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The birding hotspots of Egypt
Trip report 5-15th April 2006
Egypt has attracted more and more attention over the last years as a great destination for birdwatchers. A country suitable both for the more leisurely tourist/birdwatcher-kind of travelling and for the “WP-twitcher” who has lots of exclusive species to seek out.
During spring migration, a round trip in Egypt is an amazing experience. A big part of the mighty wave of birds that passes over famous Eilat can be seen along the Red Sea coast. Thousands of raptors and storks soars over the mountains, green areas are alive with passerines and flocks of herons, waders, gulls and terns are moving north along the coast.
I, Tomas Haraldsson, have been birding and living here for the last four winter seasons, usually October to April. I work as a freelance tour guide and also arrange birding trips through the Swedish tour company Nimbusresor. So in April 2006, I arranged a 10day-trip for a party of Swedish birders, Mikael Nelin, Klas Rådberg and Stefan Magnusson.
With the aim of seeing as many of the Western Palearctic specialities as possible, and have some great birding along the way, I set up the itinerary as follows:
Day 1 – arrival at Cairo Airport. We headed straight down to the canal south of the city towards Sakkara. One night in Cairo.
Day 2 – early morning drive to the Abbassa area. Later we continued to Ain Sukhna and in the afternoon the last bit to Hurghada. One night in Hurghada.
Day 3 – the morning hours at the El Gouna golf course. During the day we drove (with some stops) down to Marsa Alam. Wadi Gemal and the hotel area. Two nights at Shams Alam Resort.
Day 4 – the whole day along the southern Red Sea coastline down to Bir Shalatein. Hamata and Wadi Lahami mangroves.
Day 5 – drive from Marsa Alam to Edfu with special permission and continue to Aswan. Afternoon visit to a site outside Aswan. One night in Aswan.
Day 6 – early morning drive with the convoy to Abu Simbel. The whole day on different sites there. One night in Abu Simbel.
Day 7 – morning in Abu Simbel, then with the 10 am-convoy back to Aswan and on to Luxor in the afternoon. Late afternoon visit to Crocodile Island. One night on Luxor.
Day 8 – the whole day around Luxor with bird sites and temple visits. Driving to Hurghada with the 6 pm-convoy. One night in Hurghada.
Day 9 – morning visit to Hurghada rubbish tip. Then the whole day with boat to a small island off Hurghada. At midnight bus transport to Cairo.
Day 10 – visits to Wadi Natrun and again to Abbassa. Afternoon in Cairo. One night in Cairo.
Day 11 – departure flight back to Sweden.
April 5th
After lots of correspondence via email and necessary preparations for the trip, I left El Gouna to meet the boys in Cairo. They were scheduled to land at 3 pm, so I had time for a visit to the famous raptor “café” in Ain Sukhna. Just where the mountains come all the way down to the sea, you have great views of the migrating raptors passing over the ridges. I only had about two hours here this day, but for a north European birder it´s just fantastic to sit here. Flocks of eagles with Booted, Short-toed, Lesser Spotted and Steppe seen together. Hundreds of Steppe Buzzards and some Black Kites and Egyptian Vultures and a single, huge Griffon Vulture.
Mikael, Klas and Stefan came smiling out from the arrival hall just before 3 pm. Welcome to Egypt! I had a taxi waiting for us and since the boys were almost overheated to get out in the field, we headed straight for the first target species. Just south of the city there is a canal along the road and here you might find both Whitebreasted Kingfishers and the elusive Senegal Coucal. The first one we found fairly easy, first a pair and then another pair further ahead! In this area we also got the first views of common species like Fantailed Warbler, Graceful Warbler, Pied Kingfisher, Black Kite, Cattle Egret, Spur-winged Plover and Common Bulbul.
We checked out a restaurant garden along the road to Sakkara and were really lucky to find a male Semi-collared Flycatcher, a rare passage migrant in Egypt. On the way back to the city we saw at least two Black-shouldered Kites and several Senegal Thick-knees, flying along the road. With the worst “birding needs” now satisfied, we went through the Cairo traffic to our hotel in Zamalek. A beautiful scene was played out as the sun set just behind the Giza pyramids, we are in Egypt now! The first meal of the trip was at Pizza Hut, just to be sure…
April 6th
Our day started as the muezzin called out from the minarets to the early morning prayer. Before dawn we were picked up by our taxi driver to go to Abbassa. This site is a 1.5 hour drive from central Cairo, so we planned to be there at 6 am. As we went through Bilbeis and on along the canal, the sun arose and we started seeing birds from the windows. Lots of Cattle and Little Egrets, Pied Kingfishers, some Black-shouldered Kites and at least 10 White-breasted Kingfishers. Nearing Abbassa, we saw heron colonies and fish ponds with lots of birds, and so we stopped at the first site and suddenly found ourselves surrounded by new bird encounters.
