Naturetrek Tour Report 10 – 18 October 2015
Blackstart by Rachael Anderson Green Bee-eater by Julian Fawcett
Wadi Rum by Julian Fawcett
Report compiled by Cliff Waller Images courtesy of Rachael Anderson & Julian Fawcett
Naturetrek Mingledown Barn Wolf's Lane Chawton Alton Hampshire GU34 3HJ UK T: +44 (0)1962 733051 E: [email protected] W: www.naturetrek.co.uk
Jordan - Birds & Archaeology Tour Report
Tour Participants: Cliff Waller (leader) & Ghaith Hammouri (local guide) with six Naturetrek clients
Day 1 Saturday 10th October
London to Amman Everyone arrived at the airport in good time for our flight to Amman. The flight, although a little late departing, was comfortable and arrived on time at Amman’s Queen Alia International Airport.
On arrival we met a representative of our ground agent who helped smooth the way through the quite tight airport formalities. By the time we reconnected with our luggage it was already getting dark, so we boarded the bus to travel the short distance to our comfortable hotel. Here the somewhat slow room allocation allowed everyone in the group to get better acquainted. Arriving too late to dine, we were provided with quite a substantial snack supper in our rooms.
Day 2 Sunday 11th October
Amman to Azraq After a pre-tour departure meeting with our cultural guide Ghaith Hammouri, a tall bearded character with a ready smile, we headed off, skirting around the ever expanding Amman and slowly moving eastwards towards Azraq and the Iraq border.
Our first stop was at the roadside 9th century Karala Castle, where Ghaith was able to exhibit his exceptional knowledge of its history. A few birds were also seen. As well as the expected Feral Pigeons and House Sparrows, we saw Desert and Crested Larks, and a Red-backed Shrike.
Our next stop was at Qasr Amra, an 8th century World Heritage Site, and the best preserved of the Umayyad forts from the second of the four Caliphates periods. We were able to admire the ancient wall frescos and ceiling paintings, some of which depicted mammals such as Lion, now long extinct in this region. We also had the opportunity to watch some intricate restoration taking place.
Next we drove the short distance to Azraq and had lunch in a local restaurant. We then went to Azraq Eco Lodge where we left our luggage. After a short break we headed to Azraq Wetland Reserve. Due to the middle of the day heat we birded from the hide as it provided the only available shade. Once a huge wetland, this reserve is now only three poorly designed fairly small artificial lakes, maintained by pumping water from underground, but due to the lack of water in this area it still attracts an exciting variety of birds. Here we saw Grey, Purple and Squacco Herons and Great Egret, while ducks included Garganey and Teal. Other species recorded included Marsh Harrier, Steppe Buzzard, Moorhen, Coot, Hoopoe, Eurasian Kingfisher, large numbers of Collared Doves and White-cheeked Bulbuls, and brief views of a fine male Pallid Harrier.
After a brief visit to the reserve interpretive centre, we headed back into town for drinks on our way to the Shaumari Wildlife Reserve. On arrival we found the reserve closed due to construction of a massive new interpretive centre, but on request we were allowed into the area around the original study centre so that we could walk through to the first of the massive enclosures to see Arabian Oryx. Fortunately several were quite
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close when we arrived as they had come down to the drinking pool close to the fence. They are obviously breeding successfully as we saw a couple of calves. Birds seen here included our first Common and Black Redstarts, as well as Chiffchaff, Spotted Flycatcher and several more Red-backed Shrikes.
On our way back we stopped and walked a fair distance across the open desert which was a mixture of sand and stone. Birds were scarce although we eventually found several Crested Larks and two Temminck’s Horned Larks.
Later we had a pleasant dinner at the Eco Lodge, which was cooked by local people. After a quick run through the log, everyone was more than ready to turn in.
Day 3 Monday 12th October
Azraq to Dana We all met at 6.30am for a pre-breakfast trip towards the Iraqi border, to visit the black Basalt area to search for the black morph Mourning Wheatear and the very dark annae race of Desert Lark, which are almost unique to this area. Somewhat surprisingly we found the best area for birds to be on the large area of dumped rubbish, where we found several Desert Wheatears and a number of black morph Mourning Wheatears. While on the way back we encountered a pair of the annae race of Desert Lark. We also passed Azarq Castle, an old Roman fort where T. E. Lawrence stayed to recuperate from his wounds in 1917. Although we did not have time to stop and visit, an explanation about the site was given and Ghaith gave us a brief history.
