant and brief view of a hovering black and white Wheatear might have been the male Maghreb's Wheatear. Lots of searching failed to find the birds and we were just giving up when we found a female Tristram's Warbler with a couple of Chiffchaff. More searching for Maghreb Wheatear on the way to the hotel was unsuccessful.
Day 3 - 28th March - Ouzazate to Boumalne de Dades
We headed straight to Ouzazate Lake after breakfast for the long, but very productive, walk to the distant lake shore. The lake had shrunk by over 50% owing to a run of recent dry winters. On the way we saw 50 Black-winged Stilt, Wood Sandpipers, Moroccan White Wagtail, Green Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, Spectacled and Subalpine Warblers, Short-toed lark, Lesser Short-toed Lark, Yellow Wagtails (Blue Headed), Marsh Harrier, Desert Wheatear, Black-eared Wheatear, Northern Wheatear and Woodchat Shrikes. We walked as far as the increasingly spongy ground would take us, and viewed the lake edge for Kentish Plover, Ringed Plover, Little Ringed Plover, Little Stint and Ruddy Shelduck. Back to the car and on the drive around the lake we saw a Booted Eagle stooping, magnificently but unsuccessfully, on a Ruddy Shelduck. At lunch overlooking the lake Martin and then Ken latched on to a distinctly different and large brown Swift with a strong flight and hint of a white wing bar - it got away not to be identified - could it have been an African Palm Swift? We'll never know! Meanwhile along the lake shore were masses of birds on the move including Rock Martins, Little, Pallid and Common Swifts, House and Sand Martins, Swallows and Yellow Wagtails. A Collared Pratincole flew by and Osprey, Grey Heron, Spoonbill and Moroccan Cormorant could be seen in the distance. Completing the drive to the road we saw a Marsh Sandpiper and a Curlew. More searching for the Maghreb Wheatear was unsuccessful but we did see White-crowned Wheatear, Desert Wheatear, Black-eared Wheatear, Trumpeter Finch, Desert Lark and Thekla Lark. The drive to Boumalne des Dades was in increasing wind and as we arrived at the hotel there were some 100 Black Kites coming in to roost against darkening skies.
Day 4 - 29th March - Around Boumalne des Dades
After heavy overnight rain (and snow on the nearby mountain tops) we headed straight to the Tagdlit track (or tip as it would be better known). The birds however justified its reputation. Black Kites were getting up from their overnight roosts, accompanied by a Ring-tailed Hen Harrier. Thick-billed Larks and Temminck's Larks were remarkably confiding and Red-rumped Wheatear were marvellous - their toy helicopter/gyroscope trying to take off calls - unforgettable. A brief view of a Cream-coloured Courser was promising and also there were Short-toed and Lesser Short-toed Larks, Yellow Wagtails and Hoopoe. We could have stayed longer but eventually the smells of the tip and the allure of the more open (but sill plastic strewn) stony desert drew us away where we saw 3 Black-bellied Sandgrouse flying over and 3 Crowned Sandgrouse on the ground. A brief detour to guide the Sunbird group onto them gave us a welcome second go at them. A Long-legged Buzzard on prey gave really excellent views and after much searching a single Hoopoe Lark tantalised with a single display flight and a Cream-coloured Courser gave excellent views. Brahim explained that Houbara Bustards have become extinct in this area within the last 5 years. On the way to lunch in a Wadi, a pair of Lanner Falcons flew by and Brahim was straight onto a Pharoah Eagle Owl on the cliff side which gave fabulous views. After lunch a long walk and search for Magrheb Wheatear was again unsuccessful until Otman rang to say that he had a pair in a side Wadi near where we had parked! This pair was very obliging and demonstrated that the hovering bird on Day 2 had indeed been a Magrheb's Wheatear. Another excellent and productive day made all the better by not having to drive long distances.
