Bird Migration - Page 2 of 5

Finnish Pallid Harrier wintered in Morocco in a rich, yet dangerous area

22 July 2019 / Bird Migration, Birds of Morocco

Selja the Pallid Harrier after her arrival to Finland, spring 2019 (photo by Ari-Pekka Auvinen via SuomenLuonto.fi)

A Pallid Harrier satellite-tracked in Finland spent the winter in the Guelmim region, southern Morocco. The area is very rich in preys but also very dangerous for raptors because of electrocution. This is the first proven wintering record of the species in Morocco. Westward expansion of the Pallid Harrier Pallid Harrier (Circus macrourus) breeds in […]

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Spanish Imperial Eagle in Andalusia in 2018 & the first satellite-tagged bird in Morocco

29 December 2018 / Bird Migration, Birds of Morocco

Spanish Imperial Eagle (Aquila adalberti), fitted with a GPS transmitter and ready to fly, Bouznika, Morocco, 17 Dec. 2018.

With the expansion of the Spanish Imperial Eagle in Andalusia and the Iberian Peninsula in general, an increasing number of immature birds visit Morocco to winter. It’s in this context that an juvenile bird was found and tagged with a GPS transmitter for the first time in Africa. Status of the Spanish Imperial Eagle in

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Four Richard’s Pipits and Olive-backed Pipit in Morocco

17 December 2018 / Bird Migration, Birds of Morocco

Richard's Pipit (Anthus richardi), Dayet Dar Bouazza, Morocco, 15 Dec. 2018 (Benoît Maire).

At least four Richard’s Pipits (Anthus richardi) at Dayet Dar Bouazza, and an Olive-backed Pipit (Anthus hodgsoni) at an urban park in Rabat. While both Asian pipit species are rare in Morocco, the former is much more regular and even winters in small numbers at some sites, the latter is much rarer. Richard’s Pipit On

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Autumn bird migration at the Strait of Gibraltar by Migres Foundation

3 November 2018 / Bird Migration

Short-toed Snake-Eagle (Circaetus gallicus), Strait of Gibraltar, southern Spain, autumn 2018 (José Antonio Lapeña Sarrias).

The autumn migration through the Strait of Gibraltar is over for the majority of soaring birds. The Griffon Vulture is an exception, because its southward migration starts much later – from mid-October and peaking in November. Some rare birds can also migrate late. Read this: “4 Cinereous Vultures, 2700 Griffon Vultures and a Spanish Imperial

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Migration of rare vultures at Jbel Moussa, spring 2018

5 August 2018 / Bird Migration

Rüppell's Vulture (Gyps rueppelli), east of Tanger-Med Port, Strait of Gibraltar, Morocco, 2 May 2018 (R. El Khamlichi).

At the Strait of Gibraltar, some birds are still migrating northward as late as August or even September in some extreme cases (see one of these under the Rüppell’s Vulture text here). However, the northward migration, for all intents and purposes, is over by the end of July (see for example, Garcia & Bensusan 2006).

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First record of Cinereous Vulture for The Gambia

8 April 2018 / Bird Migration

Cinereous Vulture (Aegypius monachus), Occipitalis Station, Saruja, The Gambia, 24 Feb. 2018 (Fondo de Amigos del Buitre).

Until recently, the Cinereous Vulture (Aegypius monachus) was considered as an accidental visitor to Morocco (and Northwest Africa in general). But now it’s actually a regular migrant and wintering species in small numbers. Movements of the species across the Sahara to West Africa are even rarer, nevertheless a few birds have reached sub-Saharan Africa since

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Plain Swift wintering areas revealed by geolocators

29 March 2018 / Bird Migration

Plain Swift / Martinet unicolore (Apus unicolor), El Tablero, Tenerife, Canary Island, 9 July 2013.

A geolocator study revealed that Plain Swifts breeding in the Canary Islands winter in equatorial West Africa. Plain Swift (Apus unicolor) breeds in the Canary Islands and Madeira in the north-east Atlantic. The populations of these two archipelagos are believed to be partly migratory, with an unknown proportion of the breeding population departing the islands

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New records of Cinereous Vulture for Senegal

18 March 2018 / Bird Migration

Cinereous Vulture / Vautour moine (Aegypius monachus), Sagata, Senegal; 26 Feb. 2018 (Wietze Janse / Banc d’Arguin Reizen).

Four previous records of Cinereous Vulture are known in Senegal (between 2005 and 2013). Two new observations were added in 2018. – One bird photographed near Fatick by Julio Rabadán González on 30 January (photo at observation.org). – One bird photographed at Sagata on 26 February during a birding trip organized by Banc d’Arguin Reizen

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First record of Cinereous Vulture for Mauritania

14 January 2018 / Bird Migration

Cinereous Vulture / Vautour moine (Aegypius monachus), Iouik, Banc d'Arguin National Park, Mauritania, 7 December 2017 (Rob Honing).

Cinereous Vulture (Aegypius monachus) is considered an accidental visitor in Morocco. But based on recent observations, the species should be regarded as a migrant and wintering visitor in Morocco. For example, 4 birds were counted at Jbel Moussa in spring 2017 and 6 birds in spring 2016 (including 3 birds photographed together on 7 May).

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Important White-headed Duck wintering population in Morocco

1 January 2018 / Bird Migration

White-headed Duck / Érismature à tête blanche (Oxyura leucocephala), Sidi Boughaba, 4 Feb. 2017 (Benoit Maire)

Almost 1500 White-headed Ducks (Oxyura leucocephala) counted yesterday by Said Lahrouz and his team at Merja Fouwarate (Fouarat), a peri-urban wetland located at Kenitra (north-west Morocco). A more detailed census the next day, 1 January 2018, revealed a total of 1430 individuals, including 600 males (Lahrouz et al. 2018). This is probably the biggest wintering

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