After breakfast we left just after 8.30am on the long journey to Dana. After reaching Amman we took the quicker Desert Highway which saved time and allowed us to incorporate a drinks and toilet stop. As we travelled we saw several more Desert Wheatear and a Hoopoe.
We eventually joined the Kings Highway again and went to Karak for lunch; the quicker route allowing time for a more leisurely meal at the restaurant next to the castle. Here several Blue Rock Thrushes were obligingly present, allowing excellent views, while Rock Martin and a distant Short-toed Snake Eagle were also seen. Although not on our itinerary, we managed to find a little time for some of the group to make a visit into the castle.
Travelling on, we eventually found that the road to Dana was closed, which entailed an extra 30 mile detour. We did see a few birds however, with lots of Mourning Wheatear, as well as our only Steppe and Lesser Spotted Eagles, which had obviously been feeding on some carcass hidden amongst the rocks as several Brown-necked Raven were present, while a Sparrowhawk was also seen.
After a stop at the viewpoint overlooking the Dana depression, we continued to our hotel in the village below. We had a brief break to deposit our bags before setting off from the village for a walk below the cliffs. We saw Blackcap and Spotted Flycatcher, and several Redstarts including two of the attractive samamiscus race, one a fine male. We also saw White-eyed Bulbul and our first Common Whitethroat, while high above us along the cliffs we watched four Levant Sparrowhawks.
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Day 4 Tuesday 13th October
Dana to Aqaba A Desert Owl (Strix hadorami) was heard in the distance just before dawn and a few birds were also seen from the roof of the breakfast area, with particularly good numbers of Tristram’s Starling as well as Laughing Dove, Blue Rock Thrush and our first Chukar Partridge.
We left about 7.40am to connect with the bus down into the Dana Wildlife Reserve, only to find on arriving five minutes before our appointed time that the bus had already gone down with another group, so we had to wait, meaning that we didn’t reach the valley bottom until after nine o’clock, by which time it was already getting quite warm.
The area around the campsite and the juniper scrub on the adjoining hillsides were surprisingly birdless and we struggled to find any sign of Syrian Serin, in spite of several sallies into the juniper scrub. We also spent two sessions above the drinking pool, as water is extremely scarce in this area. Here large numbers of White-eyed Bulbul, Tristram’s Starling, Greenfinch and House Sparrow appeared. On one of visits to the juniper we did hear a brief snatch of Syrian Serin song. We also saw our first Scrub Warbler but these were not very obliging, and other species seen included Chukur Partridge, Brown-necked Raven, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Desert Lark, Spotted Flycatcher and Redstart. We also saw numerous lizards here including Fringe-toed Lizard, Bridled Skink and Starred Agama. At this very dry time of year the flora is not very obvious, but there were hundreds of dead stems of Sea Squill, a species of Hyacinth, sometimes called Sea Onion, which must be quite a sight at the right time of year.
After acquiring drinks and eating our lunch in the shade of the camp site dining area, we headed back up the hill around 2.30pm to join our own transport for the three or so hour journey to Aqaba. We made a few brief stops along the way for Mourning Wheatear and a few others species. We also stopped to get distant views of the spectacularly situated Shobak Castle, which was eventually surrendered to Saladin in 1189. As we travelled on, the best birds seen were brief views of two Spectacled Warblers. It was getting towards dark by the time we reached Aqaba, so we went straight to the hotel to check-in.
Day 5 Wednesday 14th October
Aqaba Area The border crossing to Israel only opens about 8am, so we left the hotel at 7.40am for the Bird Observatory area. On reaching the gate into the Observatory we found it was still locked and had to linger a while for staff to arrive. We were checked by the border guards during our wait, but we did see our first Green Bee-eater in bushes on the other side of the road. Once in the sewage works we walked out to the settling lagoons. We found water only in the main concrete sided lagoons, and the muddy and reed fringed lagoons were dry with some being re- dug. We soon saw a Little Egret and several Spur-winged Plovers. We walked straight out to the viewing platform along the eastern edge of the lagoons passing several more dried out pools.
