Morocco ~ 4th - 11th Jan' ~ '25

Morocco ~ 4th - 11th Jan' ~ '25 

Flight & car booked with British Airways to Marrakesh landing at 18:30 and the plan was to drive an hour to Ait Ourir ready for the next morning ..... But ...!!

I was on Flickr and saw a post from Brendan Ryan with a Maghreb Owl he had seen in the grounds of Aurocher hotel on the way up to Oukaimeden, a quick message to Jono and a new plan was underway, cancelled the original hotel, booked Aurocher which was 90 minutes from the airport ..

4th January

We arrived about 21:30 ish at Aurocher and had a very late evening meal before going out with fingers & toes crossed about 10 minutes in and we could not believe what we heard, way off in the distance a Maghreb called and it got closer & closer until its next call which was behind us in the trees high above the hotel on the road, On went the torch and their it was, both of us went straight to panic mode, back to the room grabbed the cameras and came back to it still in the road side trees before gliding over our heads ...

5th January

As it was only 30 minutes drive up to Oukaimeden it seemed stupid not to go up, Ohhhhh it most defiantly turned out to be a bad idea, I was last up here in 2018 and they have ruined it, at the ski resort with containers all along the road selling everything from peanuts to ski's, it was like a Boot Sale in the snow ..

That's the last time i'm going up in winter ..

We had a good bit of birding before starting down and that's where the nightmare began, 100's of mopeds, cars, vans and coaches going up with plenty trying to escape down resulted in road blocks, one was for 15 minutes without moving so we got out and did some Black Wheatears, it took just over 2 hours 30 minutes just to get to the hotel where we started and now we have a 4 hour drive over the Atlas Mountains and out towards Ouarzazate our place for the night was Bivouac Lot of Stars ..

6th January

The morning got off to a good start at Barrage Tarmigte a wetland area with multiple small pools seeing 19 species best being Common Snipe ..

Then it was a location on the massive Barrage Al Mansour Ad Dahbi out through Ouarzazate on the eastern side off the RN10 at Eddahbi - nord - est, another 19 species with notables like Great Cormorant, Slender-billed Gull & Thekla Lark ..

A couple more sites on route before having 3 hours driving the many tracks of Tagdilt, 15 quality species in total with notables of Black-bellied Sandgrouse, Lanner Falcon, Temminck's Lark, Greater Hoopoe-Lark & Red-rumped Wheatear it definitely was good to be back out here ..

The sunset over Tagdilt then it was a 2 hour drive towards Errachidia for a night at Auberge Tinit ..

7th January

Today was 5 hour round trip out east on the N10 which was a new region on the Morocco map and it was close enough to the Algeria border for Jono to get pigeon on his Ebird Algeria List on route were some good stops for photography using the car as a hide ..

We went out as far as Barrage Oued Zelmou before turning back a few stops along the way then on to the RN17 through Erfoud to our place for two nights at Riad Caravasar on the outer edge of the magnificent  Erg Chebbi ...

8th January

Sunrise and we are at Yasmina sadly we left it to late and it was fully booked to stay here, this is the first time I've seen the lake either side of Yasmina, it was stunning with the dunes ...

Tisserdmine area was next we walked a vast wadi with Desert Wheatear & Greater Hoopoe-Lark best of, and then closer to the dunes at another ebird pin for Sandgrouse we tried a few sites throughout the trip failing to see crowned or spotted ..

The large lagoon south of Merzouga, Dayet Srij whilst the light was harsh produced 14 species in 90 minutes like Northern Shoveler, Greater Flamingo, Black-winged Stilt & Greenshank we drove as much of the track around the lagoon as it has plenty of hidden bays worth taking a look at ..

9th January

 An hour at first light hoping for some Sandgrouse to fly in at (31.184, -4.036), not visible from the main N13 road but its a very large flooded area, No grouse ... We did see 9 species ..

It was a 4 hour drive back towards Tagdilt for the afternoon light driving the tracks looking for photo opportunities, Red-rumped Wheatear & Temminck's Lark was most obliging ..

