An expression amongst birders is – to go naked. That means don’t go without binoculars. That’s what we’re doing here since customs and airport security confiscated our binoculars and scopes upon entry to Egypt. We did some manoeuvring with different flights etc, so we actually have one Swarovski scope and we also have the two 400mm lens cameras, plus a borrowed bin, thus we actually get by. Gear will be returned to us when we leave the country. Anyways, apart from the authorities here, birding is great.
First actual birding day, we went on a short boat trip in Hurugada, vaguely searching for Sooty Falcon over the city. We did get excellent views of the common White-eyed Gull.
As well as one single Sooty Gull.
Started the long dive through the desert towards Luxor and the famous Crocodile Island. The road was strange, almost empty and good asphalt. Lots and lots of Spotted Sandgrouse along the road.
Stayed at a fancy pants hotel in Luxor, and we throughly enjoyed a beer in the evening, watching the massive Nile flow by and listening to the displaying Senegal Thick-knees.
Once on Crocodile Island, we went with the first light searching for the Painted Snipe, which was fairly easy to locate. Apparently it is common in suitable habitat along this stretch of the Nile. It’s a skulky bird though, and if they are inside the reeds, they can be missed.
The impressive African Swamphen was also common on Crocodile Island.
The Island also had quite a few of Green Bee-eater, the Cleopatra sub species which lacks blue. Nice bird.
Herons breed by the thousands along the Nile, especially Squacco is common.
Driving south along the Nile we did several short stops looking for African Skimmer. Later we learned that the Skimmers are only present along the Nile in the winter. The Nile is spectacular, wherever you look into the water it is just boiling with fish and other critters. No wonder there are so many Herons and Kingfishers.
The Barn Swallows in Egypt are of the sub species savignii and they are beautifully dark.
Next spot was the city of Aswan where we arrived in the evening. Mårten suggested that we should check out the dam, so we drove to vantage point in the last light and brought up our only scope, soon we saw militaries in the distance coming running towards us, thus we packed up real fast and drove off real fast feeling real stupid. Of course the dam is protected, what were we thinking of. Close call.
First light next day, we went to the fish ponds of Aswan where we were able to quickly locate the Three-banded Plovers. These fish ponds are well known to birders, and if you go really early in the morning, there are no guards and you can enter freely.
Birding in the ponds was generally good, and we got our first good views of the Nile-valley Sunbird which we’d only seen poorly earlier (No bins !!)
Heading further south towards the WP border and the city of Abu Simbel where I now sit and write this. Staying at a nice, albeit pricey place called Nubian Guesthouse (not much to choose from here)
Abu Simbel is truly a famous WP birder spot, just on the border of Sudan. Many african vagrants have been found here over the years, and the big Lake Nasser also hosts a couple of WP price birds. Arrived here in the afternoon and immediately went birding along all the small bays north of Abu Simbel. Two tools are invaluable here, Google Maps Satellite and a good 4WD car, not just any 4WD but a rough one. We have a Jeep Wrangler and driving mud and sand is almost as fun as birding, but not quite. The third or fourth bay we checked, a Kittlitz’s Plover came flying in calling ‘kittlitz’ ‘kittlitz’ (Is that a coincidence or what’s the story behind that ?? Kittlitz was a naturalist in the early 19’th century, was he given the Plover due to the call ??)
Next day we had organized (through the Guesthouse) an all-day boat trip on Lake Nasser. Went at first light with packed lunch. On one small island, we found two African Pied Wagtails.
Soon the wind picked up, and we were not able to pursue further north towards a bay where we the previous day had seen a couple of Pelicans in the far distance. We had to turn back. After a short stop on an island, the motor broke down. Eventually help arrived and we headed back to the guesthouse for lunch. Good birding in the lake though, few but good species.
Clamorous Reed Warblers and Graceful Prinias are abundant.
The Island where we were stranded when the motor broke down hosted a number of Senegal Thick-knees. In the evenings you hear this species everywhere but they hide well during daytime, requiring some work to get good views.
The temperature here now is nice, not too hot. Swimming in the lake is refreshing though.
In the afternoon we took the car, heading for the bay where we had earlier seen the Pelicans. Off road driving like crazy, we come to a couple of sheds. Suddenly a couple of guys take off in a hurry, running. They are as afraid of the authorities as we are. Our black Jeep looks intimidating. Mårten understand quickly what’s happening and manages to hold the guys off. Once they understand that we’re not authorities, Mårten offers some cigarettes, we’re all friends. Their bay does indeed host a couple of Pelicans. The first ones we see are Great White Pelicans though, we’re looking for the Pink-backed Pelican. Eventually two Pelicans come flying in, landing in the distance, and the looked smaller. Drove there and – Dang! – Pink-backed.
Tried some more bays and points for the African Skimmer, but no luck. The Skimmer is the second bird this year that we miss, the first was the Shikra in Kuwait. We met a group of German ringers at the Guest House, they had been on the Lake Nasser for two weeks, ringing on the islands. They hadn’t seen any Skimmers in two weeks on the lake, so I guess they are still in Sudan. Win some – loose some.