From the platform we found a surprisingly nice mixture of birds along the concrete edges, with waders such as Ruff, Little Stint, Ringed Plover, Little Ringed Plover and Wood Sandpiper, while ducks included Teal, Garganey, Mallard, Shoveler and Pintail. An obliging Desert Wheatear and a couple of Crested Larks landed in
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front of us, and two distant first winter large gulls were later identified from enlarged photographs as a Caspian Gull and a Heuglin’s Gull.
As we left the viewing area a juvenile White Pelican flew in and allowed a surprisingly close approach for the photographers. We also found our first Green Sandpiper, and as we walked between the pools we saw two Egyptian Geese; fairly new colonists to this area.
Turning west we walked to the Israeli border. Normally the best pools are to be found here although they are often difficult to access. Even these were dry, but we did find our first Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, as well as getting excellent views of Green Bee-eater.
Due to the heat we returned to the bus for drinks, where we were shown a slightly injured Egyptian Nightjar, before heading into the more shady acacia woodland. It was now hot and even bird activity was limited, although we did see Spotted Flycatcher and Redstart, and had two extremely brief views of a Masked Shrike.
We then headed off to the Royal Yacht Club in Aqaba harbour for lunch. Although we were hardly dressed for such a refined setting, the high price of drinks soon allowed us to overcome any feelings of inadequacy.
After returning to the hotel to shower and clean up, we set off at 4.30pm to drive down the Red Sea coast towards the Saudi Arabian border which, due to a land swap, now extends even farther south than the Israeli side. Much of the area is built up with docks and hotels, and we stopped at one of the first beach areas after seeing some gulls, which proved to be three White-eyed Gulls along with a Common Tern. Further along on some posts we found Caspian, Sandwich and White-cheeked Terns.
Later, after getting permission, we visited a hotel garden which seemed to have great potential, but all we found was a Red-backed Shrike. After travelling a little further we turned round. Heading back we made a brief visit to the public gardens along Aqaba Beach, and as the light faded we found Redstart and another Red-backed Shrike.
Day 6 Thursday 15th October
Aqaba to Petra – via Wadi Rum We left at 8am for Wadi Rum and although a few birds were seen along the way, we did not stop apart from a brief halt as we neared our destination to view a Blackstart. On reaching Rum visitor centre we found several nice birds including a cooperative pair of Sinai Rosefinch, as well as Desert Lark and more surprisingly our only Grey Wagtail of the trip. As we walked to join our four wheel drive vehicle, the photographers stopped to photograph Redstart and Red-backed Shrike.
Once out on the open desert we soon found a pair of adult Sooty Falcons feeding on the ground, which performed beautifully for us before flying away. As we progressed through the dramatic scenery of Wadi Rum, we found lots of Desert Lark, Mourning Wheatear and Sinai Rosefinch. On stopping near a little water we found a pair of Scrub Warbler which provided the first good views of this species for most of the group. We also saw a Lesser Kestrel near here.
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As we progressed we saw many of the species seen earlier including one flock of over thirty Sinai Rosefinch, and we also found a pair of Sand Partridge. We then drove on and had a pleasant lunch at one of the tented camps.
Later we drove a short distance to a government agricultural centre where we got permission to enter. Although it was middle of the day and very hot, this site showed huge potential as there is water and a small irrigation reservoir, but with a family picnicking here, there were no birds on it. Nearby a damp area created by a leaking water pipe provided us with Redstart, Spotted Flycatcher, Red-backed Shrike and surprisingly a Red-breasted Flycatcher, a scarce bird in Jordan, especially in autumn.
We then drove all the way to Petra, travelling through the town and driving another ten kilometres north to visit Little Petra, also known as Siq al-Barid. Situated in a natural gorge in which there are numerous Nabatean tombs, it is an extremely interesting site with its dining halls, cisterns and remnants of Nabatean wall paintings. A few birds and reptiles were seen here but nothing new was found.