Several singing Clamorous Reed Warblers, many herons and waders in the ponds and both Whitebreasted and Pied Kingfishers around us. Klas spotted a male Streaked Weaver in the reeds, our only view of this escaped species. We walked slowly along a ditch when suddenly a small wader sneaked away and hid behind a turf, a male Painted Snipe! Yes, one of the target species. Wader calls alerted us on both Marsh Sandpiper and Spotted Redshank flying over the ponds and a gang of Senegal Thick-knees roosted on a wall. Overhead also Blue-cheeked Bee-eater passing, and more colour was added by two Kingfishers and displaying Garganeys.
Another stop in the same area failed this time to produce Senegal Coucal, but luckily that gap was filled later in the trip. Here we saw another heron colony with Night and Squacco Herons together with Cattle and Little Egrets.
It was time to head on south and down to Ain Sukhna, so our driver left us outside Cairo where I had left the rental car yesterday. A neat 1.5 hour drive to the raptor watchpoint and at 11:30 we seated ourselves at the café and just enjoyed the show… A lots of “wow!” and “whoa, look there!” was heard as Swedish birders were confronted with the Egyptian raptor migration. We stayed for about two hours here and counted at least 700 raptors, mainly Steppe Buzzards but also Steppe and Lesser Spotted Eagles, 30 Booted, 18 Shorttoed and a Spotted Eagle, and some Egyptian Vultures and White Storks.
With some great experiences and almost dazed by the spectacle, we turned our car south and followed the Red Sea. On some places we drove just by the shoreline and our first Crested Terns were seen just off shore. Otherwise the desert sceneries were fairly empty birdwise. By the rest house in Zaafarana we took some lunch and filled up the tank. At the parking we had another first encounter, this time two House Crows. We saw them also as we passed Ras Gharib later in the afternoon. Further south towards Hurghada we saw some Spotted Sandgrouses along the road, but mostly flying. Here I was lucky also to spot a huge “cloud” over the mountains, which in the scopes proved to be a massive flock of White Storks, some two thousand birds! A shame about the distance though.
Just before sunset we arrived to El Gouna and made a short visit to the lagoon here. Some Ringed Plovers and Curlews were seen, two Reef Herons (one dark and one light morph together) and some more Crested Terns and White-eyed Gulls on a raft just off shore. At the end of a great first day, we checked in at our hotel in Hurghada.
April 7th
This morning we started at the El Gouna golf course, a man-made but very exciting site in this small resort just north of Hurghada. During migration time the fairways and scrubs are filled with passerines seeking food and shelter. Among hundreds of Tree Pipits and Yellow Wagtails we found many Tawny and Red-throated Pipits and two Richards Pipits, rare wintering birds here. We had a Quail in the open ground just in front of us, many Woodchat Shrikes and Hoopoes. Isabelline Wheatears and Shorttoed Larks and a nice male Ortolan Bunting were also seen.
After a bakery visit for some breakfast we drove south. Passing Hurghada and Safaga, we stopped along the road from time to time to scan for migrants and the resident desert birds. An Eastern Bonellis Warbler was found in some scrubs with Chiffchaffs and after a while there were shouts and panic as a male Pallid Harrier passed our car! Just after this one another male passed, and we felt quite lucky. We had just started up again as a Collared Pratincole came flying over the desert, looking lost, and a large Lanner flew past. A Hoopoe Lark was also seen along the road before we came to Shams Alam Resort, south of Marsa Alam. It was time for lunch and some rest.
In the afternoon we worked through Wadi Gemal just south of our resort. A desert site with many scrubs which can be really good for migrants and local desert birds. This time though we found only a Black-eared Wheatear, some Stone Curlews and a few Chiffchaffs but not much more. We walked across the road and looked through the area closest to the sea. A Masked Shrike took off and after a while there were some doves calling for our attention, they proved indeed to be African Collared Doves! They were not so cooperative though, but we would see them more. Another mega-species in WP.
The last hour of the day we posted ourselves at the resort looking over the sea. A warm evening with lots of migrants in the gardens around us, so great views were given of Woodchat Shrikes, Wrynecks, Nightingales, Bluethroats and pipits. Two Arctic Skuas passed far out over the sea as well as some Sooty Gulls and flocks of Lesser Black-backed Gulls. At night we summed it all up with a good buffet dinner and wrote down the records of the day.
April 8th
A real birder takes his breakfast in the field, so of course we took our precious “food boxes” and had our croissants and eggs out by the resort garden. Savi´s Warblers, Masked Shrike and Black-eared Wheatears rested on their way north and two Crag Martins were also seen, fairly rare down here.
Todays target was to see the Lappet-faced Vultures and what else there might be in Bir Shalatein, and working our way down there. We stopped first along the road and scanned over the Hamata mangroves, a bit south of the resort. Stefan spotted a large bird over the sea which turned out to be a Brown Booby to especially Klas´ great delight. The far distance of this bird was made up by our visit to Wadi Lahami to the south, were another Brown Booby passed just off shore, wow! In our short visit here we also had three Greater Sandplovers, some Reef Herons and a magnificent, probably third cy Great Black-headed Gull passing us really close.
