MOROCCO TRIP-MARRAKESH TO AGADIR-DAY 1

This trip had been booked for over a year, and at last the day had arrived. I was travelling with Jack Pettit, Malc Curtin, Owen Parsons and Marc Hughes, and after months of talking about it, we were finally on our way.

After an early morning pickup by Marc and Owen, we met Jack and Malc at Manchester Airport. Before long, we were touching down in the vibrant city of Marrakesh, Morocco. 

Coming in to land at Marrakesh with the Atlas mountains in the background

With plenty of excitement and a full week of birding ahead of us, we collected the hire car and headed straight out of the city.

Driving south along some fairly dodgy roads (great for birds though!), we quickly started adding species to the list. Early sightings included Great Grey Shrike, the impressive Maghreb Magpie, Spotless Starling, and plenty of lively House Buntings.

Great Grey Shrike

Spotless Starling

Maghreb Magpie

House Bunting

Our first proper stop was the dammed lake at Lalla Takerkoust, and it turned out to be a brilliant spot. The weather was warm and sunny, and the surrounding countryside was much greener than we expected.

Lalla Takerkoust

We soon found several African Chaffinches, which looked and sounded quite different from the ones we see back in the UK. Two Moroccan Wagtails were also feeding nearby alongside the familiar White Wagtail.

Moroccan Wagtail

African Chaffinch

Then Jack suddenly shouted out, “Moussier’s Redstart!” Sure enough, a stunning male Moussier’s Redstart appeared and gave us fantastic views. Before long, a second bird joined it, giving us a brilliant start with one of the trip’s key target species.

Moussier’s Redstart

Nearby, Crested Lark and Thekla's Lark were displaying side by side, which made for a great comparison.

Thekla Lark 

Crested Lark

Eurasian Hoopoe flew overhead, and a flock of hirundines included Eurasian Crag Martin and Red-rumped Swallow. Two Little Owls were also seen perched on an old building, while European Serins were buzzing around.

Crag Martin

Little owl

As the day warmed up, butterflies filled the air, including lots of Painted Lady and a few Clouded Yellow.

Painted Lady 

Not far down the road, we were treated to a fantastic roadside Black Wheatear, which performed brilliantly on nearby buildings.

Black Wheatear

We also added Blue Rock Thrush, several Common Bulbul, a flyover Eurasian Spoonbill, and groups of Cattle Egret heading to roost.

Common Bulbul

Blue Rock Thrush

As the light began to fade, we made our way back to Marrakesh, already buzzing from a brilliant first day. If day one was anything to go by, the rest of the trip was going to be very special.