Morocco - Coast road to Tamri, High Atlas mountain foothills to Imouzzer. – 26th March 2009

Waiting for breakfast on our Agadir hotel balcony Common Swift is abundant interspersed with some Pallid Swifts and I spotted the white rump of a single Little Swift heading right over our hotel roof. Many Common Bulbuls frequently visit the palm trees in our immediate area and House Bunting are commuting between window ledges. Once on the road we head north following the coast and scanning the surf beaches we see medium sized gatherings of Sandwich Terns, Audouins Gulls and Yellow-legged Gulls on one beach near Taghazoule. Off road, on the scrub, there is Moussier’s Redstart and Crested Lark. Eventually we reach the lagoon at the mouth of the river; at a squeeze we can get the car within 10 metres of the water, alas the final walk only produces common species, Grey Heron, Coot and Little Grebe. There are several warblers around but we don’t manage a positive identification on any of them. From Tamri we head in land and climb into the High Atlas, the sky is surprisingly empty but eventually we do see 2 Short-toed Eagles climbing high above on the thermals produced by a ridge. En-route we also find three Kestrels squabbling over territory among some ruins, their sporadic flights are full of close encounters and much noise. Black-eared Wheatear is common along with singing Nightingales on the lower slopes. Crossing the river Tamri on a low bridge, Red-rumped Swallows are all around, a great sight. To be continued.... Life bird count: 379 Year bird count: 136 Month bird count: 88