Day 7 Friday 16th October
Petra This was almost exclusively a day of culture. The highlight of any trip to Jordan is a visit to the ancient Nabatean city of Petra, situated at what was then the crossroads of the Middle Eastern trade routes. Having migrated from Arabia, the Nabateans established Petra in the 6th century BC, originally as a burial site, but due to increasing trade it became a city. The all-conquering Romans took control of the city in 106 AD, adding their own architecture with colonnade streets, churches and amphitheatres. The city’s decline probably started in the 7th century due to fierce earthquakes and a shift in the trade routes. So it slowly slipped into insignificance until being rediscovered by the Swiss explorer Johann Burckhardt in 1812.
The site is huge, covering several miles of valley, and although the first views of the treasury as one emerges through a narrow siq is probably the highlight of any tour here, there is so much more to this amazing site. The so called treasury was built in the first century BC and was almost certainly a tomb for a king, rather than a treasury.
We all walked through the valley with Ghaith, whose vast knowledge of the site impressed everyone as he explained the history of the various tombs, temple, theatres and elaborate water systems.
After lunching at the tented restaurant at the end of the main valley, everyone made their own way back to allow for visits to additional sites of choice.
Although birding was purely incidental, a few species were seen including Sinai Rosefinch, Tristram’s Starling, Blue Rock Thrush, Blackstart, Mourning Wheatear, Redstart and Lesser Whitethroat.
Everyone managed to get back to the hotel between 4 and 6.30pm.
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Jordan - Birds & Archaeology Tour Report
Day 8 Saturday 17th October
Petra to Amman Leaving around 7.45am, we drove past the way into Little Petra on our way to the irrigation plant area in Wadi Musa, which in Arabic means the valley of Moses, as this is where he is reputed to have struck the rock to provide water. Here we went for a couple of short walks through some of the cultivated area, finding several Blackcaps as well as Redstart and Spotted Flycatcher, while Linnet was heard and we had very brief views of our first Rock Sparrow.
As we travelled on at a height of over 1,600 metres, some of the scenery was quite spectacular. We stopped to view some Blackstarts and both Mourning and White-crowned Wheatears, with several of the latter being first year birds without the white crown. We also stopped for our first of quite a number of Fan-tailed Ravens, while a little further on we halted at a very basic roadside café for coffee. The site in this remote location had been set up and was run by a very enterprising young man. We had excellent views of a very obliging Desert Lark here.
On reaching the Dead Sea Highway we headed north again for a short distance before stopping by a small marshy area, where we found our first Indian Silverbill which was collecting nesting material and kept returning for everyone to get good views. In a small area of acacia scrub on the opposite side of the road we found our first Palestinian Sunbird and Graceful Warbler, while we also got briefer views of Arabian Babbler.
Our next halt was at a small stream flowing into the Dead Sea with a hydro dam, although at this time of year little water was evident. Here we found our first White-throated Kingfisher, as well as more Palestinian Sunbird and Graceful Warbler. Other species seen as we travelled included Steppe Buzzard, Hoopoe and Alpine Swift.
Stopping for lunch at a hotel by the Dead Sea provided the group with an opportunity to have a float in the Dead Sea. While some floated, others had a look around the gardens where they found some cooperative Blackstart and Palestinian Sunbird, allowing good opportunities for photography, while other species included male Redstart, more Indian Silverbills and another White-throated Kingfisher.
Due to the time, we were only able to stop for a briefly search at a known site for Dead Sea Sparrow. Although we didn’t find any sparrows, we had very close views of Green Bee-eater, and as we neared the bus seven Greater Flamingoes flew north along the Dead Sea.
We reached our hotel in Amman a little after 6.15pm and gave our thanks and goodbyes to Ghaith for his sterling work. Dinner this evening was a buffet.
Day 9 Sunday 18th October
Amman to London Everyone was down early for breakfast and we departed to the airport in good time, arriving about 8.15am for our 11.10am flight. The formalities, although a little slow, were generally not too insensitive, although we had some hassle when they took our binoculars from us and it took time and negotiation to get them returned.
