As we packed up the car we saw a group of Pallid Swifts and
there were Blackbirds, Spotless Starlings and House Buntings in and around the
Hotel. We set off towards Oued Massa for the morning before heading to Agadir
airport for our onward flight to Dakhla. Along the road we had several Mahgreb
Magpies, Kestrels, some Sparrows and Pallid Swifts. It seemed quite a long drive
but eventually we came to the turning to the Oued. A short way down this road
we stopped for a Little Owl on a mound which soon flew up into a date palm.
There was also a Striped Squirrel feeding in and around a rubble pile near an
old shed.
We soon came to the village of ‘Massa’ where we turned left
and then chose a track to the right, driving down towards the river. We stopped
for a sighting of Tchagra and decided to park up and spend some time. We
noticed a female Moussier’s Redstart carrying nest material into a shed beside
the road and there were several pairs around the fields. Following a male into
the field to a palm tree we also found Laughing Dove and Bulbuls. Brendan found
4 more Tchagras by the river but by the time we got there there were only two
and these proved very difficult to photograph among the branches.
A walk along the river had lots of Chiffchaffs and several Isabelline Warblers along with a couple of further brief sightings of
Tchagra. In the water were several Terrapins and along the banks we had Spanish
Yellow Wagtail, Kingfisher, and three Brown Thoated Martins, one of which occasionally rested in a
bush but never long enough to photograph. A wall butterfly was sunning itself by the car when we got back.
We eventually came out onto a tarmac road where we turned
left towards the river and a small village. We made a stop by a ford where we found
Coot, Moorhen, Sedge Warbler and brilliant views of Sardinian Warbler.
We carried on, driving along a track to a spot where there
was a path down to an area of the Oued Souss that looked more like an oxbow. Here we had Moustached
Warbler, a pair of Tchagra, a Squacco Heron, Purple Heron and Grey Heron and a
Little Egret. There were some Barbary Nut iris but it was too early in the day
for them to be open. We also found a dead Horsewhip Snake curled up on the grass.
We then retraced our steps, driving back to Massa Village
and on to the turning to ‘camp site’ where we saw Yellow wagtail and then we
took a track to the left and across the open area were 10 Bald Ibis. Parking
the car we wandered over, seeing Stone Curlew on the way. We then decided to go
back for the car to use it as a hide to get closer without disturbing the birds.
A passing motorist gave us some good advice about how we could get through
the sandy track ahead, which we just made with a bit of pushing at one point
when the wheel started to sink.
It was time to return to the airport so we drove back north, stopping for some southern grey shrikes, and a brief look at a nice flock of Little Swifts flying over the road and around a garage. We arrived at the airport about
3.00 pm, sorted out the return of the car, checked in our baggage and went
through for the flight to Dakhla. There was a short stop at Layounne where
several passengers got off and more got on. We were met by our guide, Mohammed Samlali with two
cars to transport ourselves and our luggage. He explained that because the Crans Montana Forum was being held in Dakhla over the next few days there were no hotel rooms to be had so they had arranged for us to stay in a couple of apartments which were in the process of being renovated.The house was reasonable comfortable, warm and a place
to sleep, although the plumbing left something to be desired.
We were collected and taken to a pizza/café for a meal and
then onto a café with wifi for a drink of tea before returning to our house for
the night. In the toilet were two of the largest cockroaches I have seen, but they seemed
happy to stay there so we left them.
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