Morocco, species list and trip report, 3 to 10 March 2018 WILDLIFE TRAVEL Morocco 2018 Morocco, species list and trip report, 3 to 10 March 2018 # DATE LOCATIONS AND NOTES 1 3 March Outbound from Manchester and Gatwick to Agadir Al-Massira Airport; transfer to Atlas Kasbah. 2 4 March Atlas Kasbah and Tighanimine El Baz (Valley of the Eagle). 3 5 March Taroudant, Tioute Palmery and women's argan oil co-operative. 4 6 March Anti Atlas: Ait Baha and Agadir at Laatik. 5 7 March Sous Massa National Park; Sahelo-Saharan megafauna. 6 8 March Atlantic coast: Oued Tamri and Cap Rhir. 7 9 March Western High Atlas: Cascades du Imouzzer. 8 10 March Atlas Kasbah and local area; evening return flights to UK. Leaders Charlie Rugeroni Mike Symes Front cover: Polygala balansae (Charlie Rugeroni) Morocco, species list and trip report, 3 to 10 March 2018 Day One: Saturday 3 March. Outbound from Manchester and Gatwick to Agadir Al-Massira Airport; transfer to Atlas Kasbah. As the day dawned and stretched awake in snowbound Britain, treacherous with ice underfoot, conspiring to prevent us from leaving our driveways, let alone fly to warmer climes, we hoped that fellow participants had made it to their respective airports. Fortunately, all but one of us were successfully translocated, yet it was not long before the last of our lot would join us under Moroccan… cloud and rain. Once through passport control and currency exchange, the Gatwick few met up with Mohamed, our local guide and driver, and we waited for the Manchester group. Once united, we made our way in the wet evening gloom to our home range for the week - the fine Atlas Kasbah. On arrival, M’bark, Rasheeda and Fatima welcomed us to the Kasbah and Hussein was ready with the first of our splendid 'little teas'; tonight's basil. Moroccan bread and black olives, lentil and chickpea soup, then a delightful fish tagine, followed by a typical Moroccan dessert, a milk and almond pastilla and the second of our 'little teas', thyme, and we were ready for bed. Day Two: Sunday 4 March. Atlas Kasbah and Tighanimine El Baz (Valley of the Eagle). We awoke to the fluting song of Common Bulbuls, wind and rain with the Kasbah enveloped in an unseasonal grey duvet of cloud - mild but wet. The bulbuls could be heard and then seen from the terrace, competing for attention with the Tighanimine cockerels; both ushering us to breakfast. At a briefing, we learned of our itinerary for the week, revised slightly to take account of the weather, and appreciated why this area had been chosen by Wildlife Travel. Here on the south western slopes of the High Atlas we had access to a diverse and interesting flora and wildlife generally. The mix of alpine, coastal and semi-desert habitats were sprinkled with western Mediterranean, North African and Macaronesian influences. Over the next few days we would encounter endemic plant species, birds and other wildlife that would demonstrate the character and special distinctiveness of this area. Even before leaving the Kasbah car-park we had Periploca angustifolia , an interesting coastal shrub of Morocco and Spain; it had rather fleshy narrow leaves, horn-like fruits and wine-red and green stellate flowers with an unusual morphology. As we wound our way through the Kasbah gardens some of the plants spotted in the top garden included: Acalypha , Pokeweed Phytolacca , Cottonwood Hibiscus tiliaceus , Plumbago and Gazania . The lower slopes of the garden provided our first encounter with some of trip's specialities, like Cladanthus arabicus , beginning to flower. This North African annual produces masses of large, scented, orange flowers in a mound of fragrant, feathery foliage; a superb plant which could grace any front of border at home. Another superb plant here was Volutaria lippii , small plants similar to knapweed, with bright violet/pink flower heads. We were introduced to arguably the single most important plant of the region, one of the icons of this corner of Morocco, Argan Argania spinosa ; a plant that would accompany us for much of our time over the next week. Argan belongs to the family Sapotaceae, and today Argan forests are confined to this corner of southern Morocco, centred in the Sous Valley; a relic from the time when this area had a tropical climate. The trees, their fruit and the oil which comes from the 'nut' are at the heart of much of the local culture and economy; being used for culinary and health purposes, for feeding animals and in much traditional architecture. The area of Argan forest has shrunk by some 50% over the last 100 years, owing to charcoal- making, grazing, and increasingly intensive cultivation. The best hope for the conservation of the trees lay in the recent development of a thriving export market