We were staying the night in Imiter at Nomadic Birdway, for a morning back out on Tagdilt ..

10th January

The owner Brahim of Nomadic Birdway asked to join us for the morning pre-breakfast session first out on Tagdilt, driving the many tracks but again it was the dump area which had the close birds for some photography ..

Brahim said he knew a location for Maghreb Wheatear at the Falcon Nest Escarpment, we tried here on our way out for PEOwl, this time we went down in to the wadi finding Pharaoh Eagle Owl, Lanner Falcon and Maghreb Wheatear ..

After breakfast we had another long drive towards our last nights accommodation staying at Maison d'Hotes Irocha, Tisseldei a small village at the base of the Atlas Mountains, its a good place to stop overnight ready for the drive over the pass the following morning ..

We stopped at a few places on route the best one was off the main N9 road turning onto the N10 then turning onto the P1505 which loops back to the N9, as mentioned in the Gosney Guide Book trying some great desert areas with the idea that we were just to early in the year finding 7 species in nearly 2 hours, Blue Rock Thrush & Maghreb Wheatear being the notables ..

11th January

Nice early breakfast, the pass was clear of snow so we started our way over, stopping many times, Aguelmouss was a good stop with notables like Black Wheatear, Crimson-winged Finch & Rock Bunting ..

Once over and down towards Marrakesh we tried a Ebird pin for Fulvous Chatterer at (31.571, -7.909) with no luck but we did see 34 Maghreb Magpie !!, Great Grey Shrike & Moussier's Redstart..

All that was left now was the drive to the airport ..

We failed to get 3 of our target birds Crowned & Spotted Sandgrouse more luck than anything else as we were in great habitat on a few occasions, so probably should of got a guide, and the other one we were to early for which was Atlas Wheatear ..

Finished the trip on 96 species ..

Morocco List is at 144 ..

They will have to wait until the next trip to Morocco ..     

       

How to get Nicobar Pigeon on your List ?

Nicobar Pigeon ~ Thailand

To see this species actually turned out to be a lot easier than thought, get a boat out to the Similan Islands ...

In a nutshell that's basically it get yourself on the island ..

Go on-line with the many ticket selling companies like Viator or Tripadvisor or book direct ..

I travelled up the day before from Phangnag which was an hours drive to Khao Lak Pier or direct from Phuket Airport its only 2hrs 10 so its not that bad travel wise to get to Khao Lak Pier ..

My ticket was with Sawanu Travel located on the main road roughly 100 meters from  Khao Lak Pier, cost was Tbt 2800 ~ £65 ..

Now as a birder you have to put up with the tourists and go along with the boat tour you have no choice, the tour is 4 islands, two of which are for snorkelling, the other two islands are 30 minutes and 90 minutes on each, Thankfully you get the 90 minutes on island No:4 which is Nicobar Central ..

So 07:30 on the morning of the 29th December, I did the check-in and got my wrist band to get me on the boat, Two boats, Two colours of wristbands and about 60 people on each boat, both were fully booked. My boat was due to leave at 08:30 but was good 30 minutes late, and its at least a 90 minute speedboat ride to the first island, I thought that maybe I might get Frigatebird or any bird would of been a bonus but absolutely nothing and the same went for the first snorkelling stop ..

Island No:8 ~ Ko Similan ~ My Ebird started at 10:27am was on the island for 56 minutes and noted 10 species, in the fenced off pond area were 2 Nicobar Pigeons and in the canopy were Green & Pied Imperial Pigeon, Oriental Cuckoo, Yellow-browed Warbler and Pacific Reef-Heron on the rocks ..

Island No:9 ~ Ko Ba Ngu ~ Ebird Started at 11:37am and was stationary with dropped anchor whilst the others did snorkelling I went up to top deck seeing only 2 species in 32 minutes a White-bellied Sea-Eagle and Grey-faced Buzzard ..

