Mederdra

Mederdra is newly opened up for traffic. The road from Tiguent to there is brand new and in good condition. It is ironic that it is in much better condition than the N2 Nouakchott to Rosso road which it meets at Tiguent. 

With the road, Mederdra is also opened up for birding too. Dr Mohamed Vall had already done some preliminary birding there and recommended it to me for Saturday. He kindly drove me there on a long day trip.

The area is classic Sahel and is much greener with many more trees than the terrain around Nouakchott.

No sooner had we parked the car than we spotted a striped kingfisher on a near-by tree.

striped kingfisher

This was my first lifer of the day.

spotted flycatcher

The first migrant seen was a spotted flycatcher. It was one of several observed on Saturday.

Three types of migrant warbler were later seen too. These were willow warbler, western orphean warbler and western sub-alpine warbler. The latter two may well winter there.

black bush-robin

Both black bush-robin and rufous bush-robin were present. The former can tolerate trees while the latter was only seen in the areas with low bush.

chestnut-bellied starling

Both chestnut-bellied starling and greater blue-eared starling were quite numerous especially near human habitation.

Abyssinian roller

It was good to see Abyssinian roller again. This bird was common around Jizan in Saudi Arabia which I visited a few times.

grey woodpecker

The area is sufficiently well wooded to support woodpeckers. The one we saw here was African grey woodpecker.

striped kingfisher 1

We came across three striped kingfisher in total and each one was very confiding.

striped kingfisher 2

We spent considerable time admiring these birds.

juvenile woodchat shrike

Peppered around the woodland were a few woodchat shrike. These birds are almost certainly wintering here.

Vitelline masked weaver nests

As we walked around the woodland we kept meeting mobile small groups of Sudanese golden sparrow and lesser numbers of Vitelline masked weaver. They were often mixed species and included plenty of adults in breeding plumage.

adult male Vitelline masked weaver

We broke for a late lunch at the hottest time of day before returning briefly into birding action. We moved one kilometre way to a local farm where we obtained entry permission. We didn't have much time and elected to stay in the small orchard where bushes and small trees were being watered.

This attracted large numbers of sparrows. weavers and finches as well as the two starling species.

male Sudanese golden sparrow

In one group at water, there appeared to be at least one northern grey-headed sparrow among the Sudanese golden sparrow (see towards the right in the picture below).

Mostly Sudanese golden sparrow

At times there was a mix of Sudanese golden sparrow, Vitelline masked weaver and African silverbill drinking togather. Here was an opportunity for me to compare the weavers directly with the sparrows. The bird standing upright in the water (see below) is clearly a weaver and the bird to its immediate right is too. However one can note how superficially similar it is to the Sudanese golden sparrow on the far left.

mixed birds drinking

All the flocks of sparrows seen at Amzela had yellow-orange bills whereas it appears breeding female sparrows and weavers have pink bills (as in the photo). I think this further supports my view that the flock at Amzela are roaming juveniles. I am still learning and I hope to fully understand these birds better as time goes on.

northern grey-headed sparrow

Towards the end, it was confirmed that northern grey-headed sparrow was definitely present.

cut-throat finch

Two cut-throat finch were also observed. This was the nineth and last addition to my Mauritania list on the day.

tree pipit

With all the frantic drinking activity at the pools, a lone tree pipit was nearly overlooked.

My thanks go once again for Dr Mohamed Vall for driving us such a long way and for his company while birding. I know we both enjoyed this trip immensely.

Species seen at Mederdra    M= new to my Mauritanian list, L= lifer

Speckled Pigeon  
Laughing Dove  
Namaqua Dove  
Eurasian Hoopoe  
Striped Kingfisher  M.L
White-throated Bee-eater  
Blue-cheeked Bee-eater  
Abyssinian Roller  M
Vieillot's Barbet  
Fine-spotted Woodpecker  M,L
Woodchat Shrike  
Black-crowned Sparrow-Lark  
Willow Warbler  
Western Orphean Warbler  M,L
Subalpine Warbler  
Spotted Flycatcher  
Black Scrub-Robin  M
Rufous-tailed Scrub-Robin  M
Whinchat  
Wheatear  
Chestnut-bellied Starling  M
Greater Blue-eared Starling  
Beautiful Sunbird  
Western Yellow Wagtail  
Tree Pipit  
Northern Grey-headed Sparrow  M
Sudan Golden Sparrow  
Vitelline Masked-Weaver  
Cut-throat  M
African Silverbill  

Before Mederdra

My big birding event this weekend was a long day trip south east to Mederdra. Mederdra is about 70 kilometres north east of Rosso as the crow flies. 

The next blog will be about Mederdra where the birding proved to be very good.

This blog covers all the other birding I did this weekend starting on Friday afternoon and including an enforced stop on the way to Mederdra on Saturday morning. Sunday was simply too hot to do any meaningful birding at all.

grey plover

On Friday afternoon I walked once again directly north out of my house towards the desert through the F Nord district of the city.

