Morocco- central and east, with Ornitholidays
26th March to 6th April 2001
A very personal diary
Tuesday 27th March
Awoke to a rather miserable rainy day, and packed my brand new suitcase and rucksack. Pat had arranged to go to work late so that she could take me to the station to catch the 1020 train to St Pancras. The first problem arrived when I gained the footbridge at Derby station. I was suddenly aware that the case had become extremely difficult to pull along on it’s wheels. Upon investigation I found that a piece of the rough sandpaper like non slip, covering from the footbridge had broken away and rolled up inside the wheel well and jammed there, locking the wheel solid. The subsequent ten yards or so with the wheel locked had ground a very large flat on the wheel, which made towing the case a little difficult. After releasing the wheel with some difficulty, I made the platform, boarding the train on time.
An uneventful journey landed me in St Pancras at 1210, followed by a struggle down the steps to the “tube”. With the weight of my luggage it was always going to be a struggle. A twenty minute wait followed by a sixty minute journey landing me in Heath Row terminal two at 1500 hours .
I soon met Paul and the team, and booked in and through to the departure lounge. I went to the bar, noting that it was now operated by Weatherspoons. It must be the most expensive Weatherspoons in the U.K. A pint of Courage Directors, the only half way decent beer available cost me two pounds sixty !
Anyway; enough moaning, we boarded our Royal Air Maroc B 737-200, which departed on time with myself in a window seat. Once again; as in October, the cloud parted as we flew over the isle of Jersey.
Spain was pretty much clouded over, and we didn’t see much scenery before it got dark. We had a quite acceptable meal with wine and a glimpse of the Pillars of Hercules as we descended for our intermediate stop at Tangier. The runway nearly started on the beach, in fact I swore that there was sea spray on the windows as we touched the runway.
A forty minute wait to load up and we were en route to Casablanca, where after a journey mostly over the sea we landed on time at 2030 Moroccan time, our clocks having been put back an hour.
Casablanca airport was pretty much deserted as we waited for our internal flight, which much to our disgust, was delayed for an hour due to a crew shortage.
The air temperature was extremely warm when we eventually boarded the Marrakech flight, which to my surprise was an even larger B 737-400. Marrakech took thirty minutes and all of the luggage reappeared very quickly.
We were introduced to our Moroccan driver and his assistant, and boarded a rather cramped fifteen seater Ford minibus. The luggage, much to our dismay was loaded onto a roof rack without any means of retention. Every time we rounded a bend I was looking behind expecting to see cases crashing onto the road, but we arrived at the hotel without incident.
A highly spectacular floodlit minaret dominated the rather mean looking entrance to our hotel, the Hotel Islane, As Tony remarked, it looked like the entrance to a Cairo knocking shop. We were quickly booked in, and a porter took me to my room. I was distinctly unimpressed by both the hotel and the room, but at least it smelt sweet. However I was so shattered that I could have slept on a clothes line.
I quickly unpacked , despite a total lack of coat hangars, and fell in to the double bed, and was asleep inside five minutes.
Wednesday 28th March
Welcome to the “third world”. Was awoken in a panic at about 0100, by torrential rain battering on the roof, and then again for the same reason at 0200, but this time I knew what it was so it didn’t worry me.
At 0430 a moaning sound awoke me, but this time I had been warned about it. It was the muezzin in the new mosque across the road calling the faithful to prayer through a high powered amplification system.
At least he had the consideration to start quietly before building up to a crescendo. After a quick prayer I went back to sleep again
I was awoken just after daybreak by an unfamiliar and extremely cheery burst of bird song. A glance out of my small window revealed that my room overlooked a terrace, where the mystery songster was perched on the roof of my room. Another different but very sweet song then burst out from the direction of the bathroom. A cautious approach followed by a cautious clamber on to the lavatory seat revealed a small reddish brown bird perched on the windowledge. Thanks to the bright sun straight into my eyes I couldn’t make out any detail and it quickly flew away.
The room looked a little better in the light of day and was at least clean, although Pat would not have approved. After a quick cold shower I dressed, and found my way downstairs to meet the early shift coming back from the gardens of the new mosque. Paul told me not to fret as they’d seen nothing we wouldn’t see later.
As we ate breakfast as it is euphemistically called, delicious orange juice, excellent coffee, or dreadful weak tea, plus bread,croissants and jams, Paul told us that today was sightseeing around Marrakech, before the serious birdwatching started, but we would be seeing some good birds. The dining room was open to the desperately busy street attracting the occasional peddler etc. We got our gear together and headed outside to catch the minibus.
The hotel was situated at the better end of the city, with the spectacular new mosque just across the broad boulevard. It was good to know that Allah was close at hand, and looking after us.
