24 December 2013

Good breeding season (2013) at Smir heronry. On 18 April 2013, there was at least one Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) (this species nest deep in the lower branches of the trees in the colony, so we most likely missed most of them due the problem explained above), Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis – hundreds of occupied nests), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta – 6 occupied nests), Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus – 20 occupied nests) and Eurasian Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia – 13 occupied nests). See a detailed record inMoroccanbirds.

Le GREPOM lance la campagne de Recensement Hivernal des Oiseaux d’Eau 2013-2014. GREPOM launches the 2013-2014 Winter Waterbird Census campaign. Please read http://grepom.org/fr/le-grepom-lance-la-campagne-de-recensement-hivernal-des-oiseaux-deau-2013-2014/ if you are in or visiting Morocco and wants to help or share it with your friends.

22 December 2013

Observations marquantes réalisées dernièrement dans la région de Casablanca :

• — A Dar Bouazza dans une zone humide qui est malheureusement en cours de comblement par des gravats de construction : 1 Goéland cendré, 2 Crabiers chevelus, 4 Foulques à crête, 2 Bécasseaux de Temminck et 1 Pipit à gorge rousse le 10 novembre, 1 Goéland à bec cerclé le 16 novembre, 1 Bécassine sourde, 1 Sarcelle à ailes bleues, 6 Sarcelles marbrées, 2 Foulques à crête, 2 Bécasseaux de Temminck et 8 Talèves sultanes le 24 novembre.

 

• — A Casablanca, 1 Bécasseau violet sur la côte au Marabout de Sidi Abderrahmane le 17/12. (Benoit Maire)

21 December 2013

A new trip report is available on the Trip Report webpage (Martin Roost). The Jbel Bani area was very dry and it was very hard to find birds in the desert.

16 December 2013

Un Guêpier à gorge blanche (White-throated Bee-eater – Merops albicollis) les 5 et 6 décembre à Gleb Jdiane. Première mention pour le Sahara Atlantique et le Maroc (Noëlle et Hervé Jacob)

10 December 2013

Two Eurasian Spoonbills (Platalea leucorodia) have connected the Netherlands with northern Morocco during the last years. These spoonbills were ringed as nestlings at two different Dutch islands and seen in the wetlands of northern Morocco (Smir lagoon and Oued Martil) during autumns 2011 and 2013. Their story is available onhttp://moroccanbirds.blogspot.com/2013/11/colour-ringed-Spoonbills-Netherlands.html

At « Costa de las focas » reserve, Oued Ad Deheb near the mauritanian border : the Monk Seal pupping season has come to an end. 2013 left us with 63 more pups!! (Foca monje del Mediterráneo, Facebook)

An Osprey faithful to its wintering area in the lagoon of Merja Zerga for 3 successive winters. The bird was ringed as a nestling in Menorca (Balearic Islands, ES) in 2008 and previously recorded in Merja Zerga in December 2010 by Manuel Morales Holgado. It was photographed again last winter (February 2013) by Javi Elorriaga. The bird returned again to Merja Zerga this winter, where it was photographed by Javi last weekend (Javi Elorriaga)

A wild Houbara Bustard filmed displaying near Safia reserve (Oued Ad Dehab, near Bir Gandouz) in the first week of December by members of the Association ‘Nature Initiative’ (Dakhla,https://www.facebook.com/Association.Nature.Initiative). See also http://moroccanbirds.blogspot.com/2013/12/wild-houbara-bustard-safia-reserve.html

Selected records from Agadir area:

• 1st December: 1 Grey Wagtail at Agadir, Hotel Iberostar, 1 Osprey and 9 Bald Ibis flying over the bay in single file, Chiffchaff at Agadir Marina/Corniche
• 3rd December: Barbary Partridge, Blackcap, Moussier’s Redstart, Black Redstart, Greenfinch, Blue Rock Thrush, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Chaffinch at Tifrit-Paradise Valley
• 4th December: 10 Crag Martin, 1 Grey Wagtail, 1 Sparrowhawk at Tifrit-Paradise Valley. c 10 Short Toed Lark and c 6 Thekla Lark at Tiqqi – P1001, beyond Imouzzer. Blackcap and 2 possible Garden Warblers at Imouzzer – Hotel Cascades
• 5th December: 2 pairs of Black Wheatear in Paradise Valley Gorges. 9 Ruddy Shelduck flying southwards out over the bay in a V formation at Agadir Beach
• 6th December: 1 Sparrowhawk at Agadir – Boulevard du 20 Aout (Robert Moss).

7 December 2013

Un Vanneau Vanellus vanellus à la sebkha d’Imlili, Oued Ad Deheb, le 1 décembre. Ce n’est pas une première en tant que tel (l’espèce a déjà été vue dans la baie de Cintra, sur la péninsule du Cap Blanc et dans le nord de la Mauritanie), mais ce n’est évidemment pas une espèce commune à ces latitudes (Franck Chevalier)

1 December 2013

A new paper is available in Go-South Bulletin:

• Moores, R. & Brown, D. 2013. African Savannah Hare Lepus microtis near Tantan – a new mammal species for North Moroccan Atlantic Sahara. Go-South Bulletin 10 : 263-265.