Island No:4 ~ Ko Miang ~ Ebird started at 12:31pm and I had well over 2 hours after lunch going between both camp sites looking for photo opportunities with the Nicobar.

Tip ... Save some rice in a tissue, sprinkle on the ground near some birds, take some photos ..

In total 11 species seen but it really was all about that Pigeon which actually was brilliant 7 birds in total, I had them literally walking around me and the benches, giving great views with 5 Green & 4 Pied in the canopy ..

I had the Nicobar Pigeons all to myself as rest of the many, many  boats had people only interested in suntans & Selfies ...

On Island No:4 to find the Nicobar Pigeon just walk to the campsites at Had Yai and Had Lek once lunch is over and the people have moved away from the bench area at Had Yai its guaranteed  they will be picking up the leftovers around the benches ..

Get Nicobar on your Thai or World List its easy ..

   

   

 

Southern Thailand ~ Dec' 20th ~ 31st - '24

 

Southern Thailand 

December 20th ~ 31st - 2024

Flights were booked with China Eastern basically because they were only £1000 return which was 1200 cheaper than BA, these flights went via Shanghai with virtually 24 hr travelling before landing in Phuket ..

I didn't get any birding until the morning of the 22nd which started off at Nai Yang Beach then Sirinat NP as they were close to last nights hotel. A 20 minute drive north to Mai Khao which was a great area especially walking around the lagoon, a road goes all around it with tracks off at certain points all were good and produced species like Red Collared Dove, Chestnut-winged Cuckoo, Black Baza, Crested Goshawk & Forest Wagtail .. 

The 23rd and I did another walk around the lagoon seeing 51 species before leaving the Phuket region and driving to Phangnga. 

Kalai mangroves was my first stop possibly because it was midday but this was the worst site I tried of the entire trip onwards to Ao Phang-nga NP canopy Tower, Mangrove Road and the Harbour Road, the mangroves were tough going with not many species. Managed to get my one and only Ruddy Kingfisher down the Mangrove Road ..

Back for first light on the 24th at Mangrove Road before going for another try around Phang-nga Tower with Brown-winged Kingfisher above the entrance, I tried the Wang Mor Kaeng Park late morning which was such a changed from the hard going mangroves and noted 25 species here in 2 hrs ..

Another go around the tower trail & mangrove road still not finding Vireo and Broadbill before giving in and heading out of the Phang-nga region towards Krabi ..

It's the 25th and no sign that is xmas here which is exactly why I travel over this period, and first light I'm walking the Krabi Town Mangrove Boardwalk, a 1km walk out to a floating jetty this is where you get a boat either out to the Sandbars or the Mangrove Canals. I went out and back twice arranging a boat for 10am ..

Walked back out again and the boatman was waiting for me, it took about 15 minutes to get out to the beginning of the sandbars where there was 1000's of birds, we got stuck by grounding many times but it really wasn't a problem as the boatman quickly jumping in knee deep and pushed the boat off ..

Waders & Terns like 100's of Terek Sandpipers, Great Knot, Tibetan Sandpipers and Nordmann's Greenshank with Black-naped and both Crested Terns in 2 hrs noted 24 species ..

I drove whilst the light was harsh about an hour to Khao Pra-Bang Khram Wildlife Sanctuary walking a jungle track for 2 miles noting 19 species like Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrike, Blyth's Paradise Flycatcher, Eastern Crowned Warbler & Yellow-breasted Flowerpecker ..

Back to Khao Pra but a different track first thing just over 3 hrs and 3 miles produced 26 species like Red-billed Malkoha, Brown-backed Needletail and Purple-naped Spiderhunter ..

Back to Krabi for midday and I walked around Maritime Park Resort it was closed for renovations but I went in anyway for 80 minutes seeing 23 species ..

I yet again tried the Krabi mangrove trail failing to see either Vireo or Broadbill but at the jetty I got talking to another boatman and went out into the mangrove canals for 3 hrs covering 6 miles and producing 19 species like Green-billed Malkoha, Brown-winged & Black-capped Kingfishers ..