Day 5 - 30th March - Boumalne des Dades to Erg Chebbi dunes
The first stop today was at the tourism hot spot (i.e. lots of Dutch Camper vans) of the amazing Todra Gorge. There were many Rock Martins, Crag Martins, Black Redstarts and several Blue Rock Thrushes. A Tristram's Warbler was heard briefly, a Scrub Warbler, a Serin and White-crowned Wheatear were seen. Driving east we stopped for lunch at a date plantation/oasis which was buzzing with migration including Southern Grey Shrike, Woodchat Shrike, Bee Eaters, Red-rumped Swallows, Black and Common Redstarts, Olivaceous, Subalpine and Sedge Warblers, Water Pipits and more Yellow Wagtails. After lunch a diversion into the stony desert revealed Bar-tailed Desert Lark, cracking views of Hoopoe Larks in display flight and song and 10 Spotted Sandgrouse. Just outside Rissani we stopped, successfully, for Blue-cheeked Green Bee Eater, 3 Moroccan Long-billed Lark, a single, and our only, Turtle Dove and our first Laughing Dove. Then on to our hotel on the edge of the Erg Chebbi dune complex - a fabulous location with Woodchat Shrikes and White-crowned Wheatears thrown in for good measure.
Day 6 - 31st March - Around Erg Chebbi area
We joined up with the Sunbird group for the day. Our first stop on the edge of Rissani was to view a Laughing Dove by the road but immediately we also found some Fulvous Babblers. A stop in the town centre gave excellent views of 12 Blue-cheeked Green Bee Eaters. Out of the town and near the local tip we stopped for the local Brown-necked Ravens. A stop at some cliffs failed to produce the hoped for Lanner Falcons so we moved on to a Barbary Falcon site which was successful and we had good views of a single perched and flying bird. Moving on into the desert we found Crowned and Spotted Sandgrouse with some Bar-tailed Larks nearby. Back to the Lanner site and we were successful in seeing the female fly out and back into the cliff. We stayed at the site (while the Sunbirders went off to an Olivaceous site), and were successful in seeing both birds on a nest change. After lunch back at our hotel we set off in strengthening wind to look for Desert Warbler and after much searching Brahim found a bird and we had excellent views in the really hostile environment of the desert. Shortly afterwards he also found a male Desert Sparrow - possibly the bird of the trip with a really smart livery. It was somewhat odd to learn that, by taking over nest sites, House Sparrows are pushing the Desert Sparrows into increasingly marginal habitats and are increasingly hard to find. A trip across the desert (sandy and stony) for a rendezvous with a friend of Brahim's led us to an Egyptian Nightjar sitting tight and providing excellent views of its filigree plumage.
Day 7 - 1st April - Erg Chebbi to Middelt
After a brief stop for a further view of Hoopoe Lark we had a long drive until a stop at a Scrub Warbler site quickly revealed a pair collecting feathers. Their amazing bouncing run/flight through the low scrub was very distinctive. Also there were 2 Nightingales. A stop for a Black Kite on the ground led to us parking next to a bush which held a Western Orphean Warbler - the only one of the trip! A long drive over the Middle Atlas and the Tizi-n-Talrhemt Pass (1907 metres) led to a potential Dupont's Lark site but this was unsuccessful.
Day 8 - 2nd April - Around Middelt area
A 7.00 a.m. start led us to the crossroads at Zaida. A Dupont's Lark could be heard (squeaky gate swinging in the breeze) as soon as we got out of the car but it took some 10 minutes before Brahim located the bird. We then watched it and some 5 other birds for about an hour and a half as they performed very well including singing from a great height and stooping vertically back to the ground. The birds seen were of the margeritae sub species a nice red brown colour. Also in the area were a number of Skylarks. These are very different from 'our' birds without the long outpourings we're used to but with a variety of higher pitched calls. As we were about to walk away 2 Cream-coloured Coursers flew in. Finally walking away we came across 6 more Cream-coloured Coursers, Red-rumped Wheatears and Thick-billed Larks. Back into the car for a drive around the wider area revealed 2 Black-bellied Sandgrouse, Short-toed Lark, Trumpeter Finch, and Desert Wheatear. Driving into a slightly more fertile area we disturbed a male Montagu's Harrier and whilst we were watching that a Short-toed Eagle got up and drifted away. A Whinchat also showed briefly. After lunch we headed into the mountains to Atlas Lake. Just before getting there at a small roadside lake we found Coot, Red-knobbed Coot, Tufted Duck, Little Grebe. By the time we got to Atlas Lake the weather was closing in, the temperature was down to 0C and it was snowing but we did see some Seebohm's Wheatears, Cormorants and Great-crested Grebe.
