The newly discovered Eurasian Spoonbill colony near Casablanca is only the second in Morocco. Since 1994, the Smir heronry hosted the only breeding population of the nominate subspecies of the Eurasian Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia) in Africa (El Agbani et al. 2002; El Khamlichi & Amezian 2015). The multi-species heronry hosts also Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis), […]
New Spoonbill colony discovered in Morocco Read More »
Colour-marked Black-tailed Godwit (Limosa limosa) hunted in Morocco. See below. تمتد مواطن تعشيش ‘بقويقة سوداء الذيل’ على منطقة واسعة ولاكن بشكل متقطع من اسلندا إلى شرق روسيا. في المغرب و شمال إفريقيا يعد هذا النوع من الطيور المهاجرة و المشتية: أي أن البعض يعبر المنطقة في فترات الهجرة فقط، و البعض الآخر يقضي فترة الشتاء
قنص ‘بقويقة سوداء الذيل’ هولندية في المغرب Read More »
To which taxa belong the ‘crested larks’ observed in the Aousserd region and in the adjacent area of northern Mauritania? First, which species: Maghreb Lark or Crested Lark sensu stricto? And also, which subspecies exactly? À quels taxons appartiennent les «cochevis huppées» observées dans la région d’Aousserd et dans le nord de la Mauritanie ? D’abord,
Taxonomic status of ‘long-billed’ Crested Larks at Aousserd? Read More »
The 23rd report (for 2017) of the Moroccan Rare Birds Committee (MRBC) is published. In 2017, the MRBC examined 116 new records of which 111 were accepted. These included the first Moroccan records of the following four species and one genus: Cinnamon Teal (Spatula cyanoptera), Fea’s/Desertas/Zino’s Petrel (Pterodroma feae/deserta/madeira), Steppe Eagle (Aquila nipalensis), Baird’s Sandpiper
Rare birds in Morocco: 23rd report of the MRBC Read More »
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).
First record of Cinereous Vulture for Mauritania Read More »
Wahlberg’s Eagle (Hieraaetus wahlbergi) is an African raptor distributed south of the Sahara. It’s known as an intra-African migrant, but movements north of the range are very rare. Indeed, the first Western Palearctic record was obtained only on 3 May 2013: a bird photographed by Ahmed Waheed on the west coast of Gulf of Suez,
Second Wahlberg’s Eagle for the Western Palearctic Read More »
Tawny Eagle in Morocco is very rare, as there have been no documented breeding pairs for over two decades. The former breeding range of Tawny Eagle (Aquila rapax) in Morocco was much larger, however the known breeding areas in the past few decades are/were much more restricted as the species has already disappeared from the
Tawny Eagle in Morocco: current status and vagrancy potential Read More »
About two years ago Karim Rousselon shared with us the story of how a Swedish Peregrine Falcon was rescued from poachers at Casablanca. The same story happened again last November with a Peregrine Falcon from Finland and a Saker Falcon. This account is based on the report by K. Rousselon and his co-authors published today.
Rare falcons rescued from poachers in Morocco Read More »
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
Important White-headed Duck wintering population in Morocco Read More »
A summary of a birding trip to Oued Dahab region by The Sound Approach team that focused mainly on sound recording as well as general birding. Written by Arnoud B. van den Berg. As there were reports of rain from Dakhla-Aousserd three months earlier, we visited the area on 10-19 December 2017 for The Sound
Birding trip to Dakhla-Aousserd region by The Sound Approach Read More »