The scrub on the edge of the city has held various migrants on other vists but this time it was virtually clean. This doesn't mean the best passage is over because passage can be very patchy depending where the windfalls have taken place before sunrise.

Into the desert a short way and one comes across a set of saline pools. They had a good selection of waders and waterbirds: flamingo, little stint, ringed plover, dunlin being the main ones. My intensive scanning paid off as I spotted a single grey plover. This is an addition to my Mauritania list albeit not an exciting one. This was species 114.

Kittlitz's plover

Another single wader observed was a Kittlitz's plover. This is still a relatively new bird to me haivng been a lifer here three weeks ago.

blue-cheeked bee-eater

Also in the area where several of the resident blue-cheeked bee-eater.

whinchat

On the walk back I checked the scrub and bushes more exetensively. I did find a very few migrants. I counted two willow warbler and a whinchat.

On Saturday morning Dr Mohamed Vall drove us to Mederdra which means taking the very poor quality road (N2) towards Rosso for part of the way.

Almost evitably we got a flat tyre and it was ironically very close to Amzela where we birded the weekend before. While the tyre was being replaced it was suggested I bird for a few minutes. This was done in the poor light of the early morning.

I wasted some of my time chasing a wheatear which spooked every time from about 40 metres away. I know it was most likely a western black-eared wheatear but I cound not rule out northern wheatear from such a distant moving target. A black-eared wheatear would heve added to my country list. Elsewhere I found white-throated bee-eater which had been present in the area the week before.

white-throated bee-eater

In the remaining time I tracked a huge flock of Sudanese golden sparrow.

some of the Sudanese golden sparrow

Separation from non-breeding Vitelline masked weaver is a bit tricky especially as the flock contained no obvious adult birds what so ever. I have meet this phenomenon before where I tracked a 200 strong flock of house sparrow near Riyadh which also contained no adults. It was also in October.

The birding around Mederdra had many positive components. For example I got nine extra birds on my country list including three lifers. I also had very good views and photographs of breeding and non-breeding Sudanese golden sparrow and Vitelline masked weaver. The next blog will cover all the happenings there including pictures showing the subtle differences between these birds.

More new birds at fish market

I investigated the area on the coast just south of the fishing port again on Sunday. it was an obvious choice if I was to go birding at all. With temperatures reaching 37C, a coastal spot with sea breezes was probably the only tolerable place for the afternoon.

There are three small artificial lagoons fed by pipeline and which end up in the sea. I have no real idea where the water in the pipeline. I investigated more widely than on my last visit and discovered the water goes from the third lagoon into the sea creating a sort of artificial estuary. Though the incoming water is more saline than that from a "real" stream".

The lagoons were busy with birds.

black tern

The number of black tern was heavily reduced from my last visit but otherwise bird numbers were at least equal.

mixed waders

The three most common waders are captured in the above photo: sanderling, ringed plover and dunlin. Little stint and curlew sandpiper were also present.

little stint (left) with red knot( right)

Over a quarter of a million, red knot are estimated to winter along the Mauritanian coast so I was bound to see one sooner rather than later.

red knot

This one was very confiding. When I approached, I accidentally managed to scare off all the other near-by waders but this one was undisturbed.

close-up of red knot

Whereas sanderling are stout all round (see below), red knot just looks pot bellied.

sanderling

At the "estuary" were plenty of sanderling but also a few large white headed gulls.

lesser black backed gull

Most of them were lesser black-backed gull but one had a lighter mantle.

yellow legged gull

It was a fourth calendar year yellow legged gull. This was the second addition to my Mauritanian list during the session.

I left the artifical lagoons to go inland to a flooded area where I had seen several gulls and terns on my last visit.

There were even more this time.

royal(l), lesser crested (m) and sandwich(r) terns

The majority of terns were sandwich tern with a few royal tern dotted among them. However there was also a single lesser crested tern. It is slightly smaller and plaer than a royal tern with a shorter and less orange bill.

royal tern(l) and lesser crested tern (r)

There were even more Audouin's gull than last time and this time there were immature birds present too. The one in the picture above is a first calendar year.

adult Audouin's gull

Below are theee Audouin's gull. The one at the back is another first calendar year bird. Whereas the two in the front are second calendar years birds. Thanks are due to Simon Watts for aging these birds.

three immature Audouin's gull

On my return to my pick up point I went back via the lagoons. This proved a good decision as two more late additions to my country list were made.

A black-tailed godwit briefly landed in the estuary.

black-tailed godwit

Four slender-billed gull were also observed there.

slender-billed gull

Many immature slender-billed gull over summer far south of their breeding grounds and by the condition of these birds I would say they had over-summered from last winter.

ruddy turnstone and little stint

A fish head down the beach had attracted a ruddy turnstone which had made a very large hole in it. A little stint kept trying to get in on the act but was wary of the ruddy turnstone.

white wagtail

At the edge of the fish market and at the end of my trip is a rubbish dump. Here were a few white wagtail and a northern wheatear. They have made a distastful choice of wintering location.