Looking around as we stood on the pavement, the traffic was horrendous: decorated lorries, cars and taxis, mainly aged Mercedes, Mobylette mopeds, bicycles, heavily laden donkeys, and kaliches i.e
horse drawn carriages, and everything going flat out. Birds were skimming about everywhere, my first Moroccan bird being the humble HOUSE SPARROW, swiftly followed by COLLARED DOVE. Swifts were zooming about all over the place, I thought they looked rather pale and Paul informed us that they were PALLID SWIFTS, with a supporting cast of LITTLE SWIFTS, their white rumps not too obvious, but both new birds for me, as well as a family party of KESTRELS which were nesting in the minaret.
We boarded the bus for the short journey to the Menera Gardens, just a little way out into the country.
This consisted of a large rectangular reservoir, with a “Moorish” edifice at one end. This is the oldest formal garden in Africa. It was alive with tourists, North Africans, Japanese, in fact anything but British, all wandering around the pool. PALLID and LITTLE SWIFTS, were hawking over the surface, but we could not find any Common Swifts to compare them with. The pool was surrounded by tall palm trees and olive groves, and my attention was attracted by the cheerful burst of song I had heard first thing in the morning. We soon located the songster as my first COMMON BULBUL perched in a palm. Quite an attractive looking bird. As well as the HOUSE SPARROWS and COLLARED DOVES, we then spotted a WHITE STORK gliding into a palm tree.
We then descended to ground level for a walk around the olive groves. The sky was looking a little threatening with some large black clouds as well as some blue sky. It was fairly warm and pleasant however, but we commented that we hoped it wouldn’t rain as it had in the night, or we would get very wet.
As well as ourselves there were various people about in the groves, harvesting the undergrowth, picnicking, riding cycles and mopeds along the paths etc, in fact people everywhere: typical Morocco.
Birds in the groves were quite plentiful producing as well as HOUSE SPARROWS, our first SPOTLESS STARLINGS, both were so common as to be henceforward ignored. There were also plenty of BLACKBIRDS and the Moroccan sub species of the CHAFFINCH, which have green backs.
Overhead the inevitable LITTLE SWIFTS and PALLID SWIFTS had been joined by migrating parties of BARN SWALLOWS, HOUSE MARTINS, and SAND MARTINS. Small numbers of CHIFF CHAFFS were identified in the trees as well as a BLACKCAP, and a couple of COMMON BULBULS.
Although there were a few white butterflies around I couldn’t get to grips with them. Some excitement was generated by an extremely tame or exhausted WESTERN BONELLIS WARBLER with Paul giving us a lecture on it’s differences from a Chiff Chaff or Willow Warbler.
At that point it started to rain and we dived under the thicker trees. After it managed to get us a little wet, the rain stopped, and we commenced our walk. Whilst sheltering I had my first introduction to Michael’s foul pipe which drove me to find a different tree.
Other birds noted were nine WHITE STORKS passing above, followed by a small party of EUROPEAN BEE EATERS, some WOOD PIGEONS, BULBULS and a couple of BLACK CAPS.
As we headed back towards the reservoir along a broad track, a raptor was spotted soaring a little way away. This was quickly identified as a light phase BOOTED EAGLE. which gave quite good views for some time,and another lesson from Paul on identification of the three likeliest black and white eagles; Booted, Short Toed and Bonellis. With the Booted eagle still showing off it’s soaring prowess, more excitement was provided by an extremely tame WOODCHAT SHRIKE, perched about five yards away.
This soon expanded into no less than three Woodchat Shrike, the nearest practically perched on my shoulder. Really a very pretty bird as well as a tame one.
The first identifiable Moroccan butterfly turned out to be a LARGE WHITE; ah well, after the Lord mayors show---.
We then returned to the hotel for lunch on the terrace just outside my bedroom, this being just about the best meal I had in Morocco, but I was being very careful only drinking bottled water and not touching the salad although it looked delicious. As we admired (?) the traffic passing below, and the soaring Kestrels and Swifts, I got to grips with the sweet songster from my bathroom window ledge in the morning, as a HOUSE BUNTING perched on the guard rail and repeated the song. Another tick for me.
During lunch, we sampled our first Moroccan beer; Flag Speciale Pilsner in bottles, quite acceptable.
We also watched a number of WHITE STORKS, and a couple more BOOTED EAGLES soaring over the city. Two butterflies were pursued around the window boxes proving to be COMMON BLUE and LITTLE BLUE.
We then headed for the street and mounted three kaliches for a tour around the city walls and a visit to a tannery. This was the third world with a vengeance. Traffic on all sides weaving in and out through narrow streets with beggars, peddlers and tiny shops selling positively everything. In the more open areas we identified seven CATTLE EGRETS, numerous WHITE STORKS, many on nests, PALLID SWIFTS, LITTLE SWIFTS, and a few SWALLOWS and HOUSE MARTINS. As we dismounted and headed into the medina, we were warned not to lose sight of the party or we would never find our way out again. The streets were about eight feet white with three storey houses on each side, and people everywhere. All fairly good natured I may add. At the tannery we were given a sprig of mint to hold to our nostrils and we soon found out why.