Continuing south, we passed a checkpoint which required my passport number and some waiting. But stopping here was good, because just at the roadside were two Desert Larks and on the guards hut, a male Rock Thrush. We headed on with the great desert sceneries along the road, our eyes sweeping the plains for sandgrouses and Cream-coloured Cursors. The most memorable stop along this stretch was when a young Lanner was sitting just a few meters from our car, but unfortunately took off before we caught it on film.
At 10:30 am we reached this little end-of-the-world village called Bir Shalatein. We had hardly turned in on the main road before a monster of a bird appeared in the distance, the day´s first but not last Lappet-faced Vulture. There were camel carcasses with some Egyptian Vultures feeding on them, and more vultures circling high in the sky. A Barbary Falcon landed on its nest in one of the pylons and a Hoopoe Lark ran across the road. We just drove a little bit before we had to stop for a mixed flock of Lappet-faced and Egyptian Vultures circling over our heads!
Down at the harbour we tried to get out to the shore but the local military were persistent but friendly and told us this was a security area. Some plovers, Little Stints and Turnstones were feeding in front of us, but scanning the sea was not possible. We decided to turn back and put our efforts in the mangrove areas. After filling up the car and taking a last look at the huge vultures we drove north. Stefan proved sharp-eyed and spotted a Cream-coloured Cursor along the road, good stuff. In Marsa Hemira we turned down to the beach and looked through the little mangrove area here. A Purple Heron (be a little bigger please…), two Whimbrels and some waders including two Greater Sandplovers were at the mud flats.
The vulture experiences were obviously not over yet, as we spotted three Lappet-faced Vultures feeding on a carcass by a checkpoint further north. And at Berenice we were totally awed as a pair of these enormous birds were standing just some fifteen meters from our car!
At the checkpoint in the mountains the Rock Thrush was gone but just after it we had a flock of 16 Crowned Sandgrouse just by the road. Close views of these beautiful birds were given before they took of with their typical call. At Wadi Lahami we really worked hard for mr. Goliath but he was nowhere to be found. A Striated Heron, a Little Bittern flying past and some waders and Caspian Terns was the result. The settings are nice though with white sandy beaches and coral reefs offshore, but the price on that lunch could have been better…
Our last efforts for the big heron, and our last birding in the southern Red Sea, was at the Hamata mangroves. The low evening sun and the calm sea made a great atmosphere. Several Reef Herons, a Spoonbill, Grey and Greater Sandplovers were feeding on the mud flats and Sooty Gulls were offshore. An adult Peregrine flew by a bit surprisingly.
At night we decided to try to visit the police station to get a permit for the Marsa Alam – Edfu road for tomorrow. The officers sounded positive and it looked like we should be able to make the crossing to the Nile Valley. But a return tomorrow was necessary to meet with the general who decided on these things. We returned to the resort and had another nice buffet dinner and a good night´s sleep.
April 9th
At dawn, Stefan made a good discovery of a Scops Owl sitting on a wall in the resort garden. After breakfast and checkout from the resort we then went to the police station in Marsa Alam. We had to wait for a while until the big general himself turned up and I could talk to him. It all went well and we were allowed to drive ourselves to Edfu, but we had to bring one of the officers going on leave with us. Fantastic, as far as I know, no foreigners have been driving this road for many years.
The road soon started to wind through the mountains, the scenery changing from wadis to desert plains. We found a Steppe Eagle sitting on a rock, perhaps waiting for the thermals to start. At a promising looking area with many scrubs and some acacias, we stopped and swept through it on foot. Some migrants like a female Redstart and a Northern Wheatear were hiding in the shade under a tree and photos of a female wheatear that was almost certainly a Pied Wheatear is right now being examined.
We reached the Nile Valley at Edfu about lunchtime and had a short birding break where the desert turned into the green and fertile river valley. Nile Valley Sunbirds were in the bushes just as we stepped out of the car and Klas flushed a Mangrove Heron from the ditch next to us. Singing Fantailed Warblers and lots of Crested Larks and some Little Green Bee-eaters were also here. In the little farmers town itself we had a break at a small café with our officer, mister Ashraf, for a cup of tea. A true cultural experience with us being the only Westerners among donkey carts, farmers in galabeya and wagons with sugar cane.
We turned south and headed for Aswan, Ashraf stayed in our car to get us through the checkpoints. The agricultural areas were a nice change of scenery from the deserts we had seen over the last days. The farmers seemed to live basically the same kind of life as they did during the Pharaos! Some birds were seen along the road, some Little Green Bee-eaters, a few Black-shouldered Kites and a nice flock of 40 Spoonbills migrating north along the Nile.
