We started soon after dawn and made a short stop 90 minutes later just north west of Idini. We chose a place with more vegetation than surrounding areas otherwise it was not expected to be special.
There were warblers including lesser whitethroat and garden warbler in the shrubs. There was also a Rufous bush-robin. However the most significant finding was white-throated bee-eater.
white-throated bee-eater
It had rained in the area a week before and we suspect the white-throated bee-eater moved north in response. Eitherway, it is the furthest north than I have seen this species in Mauritania.
cream-coloured courser
Apart from a pit stop in Boutlimit, we didn't stop again until Kendolek. Kendolek is a village midway between Boutlimit and Aleg. More to the point, Mohamed Vall had learned from friends that it had a watering hole which attracted birds.
We explored the green and treed valley first before coming back to the watering hole which is close to the village.
In the valley we counted no fewer than 26 cream-coloured courser presumably attracted by the lush green grass growing after the week before's rains.
Most were resting in the shade of bushes and reluctant to move anywhere.
black kite (yellow-billed)
It was not the only bird of prey there. There were four yellow-billed kite present.
The trees surrounding the water were good birding. Birds included a pair of African grey woodpecker. This is still the only woodpecker I have seen in the country. It is most widespread by far.
Sudanese golden sparrow
Other birds at the pool ranged from a flock of Sudanese golden sparrow to a migrant nightingale.
It was gone midday and it was already hot. We pressed on and next stop was Lake Aleg.
The obvious thing to notice was that the lake was huge. I don't think it was normal size for that time of year. There were reports a month before of a seriously large rainfall in the Aleg and Boghe areas which cost several lives. One much less serious consequence was the size of the lake.
We attempted to get close to the lake from the south side which is forested. All the forest was under water. If we had had a boat or even good wading boots, I suspect the birding in there would have been superb. However we had neither.
European turtle dove
We had to make do with walking around the muddy edges trying to look inward.
Birds easily seen included European turtle dove and black-headed lapwing. The latter is a southern bird associated with wet areas and moving north with the rains.
black-headed lapwing
We had no choice but to travel through the town and approach the lake again, this time from the north.
The northern approach is almost flat and treeless. As soon as we arrived at the north side we could see that the lake was very large. The problem was that we couldn't get close to the water's edge without going through tens of metres of muddy or very shallow water.
Even with a scope we could only make out the larger birds. There were clearly plenty of both glossy ibis and sacred ibis. Two great white egret were clear too.
A large group of black-winged stilt were the closest birds of all. There appeared to be a small number of storks but we couldn't see them well and they wouldn't fly our way even with marsh harrier occassionally stirring things up.
white faced whistling duck and fulvous whistling duck
I could see a large group of ducks but they were directly into the sun. So I elected to wade into the water to get closer. After a difficult 40 minutes I got close enough to be sure that they contained a large number of fulvous whistling duck as well as white-faced whistling duck and three spur-winged geese.
Fulvous whistling duck was an addition to my country list. It is highly localised in West Africa for reasons I don't understand. However it made the trip worthwhile for that bird alone.
Given how warm the water was and my lack of protection. I have bought anti-bilhazria pills which I will use at first sign of illness. I probably wouldn't risk this sort of wading again.
possible Seebohm's wheatear
One of the last birds seen was another difficult wheatear. The amount of grey on the back makes me support a Seebohm's wheatear rather than black-eared wheatear or desert wheatear. I didn't see it well enough to determine this one with certainty. I will say however that mud flats would favour black-throated northern wheatear (aka Seebohm's) over desert wheatear.
The trip back was long and it was way past midnight before we arrived back in Nouakchott.
North West of Idini
White-throated Bee-eater
Southern Grey Shrike
Black-crowned Sparrow-Lark
Willow Warbler
Cricket Longtail
Garden Warbler
Lesser Whitethroat
Rufous Bush-Robin
Kendolek
Egyptian Vulture
Black Kite (Yellow-billed)
Common Redshank
Cream-coloured Courser
Namaqua Dove
Eurasian Hoopoe
Grey-headed Kingfisher
White-throated Bee-eater
Chestnut-backed Sparrow-Lark
Willow Warbler
Common Nightingale
European Pied Flycatcher
Northern Wheatear
Western Yellow Wagtail
Sudan Golden Sparrow
Lake Aleg
White-faced Whistling-Duck
Fulvous Whistling-Duck
Spur-winged Goose
Grey Heron (Grey)
Great White Egret
Glossy Ibis
Sacred Ibis
Western Marsh Harrier
Black-winged Stilt
Spur-winged Lapwing
Black-headed Lapwing
European Turtle Dove
Laughing Dove
Eurasian Hoopoe
White-throated Bee-eater
Lanner Falcon
Chestnut-backed Sparrow-Lark
Black-crowned Sparrow-Lark
Barn Swallow
Willow Warbler
Black Bush-Robin
Rufous Bush-Robin
European Pied Flycatcher
Northern Wheatear
Desert Wheatear
Greater Blue-eared Starling
Sudan Golden Sparrow
Red-billed Quelea
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