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Alec MacIntyre travelled on our 'Morocco - A Bald Ibis Break!' holiday and submitted this entry to our writing competition.
Moussier's Redstart by Simon Woolley
Going Waldrapp Style
Dawn began with a whimper rather than a bang; a cool grey light filtering through the curtains of the hotel room. It was more than enough, however, to drag me out of my slumber and into my first African dawn. The sky was heavy with a veil of hazy cloud and from nearby came the thundering rhythm of the Atlantic Ocean.
I made my way through the tiers of the hotel grounds towards the sandy edge of the dunes that rose from the beach. Despite the relatively low light and dull conditions, the visibility was excellent. On my way I could appreciate the spectacular colours and simple yet striking architecture of this magnificent Ksar Massa hotel, located within the Sous-Massa national park and wonderfully situated for easy bird watching. Before I even reached the dunes I was assaulted with new species. A Spotless Starling posed and sang from a papyrus blade. Subtly beautiful Common Bulbuls whistled and warbled from the shrubs and often allowed a very close approach.
Standing gazing out over the roaring Atlantic, one can really feel the awesome size and power of the ocean. The birds out here seemed to have learned to exploit that power to their own advantages. Gannets were common, some flying far out at sea whilst others passed by close to shore. Cory’s Shearwaters scythed through the air, their lean wings allowing them to travel effortlessly just above the water. Lesser Black-backed and Yellow-legged Gulls soared along the line of the coast, their mewing and yodelling calls evoking images of many a beach back in the United Kingdom. A spectacular male Moussier’s Redstart sitting on a perch just a few metres away helped to remind me I was in North Africa. This endemic species is black above, its head slashed boldly with white, and a brilliant chestnut below. A pair had set up territory in the grounds of the hotel and were a frequent sight over the course of our stay.
As time progressed, more and more members of the group made their way down to the viewpoint. More pairs of eyes meant more birds to see. Little Egrets foraged on the shore and were joined by scuttling flocks of Sanderling and a single Eurasian Spoonbill. From amongst the succulent bushes below, a beautiful male Sardinian Warbler put in a cameo appearance. For me, however, the star of the show was a pair of stunning Audouin’s Gulls. Smaller than the yellow-legs, these paler gulls have a much more gentle expression, a dove to the yellow-legs’ pigeon. They are a rare bird, largely confined to remote islands in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic coast of Morocco.
We had not even had breakfast yet and the bird watching had been a joy. Everyone in the group was already getting on really well and the foundation had been set for what would transpire to be an unforgettable trip. Our primary purpose out here was to see the endangered northern Bald Ibis (also known as the Waldrapp), a species threatened by habitat destruction and now confined largely to this small area of Morocco. Would we find this bizarre bird, a creature that looks like it could have been created by Doctor Frankenstein if he had had a passing interest in ornithology? I’ll leave you to wonder …
Read more about our 'Morocco - A Bald Ibis Break!' holiday.