Finally we reached Aswan at 3 pm and took some lunch after saying goodbye to mister Ashraf. We spent the last two hours of daylight at an amazingly rich area south of the city, bays and inlets of the Nile between the Old and the New dam. A hundred White Storks roosting by a little marsh, hundreds of Whiskered and White-winged Black Terns flying around, some waders including 20 Black-winged Stilts, a male Ferrougineous Duck and a pair of Egyptian Geese (twitchable!). Small parties of herons flew past as well as 200 Glossy Ibises and our first Purple Swamphens were at a distant shoreline. We found two different Orphean Warblers in the trees and also had awesome views of male Nile Valley Sunbirds.
After sunset we drove back to Aswan and to our hotel there. Totally hammered after a long day and 400 km in the car, and the lunch pizza still felt in the stomach, we rounded up the day at a café outside the hotel. Tomorrow it was off to the magical Abu Simbel, and we were really lucky to get a special permission, since private cars are usually not allowed in the convoy. Klas tried a sheesha, water pipe, to the amusement of the rest of us…
April 10th
Since the convoy was to leave Aswan already at 4:30 am, we went up before 4 am and took our dear breakfast boxes. The car was still where we parked it and so we headed for the convoy stop just south of the city centre. Just on time the convoy started on the 280 km/2.5 hour long journey and sped off through the Nubian Desert. Mikael proved to be an excellent convoy driver who had no problem keeping pace with the bus drivers. Otherwise the drive was uneventful, and we arrived full of birding energy at 7 am.
After a short scan over a dried out dam, we drove through the village to the large bay behind the airport. Lots of Black Kites roosting here, Masked and Woodchat Shrikes and both Bee-eaters and Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters flying over. We had great views over Lake Nasser from the hill and felt the excitement of being at the southern frontier of Western Palearctic! Two White Pelicans lay on the lake, pairs of Egyptian Geese and flocks of Gull-billed Terns passed. Suddenly an African Pied Wagtail came into my field of view, flying away from us and the others saw it very bad unfortunately.
We drove a short bit to see the pelicans better, and as we parked to get out, a flock of storks passed behind us. In the binoculars they actually looked like Yellow-billed Storks, so panic broke out as four men wanted to get out and get their scopes at the same time! We ran up to a little crest, got the storks in the scope…..Yellow-billed Storks!! Eleven of these beautiful birds landed by the shoreline, so we went back to see them better. Great photos were taken before they took of and landed on the other side of the bay.
We searched some other small bays and inlets around the village for the rest of the day. Barbary Falcons were seen several times, an Egyptian Vulture, more Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters and many Olivaceus Warblers. We visited the great rock temple built by Ramesses II in the afternoon, almost alone there and an awesome experience.
In the evening we returned to the large bay and spend the last daylight there. A flock of Greater Flamingoes were seen, some Little Terns and more shrikes and bee-eaters. After dinner at the hotel it was time for another target species; Egyptian Nightjar.
They are of course tricky to find and never guaranteed. We took a little drive and checked the places where it´s been seen before, under street lights and illuminated backyards. Again we found ourselves by the parking to the large bay-site and had a look around there. After a while we had a short glimpse of bird that seemed to land on a roof, looking nightjar-like! We managed to flush it from there, ehrm…, and as it flew around and suddenly landed on the ground, we advanced on it and soon stood a few meters from an Egyptian Nightjar!! One of the whole trip´s most memorable moments; the little nightjar with the huge eye in the torchlight. We rewarded ourselves with a whiskey in the hotel bar after this day…
April 11th
I, personally, can never sleep that good when I´m down here. Often so many good bird sightings from the day still in my mind to digest, and eager and expectant to get out there again the next day. So in the morning we took our breakfast boxes and sat down by the pool as the African sun rose over Lake Nasser. Some migrants in the garden and extremely close views of Turtle Doves, a Purple Heron passed by and as did flocks of Gull-billed and Whiskered Terns. I went to the edge and looked down on the small rock in the water, and away flew two African Pied Wagtails! They landed further away, and after some running for the scope, we all saw them fairly good. Great!
As we packed our gear and were about to leave the hotel, 18 White Pelicans passed north over our heads and a female Rock Thrush was in the garden, as to say goodbye for this time. We drove to the large bay-site and put our efforts there until the convoy should leave at 9:30 am. It felt like this was the place where it could happen. And it did… We spread out and searched the scrubs, shoreline and scanned over the lake. A flock of White Pelicans roosted on the water, a male Montagues Harrier passed north and two Barbary Falcons were seen. Further into the bay we found a younger Yellow-billed Stork roosting with some Little Egrets and Egyptian Geese.