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The flight was comfortable and some of us even managed some sleep. We arrived in good time at Heathrow Airport where, after the usual farewells around the luggage carousel, we headed off to our various destinations.
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Note re Owl: The newly-discovered species, named the Desert Tawny Owl, belongs to the earless owl genus, Strix.
It is a medium-sized owl, 30 to 33 cm long, and weighing 140 to 220 grams. It resembles the Hume’s Owl (Strix butleri) and the Tawny Owl (Strix aluco) in plumage pattern and proportions.
The species’ scientific name, Strix hadorami, honours Israeli ornithologist and writer Hadoram Shirihai. It is found in Israel, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Oman and Yemen
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Jordan - Birds & Archaeology Tour Report
Species Lists
Birds (h = heard only; c = estimated count) October
Common Name Scientific Name 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
1 Chukar Partridge Alectoris chukar 30c 6
2 Sand Partridge Ammoperdix heyi 2
3 Mallard Anas platyrhynchos 20c
4 Northern Shoveler Anas clypeata 4
5 Northern Pintail Anas acuta 4
6 Garganey Anas querquedula 2 20c
7 Eurasian Teal Anas crecca 10 50c
8 Little Grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis 2 1
9 Greater Flamingo Phoenicopterus roseus 7
10 Squacco Heron Ardeola ralloides 3
11 Grey Heron Ardea cinerea 5 1
12 Purple Heron Ardea purpurea 3
13 Great Egret Ardea alba 1 1
14 Little Egret Egretta garzetta 30c 1
15 White Pelican Plecanus onocrotalus 1
16 Black Kite Milvus migrans 1
17 Short-toed Snake Eagle Circaetus gallicus 1 1 1
18 Western Marsh Harrier Circus aeruginosus 2
19 Pallid Harrier Circus macrourus 1
20 Levant Sparrowhawk Accipiter brevipes 4 1
21 Eurasian Sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus 1 1 1
22 Common Buzzard Buteo buteo 2 1 1
23 Long-legged Buzzard Buteo rufinus 1
24 Lesser Spotted Eagle Aquila pomarina 1
25 Steppe Eagle Aquila nipalensis 1
26 Lesser Kestrel Falco naumanni 1
27 Common Kestrel Falco tinnunculus 2 8 5 2 5
28 Sooty Falcon Falco concolor 2
29 Water Rail Rallus aquaticus h
30 Common Moorhen Gallinula chloropus 8
31 Eurasian Coot Fulica atra 2 2
32 Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus 1
33 Spur-winged Lapwing Vanellus spinosus 30+
34 Common Ringed Plover Charadrius hiaticula 7
35 Little Ringed Plover Charadrius dubius 1
36 Green Sandpiper Tringa ochropus 1
37 Wood Sandpiper Tringa glareola 1
38 Little Stint Calidris minuta 8
39 Ruff Philomachus pugnax 12
40 White-eyed Gull Ichthyaetus leucophthalmus 5
41 Caspian Gull Larus cachinnans 1
42 Heuglin's Gull Larus heuglini 1
43 Caspian Tern Hydroprogne caspia 1
44 Sandwich Tern Thalasseus sandvicensis 1
45 Common Tern Sterna hirundo 1
46 White-cheeked Tern Sterna repressa 1
47 Common (Feral) Pigeon Columba livia 'feral' 50+ 100c 20c 8 20c 20c 10
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Jordan - Birds & Archaeology Tour Report
October
Common Name Scientific Name 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
48 Eurasian Collared Dove Streptopelia decaocto 200c 100+ 30+ 20c 10 12
49 Laughing Dove Spilopelia senegalensis 2 3 5 15 20+ 6 30+ 50 Namaqua Dove Oena capensis 7 1
51 Rose-ringed Parakeet Psittacula krameri 5
52 Desert Owl (See note) Strix hadorami h
53 Alpine Swift Tachymarptis melba 2
54 Common Kingfisher Alcedo atthis 3