The tannery was indescribable as was the dreadful smell. The process had not changed since biblical times. The hides were softened in pits in the ground by little bare foot boys trampling them into a mixture of water and pigeon shit, a term that our guide was very fond of using. A phrase that became a standing joke in the days to come.
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During the explanation a cart arrived and dumped a huge pile of stinking animal hides on to the ground behind us, The smell nearly blew our hats off, it was so strong.
We left the tannery with some relief and remounted the kaliches, heading through the medina again. Some mirth was produced when one of the ancient solid tyres on our kalich broke through and fell off. The driver did no more than get some thick wire from his”tool box” and splice the tyre together with it, then sliding it back on to the wheel. It took all of two minutes, he’d obviously done it before.
We then had a tour of the Bahia Palace, an oasis of calm within the hubbub of the medina, this was the place where one of the old sultans kept his harem and his children. It was sumptuously painted inside, and outside were beautiful enclosed gardens planted with Jacaranda, Bougainvillea, and grapefruits, together with many colourful flowers. Although the palace only covered a small area it was quite beautiful and extremely peaceful. Whilst in the gardens we identified passing LITTLE SWIFTS and our first RED RUMPED SWALLOWS. We were also entertained by two male HOUSE BUNTINGS in one of the courtyards, having a very stylized territorial dispute about two yards away from us on the highly coloured floor tiles These are yet another very pretty bird..
Back into the kaliches, and the medina and eventually back to the hotel for a wash and brush up.
I will probably have nightmares about the tannery for many weeks to come.
We then walked about half a mile to another hotel for dinner. Crossing the roads was positively frightening, if the cars didn’t get you the mopeds and bicycles would. We had a pretty good meal reclining on Moroccan divans, and I managed to change some stirling into dirhams at the hotel, but no one wanted to take travellers cheques.
A drink of mint tea, which I had quite taken a fancy to ; was taken,on the balcony of a bar overlooking the wide expanse of the “Square of the Dead”. The spectacle here every night was a market, where everyone came in from the surrounding areas. Vast crowds of people, stalls, booths, acrobats, fire eaters, snake charmers etc. As we made our way across the square back to the hotel, it was getting dark, and I lost contact with the rest of our party. It was an incredible experience in amongst the crowds, but of course I had to cross a busy road. I decided to attach myself to a well dressed Moroccan, but half way across the road he panicked, turned around, collided with me and we fell into the road clutching each other amidst gales of laughter and profuse apologies; in French of course, which I was having to learn very quickly. Hardly anyone spoke English.
Back to my room at the Hotel Islane, I packed my case for the morrow. Paul had given me a couple of plastic coat hangars, which he told me to hang on to, since they were rarer than rocking horse manure in Morocco. Out on the terrace outside my window, some lads and girls were making a certain amount of noise, but a very welcome heavy shower; our last rain in Morocco, drove them inside allowing me to get to sleep at 2300.
Thursday 29th March
I slept like the dead. Even the muezzin failed to disturb my slumbers,although the resident COMMON BULBUL on the roof managed it. No bird has a right to sound so cheerful first thing in the morning. His associate the HOUSE BUNTING, similarly gave a blast of song from the bathroom window sill. A cautious clamber on to the toilet seat confirmed his presence a few inches from my nose, that is until I slipped and wound up with my foot down the toilet.
A quick, simple breakfast, and we loaded up our luggage on to the bus, this time I was pleased to see that it was sheeted over and lashed down under a rope net, which was from then on the usual method of retention.
We were on the road by eight o’ clock, and out into the country heading east on the fifty mile journey to Oukemeden. We traversed a flat tract of country, comprising stony areas interspersed with cultivation. Traffic was fairly light comprising in the main overloaded mopeds, overloaded cycles, and overloaded donkeys, plus the occasional car and highly decorated pick ups and lorries. We passed through one or two scruffy nondescript villages. The houses in the main appeared half finished with the upper storey or even a whole wall comprised of bare uncoated mud bricks or breeze blocks. Paul explained that this applied all over the country, since when a house was considered complete, it was liable for an additional building habitation tax.
Another thing we noticed and discussed was that away from; and even sometimes in the towns, the women all looked very well turned out in colourful national dress, whilst the majority of the males were dressed in scruffy western garb and the inevitable trainers. About ten per cent of the men were however also in national dress; the Jelaba often with a long pointed pixie hat. These Moroccans certainly don’t like exposure to the sun, they were always well covered up with long sleeves and tight cuffs.