Some of the younger pelicans yesterday looked a bit strange, and of course we all had Pink-backed Pelican in mind since we were down here. But they were White Pelicans for sure. Now two pelicans caught our attention, swimming towards the other shoreline and eventually getting up on it. They were indeed smaller then some White ones close by, and were grey-pinkish coloured. We almost didn´t dare say it, but they looked very much like our sought-after bird. Stefan arrived with his 20-60x scope, and now we could see better the size and colour and best of all, the black spot in front of the eye; they really are Pink-backed Pelicans!!
Feeling extremely lucky with some really great WP birds over the last 24 hours, we slowly walked towards the car. What a place! The convoy left on time and after a 2.5-hour “desert race” with the buses, we arrived at Aswan by lunchtime. Here we had time for a quick pizza before the next convoy was due to leave fore Luxor. This time it was only a few vehicles in the convoy, and I believe our driver Klas enjoyed the VIP treatment of convoy driving!
The Nile Valley had some Black-shouldered Kites, Little Green Bee-eaters and shrikes along the way, and at about 5 pm we were approaching Luxor. We decided to spend the last 1.5 hour of daylight at the well-known site Crocodile Island. Good to be here and the next day we would be here again during our whole day in the area. We wandered around at the fields and lagoons, spotting some of the exclusive species here. Senegal Thick-knees were seen close, Clamorous Reed Warblers singing, Night Herons over us, many Nile Valley Sunbirds in the trees and in the reeds some Avadavats, another escaped but twitchable species. Hoopoes and Masked Shrikes in the evening sun are impossible not to be amazed by.
After sunset we headed in to Luxor and checked in at our hotel. An evening walk to the beautifully illuminated Luxor temple is a must-do whilst in Luxor, birder or not! After being awed by the columns and huge statues of Ramses the Great, we walked to a restaurant in the bazaar area and had a nice dinner.
April 12th
A little slow start (its nearing the end of the trip..) and after breakfast in the restaurant (!) we drove to Crocodile Island to meet up with a local bird guide named Abdo. We parked by the main road and walked towards the little village on the island. First, just by the road, we caught glimpse of a Rufous Bush Chat. At the wet fields by the village we had great views of Purple Swamphens and many Squacco Herons, and Black-shouldered Kites were overhead. Abdo took us to the other side of the island where, at the wet fields, it was supposed to be Painted Snipes. He waded out in the muddy water, and flushed a pair of Painted Snipes! We then had stunning views of the colourful female. Here also Striated Heron at close range, Marsh Sandpiper and the sounds of a Little Bittern.
There is a well-known site for Namaqua Dove outside Luxor at Abdo´s farmland. So he took us there and we spent quite a while searching the dry fields and semi-desert areas. No little dove but well several Rufous Bush Chats, Masked Shrikes and other “locals”. After this hot and dusty experience we took a lunch break before heading over to the West Bank and Valley of the Kings. The archaeological sites here also have some target species like Hooded and Mourning Wheatear, but these birds proved impossible to find this day. We scanned the rocky hillsides, crests and small gorges, but no wheatears anywhere. A very unafraid flock of Trumpeter Finches were at the royal tombs and the tombs themselves are of course the big attraction here, not the wheatears, birder or not…
In the late afternoon we went back to Luxor and visited the Karnak Temple, refuelled the car, had a McDonalds-meal and at 6 pm, the convoy left for Hurghada. After about four hours we were back in Hurghada and checked in at the hotel. Now we also left the rental car that had served us well during this trip. Some 2500 km in seven days, and still not complaining! We separated for the night and had an Hungarian birder taking the boys out to a ringing site the next morning.
April 13th
After a morning at the Hurghada rubbish tip, we met in the town and went together down to the harbour. White-eyed and Sooty Gulls stood by the beach as we entered a small motor boat that would take us out to the islands. A bird trip to Egypt is not complete without a trip to the archipelago off Hurghada. Even though it would be a bit early for Sooty Falcons, it is still some great birding to be had out there.
Under the burning sun we sped over the blue-turquoise coral reefs towards a small island called Abu Minghar. Closing in to the shore we saw many more gulls and Little Terns around the sand spit. We had to get off the boat and wade ashore, but in this water, no problem! We based ourselves close to the waters edge in order not to disturb the bird life on the island. The bay on the eastern side held a good variety of waders including Greater Sandplovers, a Collared Pratincole, three Oystercatchers (!) and many Grey Plovers. A Booted Eagle headed out to sea and flocks of Common Terns passed north.
A younger tern caught our attention as it proved to be a White-cheeked Tern, but this would strangely enough be the only one we would see this day. A nice Arctic Skua passed us and when the boys were in for a swim my shout “Great Black-headed Gull on the sand spit!” had them splashing out of the water to see the young gull standing among White-eyed and Sooty Gulls.
Then sun was beating down on us really hard, and so in the afternoon we were picked up and taken back to the harbour. We took our last meal together on the restaurant Felfela with a great view over the islands and the sea with yet more White-eyed Gulls and another Arctic Skua passing. Some good-tasting Egyptian food and the evening sun over the Red Sea was a fitting end for our great trip together. Now the boys would take the night bus to Cairo to pursue some missing species and I would be the nice boyfriend as my mother-in-law was coming to visit!
