More than 2300 Griffon Vultures (Gyps fulvus) have crossed the Strait of Gibraltar to Morocco in about one hour this morning. They were seen as they arrived above Jbel Moussa by Rachid El Khamlichi. At the time of writing this (12h45), some smaller groups are still crossing. By late afternoon, over 3500 Griffon Vultures have […]
3500 Griffon Vultures crossed the Strait at Jbel Moussa Read More »
Yellow-browed Warbler (Phylloscopus inornatus) was seen foraging with other Phylloscopus warblers at the Botanical Garden in Rabat on 15th October 2015 by Pedro Fernandes. This is the 13th record of this Siberian species for Morocco. Pedro detailed the observation in his eBird checklist as follows: Detected by ear and later spotted with binoculars; seen at close
Yellow-browed Warbler at Rabat, is it overwintering? Read More »
MA4, the young Griffon Vulture (Gyps fulvus) was wing-tagged at Jbel Moussa last May by Rachid El Khamlichi with the help of José Antonio Sarrión Salado who was present there that day (photo above). After it’s wing-tagging, MA4 stayed 3 days locally at Jbel Moussa roosting with other vultures. On 14 August 2015, Javier Rivas
Griffon Vulture ‘MA4’ died after crossing the Strait of Gibraltar Read More »
Until the end of the 20th century there were only limited numbers of autumn-winter breeding records of the Cream-coloured Courser (Cursorius cursor). With the exception of Cape Verde, all these mentions of winter breeding are outside the Western Palearctic (as defined in the BWP) and the Arabian Peninsula including Socotra Islands. In a recent paper
Winter breeding by Cream-coloured Coursers Read More »
Eleonora’s Falcons in Morocco imprison live birds to keep them fresh for a later meal. This behavior is unheard of before in the animal kingdom. The Eleonora’s Falcon (Falco eleonorae) is mainly insectivorous outside the breeding season. During the nesting period, which is very late (from July to October) as an adaptation to coincide with
Eleonora’s Falcons imprison live birds for a later meal Read More »
An international team of researchers from across Africa, Europe and North America have published the first continent-wide estimates of decline rates in African vultures. Their findings suggest that African vultures are likely to qualify as ‘Critically Endangered’ under the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s global threat criteria. The study which was published recently in
African vultures are heading towards extinction, a study warns Read More »
Une étude suggère que les vautours africains sont en voie d’extinction. Une équipe internationale de chercheurs, dont des scientifiques de renom du Peregrine Fund, de l’Endangered Wildlife Trust, de l’Université de Makerere et de l’Université Altera de Wageningen, avertit que les vautours africains sont susceptibles de se qualifier comme « en danger critique d’extinction »
Les vautours africains diminuent de façon critique, avertit une étude Read More »
An Eurasian Spoonbill colour-ringed in The Netherlands was shot by a Moroccan hunter most likely near his native city of Kenitra. This photo was not taken in Malta, Cyprus or in the Middle East. No. The hunter is 100% Moroccan, as we can see in the language used in comments by other hunters who disapproved his
Dutch-ringed Spoonbill shot dead in Morocco Read More »
An amazing nesting association between a White Stork (Ciconia ciconia) and Cattle Egrets (Bubulcus ibis) was observed at Auberge Amros, near Azrou in the Middle Atlas by Jacques Franchimont. On 7 June 2015, Jacques photographed several nests of Cattle Egrets (maybe 6) that were built on lateral branches of a White Stork nest (see photos).
White Storks sharing nests with Cattle Egrets and both breed successively Read More »
The House Bunting reached Jbel Moussa in 2015, and a year later it reached the nearby Ceuta (see the update below). The House Bunting (Emberiza sahari) colonised Tangier since at least a decade ago and now is abundant in many parts of this big city (Amezian et al. 2006). Then it colonised Tétouan since at least
House Bunting at Jbel Moussa and Ceuta Read More »