The weather was pleasantly warm with mixed cloud and blue sky . Periodically the snow covered
peaks of the High Atlas poked their heads out above the top of the clouds.
Birds noted as we travelled along consisted of small numbers of BARN SWALLOWS, CATTLE EGRET, CRESTED LARK, the inevitable, and by now virtually ignored SPOTLESS STARLING, COLLARED DOVE, and HOUSE SPARROW. I couldn’t however ignore the very common COMMON BULBUL and HOUSE BUNTING, they’re such delightful birds. We also saw our first SOUTHERN GREY SHRIKES and a couple more WOODCHAT SHRIKES, as well as a few RED RUMPED SWALLOWS.
After about twenty miles the country became more thickly wooded and we began to climb through the foothills, passing small roadside villages with shops selling pottery and other native tat.
As we climbed more and more steeply, around sharp bends, looking down over high cliff edges the forest thinned slightly, confining itself to the valleys, and areas of bare rock , cliff faces and ridges started to appear.
We had a short stop overlooking the Ourika Valley. Birds noted here were CATTLE EGRET, RED RUMPED SWALLOW, COMMON WHITETHROAT, and our first, but by no means our last SARDINIAN WARBLER. We also admired a Berber village clinging to a cliff high above us, that is until hoards of children arrived to scrounge from us, wherupon we quickly departed. This was the main problem in Morocco; kids. They are everywhere, and always on the scrounge, still I suppose there is little else to do, but they were a problem.
As we climbed even higher the trees became less, and we saw more bare rock and low scrub. Upon rounding a hairpin bend, I gained another “lifer”, as we saw a little flock of YELLOW BILLED(ALPINE) CHOUGH. It was quite noticeable with height that it was getting extremely chilly. We eventually burst out of the top of the patchy cloud into continual bright sunshine topped off with a dark ultramarine blue sky, and ever larger patches of snow underfoot.
A short stop at the end of the thicker belts of trees produced more YELLOW BILLED CHOUGH, and our only CRAG MARTINS, plus a male and female ROCK BUNTING, which very few of us saw, although I got a good view. A good job because it was our only sighting of this species.
We eventually arrived at a large bowl surrounded by crags, and several inches deep in snow. A few scattered buildings comprised Morocco’s only ski resort: Oukaimeden.
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Although there were a few people around, the resort was fairly deserted, and we had no problems with children. A tiny reservoir at the western end of the resort produced a rarity, in the person of two COMMON BUZZARDS perched on a tree stump, plus what appeared to be a Northern Wheatear, until the ‘scopes revealed it to be a SEEBHOMS WHEATEAR which is the High Atlas sub species, currently under consideration to be considered a full species. Seebhoms has a black bib which the Northern does not possess. As we walked along the reservoir past the buildings a BLACK REDSTART was bobbing in and out of a hole.
The patchy snow free area at the edge of the water was alive with birds which turned out to be a mixed flock of ROCK SPARROW, and HORNED LARK. The latter used to be called Shore Lark, but these residents of the High Atlas led to the change of name. Still they were on the shore of the reservoir. I presume in the fullness of time these will be split of into a separate species, possibly called Atlas Lark or something similar, they really are extremely pretty however.
Overhead and perched on the roofs were hundreds of YELLOW BILLED CHOUGH. There were plenty here but they have a very restricted range in the Atlas.
Paul bribed the concierge to open up the ski lodge so that we could use the toilets. Whilst we waited outside, a very pale, almost white appearing KESTREL gave us a shock. It was a combination of bright sun on it’s feathers plus reflected snow. Then again it might have been a Barbary Falcon, but since Paul was in the toilet and didn’t see it, we never did find out.
Our Moroccans had laid out a picnic in a thin grove of trees about a half a mile away, so we slogged through the snow, eating our picnic whilst we admired the many Rock Sparrows and Horned Larks in the vicinity, whilst a pair of RAVENS conducted acrobatics overhead.
Having eaten, we slogged up the mountain to look for Crimson Winged Finch. We were all getting short of breath due to the altitude, and despite Paul and myself quartering the mountainside for half an hour or so, we never did find the sought for finches. The rest of the party had more sense, they sat on a rock and watched us. Our only tally was a KESTREL and two BLACK REDSTARTS. As we walked back to the bus it was noticeable that the snow was melting very rapidly in the warm sunshine. I bought some rather pretty home made jewellery from a peddler who pursued us up the mountain on his moped. We closed the deal after ten minutes haggling, and although I am sure he screwed me on the price, I was quite happy, and I admired his persistence.
With the snow melting almost as we watched, we reboarded the bus to drive to the radio station perched above the resort on a high crag. This area was the most likely spot for Alpine Accentor, another species which we missed. On the crag however, we saw our first very gaudy MOUSSIERS REDSTART, a male and a female, talk about flashy! We then watched eight RED BILLED CHOUGH flying around the crag. Then trying to catch a yellow moth, I stabbed my hand on a spiked plant, which promptly swelled up, but left no lasting ill effects. I also saw, but could not identify two species of lizard running about on the radio station walls. And all this at 9000 feet above sea level!
