We received two recent sightings of Egyptian Nightjars (Caprimulgus aegyptius) in this February from two important birding hotspots: Aousserd in Western Sahara and Merzouga in Eastern Sahara. The first bird was seen at Laglat/Derraman near Oued Jenna on 18 Feb. 2016 by Javier Elorriaga and Yeray Seminario (Birding the Strait). In addition to the single Egyptian
Egyptian Nightjars arrive early to the breeding areas Read More »
Allen’s Gallinule (Porphyrio alleni) found at Tachektent on the Dakhla-Aousserd road yesterday (18 February 2016) by Mohamed Mediani. This is the 11th record for Morocco. The bird photographed by Ali Irizi at Oued Massa on 28 December 2014 and found three days later by Daniel Vrauwdeunt at the same site should be counted as one record in my opinion.
Allen’s Gallinule at Tachektent, Dakhla-Aousserd road Read More »
An adult Kelp Gull (Larus dominicanus) found and photographed today, 25 January, at the fish factory of Anza near Agadir by Arie Ouwerkerk and Jacob Jan de Vries. As we known, the observation of Kelp Gull in Morocco is more likely at Khniffiss lagoon and along the nearby coast. So such sightings in more northern latitudes
A 3-year old male Peregrine Falcon ringed in Sweden was captured south of Casablanca by poachers on 18 December 2015. It was released by Karim Rousselon after negotiations with the captors. Un Faucon mâle pèlerin d’origine suédoise de 3 ans capturé par des braconniers le 18/12/2015 au sud de Casablanca. Remis en liberté par Karim
Swedish Peregrine rescued from poachers at Casablanca, Morocco Read More »
The report of the Moroccan Rare Birds Committee (MRBC) for the year 2015 has just been published. During that period, the MRBC examined 124 new records of which 112 were accepted. The report included the first Moroccan records of three species: White-backed Vulture (Gyps africanus). It’s also the 4th for the Western Palearctic, seen at
Birding the Sahara is just excellent after rains. A large team composed by several researchers from different fields participated in late November 2015 in an expedition to the areas of Tirs and Adrar Sotouf (west and south-west of Aousserd respectively). The visit was in the framework of a project about the “Inventory of cultural and
Desert birds breeding in late autumn and other curiosities Read More »
Recent observations of the globally endangered Egyptian Vulture (Neophron percnopterus) in Morocco become so rare that some authors considered the species on the verge of local extinction as a breeding species. In this context, the observation of 4 birds in spring 2013 and a successful breeding pair near the Tazekka National Park were received with excitement among the
Significant population of Egyptian Vulture found in Morocco Read More »
Eagles were found electrocuted again at the same dangerous power line south-west of Guelmim. In this way, each passing day is a bad news for the eagles of the region, both residents and winter visitors. After 3 Spanish Imperial, 1 Golden and 5 Bonelli’s eagles were found electrocuted on 22 October and 7 November in
There was a Grey/Timneh Parrot on 3 December at the Botanical Gardens of Rabat. I was caught off guard and could not see much as the bird flew past me — had an instant to look at it as it passed. It looked big (good for Grey Parrot Psittacus erithacus, but a difficult thing to
Six young Spanish Imperial Eagles (Aquila adalberti) satellite-tracked from southern Spain visited Morocco this autumn. Last month, we published the news about one of these eagles that did not move from a single point located in Guelmim region. Project coordinators at Junta de Andalucía and Doñana Biological Station suspected that it may have been dead
Electrocution of Spanish Imperial, Bonelli’s and Golden eagles at Guelmim Read More »