Day 9 - 3rd April - Middelt to Marrakech
A long (400 kms) drive back to Marrakech via the Zad Pass through snow initially, although getting up to 21C in Marrakech. It was therefore quiet birdwise but we did see numerous Cattle Egret and White Stork.
Name, Latin Name, Number of days seen
Little Grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis 1
Great Crested Grebe Podiceps cristatus 1
Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo 1
"Moroccan" Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo maroccanus 1
Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis 5
Little Egret Egretta garzetta 4
Grey Heron Ardea cinerea 2
White Stork Ciconia ciconia 6
(Eurasian) Spoonbill Platalea leucorodia 1
Ruddy Shelduck Tadorna ferruginea 2
Mallard Anas platyrhynchos 2
Tufted Duck Aythya fuligula 2
Short-toed Eagle Circaetus gallicus 2
Booted Eagle Hieraaetus pennata 3
Bonelli's Eagle Hieraaetus fasciatus 1
Black Kite Milvus migrans 7
Marsh Harrier Circus aeruginosus 1
Montagu's Harrier Circus pygargus 2
Hen Harrier Circus cyaneus 1
"Atlas" Long-legged Buzzard Buteo rufinus cirtensis 3
Sparrowhawk Accipter nisus 1
Osprey Pandion haliaetus 1
Kestrel Falco tinnunculus 9
Barbary Falcon Falco pelegrinus 1
Lanner Falcon Falco biarmicus 2
Barbary Partridge Alectoris barbara 1
Common Coot Fulica atra 1
Red-knobbed Coot Fulica cristata 1
Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus 1
Cream-coloured Courser Cursorius cursor 3
Collared Pratincole Glareola pratincola 1
Little-Ringed Plover Charadrius dubius 2
Ringed Plover Charadrius hiaticula 2
Kentish Plover Charadrius alexandrinus 1
Little Stint Calidris minuta 1
Eurasian Curlew Numenius arquata 1
Wood Sandpiper Tringa glareola 1
Green Sandpiper Tringa ochropus 1
Marsh Sandpiper Tringa stagnatilis 1
Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos 1
Black-bellied Sandgrouse Pterocles orientalis 2
Spotted Sandgrouse Pterocles senegallus 2
Crowned Sandgrouse Pterocles coronatus 2
Rock Dove Columba livia 5
Wood Pigeon Columba palumbus 3
Eurasian Collared Dove Streptopelia decaocto 9
European Turtle Dove Streptopelia decaocto 1
Common Cuckoo Cuculus canorus 1
Pharaoh Eagle Owl Bubo babo ascalaphus 1
Little Owl Athene noctua 1
Egyptian Nightjar Caprimulgus aegyptius 1
Common Swift Apus apus 5
Pallid Swift Apus pallidus 8
Little Swift Apus affinis 3
Eurasian Hoopoe Upupa epops 8
European Bee-eater Merops apiaster 7
Blue-cheeked Bee-eater Merops persicus 3
Levaillant's Green Woodpecker Picus vaillantii 2
Great Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos major 2
Common Skylark Alauda arvensis 2
Crested Lark Galerida cristata 5
Maghreb (long-billed Crested) Lark Galerida cristatamacrorhyncha 1
Thekla Lark Galerida theklae 3
Greater Short-toed Lark Calandrella brachydactyla 3
Lesser Short-toed Lark Calandrella rufescens 4
Desert Lark Ammomanes deserti 6
Bar-tailed Lark Ammomanes cincturus 2
Thick-billed Lark Ramphocoris clotbey 3