Amzela

On Saturday I went birding with Dr Mohamed Val who is a local ornithologist. Mohamed was brought up in a village south of Nouakchott and took me to a fresh water spot he told me he used to visit in his youth.

It is off the main road to Rosso, some 70 kilometres south of Nouakchott, and behind some sand dunes so only local knowledge would tell you it was there.

It proved to be a treasure chest of birds.

On arrival at the trees and bushes next to the water, the first bird we spotted was white-throated bee-eater.

white-throated bee-eater

This species is an intra afro-tropical migrant which disperses north during the rainy season. It does so from East Africa into south west Saudi Arabia which is where I first saw it. In West Africa it moves out of Senegal into southernmost Mauritania. However it was still a surprise to see it so close to the capital city.

three white-bee-eater

There were six at the watering hole.

another white-throated bee-eater

I don't believe the water is permanent but the area probably remains green all year round with a high water table. 

water at Amzela

All around the green area is desert and semi-desert. The latter area has very large numbers of black crowned sparrow lark.

black-crowned sparrow lark

However it was within the green area of a watering hole, trees, bushes and meadow that we spent near all our time.

Just as black-crowned sparrow lark was the most common bird outside the greenery, namaqua dove was the most common bird within.

namaqua dove

I input a count of 60 into e-bird but that was a conversative estimate.

African silverbill

There were mobile flocks of passerines flitting between the trees. One of the first to be identified was African silverbill.

Vieillot's barbet 1

While tracking these flocks a single bird with a booming call diverted our attention. It was Vieillot's barbet which is the most northerly of the barbets in the country.

Vieillot's barbet 2

Returning to the mobile flocks: another one was Sudanese golden sparrow with a few non-breeding Vitelline masked weaver associating with them. Old nests of the latter bird were found scattered around the site.

Sudanese golden sparrow

The third flock was red-billed quelea. It was quite small by the standards of this bird.

red-billed quelea

Giving the watering hole an even more afro-tropical feel was the presence of some greater blue-eared starling.

greater blue-eared starling

The picture below with too much back lighting actually shows up the blue ears better than most normally exposed pictures.

greater blue-eared starling 2 

A few birds came and went quickly. Three great white pelican flew past and a gull-billed tern stayed 10 minutes.

gull-billed tern landing

The was my first sighting in Mauritania and I have yet to see one on the coast.

gull-billed tern

Four types of dove were at the site. Namaqua dove has already been mentioned but there were also small numbers of speckled pigeon, laughing dove and European turtle dove.

European turtle dove

Other notable birds near the water were tens of blue-cheeked bee-eater and four Eurasian spoonbill.

Blue-cheeked bee-eater

One of the spoonbills was ringed. It is from the Camargue in southern France.

ringed Eurasian spoonbill

Next to the water is an area best described as meadow. We birded this next.

yellow wagtail

The species here were significently different. There were several yellow wagtail.

ortolan bunting

Four ortolan bunting were also observed.

meadowland

Also in the meadowland were a few northern anteater chat.

northern anteater chat

On the way back to the car in a remote tree we finally caught up with two male Vitelline masked weaver which we had glimpsed a couple of times before.

Vitelline masked weaver

Travelling to and from Amzela also provided two additions to my country list. On the way out, we spotted a white wagtail near the road in Arafat district, Nouakchott and on the way back at a short stop, five cream-coloured courser flew over.

striped ground squirrel

At the same spot, I saw three striped ground squirrel which local supersitition says is lucky. We shall see.

I thank Dr Mohamed Val for his company, driving and local knowledge in providing such an excellent birding spot.

Species and counts at Amzela
Little Egret  1
Eurasian Spoonbill  4
Common Ringed Plover  1
Little Stint  1
Common Greenshank  1
Common Redshank  1
Gull-billed Tern  1
Speckled Pigeon  2
European Turtle-Dove  3
Laughing Dove  2
Namaqua Dove  60    
Common Swift  15
Eurasian Hoopoe  2
White-throated Bee-eater  6
Blue-cheeked Bee-eater  16
Vieillot's Barbet  1
Common Kestrel  1   
Southern Grey Shrike  1
Black-crowned Sparrow-Lark  22
Crested Lark  5
Barn Swallow  4
Willow Warbler  2
Western Olivaceous Warbler  1
Bluethroat  1
Pied Flycatcher  6
Whinchat  1
Northern Anteater-Chat  6
Wheatear  1
Greater Blue-eared Starling  3
Western Yellow Wagtail  7
Ortolan Bunting  4
Sudan Golden Sparrow  16
Vitelline Masked-Weaver  6
Red-billed Quelea 15