55 White-throated Kingfisher Halcyon smyrnensis 3
56 Green Bee-Eater Merops orientalis 8 15
57 Blue-cheeked Bee-Eater Merops persicus 2
58 Eurasian Hoopoe Upupa epops 2 1 2
59 Red-backed Shrike Lanius collurio 7 3 3 1
60 Masked Shrike Lanius nubicus 1 1
61 House Crow Corvus splendens 4 50+ 12
62 Brown-necked Raven Corvus ruficollis 2 2 20c 2
63 Fan-tailed Raven Corvus rhipidurus 60+
64 Great Tit Parus major 2 6 1
65 Desert Lark Ammomanes deserti 1 1 1 40+ 1 3
66 Desert Lark (Basalt form) Ammomanes deserti annae 2
67 Crested Lark Galerida cristata 20c 7 3 2 10
68 Temminck's Lark Eremophila bilopha 2
69 White-eared Bulbul Pycnonotus leucotis 30+
70 White-spectacled Bulbul Pycnonotus xanthopygos 10 100 20+ 6 4 12
71 Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica 8 30+ 6 2 2
72 Crag Martin Ptyonoprogne rupestris 5 2
73 Pale Crag Martin Ptyonoprogne obsoleta 15 10 20c 8 20c
74 Scrub Warbler Scotocerca inquieta 2 h 4
75 Graceful Prinia Prinia gracilis 4
76 Cetti's Warbler Cettia cetti h
77 Common Chiffchaff Phylloscopus collybita 3
78 Eurasian Blackcap Sylvia atricapilla 10 1 1 8
79 Lesser Whitethroat Sylvia curruca 1 1
80 Common Whitethroat Sylvia communis 1
81 Spectacled Warbler Sylvia conspicillata 2
82 Tristram's Starling Onychognathus tristramii 100+ 20c 20c 6 30+
83 Common Blackbird Turdus merula 2 2
84 Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin Erythropygia galactotes 2
85 Black Redstart Phoenicurus ochruros 2
86 Common Redstart Phoenicurus phoenicurus 1 6 1 3 2 1 3 87 Common Redstart Samamisicus race 2
88 Whinchat Saxicola rubetra 1
89 Desert Wheatear Oenanthe deserti 6 1 1
90 Mourning Wheatear Oenanthe lugens 10 6 8 2 9
91 White-crowned Wheatear Oenanthe leucopyga 12 10
92 Blackstart Oenanthe melanura 1 1 5
93 Blue Rock Thrush Monticola solitaries 3 3 1 2
94 Spotted Flycatcher Muscicapa striata 2 3 1 1 2 1
95 Red-breasted Flycatcher Ficdula parva 1
96 Palestine Sunbird Cinnyris osea h 6
97 House Sparrow Passer domesticus 200c 100+ 40c 20+ 12 10 20c 98 Rock Sparrow Petronia petronia 1
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October
Common Name Scientific Name 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
99 Indian Silverbill Euodice malabarica 8
100 Grey Wagtail Motacilla cinerea 1
101 White Wagtail Motacilla alba 2 10 6
102 European Greenfinch Carduelis chloris 20c 1
103 Syrian Serin Serinus syriacus h
104 Common Linnet Linaria cannabina h
105 Sinai Rosefinch Carpodacus synoicus 60+ 2
Reptiles 1 Starred Agama Laudakia stellio 1 4 7 4 1
2 a Fringe-toed Lizard Acanthodactylus sp. 6 1
3 Bridled Skink Mabaya vittata 1
Butterflies 1 African Grass Blue Zizeera knysna 5 3
2 Orange Tip Anthocharis cardamines 1
Moths 1 Humming-bird Hawk-moth Macroglossum stellatarum 2 1
Note re Owl: The newly-discovered species, named the Desert Tawny Owl, belongs to the earless owl genus, Strix.
It is a medium-sized owl, 30 to 33 cm long, and weighing 140 to 220 grams. It resembles the Hume’s Owl (Strix butleri) and the Tawny Owl (Strix aluco) in plumage pattern and proportions.
The species’ scientific name, Strix hadorami, honours Israeli ornithologist and writer Hadoram Shirihai. It is found in Israel, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Oman and Yemen The bird heard on 13th October would have been this species as Hume’s Owl (Strix butleri) is thought to only occur in Oman and Iran. Web link
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