Back in the bus we set off down the mountain, soon entering the wooded valley. A scream of “Stop”, by Paul produced locked wheels as well as superb views of yet another new bird in the shape of LEVAILLANTS WOODPECKER. Both male and female posed on treetrunks a few yards away before departing. They are very similar to our Green Woodpecker. As we looked around some of our group also found a GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER, which I missed. This is by no means a common bird in Morocco. WILLOW WARBLER and the Moroccan sub species of GREENFINCH; a much brighter green than our own, also put in an appearance. Then the kids arrived, so we departed.
A stop further down the valley close to the river produced more CATTLE EGRET, a flock of fifty YELLOW BILLED CHOUGH flying around the crags, two GREAT WHITE EGRET fishing in the river, plus RED RUMPED and BARN SWALLOW overhead. Closer to the ground, I identified ORANGE TIP and PAINTED LADY butterflies. The latter insects were beginning to annoy me, because up to then we had not seen anything that you would not see in an average Derbyshire summer.
We left the mountains and turned south west across a fairly flat sparsely planted agricultural area.
Stopping the bus, we walked a little way along a stony track to look for CALANDRA LARKS,which we soon found, getting the Rogers lecture on identification, which was most useful.
In addition we saw many CRESTED LARKS, a SOUTHERN GREY SHRIKE, NORTHERN WHEATEAR, and a number of SWALLOWS and HOUSE MARTINS passing overhead.
We then continued south east, entering some rolling wooded foothills. From the bus we had views of WOODCHAT SHRIKE, a soaring BOOTED EAGLE, and a very briefly glimpsed BLACK EARED WHEATEAR. As we passed through a quite tidy village beside a fast flowing river we saw our first camels being watered in the shallows.
As we proceeded, the only birds in evidence were CATTLE EGRETS, WHITE STORKS, and the usual birds around the villages. We shortly passed through the quite tidy village of Asni, where we should have been staying had the hotel not ceased trading. This establishment was boarded up and obviously out of use. Because of this we had to travel another eight miles to Ourgane for our next hotel which Paul told us had an excellent garden for birding.
The road wound up and down through dense Juniper forests, which proved to be virtually empty of birds.
Ourgane was situated at the bottom of a steep sided river valley, with some fairly dense mixed woodland surmounted with rocky crags, a most picturesque location. Our hotel, the Sanglier Qui Fume Ourgane; what a mouthful, was situated close to the dry river bed, and was surrounded by trees, with a vast flowering Jacaranda spread over the entrance, containing a nesting WHITE STORK, only one of many in the village. Although in a pretty verdant area, the village was at an elevation of five thousand feet.
The rooms were scattered in various locations throughout the garden , mine being an enormous en suite establishment at the top of some stone steps. Internally, it had the shape of a nissen hut, and was as usual immaculately clean throughout. All in all the hotel was a very attractive establishment, with quite a few French tourists as well as ourselves.
We gathered after dark for a well earned meal in the dining room, with myself excersizing my usual caution with the food, not that it did me any good.
Hit the pit at 2300 and slept solidly until woken up by the inevitable BULBULS,HOUSE BUNTINGS, and bill clapping WHITE STORKS AT 0700.
During the night I awoke with an attack of the shivers, followed by an attack of a different type prompting a long session on the toilet. Immodium administered, things calmed down somewhat, but the problem stayed with me on and off for the remainder of the holiday resulting in not a little pain, but I managed to keep the inconvenience to a minimum, and didn’t miss any of the trips.
A later chat with Tony revealed that he had started with the same problem on the previous day,and was still suffering, but improving.
The day dawned very bright and sunny,and I dressed and left my room to the inevitable chorus of BULBUL and HOUSE BUNTING, and was greeted by two cats sitting expectantly outside my door. I spotted Tony and Peter on the far side of the swimming pool, and went to join them, feeling rather fragile. They were looking at approx. twenty HAWFINCH in a large tree. We were soon joined by some of the others and Paul who told us that Hawfinches were a regular feature of the garden, and would probably be the only ones we would see. He was correct. As we wandered around the garden and down to the river bed, we also saw large numbers of SERIN and WILLOW WARBLER, a few CHAFFINCH, six WHITE STORK, and large numbers of RED RUMPED SWALLOWS overhead plus a rather shy CETTIS WARBLER making a lot of noise in the bushes by the river bed.
Following my very cautious breakfast, consisting of bread, jam and black coffee,we piled into the bus for the trip to Imlil, about thirty miles away and 8,000 feet above sea level.
