Avian ‘A’-listers abound in north western Morocco, and we were on a mission to meet – and hopefully pap – them with wildlife photographer and artist Tony Mills.
Having bathed with dreamy Eleonora’s Falcons in Essaouira, our ‘Choc & Pode’ tour took us north along the coast road to the heath and farmland around Safi. This stretch of road is a veritable Hollywood Boulevard of natural delights and we made frequent stops to enjoy it!
Moussier’s Redstarts, too busy with the breeding season to be bothered by us, were seemingly everywhere, as were glamorous Black-eared Wheatears. Barbary Ground Squirrels provided the comedy action while Agama Lizards, Black Redstarts, Woodchat and algeriensis Southern Grey Shrikes, Crested Larks and a Desert Wheatear all featured in the star-studded cast.
We’d been to the market early that morning and bagged some really excellent local produce. We enjoyed our picnic lunch of fresh flatbreads, tomato, red onion and black olive salad and High Atlas cherries in wonder at how these fruits and veg bear so little resemblance to the sad excuses for flavour we put up with in the UK!
Our musings were cut short by an absolutely stunning Black-eared Wheatear, almost entirely black-and-white with barely any peach. Only feet away from Tony’s lens, this bird hung around and made sure of grabbing its share of the limelight!
We soon arrived at our accommodation at Kohelian Oriental Lodge Farm – a tranquil leafy oasis in the arid coastal heath. Built on a spring, this verdant retreat has a therapeutic soundtrack of purring Turtle Doves and is a haven for weary travellers and wildlife alike.
We would happily have missed dinner to carry on birding the wonderful hotel gardens, had it not been so exceptional! Once the chef and her helpers had had their own Ramadan breakfast, we were served with superb modern Moroccan food, featuring delights such as white cabbage with mint and yoghurt, courgette with tomato and garlic, lightly spiced chicken and carrot tagine with flatbread, and crispy crepe with caramelised orange and honey, dusted with cocoa powder and a dollop of vanilla ice cream – heaven!
Birding in the surrounding heath and farmland areas was a superb section of the tour, and gained us audiences with Collared Pratincoles galore, Thekla, Crested, Lesser and Greater Short-toed Larks, Little Owls, and tribes of Stone Curlews running about like they owned the place.
But our tongues rolled out like red carpets when we came across our star bird, Cream-Coloured Courser! A group of these gorgeous, quirky waders were feeding on the arid heaths with their families, happy to pose for atmospheric photos in their desert hangout.
Would you enjoy hanging out with avian celebs in their rural retreat? Our unique ‘Choc & Pode’ tour, featuring Eleonora’s Falcon, Cream-coloured Courser and much more is running again in 2018. Come join us!
And don’t forget to check out Tony’s wonderful artwork here.
One dayI’ll join you …..
We look forward to that