BBC 2008: Southern Morocco

The cold and the limited food and drink on the BBC Poland trip in 2006 had such an affect that there was no trip in 2007. By 2008 optimism had returned, and we decided to go to Morocco - land of sun and tajines. We flew to Marrakesh and headed to the eastern edge of the country, where the Sahara begins, then followed the southern edge of the Atlas mountains to the western edge of the country at Agadir on the Atlantic coast. This would be a tour mainly to see birds which specialize in living in deserts, such as larks, wheaters and sandgrouse.

First we had to cross the Atlas mountains.

We stopped at the snowless ski resort of Oukaimeden, at an elevation of 2,600 metres, with the aim of finding Crimson-winged Finch. We took the rickety ride up to the summit and looked up at the highest mountain in Morocco, the 4,167 metre high Jbel Toubkal - but no finches were seen.

On the other side of the mountains we arrived at the flat and stony steppes, which we scanned for larks.

We were also treated to a Mourning Wheatear (Oenanthe lugens) resting on an abandoned building. They are distributed over North Africa and the Middle East, and some consider the north African sub-species halophila to be a separate species - the Western Mourning Wheatear.

Our other rewards for days scouring the steppes for birds were the sunsets.

Continuing east, the landscape transitioned from stony to sandy as we approached the Sahara.

The end of the road - Merzouga.

Here we had close views of Hoopoe Lark (Alaemon alaudipes) - the north african nominate sub-species.

You might not expect to see a toad in the middle of the desert. The African green toad (Bufotes boulengeri) is only found in North Africa, and manages to find temporary water bodies in which to breed.

And here indeed, temporary water - where even flamingos rest.

The bushes surrounding the water were a magnate for birds, and here we saw three birds that specialize in dry habitats: the Fulvous Babbler (Turdoides fulvus)...

...African Desert Warbler (Curraca deserti)...

...and Desert Sparrow (Passer simplex).

The bushes also attract goats, which climb them to feed on the leaves.

The sheep seem to have a more pampered life.

On the way to Agadir we heard the loud call of a woodpecker coming from a village we were passing. We drove in to investigate and found, on a pylon, Levaillant's Green Woodpecker (Picus vaillantii). Some consider it just a sub-species of the Green Woodpecker we have in Europe. At least it brings to prominence the 18th century French ornithologist Francois Levaillant.

All together we saw 83 species of birds, including 10 species of larks, 7 species of wheaters and 2 species of Sandgrouse. North African specialist birds, in addition to those photographed, included: Long-legged Buzzard, Lanner Falcon, Barbary Partridge, Cream-coloured Courser, Collared Pratincole, Crowned Sandgrouse, Black-bellied Sandgrouse, Egyptian Nightjar, Little Swift, Bar-tailed Desert Lark, Desert Lark, Thick-billed Lark, Temminck's Horned Lark, Common Bulbul, Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin, Moussier's Redstart, Desert Wheatear, Red-rumped Wheatear, White-crowned Black Wheatear, Olivaceous Warbler, Brown-necked Raven, Rock Sparrow, Trumpeter Finch and House Bunting.

The sun was again shining on BBC tours.