Atlas Horned Lark Eremophila atlas 1
Temminck's (Horned) Lark Eremophila bilopha 1
Dupont's Lark Chersophilus duponti 1
Hoopoe Lark Alaemon alaudipes 4
Sand Martin Riparia riparia 6
Eurasian Crag Martin Ptyonoprogne rupestris 2
Rock Martin Ptyonoprogne fuligula 3
Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica 9
Red-rumped Swallow Hirundo daurica 4
House Martin Delichon urbicum 6
Water Pipit Anthus spinoletta 2
"Moroccan" White Wagtail Motacilla alba subpersonata 6
Yellow Wagtail Motacilla flava 4
Blue-headed Yellow Wagtail Motacilla flava flava 5
Grey Wagtail Motacilla cinerea 3
Alpine Accentor Prunella collaris 1
Wren Troglodytes troglodytes 2
Common Bulbul Pycnonotus barbatus 7
Robin Erithacus rubecula 1
Common Nightingale Luscinia megarhynchos 3
Common Redstart Phoenicurus phoenicurus 3
Black Redstart Phoenicurus ochruros 3
Moussier's Redstart Phoenicurus moussieri 2
Whinchat Saxicola rubetra 1
European Stonechat Saxicola torquatus 1
Northern Wheatear Oenanthe oenanthe 7
Seebohm's Wheatear Oenanthe o'seebohmi 2
Desert Wheatear Oenanthe deserti 7
Black-eared Wheatear Oenanthe hispanica 2
Maghreb Wheatear Oenanthe halophila 2
White-crowned Wheatear Oenanthe leucopyga 5
Black Wheatear Oenanthe leucura syenitnica 4
Red-rumped Wheatear Oenanthe moesta 2
Blue Rock-Thrush Monticola solitarius 3
Common Blackbird Turdus merula 7
Cetti's Warbler Cettia cetti 4
Sedge Warbler Acrocephalus schoenobaenus 1
"Saharan" (Eastern Olivaceous) Warbler Hippolais pallida reiseri 1
Willow Warbler Phylloscopus trochilus 3
Chiffchaff Phylloscopus collybita 2
Blackcap Sylvia atricapilla 2
Western Orphean Warbler Sylvia hortensis 1
African Desert Warbler Sylvia nana deserti 1
Common Whitethroat Sylvia communis 1
Tristram's Warbler Sylvia deserticola maroccana 2
Spectacled Warbler Sylvia conspicillata 1
Subalpine Warbler Sylvia cantillans 2
Sardinian Warbler Sylvia melanocephala 4
Scrub Warbler Scotocerca inquieta saharae 3
Great Tit Parus major 2
African Blue Tit Cyanistes teneriffae ultramarinus 3
Fulvous Babbler Turdoides fulva 1
Woodchat Shrike Lanius senator 8
Southern Grey Shrike Lanius excubitor algerisa 1
"Desert" Great Grey Shrike Lanius excubitor elegans 3
Maghreb (African) Magpie Pica pica mauritanica 2
Red-billed Chough Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax 1
Common Raven Corvus corax 5
Brown-necked Raven Corvus ruficollis 2
Spotless Starling Sturnus unicolor 2
House Sparrow Passer domesticus 9
Desert Sparrow Passer simplex saharae 1
Rock Sparrow Petronia petronia 1
North African Chaffinch Fringilla coelebs africana 2
European Serin Serinus serinus 6
Greenfinch Chloris chloris 5
Goldfinch Carduelis carduelis 5
Linnet Carduelis cannabina 3
African Crimson-winged Finch Rhodopechys alienus 1
Trumpeter Finch Bucanetes githagineus zedlitzi 6
Corn Bunting Emberiza calandra 2
Cirl Bunting Emberiza cirlus 1
(Western) Rock Bunting Emberiza cia 3
House Bunting Emberiza striolata sahari 7
Total number of species seen 144