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Bird Migration

Index of articles about bird migration, wintering and dispersion in Northwest Africa and adjacent areas.

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

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

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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First record of Cinereous Vulture for The Gambia

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

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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Important White-headed Duck wintering population in Morocco

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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Spanish Imperial Eagle dispersion in North Africa in 2017

Spanish Imperial Eagle / Aigle ibérique (Aquila adalberti), near Tanger-Med port, 12 September 2017 (Rachid El Khamlichi).

Dispersion and overwintering of Spanish Imperial Eagles (Aquila adalberti) in Morocco, and northern Africa in general, is becoming regular and in relatively good numbers (for an endangered ‘sedentary’ species). As in previous years, this autumn at least 4 eagles crossed the Strait of Gibraltar to North Africa. We say “at least” because not every bird …

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