As breakfast was not till 8.30 we went out for a walk along the front, hoping to see spotless starling. All we managed was Laughing Dove.
When we got back the cafe they didn’t seem to be expecting us but eventually it got sorted and we had bread, honey and orange juice. Mohammed arrived to pay and then said they were ready to go. We cleared up, packed up and set off. Stopping for a group of Audouin’s Gulls and Royal Terns, Mohammed got a call about a problem with the last car. He went off, leaving us with terns. The problem turned out to be that they had been stopped for no seatbelts in the back, for which they got a fine of €30. As they didn’t have enough euros, Mohammed had had to bale them out.
We then drove on through several check points to the Aswerd road and on to Gleb Jdiane where we were interrupted by a couple of men who brought their land rover to be washed. We did see Chiffchaff, Redstart and Collared Dove as well as some tadpoles and a Frog. There were some small butterflies fluttering around which were identified as Babel Blue.
We drove on a short way to a new prehistoric carving site. There are supposed to be a dozen animals but we only found an elephant plus some odd symbols which we had fun with suggesting meanings for. We also had Brown-necked raven, Desert Wheatear and Swallows.
We continued on our way to Oued Jenna, stopping at the Oued Aushwits (or so it sounded). On the way we saw Cream coloured Courser, Bar-tailed Desert Lark, Pallid Harrier and Kestrel. We stopped for Temmink's Lark at the entrance to the track and took some photos while we waited for the other two cars to arrive. Eventually, Mohammed turned round and went back to see where they had got to. As the van pulled up by a tree an Eagle Owl launched out of the branches and flew a short distance into the Oued. A quick check and it was another Pharoah's. We spent a bit of time looking for the owl and also saw our first Desert Sparrows and Fulvous Babblers as well as Orphean Warbler, Swallow and chiffchaff.
We were soon called for lunch which we ate in the shade of the acacias before setting off again for Oued Jenna. There was a moment of excitement as I saw a small cat pop over the bank and lie down in front of a bush. We managed to turn round and see it again before it ran off into the distance. Unfortunately it wasn't seen by everyone. I assumed it was a Desert Cat as it was quite grey and it had run off rapidly but Mohammed seemed to think it was a Sand Cat but I didn't have enough views to identify it.
On arriving at Oued Jenna we spread out as the camp was set up. In a bush there were at least 40 Sudan Golden Sparrows giving good views but the light was wasn't brilliant for photographs as the sun was setting.
We sorted out our tents, settled in and then gathered for dinner before taking some time to look at the stars. We did some spotlighting along the road by the camp, finding at least one, if not two, desert cats which gave good views among the bushes. We then walked along the road for a kilometer or two flashing our torches before SC found a Gecko wedged into a crack in a rock. we spent some time coaxing it out before returning and turning in for the night. We also had a Flower Mantis join us for dinner, giving us all a chance to look at it before we put it back in the bushes.
We then drove on through several check points to the Aswerd road and on to Gleb Jdiane where we were interrupted by a couple of men who brought their land rover to be washed. We did see Chiffchaff, Redstart and Collared Dove as well as some tadpoles and a Frog. There were some small butterflies fluttering around which were identified as Babel Blue.
We drove on a short way to a new prehistoric carving site. There are supposed to be a dozen animals but we only found an elephant plus some odd symbols which we had fun with suggesting meanings for. We also had Brown-necked raven, Desert Wheatear and Swallows.
We continued on our way to Oued Jenna, stopping at the Oued Aushwits (or so it sounded). On the way we saw Cream coloured Courser, Bar-tailed Desert Lark, Pallid Harrier and Kestrel. We stopped for Temmink's Lark at the entrance to the track and took some photos while we waited for the other two cars to arrive. Eventually, Mohammed turned round and went back to see where they had got to. As the van pulled up by a tree an Eagle Owl launched out of the branches and flew a short distance into the Oued. A quick check and it was another Pharoah's. We spent a bit of time looking for the owl and also saw our first Desert Sparrows and Fulvous Babblers as well as Orphean Warbler, Swallow and chiffchaff.
We were soon called for lunch which we ate in the shade of the acacias before setting off again for Oued Jenna. There was a moment of excitement as I saw a small cat pop over the bank and lie down in front of a bush. We managed to turn round and see it again before it ran off into the distance. Unfortunately it wasn't seen by everyone. I assumed it was a Desert Cat as it was quite grey and it had run off rapidly but Mohammed seemed to think it was a Sand Cat but I didn't have enough views to identify it.
On arriving at Oued Jenna we spread out as the camp was set up. In a bush there were at least 40 Sudan Golden Sparrows giving good views but the light was wasn't brilliant for photographs as the sun was setting.
We sorted out our tents, settled in and then gathered for dinner before taking some time to look at the stars. We did some spotlighting along the road by the camp, finding at least one, if not two, desert cats which gave good views among the bushes. We then walked along the road for a kilometer or two flashing our torches before SC found a Gecko wedged into a crack in a rock. we spent some time coaxing it out before returning and turning in for the night. We also had a Flower Mantis join us for dinner, giving us all a chance to look at it before we put it back in the bushes.
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