Tunisia Naturetrek Tour Report 22 - 30 March 2009
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Tunisia Naturetrek Tour Report 22 - 30 March 2009 Lebna House Bunting Cap Bon from Jebel Haouaria Bouhedma National Park Report and images compiled by Andy Smith Naturetrek Cheriton Mill Cheriton Alresford Hampshire SO24 0NG England T: +44 (0)1962 733051 F: +44 (0)1962 736426 E: [email protected] W: www.naturetrek.co.uk Tour Report Tunisia Tour Leaders: Andy Smith (Naturetrek Leader) Sonya (Local Guide) Participants Mick Soffe Cindy Soffe Alan Coffin Rosemary Cook Hazel White Peter Spillett Michael Hinchcliff Judith Chawner Day 1 Saturday 22nd March Gatwick to Tunis to Bizerte Overcast with sunny spells and a fresh north-westerly wind The group arrived safely in Tunis in the early afternoon and after a restaurant lunch we proceeded to Carthage where we explored the Antonine Baths and Byrsa Hill and encountered a good range of common North African birds - highlights included Hoopoe, Laughing Dove, Common Bulbul, Sardinian Warbler, North African Blue Tit, Spotless Starling, Serin and Spanish Sparrow. In the late afternoon we drove north towards Bizerte - roadside White Storks and a Black-winged Kite enlivened the journey and we arrived in good spirits at our comfortable beachside hotel in good time to settle in before dinner. Day 2 Sunday 23rd March Bizerte and Lake Ichkeul Overcast with sunny spells in the morning becoming brighter in the afternoon. Fresh north-westerly wind 60 Audouin’s and several Mediterranean Gulls on the beach behind the hotel provided a good start to the day before, with breakfast completed, we set off to Ichkeul National Park where we spent the bulk of the day. Ichkeul is a vast lake set amongst a varied mosaic of habitats including areas of marsh, water meadows, arable fields and the wooded Mount Ichkeul itself, which rises to over 500 metres above the surrounding landscape. The whole area is pleasantly scenic and stuffed full of birds. We made a series of stops and despite the brisk weather enjoyed a rich and rewarding day and an excellent introduction to North African birding. The many highlights included White Stork, Cattle Egret, Squacco Heron, Slender-billed Gull, Caspian Tern, Little Owl, Pallid and Alpine Swifts, Crested Lark, Water Pipit, Moussier’s Redstart, Black Wheatear, Blue Rock Thrush, Southern Grey Shrike and Corn Bunting. A Wild Boar galloping away across the marshes was a surprise bonus whilst an impressive range of raptors further demonstrated the quality of the area and included Osprey, Short-toed Eagle, Marsh Harrier, Long-legged Buzzard and Peregrine. © Naturetrek December 09 1 Tunisia Tour Report Day 3 Monday 24th March Bizerte to Lebna Barrage, Korba lagoon and Korba Sunny and warm with a westerly breeze We left Bizerte after breakfast, drove south through Tunis City, stopped for coffee in the lively little market town of Menzel Bouzelfa and then headed out across the rolling green landscape of the Cap Bon Peninsula. A couple of brief roadside stops produced good views of several impressive Calandra Larks, both on the ground and indulging in their impressive song-flights, plus a couple of brief Barbary Partridges, a few Southern Grey Shrikes and lots of Corn Buntings. We then spent most of the afternoon exploring around Lebna Barrage, a large reservoir surrounded by marshland and fields. Highlights here during a couple of walks either side of our picnic lunch included Purple and Squacco Herons, a Great Bittern, Ferruginous and White-headed Ducks, Purple Swamphen, Collared Pratincole, Little Crake, “Atlas” Pied Flycatcher and a superb male Pallid Harrier. From Lebna we proceed to nearby Korba Lagoon and finished the day with Black-winged Stilts, Greater Flamingos, a pair of Garganey, dozens of nicely pink Slender-billed Gulls and excellent views of a pair of Stone Curlews – lovely! Day 4 Tuesday 25th March Korba and Cap Bon Sunny with scattered cloud and a fresh north-westerly wind We began the day with an exploration of the hotel grounds and the adjacent beach and found a Little Owl, a Hoopoe, three Southern Grey Shrikes, several Tree Sparrows, two more Stone Curlews and a small pod of Bottle-nosed Dolphins, which created a wonderful picture as they fed in the shallows just off the beach. After breakfast we set off to explore more of the Cap Bon peninsula. Our first stop was at Kerkouan where, with Serins twittering and posturing all around us, we enjoyed a brief guided tour of the Carthaginian ruins and noted a strong passage of Cory’s Shearwaters offshore. From here we proceeded on to Jebel Haouaria, a small mountain that constitutes the last rugged outpost of Cap Bon and is a noted raptor migration watchpoint. On this occasion however, the wind was against us and things were quiet apart from a few Black Kites, a male Lesser Kestrel and brief views of one of the local Barbary Falcons. Smaller