The total records from the trip
Egyptian Goose a pair at the Aswan site on 9th, at least 20 at Abu Simbel on 10-11th
Shoveler 50 at Abu Simbel on 10-11th
Garganey 4 at Abbassa on 6th
Ferrugineous Duck 1 male at the Aswan site on 9th
Brown Booby 1 off Hamata and 1 passing Wadi Lahami on 8th
White Pelican many sightings in Abu Simbel 10-11th, totally at least 70 birds
Pink-backed Pelican 2 at Abu Simbel on 11th
Great Cormorant a few sightings of single birds
Little Bittern heard at Abbassa on 6th, 1 flying south at Wadi Lahami on 8th and heard at Crocodile Island on 12th
Night Heron mixed colonies with other herons at Abbassa on 6th, also about 15 at the Aswan site on 9th and a few birds each at Abu Simbel 10-11th and Crocodile Island 11-12th
Striated heron 1 at Wadi Lahami on 8th, 1 near Edfu on 9th and 3 at Crocodile Island on 12th
Cattle Egret common to very common in most habitats except desert areas
Squacco Heron common at Abbassa and in the Nile Valley
Little Egret common at Abbassa and in the Nile Valley
Western Reef Heron seen many times along the Red Sea 6-8th, maximum 7 at Hamata on 8th
Great White Egret 2 at the Aswan site on 9th
Grey Heron fairly common at Abbassa and in the Nile Valley, 1 at Hamata on 8th
Purple Heron singles along the Red Sea on 7-8th, 5 migr. north at the Aswan site on 9th and singles at Abu Simbel on 10-11th
Yellow-billed Stork 11 adults at Abu Simbel on 10th and 1 younger bird there at 11th
White Stork 20 migr. north at Ain Sukhna on 6th, about 2.000 migr. north at Ras Gharib on 6th, about 100 at the Aswan site on 9th and 25 at Abu Simbel on 10th
Glossy Ibis 1 migr. north at Ain Sukhna on 6th and about 200 migr. north at the Aswan site on 9th
Spoonbill 1 at Hamata on 8th and 40 migr. north along the Nile on 9th
Greater Flamingo about 15 at Abu Simbel on 10th
Lappet-faced Vulture at least 15 at Bir Shalatein on 8th, 1 at Marsa Hemira, 3 about 50 km north of Shalatein and a pair at Berenice also on 8th
Egyptian Vulture 14 migr. north at Ain Sukhna on 6th, at least 10 at Bir Shalatein on 8th, 1 migr. north about 80 km north of Shalatein on 8th and 1 at Abu Simbel on 10th
Black Kite fairly common around Cairo and at Aswan and Abu Simbel. 24 migr. north at Ain Sukhna on 6th
Black-shouldered Kite 2 south of Cairo on 5th and 2-3 at Abbassa on 6th. Fairly common in the Nile Valley on 9th and 11-12th
Osprey fairly common along the Red Sea on 6-8th
Lesser Spotted Eagle at least 62 migr. north at Ain Sukhna on 6th
Greater Spotted Eagle 1 migr. north at Ain Sukhna on 6th
Steppe Eagle at least 95 migr. north at Ain Sukhna on 6th, 1 west of Marsa Alam on 9th
Short-toed Eagle 18 migr. north at Ain Sukhna on 6th
Booted Eagle 30 migr. north at Ain Sukhna on 6th , 1 migr. north at Abu Minghar, Hurghada on 13th
Marsh Harrier singles seen a few times in the Nile Valley on 9-12th
Hen Harrier 1 female migr. north at the Aswan site on 9th
Pallid Harrier 2 males migr. north about 40 km north of Quesir on 7th
Montagues Harrier 2 males and a probable female migr. north at Abu Simbel on 10-11th
Steppe Buzzard at least 420 migr. north at Ain Sukhna on 6th
Sparrowhawk 3 migr. north at Ain Sukhna 6th, a few singles seen elsewhere
Kestrel common
Merlin 1 at Sakkara south of Cairo on 5th
Peregrine 1 adult at Hamata on 8th
Lanner about 10 seen along the southern Red Sea on 7-8th, notably 3 together at Shams Alam Resort on 7th!
