Guelmim region is one of the most frequented areas by Spanish Imperial Eagles (Aquila adalberti) wintering in Morocco. In this region, they share the space and the resources with another Mediterranean raptor, the Bonelli’s Eagle (Aquila fasciata) which is very abundant in this area outside the breeding season. The first photo shows a Bonelli’s Eagle
Prey availability and pylons: a lethal mix for eagles Read More »
A summary of vulture migration census during November 2015 at Jbel Moussa and Punta Cires (Dalia beach) on the southern shore of the Strait of Gibraltar, northern Morocco: 4 November: More than 400 Griffon Vultures (Gyps fulvus) crossed the Strait of Gibraltar this day at Jbel Moussa and Punta Cires. They were first detected (by
Vulture migration at the Strait of Gibraltar, November 2015 Read More »
A new subspecies of Common Chaffinch endemic to north-east Libya was described by Lars Svensson in a recent paper. Below are the summary and the main conclusion taken from the paper: “A new subspecies of Common Chaffinch Fringilla coelebs in North Africa is described. It is restricted to northern Cyrenaica in north-east Libya. Differences from
A new Common Chaffinch subspecies in North Africa Read More »
حذرت جمعية الطيور العالميَّة و الاتحاد الدولي للحفاظ على الطبيعة في التحديث الأخير للقائمة الحمراء للأنواع المهددة بالانقراض بأن نسور أفريقيا تنزلق نحو الانقراض. سبعة من أصل إحدى عشر نوع من نسور أفريقيا هي الآن في خطر للانقراض، وفقا لأحدث تقييم لحالة حفظ الطيور الذي قامت به منظمة حياة الطيور الدولية. هذا التقييم تم إدراجه
نسور أفريقيا مهددة بالانقراض يحذر الاتحاد الدولي للحفاظ على الطبيعة Read More »
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
Eleonora’s Falcons in Morocco imprison live birds to keep them as a fresh food reserve. 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 »