birds however did their best to compensate for our disappointment and during our stay we enjoyed good views of several Thekla Larks, a few Moussier’s and Black Redstarts, a couple of Blue Rock Thrushes and a surprise Marmora’s Warbler, whilst a superb little Spur-thighed Tortoise was an added bonus. In the mid-afternoon we drove back along the north-east coast of the peninsula to Kelibia where we explored the imposing Byzantine fortress high on its hill over the town. A big passage of Cory’s Shearwaters was underway offshore here too, and with them were several Atlantic Gannets and an unexpected Great Skua; whilst at a small marsh down in the town itself we found over 100 Black-winged Stilts, several Marsh Sandpipers, a fine male Kentish Plover, 80 Little Stints and a lone Temminck’s Stint. From here we headed back towards Korba and finished the day at the estuary of the Oued Ouidiane where we had some great views of a Spoonbill feeding in typical frenetic style, several smart Spotted Redshanks and a few more Marsh Sandpipers. 2 © Naturetrek December 09 Tunisia Tour Report Day 5 Wednesday 26th March Korba to Jedidi Lake, El Jem and Mahres Sunny and warm with a fresh west-north-westerly breeze Our first stop today was a short distance from Korba at Jedidi Lake. Amongst the various wildfowl we soon found over 15 White-headed Ducks to follow on from those we had seen at Lebna and enjoyed some excellent views of this extraordinary and endangered species. From Jedidi we drove south past Sousse to El Jem and visited the coliseum and the mosaic museum and then, after a pleasant restaurant lunch, we continued south along the flat coastal plain through apparently endless olive groves to Mahres. A late afternoon walk along the shore as the tide fell produced some great birds in a short space of time including 45 Spoonbills, several Marsh Sandpipers, at least 200 neat Curlew Sandpipers, three mighty Caspian Terns, a lone Red-throated Pipit, a brief Black-eared Wheatear and a huge flock of over 500 Slender-billed Gulls. Day 6 Thursday 27th March Bouhedma National Park Sunny through to late afternoon, overcast thereafter. Very warm, with a gentle south-westerly breeze An early morning stop at the harbour in Mahres turned up trumps with fine views of the hoped for Terek Sandpiper, a regular feature here, preening happily out on the mudflat amongst the hordes of other waders. Flushed with this success, we set off for the Bouhedma National Park. The journey took us first through the coastal olive groves and then inland through increasingly arid, open farmland towards the distant Bouhedma escarpment. A series of brief roadside stops en-route produced some excellent sightings including Desert and Red-rumped Wheatears, singing Lesser Short-toed Larks, a pair of Lesser Kestrels, a male Montagu’s Harrier and, for some at least, a distant Common Jackal. Once at Bouhedma we spent the rest of the day exploring the dry acacia savannah and the stony foothills of the escarpment. In due course we encountered a satisfying range of resident and migrant birds that included Barbary Partridge, Hoopoe, Wryneck, Desert Lark, Fulvous Babbler, Black-eared and Black Wheatears, Woodchat and Southern Grey Shrikes, Subalpine, Orphean and Wood Warblers, Common Nightingale and House Bunting. Additionally we saw several of the re-introduced Scimitar- horned Oryx and Addax for which Bouhedma is famous, two genuinely wild and very neat Dorcas Gazelles and a couple of Gundis. A little stone turning produced some impressive scorpions and a small but interesting range of butterflies included several neat little Greenish Black Tips. All in all, a rich and satisfying day! Day 7 Friday 28th March Mahres to Matmata, Douz and the Jebil National Park Sunny and very warm with some hazy high cloud and a fresh south-south-westerly Leaving Mahres after breakfast we drove south along the coast to Gabes and then turned west and inland towards the desert. We crossed the northern end of the rugged Jebil Dahar escarpment and then dropped down into Matmata where we visited one of the extraordinary cave houses for which the area is famous. As we continued on towards Douz the landscape became rapidly more arid and during a series of quick roadside stops we encountered a pair of Temminck’s Larks, a smart male Red-rumped Wheatear, a migrant Booted Eagle and a brief but dashing Lanner Falcon. After lunch at a restaurant in Douz we transferred into 4x4’s and began the journey south to the Jebil National park on the fringe of the Sahara Desert. © Naturetrek December 09 3 Tunisia Tour Report As we drove on through a rolling tapestry of desert scenery we made a number of short stops and despite the fresh wind, enjoyed some great views of an excellent variety of desert specialists including Cream-coloured Courser, Hoopoe Lark, White-crowned Wheatear, Desert Warbler, Desert Sparrow and Trumpeter Finch.