for argan oil. Argan forests now cover some 8,000 km² and are designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. One of the features of the garden at the Atlas Kasbah (developed with sustainability in mind) is a filtration system for the 'grey water' from the hotel, which is used to irrigate the garden, delineated by a Myoporum tenuifolium hedge planted to act as an evergreen wind break along the northern and southern boundaries of the garden. Growing round the pools used in this filtration system was Sweet Potato Ipomoea batata . Morocco, species list and trip report, 3 to 10 March 2018 We took a right turn out of the Kasbah and along the road and into a field with limestone bedrock for a track. Spiny plants such as the 'chicken-wire bush' Launaea arborescens (with its tiny yellow flowers) and the thorny Zizyphus lotus (regarded as the lotus tree of Greek mythology) were used as hedges around the fields. Withania frutescens with small green bell flowers was present here as was Asphodelus fistolusus , whose leaves are laced with silica crystals, and the sticky, smelly Ononis natrix , with yellow flowers. As well as the ever-present bulbuls, bird highlights included Serin, with their bright tinkling song, Sardinian and Western Subalpine Warblers, Tree Pipit, obliging Woodchat Shrikes and a very smart Moussier’s Redstart - a real speciality of the area. We also saw the local subspecies of Magpie, the Maghreb Magpie, with its blue eye surround and smaller white shoulder patch than the nominate form we are used to back home. The largely overcast conditions were not particularly attractive for butterflies, with only Small White and Greenish Black-tip recorded. Here and there and under the Argan trees there was a 'near riot' of colour from the lovely little purple toadflax Linaria bipartite ; a Moroccan endemic, forming Moroccan rugs, if not carpets, of purple. Once we picked one out we then saw hundreds of them - a dwarf iris Moraea sisyrinchium , too early in the day for its flower to be open. Dipcadi serotinum , Emex spinosa , Eruca sativa (the Brassica), Plantago afra , Calendula arvensis , the ferny-leaved Lavandula multifida , Fagonia cretica , Echium horridum and the tiny enchanting grass Lamarckia aurea kept us going till we reached a farm where the farmer took us to see his camels and family. In the compound we saw both modern and traditional style bee-hives, the latter using cane, and mud, with a tiny opening at one end. On our return some of the Moraea flowers were open and we came across the yellow flowered Nanorrhinum heterophylla , which appeared to hang in midair, on thread-like stems, and the endemic Vachellia gummifera , associated with Argan, and an invaluable shrub/tree for the nomads of southern Morocco. After a delicious lunch of vegetable tagine, carrot/orange/banana smoothie and a 'little Rosemary tea' inside the hotel’s new extension with full views of the nearby valley, and two soaring kettles of White Storks, we set off to explore the nearby village with Ahmed, our guide for the afternoon. It wasn't long before Ahmed was chatting away with French speaking members of the group. As we wandered past a bank (of earth) that led down to the river, there, picked out by afternoon sun were more Dipcadi and the eye-catching squat, white-flowered Androcymbium gramineum . The heavy rains of the previous week were now evident in the good flow of water in the river, normally dry save for the odd pool. Stepping stones allowed us to ford the river more or less without getting wet feet. North African Water Frogs croaked nearby and we climbed past stands of Prickly Pear/Barbary Fig Opuntia ficus-barbarica , a widely naturalised and invasive species, with Ephedra fragilis sprawled over it, and a second cactus growing by a building in the old village largely depopulated now, Austrocylindropuntia subulata . Around the new village Black Wheatears, Laughing Doves, House Buntings and Spotless Starlings posed nicely on the semi-finished rooftops, with Kestrel, Red-rumped Swallow and more White Storks overhead. The view from the top of the path onto the valley was that of a classic Moroccan scene. After a warming shower we gathered in the Salon for a demonstration of a traditional Moroccan tea ceremony enacted by M’bark. This 'little tea' was of Absinthe. Supper was next: a duck tagine preceded by Moroccan lentils and onion tart, and all followed by a selection of typical Moroccan cakes. The species lists were set down in front of an open fire. Day Three: 5 March. Taroudant, Tioute Palmery and women's argan oil co-operative. The day dawned cloudy grey, with sunny spells. We struck out east for Taroudant at 0900 along the PAR RN11; fields and gulleys showing an amount of surface water.