MOROCCO: Atlantic Coast and Souss Estuary

December 3 – Today we birded the picturesque beaches and rocky cliffs of Morocco’s scenic Atlantic Coast, north of Agadir. We arose early and after a full, delicious breakfast, we jumped into our vehicle and headed due west along the main highway to the coast from Taroudannt. Monday morning activity included cheerful students walking, biking or waiting for a bus to get to school, men riding donkeys or driving pick-up trucks, and a few women sweeping porches or store fronts. We noticed that boys and girls rarely mixed, and there were far more men seen than women.

Audouin’s Gulls

We passed many agricultural patches in this fertile Souss valley, and expansive stretches of argana trees. Though many birds zipped across the road and jumped amongst shrubs, we stopped only once to scope a Black-shouldered Kite sitting atop an electric pole. We reached the coastal city of Agadir in time to join the morning rush hour of this fast-growing city. New buildings and construction sites were much in evidence as we turned north and hugged the coast. We stopped at beaches in Taghazout and Arhoud to admire Audouin’s, Yellow-legged, and Lesser Black-backed Gulls congregating in their respective flocks at water’s edge. White wagtails and Chiffchaff darted around close to the road, and a flock of nervous Spanish Sparrows paused in a shrub long enough to get good views.

We enjoyed the sun’s heat shining on a bright blue sky and sparkling ocean waves. It is here that the High Atlas Mountain range, which runs northeast to southwest, bumps the Atlantic Ocean with picturesque, rust-colored cliff-sides, separated by occasional villages, surfing shops, and a winding road with many scenic pull-outs.

North of Tamri we stopped to scan a wide swath of sand dunes and scrub, between our road and the ocean. We looked hard for our target Bald Ibis, and nearly moved on, when Mustapha spotted a flock of them in the distance. Through the scope we watched over a dozen Bald Ibis move steadily through scrub, foraging as they went. Keeping an eye on their location, we walked down into the sandy scrub, following a donkey trail. We stopped several times to see Moussier’s Redstarts, Common Stonechat, Crested Larks and Sardinian Warblers which were singing merrily or perched atop shrubs. Deb flushed a pair of Barbary Partridges, while Adrian photographed a close Maghreb Grey Shrike. A Common Kestrel hunted grasshoppers over the dunes. We tracked the Bald Ibis to the other side of a ridge where we saw more Bald Ibis foraging below. A number of them moved along the sand dunes, probing deep into the sand with long, pink bills. We felt fortunate to have seen over 35 birds, representing about 7% of the world’s population of this critically-endangered species. They nest only along the coastal cliffs in this region, adjacent to the same beach habitat that people are consuming for resorts, recreation, tourism and commerce. The Moroccan government has preserved some of their nesting territory in the coastal cliffs, but the future remains uncertain, as Morocco’s coastal community is growing exponentially.

We stopped for a picnic lunch at Cape Rhir, sharing a roadside pullout with several tethered donkeys. Their owners were women hard at work at the bottom of the cliff, gathering mussels from rocky pools to sell at market. As we scanned the ocean watching Northern Gannets and gulls, the women toted their heavy sacks up the rocky trail and loaded them into panniers on the backs of the beasts. They glanced at us quickly then rode off without a word as we ate our sandwiches.

Heading back south, we pulled over to scope a pair of Osprey on towers, and found a variety of activity near a trash heap, including singing Cirl Bunting, Chiffchaff, and a Barbary Ground-Squirrel eyeing us curiously. An Atlas Long-legged Buzzard soared over the nearby ridge.

We spent the last hours of the day at the Souss Estuary National Park, adjacent to one of the king’s well-groomed and closely guarded palace properties. We stopped near the entrance to watch over a dozen Maghreb Magpies flocking together in a tall hedgerow, and found a Serin singing from the fence. The park was apparently undergoing some construction with mounds of gravel being pushed by earth-moving machines, but that didn’t deter visitors from driving around the giant vehicles on poorly-graded dirt roads to get close to the estuary. We parked and walked through patchy shrub land dominated by tamarisks. The trail weaved its way through the marsh and we stepped carefully on slick mud covered in debris and rubbish, to approach a small ephemeral pool. Along the open water we found a variety of shorebirds, including Little Ringed Plover, Common Ringed Plover, Little Stint, Dunlin, Curlew Sandpiper, Redshank, and Green Sandpiper. A pair of Common Teal floated along, and Adrian got a brief look at a Jack Snipe as it darted behind a shrub. A Marsh Harrier hunted low over the vegetation. A Moroccan Wagtail accompanied the more common White Wagtail in foraging on the ground, and Zitting Cisticolas perched long enough to admire their lovely earth tone patterning.

We looped back to the main estuary to observe large numbers of Great Cormorant and Moroccan White-breasted Cormorant standing along the beach. Numerous Black-headed Gulls moved about, along with Sandwich Terns, Gray Herons, Little Egrets and a lone Pied Avocet. Several Eurasian Spoonbills moved up the channel, feeding by swinging their long, spoon-shaped bills rapidly through the water. A small flock of Greater Flamingos danced in the shallows, flashing amazing pink bills.

Latifah welcomed us warmly back to “La Maison Anglaise”, delighted to hear of our successful day of birding along the coast. The staff prepared another delicious dinner, artfully presented in beautiful pottery serving dishes. A large pot of steaming mint tea was the perfect ending to another wonderful day in Morocco!

text © debbie beer;  all photos © adrian binns