I arranged another boat trip for first light ..

The 27th and I'm at the jetty at the end of the mangrove trail, in the dark with two screeching Eastern Barn Owl's which had a fly around just as the light broke ..

The boat trip was 3 hrs and 7 miles with a total of 12 Brown-winged & 3 Black-capped Kingfishers and I also found a roosting Grey Nightjar ..

Then I tried Khao Phanom Bencha NP  this was a great site not to busy, its another waterfall and streams set in the jungle I stayed here for over 3 hrs trying a few times for Forktail but still had some good birds like Brown-backed Needletail, Blue-eared & Golden-whiskered Barbet and Ochraceous Bulbul ..

I drove out of the Krabi region and back to Phangnga ..

The 28th and at first light i'm back in the Wang Mor Kaeng Park and in 3 hrs I found some good birds with 32 species in total, Large Green-Pigeon, Yellow Bittern, Banded Woodpecker & Blue Whistling Thrush ..

I tried a few sites on route but it was really just about getting to Khao Lak Pier which took about 90 minutes, I sat drinking a coffee whilst it rained, watching the boats and mentioned I had come to the area to try and get a ticket for the boat trip tomorrow, I can arrange that she said and 10 minutes later it was booked ..

I next booked my hotel for the night now I had a boat ticket, then drove to Lam Ru NP - Ton Chong Fa Waterfall trying again for the Forktail unsuccessfully but I did see Red-billed Malkoha & Great Hornbill, 90 minutes and only 7 species ..

My hotel for the night was actually a tent at Sawasdee Lagoon Resort, I arrived with about an hour of daylight left and soon realised it held great potential and should of had more time here but that was just not possible, 13 species best being 2 Pin-tailed Snipe feeding in the long grass on the football pitch ..

Up early on the 29th and did the 30 minute drive to Khao Lak Pier, checked in, grabbed a coffee and then waited, it was easily 30 minutes later than planned to board the boat and still had a 90 minute journey to the first island. I read a blog saying they saw nothing on their journey and that was exactly what I saw, absolutely nothing both out & back ..

The first island was just for snorkelling, I went up to top deck for the 30 minutes and saw ... Nothing .. Although I did see a whole new level of selfie taking by Asian couples where the boyfriend basically was a photo/video slave if he didn't do a good job he had to do it multiple times before she was happy ..

Next Island No:8 which I had an hour on the island seeing 10 species and the bird the trip was for, Nicobar Pigeon, 2 of them were in a fenced off pond area, also Green Imperial Pigeon, Pied Imperial Pigeon and Oriental Cuckoo before getting back on the boat ..

Next island No:9 was another snorkelling stop but I did see Grey-faced Buzzard from the upper deck ..

The main event .. !!  Island No:4 and even though I had already seen Nicobar it was all about getting some photos, 2 hours on the island produced 11 species ... 4 Pied, 5 Green all flight views in the canopy and 7 Nicobar Pigeons all picking up peoples food spillages between the benches ..

Another 90 minute boat ride back to the mainland seeing nothing, I then booked a hotel near Chalong Reservoir in Phuket a 2 hr 30 drive, arriving to a cancelled hotel booking !! Booked another 30 minutes away only to arrive to yet another cancelled booking, i've been staying in £30 a night max nicely adequate places now i've had to book a night for £107 and it was an absolute dive in Phuket, The worst i've stayed in ever !! but after over 5 hours I'd had enough, the smell and falling down ceiling I just put up with ..

Sherry's Guest House ~ Is one to avoid .....

The 30th and not surprisingly I was up early and out, Khlong Kata Reservoir and surroundings was my first stop, the smaller lakes near to the reservoir were much more productive with 34 species for the area in 2 hrs like Lesser Whistling Duck, Great Myna and Blue Rock Thrush ..

I tried a few other sites before ending up at Bang Pae Waterfall way to busy but Grey-rumped Treeswift & Grey-faced Buzzard nearby were nice before heading for the airport ..

A total of 145 species for the trip ...