En route towards Asni, we saw large numbers of BARN SWALLOW on migration, and a very quick view of a fleeing BLACK EARED WHEATEAR. We then alighted at a bowl in the hills near Asni, where a small grove of trees, and a part completed building usually produced some good birds. It didn’t let us down this time.
Perched on a corner of the building was a magnificent western BLACK EARED WHEATEAR, which this time allowed everyone to admire it at their leisure. It was still in the area when we left forty five minutes later. In addition the area also turned up a number of THEKLA LARKS, whereupon we received the Rogers lecture on identification, compared with the CRESTED LARKS also present, whilst a WOODCHAT SHRIKE posed on a bush, and RED RUMPED SWALLOWS flew overhead.
As we stumbled about this stony area I was conscious of a sudden sharp pain in my right knee. which gave me great pain at each step. Despite my worries, the pain eventually subsided, and by the next day it had disappeared. Whilst talking of health problems, I had pulled the main muscle on the left hand side of my back the previous day, lifting my suitcase. This gave two or three days of pain before it finally subsided.
Talk about Anno Domini!
Following a brief stop at Asni, we took the Imlil road, and shortly stopped for a walk about on a stony scrubby hillside, this being a favoured place for Tristrams Warbler, which we missed. We did however see a flock of twenty pure bred ROCK DOVE overhead, whilst in the bushes were; COMMON BULBUL, WOODCHAT SHRIKE, SARDINIAN WARBLER, and MOUSSIERS REDSTART, flashy as usual. Overhead we saw BOOTED EAGLE, a flock of ten RED BILLED CHOUGH, and a close SHORT TOED EAGLE; the only one of the holiday, in addition to a magnificent GREEN LIZARD some two feet long.
We also identified three or four CLOUDED YELLOW butterflies, getting better, but still found in Derbyshire occasionally.
Back in the bus a COMMON BUZZARD, and WOOD PIGEONS were the only sightings apart from the inevitable BULBULS, SWALLOWS,HOUSE SPARROWS etc.
The road was similar to yesterdays, winding ever upwards, but this time sticking close to the thickly wooded river valley, with inevitably people everywhere .
After some miles of winding upwards, we climbed out for a stretch overlooking the river, some hundred feet below. At this spot we saw an enormous flock of something like two hundred YELLOW BILLED CHOUGH flying overhead. These are quite identifiable from their Red Billed cousins which have totally different calls. Also on show were several CATTLE EGRET, many RED RUMPED SWALLOWS, a CETTIS WARBLER, and a GREY WAGTAIL. The butterflies were somewhat better however; several LARGE WHITES and BRIMSTONES, and finally African species in the form of PECHES WHITE, and a superb MOROCCAN ORANGE TIP, much prettier than the books suggest.
On the southern outskirts of Imlil, at about nine thousand feet, we stopped by the wide, virtually dry river bed, to tick off another new bird; BLACK WHEATEAR, of which we had excellent views of both male and female, as well as another good butterfly; a SWALLOWTAIL, definitely not found in Derbyshire. Unfortunately we also acquired a posse of children, who were at least well behaved.
The bus then took us into the village, which was Brahim and Hassan’s home town. The place is beautifully situated in a very deep precipitously sided valley leading upwards, with Morocco’s highest peak ;Mt. Toubkal, at 13,664 ft.framed between the valley sides above.
We could have ridden a donkey, up the house roof like steep track up to the Casbah Toubkal
where we would have our lunch, but we decided to walk. This Casbah, incidentally featured in the Disney film “Kundum”, doubling as the Dahli Lamas palace. As we clambered up through the trees we saw BLACKCAP, WREN, BLUE TIT, GREAT TIT and COAL TIT, the latter three being of the Moroccan sub species, which are quite spectacularly different to our own. We had an excellent ,if in my case cautious lunch, on the roof of the Casbah, where I obtained quite severely sunburnt ears and neck. The roof also produced some good butterflies in the person of QUEEN OF SPAIN FRITILLARY, AETHERIE FRITILLARY, and another SWALLOWTAIL.
As we wandered slowly back down to the village, we had good views of BLACKBIRD, CHAFFINCH, BLUE TIT, GREAT TIT, HOUSE BUNTING, ROBIN, WREN, several YELLOW BILLED CHOUGH, and a KESTREL overhead, plus another pair of LEVAILLANTS WOODPECKER, in a small tree.
Back on the road heading down the mountain we saw vast numbers of migrating BEE EATERS, plus BLUE TIT and a number of CATTLE EGRET. The Moroccan Blue Tit really is very different to ours.
A short stop in an olive grove near Asni produced only vast numbers of migrating BEE EATERS and a few WILLOW WARBLERS and a soaring BOOTED EAGLE. Another stop nearer Ourgane in the Juniper Forest did not produce a single bird.