Barbary Falcon 1 at nest in Bir Shalatein on 8th and at least 2 (several sightings) at Abu Simbel 10-11th
Quail 2 at El Gouna golf course on 7th
Moorhen fairly common at Abbassa and in the Nile Valley
Coot a few seen at the Aswan site on 9th
Purple Swamphen 6-7 at the Aswan site on 9th and about 5 at Crocodile Island on 12th
Oystercatcher 3 on Abu Minghar Island on 13th
Black-winged Stilt 4 at El Gouna on 7th, 20 at the Aswan site on 9th, 7 at Abu Simbel on 11th
Stone Curlew 4-5 at Wadi Gemal on 7th
Senegal Thick-knee 15 south of Cairo on 5th, about 10 at Abbassa on 6th and 5 at Crocodile Island on 12th
Cream-coloured Cursor 1 just north of Bir Shalatein on 8th
Collared Pratincole 1 migr. north 30 km north of Quesir on 7th, 1 on Abu Minghar on 13th
Ringed Plover fairly common along the Red Sea on 6-8th
Little Ringed Plover a few singles seen
Kentish Plover fairly common along the Red Sea on 6-8th
Kittlitz Plover 6 at Wadi Natrun on 14th
Greater Sandplover about 15 seen in the mangrove areas in the southern Red Sea 7-8th
Grey Plover some singles seen along the Red Sea 7-8th and 25 on Abu Minghar on 13th
Spur-winged Plover common in most areas except the Red Sea coast
Turnstone 4-5 each at Bir Shalatein and Hamata on 8th
Dunlin a few birds seen
Temmincks Stint 10 at the Aswan site on 9th
Little Stint small numbers at Abbassa on 6th and along the southern Red Sea on 8th as well as about 50 at Abu Simbel on 10-11th
Wood Sandpiper a few seen
Green Sandpiper a few seen
Common Sandpiper fairly common along the Red Sea on 6-8th
Redshank low numbers seen along the Red Sea 6-8th
Spotted Redshank 2-3 at Abbassa on 6th
Greenshank a few seen along the Red Sea on 6-8th, at Abu Simbel 10-11th and at Abu Minghar on 13th
Marsh Sandpiper 1 at Abbassa on 6th, 1 at Crocodile Island on 12th and 1 at Abu Minghar on 13th
Whimbrel a few at Marsa Hemira and Hamata on 8th and 4 on Abu Minghar on 13th
Curlew singles at the golf course and the lagoon in El Gouna on 6th
Common Snipe 1 at the Aswan site on 9th
Painted Snipe 1 male at Abbassa on 6th and a pair at Crocodile Island on 12th
Ruff about 150 at Abbassa on 6th and about 75 south of Ras Gharib on 6th. Singles at El Gouna golf course on 7th
Arctic Skua 2 migr. north at Shams Alam on 7th and 2 (light morph) migr. north past Abu Minghar on 13th
Black-headed Gull fairly common in the Nile Valley with about 200 at the Aswan site on 9th
Slender-billed Gull a few at the lagoon in El Gouna on 7th and 1 at the Aswan site on 9th
Herring gull cachinnans/michahellis a few seen along the Red Sea on 6-8th
Lesser Black-backed Gull some small migrating flocks along the Red Sea on 6-8th
Great Black-headed Gull 1 probably 3cy passing north at Wadi Lahami on 8th and 1 of the same age on Abu Minghar on 13th
Sooty Gull low numbers along the southern Red Sea on 7-8th, about 15 at Hurghada/Abu Minghar on 13th
White-eyed Gull fairly common along the Red Sea 6-8th and about 400 at Hurghada/Abu Minghar on 13th
Little Tern 3 at Abu Simbel on 11th and about 40 around Abu Minghar on 13th
Common Tern about 300 passing north at Abu Minghar on 13th
White-cheeked Tern 1 subadult at Abu Minghar on 13th
Caspian Tern fairly common along the Red Sea, notably about 30 at Abu Minghar on 13th
Crested Tern singles along the Red Sea on 6-8th and 1 off Hurghada on 13th
Gull-billed Tern many at Abu Simbel on 10-11th with at least 150 migr. north and about 50 roosting.
