Late April in Nouakchott

I managed to snatch a visit to the waste water lake in Nouakchott in late April despite it being a very heavy time for work.

It was worth the effort. The prize bird was a short-eared owl. I almost walked into it where it had been roosting in a tree. I had time to recognise it but not to get a photo as it actually flew right at me before veering late. Two hours later I once again walked into it. This time it seems to have been resting on the ground in a completely different part of the site. I am pretty upset about not getting a photo. It became species 304 on my Mauritanian list.

Altogether, it was a peak time for passage. No bird was there in great numbers but there was great variety.

spotted flycatcher

Birds included spotted flycatcher and common redstart. These are staples of the two palearctic migration seasons around Nouakchott. Common nightingale and Rufous bush-robin are less numerous. All were seen on this trip.

rufous bush-robin

Warblers were varied and quite numerous on their way north although I see fewer in spring than in autumn.

blackcap

Blackcap were probably the most numerous.

willow warbler

There were several willow warbler and at least two western olivaceous warbler. There was a solitary western bonelli's warbler. The latter bird in particular has larger numbers in autumn. However, you have to come early as so many come back through in August and early September.

garden warbler

Blackcap's close cousin is garden warbler. It can be easily over-looked with its lack of really distinctive features. It's grey collar is quite apparent, though, in the bird on the left.

female blackcap

This spring has been unusually cool and some warblers have ventured out of the shade more than last year.

European reed warbler

There are no reeds on this site but European reed warbler has to land somewhere and so this is an excellent place to see them quite openly.

wood sandpiper (l) and little stint (r)

I have been disappointed in the main water body itself over recent visits. The variety of waders has been lacking. Throughout the winter wood sandpiper and little stint were the mainstays along with the seemingly resident spur-winged lapwing. However, on this visit the former two birds' numbers had started to dropped off.

spur-winged lapwing

Dunlin aren't very common in spring for some reason. Indeed the one bird below, I veer towards curlew sandpiper. It has a broad supercilium and a long bill though I can't tell the leg length.

probable curlew sandpiper

Some of the ruff had begun to show some summer plummage.

ruff

All the waders were alert and easily spooked. This is almost certainly because two marsh harrier were lingering at the site on their northern passage.

one of the marsh harrier

Most harriers of which ever type don't normally hang around. They move on fast.

the other marsh harrier

All white wagtail had gone by late April. Yellow wagtail were still coming through.

yellow wagtail

Just where do all those woodchat shrike go. They appear incredibly numerous in both passage seasons. They also winter barely 100 kilometres further south so I wonder if the numbers aren't as great as they first appear. I wonder instead if they use the Nouakchott area as a staging most in late autumn and in spring. In other words, could I be seeing the same birds time and again?

woodchat shrike

In this visit, it was the first time for six weeks that I hadn't seen a European bee-eater. Just before I left, one turned up. It was a bumper season for them this spring.

European bee-eater

The next blog will report what I saw at the same site three week's later.

Species seen at the waste water site, Nouakchott
Western Marsh Harrier  

Spur-winged Lapwing  

Kentish Plover  

Common Ringed Plover  

Little Ringed Plover  

Ruff  

Curlew Sandpiper  

Little Stint  

Green Sandpiper  

Spotted Redshank  

Common Greenshank  

Wood Sandpiper  

Speckled Pigeon  

Laughing Dove  

Namaqua Dove  

Short-eared Owl  

Little Swift  

European Bee-eater  

Southern Grey Shrike  

Woodchat Shrike  

Black-crowned Sparrow-Lark  

Crested Lark  

Barn Swallow  

Red-rumped Swallow  

Common House Martin  

Willow Warbler  

Common Chiffchaff  

Western Bonelli's Warbler  

Western Olivaceous Warbler  

Eurasian Reed Warbler  

Eurasian Blackcap  

Garden Warbler  

Spotted Flycatcher  

Rufous  Bush Robin  

Common Nightingale  

Common Redstart  

Northern Wheatear  

Western Yellow Wagtail  

House Sparrow  

Sudan Golden Sparrow