Back at our hotel , a turn around the garden produced a BLUE ROCK THRUSH posing on the roof. Nobody was impressed however since some had seen it that morning and hadn’t bothered to mention it. This produced a tightener for the guilty parties from Paul, telling them to mention everything they saw.
A cautious dinner accomplished, I took to my bed at 2300, having a somewhat restless night with several expeditions to the bathroom and another attack of the shivers.
Saturday 31st MARCH
Arose in desperation at 0445, Immodium rules O.K. Slowly packed my gear for the long 100 mile journey over the Tizi n’ Tichka pass to Skoura. That done I was first into the garden at daybreak 0630, where I was soon joined by Peter, Tony, and eventually most of the party. This time there were about thirty HAWFINCHES in their tree, and picking up gravel from the path. We also recorded COMMON BULBUL, HOUSE BUNTING, WHITE STORK, GOLDFINCH, BLUE TIT, RED RUMPED SWALLOW, WILLOW WARBLER, BLUE ROCK THRUSH, and GOLDFINCH.
Following a light breakfast, we loaded the bus beneath a brilliant blue cloudless sky, with the temperature rising by the minute. At the last minute someone found the nest of a RED RUMPED SWALLOW, underneath a flight of stone steps which we all went to look at, then I spotted a small flock of very brightly coloured LINNETS in a roadside bush. Following this delay we were at last on the road by 0830.
Our road to the pass, the only pass for over a hundred miles across the High Atlas, took us most of the way back to Marrakech, then past the Calandra Lark fields. We stopped at a rather grotty little town called Caid Ourika, in order to get supplies for lunch. No wonder some of us were ill.
As we left the town, we crossed the virtually dry Ourika river where I was fortunate enough to spot a RINGED PLOVER, just alighting on a mud bank. No one else saw it.
Apart from the usuals, the only birds seen along the road were SOUTHERN GREY SHRIKE,and a fair number of migrating BEE EATERS.
We eventually stopped at a famous raptor site, which consisted of a juniper forest sloping down to a river; and on the southern side, the ground rising to a spectacular rocky ridge, where migrating raptors roosted, resting after crossing the Atlas, and waiting until the temperature rose to provide thermals.
This area is all inaccessible, and part of a Royal hunting forest.
A ‘scope along the top of the ridge produced several perched birds, the only identifiable one being a LONG LEGGED BUZZARD. We didn’t have to wait long for birds to pass overhead, the first being the inevitable BOOTED EAGLE, in all we saw ten of this species here. In thirty minutes we also saw six BONELLIS EAGLES, BLACK KITE, PEREGRINE, KESTREL, SPARROW HAWK, and COMMON BUZZARD. Another new lifer for me was a close and well seen LANNER FALCON. Some small falcons at the far end of the ridge, were believed by Paul to be a breeding colony of Lesser Kestrels, but they never came near enough to identify. Down through the forest below us we identified many CHAFFINCH, SERIN , WILLOW WARBLER, CUCKOO, and passing BEE EATERS. The roadside flowers also came up with the goods with DAPPLED WHITE, PECHES WHITE, BRIMSTONE, SMALL COPPER, and QUEEN OF SPAIN FRITILLARY butterflies
When things quietened down we returned to the bus, and ground upwards into the mountains, seeing en route RAVEN, SWALLOW and RED RUMPED SWALLOW.
A short halt in a river gorge at another non existent Tristrams Warbler site, produced only THEKLA LARK, RED RUMPED SWALLOW, SERIN, MOUSSIERS REDSTART, and BLACK WHEATEAR. I wouldn’t have said “only” a couple of days ago of course.
We shortly passed out of the tree line into a barren rocky landscape, filled with frightening hairpin bends, vertiginous drops,and no barriers. An overturned lorry on one of the bends had fortunately landed on the inside against the cliff face. The driver sat against the wreck looking sick, waiting for the police and the breakdown gang. No prizes for guessing the colour of the lorry’s upholstery.
You could actually look upwards and see six or seven levels of road at any one time.
We stopped at an exposed spot overlooking a thousand foot cliff to search for Lammergyres, which were also non existent, we did however see a RAVEN, and large numbers of SWALLOWS crossing the pass. With me clutching my stomach with spasms of pain, we made a short descent into a bowl in the hills, containing a scruffy cafe, and two small groves of trees. Paul said that this could be a “hot spot” for resting migrants, and so it proved, keeping us occupied for over an hour. Grove 1 produced BLACKBIRD, CHAFFINCH, BLACKCAP, WOODCHAT SHRIKE, WHITE WAGTAIL, two ROCK SPARROWS, WILLOW WARBLER, COMMON CROSSBILL and COMMON REDSTART plus three TREE PIPITS and eight passing BEE EATERS. Grove 2 produced a WHITE WAGTAIL and COMMON REDSTART two CHAFFINCH and BLACKBIRD plus twenty ROCK SPARROW, and a mysterious section of metre gauge railway track about a hundred yards long. A short wander around the hillside produced two MISTLE THRUSH, NORTHERN WHEATEAR and KESTREL plus nine passing BEE EATERS, and fifteen ROCK SPARROWS.