White-winged Black Tern about 50 at the Aswan site on 9th
Whiskered Tern 1+7 in El Gouna on 7th , about 200 at the Aswan site on 9th and about 50 at Abu Simbel on 10-11th
Spotted Sandgrouse three smaller flocks, totally about 20 birds, between Ras Gharib and El Gouna on 6th
Crowned Sandgrouse 16 at the checkpoint south of Wadi Lahami on 8th
African Collared Dove 4-5 at Shams Alam/Wadi Gemal on 7th-8th
Turtle Dove 1 at Bir Shalatein on 8th and common at Abu Simbel on 10-11th
Laughing Dove very common
Senegal Coucal 1 at Abbassa on 14th
Scops Owl 1 at Shams Alam on 9th
Egyptian Nightjar 1 at Abu Simbel in the evening on 10th
Pallid Swift fairly common around Cairo and in the Nile Valley
Hoopoe fairly common
Kingfisher 2 at Abbassa on 6th, 1 at Hamata on 8th and 1 at Abu Simbel on 10th
White-breasted Kingfisher 4 south of Cairo on 5th, at least 10 Cairo-Abbassa on 6th and 4-5 at Abbassa on 6th
Pied Kingfisher common around Cairo and Abbassa on 5-6th and in the Nile Valley on 9-12th
European Bee-eater a few smaller flocks seen and heard on migration, notably at Abu Simbel on 10-11th
Blue-cheeked Bee-eater about 10 at Abbassa on 6th, totally at least 45 at Abu Simbel on 10-11th and some singles noted elsewhere
Little Green Bee-eater fairly common in the Nile Valley, f.ex. at Crocodile Island
Wryneck at least 5 at El Gouna golf course on 7th, 3 at Shams Alam on 7th and 2 at Abu Simbel on 10th
Crested Lark common around Cairo and in the Nile Valley
Short-toed Lark about 50 at El Gouna golf course on 7th and some smaller flocks along the road elsewhere
Desert Lark 2 at the checkpoint south of Wadi Lahami on 8th
Hoopoe Lark 1 south of Quesir on 7th, 1 at Bir Shalatein on 8th and another along the road on 8th
House Martin fairly common
Sand Martin fairly common in the migrating flocks of swallows and martins
Crag Martin 2 at Shams Alam on 8th, the only ones positively identified
African Rock Martin fairly common at several sites in the Nile Valley, especially at the West Bank in Luxor on 12th
Barn Swallow common, both rustica and savignii
Red-rumped Swallow fairly common, often seen with the other swallows in mixed flocks
Tawny Pipit seen at the green areas and resorts along the Red Sea on 6-8th, notably about 25 at El Gouna golf course on 7th
Richards Pipit 2 at El Gouna golf course on 7th
Water Pipit 1-2 at Abbassa on 6th
Tree Pipit common with many migrating north and feeding at lawns and gardens, notably about 200 at El Gouna golf course on 7th
Red-throated Pipit fairly common but in low numbers, same areas as previous species
White Wagtail common
Yellow Wagtail common with many in gardens and on El Gouna golf course, mostly flava and feldegg
African Pied Wagtail 1 at Abu Simbel on 10th and 2 there at 11th
Common Bulbul seen in gardens and such areas around Cairo and in the Nile Valley, seemed fairly common
Nightingale at least 2 at Shams Alam on 7-8th
Rufous Bush Chat 1 at Crocodile Island and 3-4 at the desert site SE of Luxor on 12th
Bluethroat several sightings at Abbassa, El Gouna golf course, Shams Alam and at Abu Simbel
Redstart a few singles seen
Northern Wheatear about 20 at El Gouna golf course, many singles elsewhere
Isabelline Wheatear 4-5 at El Gouna golf course, a few singles elsewhere
Black-eared Wheatear 3-4 at Shams Alam on 7-8th, elsewhere some singles along the road
Mourning Wheatear 1 along the road SE of Cairo on 6th
White-crowned Black Wheatear about 5 between Marsa Alam and Edfu on 9th, elsewhere only a few singles along the road but several at Abu Simbel on 10-11th
Whinchat a few seen
Rock Thrush 1 male at the checkpoint south of Wadi Lahami on 8th, 1 male and 1 female at Abu Simbel on 11th
Savi´s Warbler 2-3 at Shams Alam on 7-8th
Sedge Warbler 1 at Shams Alam on 8th and also seen at Crocodile Island on 12th
Reed Warbler a few at Shams Alam on 7-8th and at Hurghada rubbish tip on 13th
Clamorous Reed Warbler 6-7 singing at Abbassa on 6th and several singing at Crocodile Island on 12th
Olivaceus Warbler very common at Abu Simbel on 10-11th
Orphean Warbler 2 at the Aswan site on 9th
Lesser Whitethroat fairly common
Whitethroat 1 at Shams Alam on 7-8th
Graceful Warbler common around Cairo and in the Nile Valley down to Abu Simbel
Fan-tailed Warbler common around Cairo and in the Nile Valley
Eastern Bonellis Warbler 1 south of Safaga on 7th
Willow Warbler some singles seen
Chiffchaff common
Semi-collared Flycatcher 1 male in a restaurant garden near Sakkara, south of Cairo on 5th
Woodchat Shrike fairly common along the road, seen in almost every green area along the Red Sea, notably 5-6 at El Gouna golf course. About 10 at Abu Simbel on 10-11th
Masked Shrike not as often seen as previous species, but several at Shams Alam on 7-8th and quite common in the Nile Valley, 5-6 at Abu Simbel on 10-11th
Nile Valley Sunbird seemed fairly common in the Nile Valley, especially at Crocodile Island on 11-12th
Common Crow common
House Crow 2 at Zaafarana on 6th and about 20 at Ras Gharib on 6th
Brown-necked Raven common in desert areas, about 50 at the rubbish tip in Abu Simbel on10-11th
House Sparrow common
Spanish Sparrow fairly common
Trumpeter Finch 1 male at the Aswan site on 9th and about 40 at the Valley of the Kings in Luxor on 12th
Ortolan Bunting 1 male at El Gouna golf course on 7th