After eating our picnic lunch, we reboarded the bus for the short run to Tizi n’ Tichka summit at 8000
feet above sea level. Just past the summit we stopped at a small hotel and shopping complex so that I could gain relief by visiting what Paul claimed was the only clean public toilet in Morocco, which it was.
As we reboarded the bus a BLACK WHEATEAR sat on the hotel roof, and a GOSHAWK zoomed overhead, and twenty or thirty BEE EATERS made their way over the summit. Another non existent Tristrams warbler spot produced only two RED BILLED CHOUGH and a KESTREL.
It was steeply downhill for many miles through very different country. The river valleys had gone and it was all dry ouds, or wadi’s. We stopped at the first piece of greenery that we saw, fed by a small stream, primarily for a comfort stop, but it turned out to be a migrant hot spot. A LONG LEGGED BUZZARD perched on a rock thirty yards away and watched us , overhead we saw forty or fifty passing BEE EATERS; and SWALLOWS,and in the bushes and among the rocks BLACK EARED WHEATEAR, BLACKCAP, WHITETHROAT, COMMON REDSTART, BLACK WHEATEAR, TREE PIPIT , NORTHERN WHEATEAR, SERIN and fifteen to twenty WILLOW WARBLER. Something of a turn up for the book was an ORTOLAN BUNTING, whilst I had a brief glimpse of a very elusive sylvia warbler. Although it played hard to get we eventually pinned it down as a male SUB ALPINE WARBLER, another very pretty bird which I had at first thought could have been the non existent Tristrams Warbler.. A DIPPER flying along the stream provided something of a shock, and two LANNER FALCONS gave good views as they circled above. The LONG LEGGED BUZZARD meanwhile showed much interest in our activities, making the occasional low pass above us before returning to it’s rock. This species always appears to be a bird watcher watcher, or is it just expecting someone to drop dead ?
As we continued eastwards, the country really was noticeably different, consisting in the main of high stony desert, and weirdly shaped rock outcrops, with virtually no vegetation except near the watercourses and villages. The road eventually more or less levelled out, but even here it really was desolate with everything an orange brown colour. We were really in the desert now, between the High Atlas and the Anti Atlas, with villages and oases marked by groves of palm trees .Birds appeared almost non existent with only the occasional SWALLOW or pigeon making the pulses race momentarily.
We shortly passed through the rather tidy looking tourist town of Ouarzazate, which was surprisingly large and spread out, consisting of mainly white or orange buildings on very wide streets with little traffic. This is the centre of the Moroccan film industry, and you could still see the old sets for “Cleopatra” spread out in the outskirts. Olive, fig and tall palm trees were also a feature of the town, where the inevitable RED RUMPED SWALLOWS, BEE EATERS ,BULBULS and HOUSE BUNTINGS once more reappeared.
We left “Wazza”, as we rechristened it, heading north east. The desert was not quite as barren here, providing some quite verdant areas of greenery, in the vicinity of the watercourses, although most of these had little water in them.
A large reservoir, or barrage as they are called hereabouts was visible in the distance to the east, so there was obviously some water in the area. After we saw the last of the Barrage el Mansour Eddahbi, the desert returned with a vengeance. Rocks, stones and sandy grit, with weirdly shaped bluffs and outcrops, apparently rather like parts of Arizona, formed the landscape.
We completed the journey to the Casbah ben Moro at just about nightfall. This is a recently restored casbah, designed to give tourists a taste of the old Morocco, and they weren’t kidding.
In fact I was so shattered and washed out that I had totally forgotten that the morrow was my sixty sixth birthday.
We were shown to our rooms by the light of torches. Six feet thick bare stone walls, creaking wooden doors, and very dark. There were electric lights of a sort, but the bulbs were about fifteen watts, and went up and down with the variations of the generators speed. The room was quite large, and as usual immaculately clean, but the windows were tiny, and like a six foot deep tunnel, in other words you couldn’t see much, even in daylight. Taking off the ornamental globes improved things somewhat however.
We reported for dinner, everyone carrying torches. I took the eating very easily, which was not difficult since it wasn’t that good. Everything was also very expensive, a small can of Moroccan beer cost the equivalent of two pounds!
Stumbling back to our rooms by the light of our torches, I got into my bed , just in time, since as promised the generator was switched off at 2200 hours, and was not due to come on again until 0700, daybreak. Despite the darkness and the worry of there being no glass in the six foot deep window embrasures, I had an excellent nights sleep which was not surprising since I was utterly shattered. |
