Introduction
Mid of July 2016 we decided to visit the southern Red Sea Coast of Egypt. The main reasons of the trip, were to relax in the sun in early fall and to see some Western Palearctic specialities
in an interesting and not very often visited region during fall migration. With this in mind we booked a two-weeks charter .
We stayed at the Gorgonia Beach Resort just 2km north of the famous but old-fashioned Shams Alam Resort Hotel (SARH) at the northern boundary of Wadi el Gemal National Park.
We visited the following birdwatching locations:
Berenice (BE)
Gorgonia Beach Resort (GBR)
Wadi el Gemal (WG)
Hamata Mangrove (HM)
Qu’laan Islands (QI) 1x, a tourist boat visited 3 islands on a snorkeling trip
Lahami Bay Hotel (LBH)
Shams Alam Resort Hotel (SARH)
Bir Shalatayn (BS), close to the border of Sudan.
Species list
Striated Heron (Butorides striatus)
2 seen in front of GBR
Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis)
uncommon. Seen only on WG delta
Western Reef-Egret (Egretta gularis schistacea)
common. Seen every day; all seen along the coast, some moulting
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea)
almost every day passing in flocks in the thirties along the coast; in the flocks of Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) sometimes Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea) included
Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea)
Within flocks of Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea); During the visit to Hamata Mangrove 6/10 it took us about five minutes before we flushed 2 birds in the southernmost part of the mangroves. We first thought of Goliath Heron (Ardea goliath). The birds flew a few hundred meters north to a small reef and disappeared.
Black-crowned Night-Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax)
common, Seen in small groups on WG delta and HM
Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata)
quite common. Seen in flocks of Garganey (Anas querquedula) passing the coast; 1 non-breeding male on WG delta
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta)
1 non-breeding male passing GBR during low tide in dusk only 20 meters swimming in front of beach
Garganey (Anas querquedula)
flocks were passing the coast almost every day
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)
common, passing the coast almost every day, abundant on QI; still breeding
Egyptian Vulture (Neophron percnopterus)
8 around BS water pipe 6/10
Lappet-faced Vulture (Torgos tracheliotus nubicus)
3 around BS 6/10. It is a tough and exhausting getting there, read more in the blog
Western Marsh Harrier (Circus aeruginosus)
strong migration along the coast, mainly in the morning with many immatures and some adult
Pallid Harrier (Circus macrourus)
at least 1 adult male migrating low over coastal desert near WG, more white-rumped Harriers occured
Montagu’s Harrier (Circus pygargus)
at least 1 adult female migrating low over coast near WG, more (at least 4 ind.) white-rumped Harriers occurred
Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus)
common in Hotel gardens, seem at least partially hunt on resting passerines
Sooty Falcon (Falco concolor)
common – mainly in pairs – on delta of WG, several pairs on QI, end of breeding season but some pair apparently on the nest
Lanner Falcon (Falco biarmicus tanypterus)
One pair seemed to be resident north of GBR, another pair was seen hunting near WG
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus)
A skulker, but if flushed by accident, surprisingly common in hotel gardens
Crab Plover (Dromas ardeola)
common near mangroves, young and adult seen in small numbers on HM
Grey (Black-bellied) Plover (Pluvialis squatarola)
not uncommon
Common Ringed Plover (Charadrius hiaticula)
not uncommon along whole coast
Little Ringed Plover (Charadrius dubius)
on the green grounds on LBH together with pipits and wagtails
Kentish (Snowy) Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus)
not uncommon along whole coast
Mongolian Plover (Charadrius mongolus)
1 ind. On corals north of GBR
Greater Sand Plover (Charadrius leschenaultii)
not uncommon along coast, numerous near HM
Spur-winged Lapwing (Vanellus spinosus)
on the green grounds on all hotels together mainly with Ruffs, sometimes with pipits and wagtails
Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus)
1 ind. near HM
Eurasian Curlew (Numenius arquata)
1 ind. flying in between QI-islands
Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus)
1 ind. flushed on last day (8/10) from WG-delta
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos)
in the shade near green grounds on LBH
Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres)
not uncommon on corals or rocky jetties
Little Stint (Calidris minuta)
regular on WG-delta
Dunlin (Calidris alpina)
1 ind. one day from WG-delta, feeding with Little Stints
Ruff (Philomachus pugnax)
at least 5 ind. in the gardens of GBR starting from 27th of September
White-eyed Gull (Larus leucophthalmus)
common, with focus on northern sites
Sooty Gull (Larus hemprichii)
More common than White-eyed Gull, in contrast to stay near Safaga in 05/2005
Slender-billed Gull (Larus genei)
1 ind. near HM, a flock near Hamata port
Caspian Tern (Sterna caspia)
common throughout
Lesser Crested-Tern (Sterna bengalensis)
common, only ind. Near shore
White-cheeked Tern (Sterna repressa)
common, most ind. off-shore, 1st winter ind. Might be misidentified with Common Tern (Sterna hirundo)
Bridled Tern (Sterna anaethetus)
common, all ind. off-shore, best on OI
Spotted Sandgrouse (Pterocles senegallus)
The only flock of 5 ind. South of BE along the road
European Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia turtur)
1 ind. In a flock with Laughing Doves in GBR
Tame Dove (Columba livia domesticus)
uncommon, only seen in urban settlements and SA
African Collared-Dove (Streptopelia roseogrisea)
1 bird were positively identified near the known site close to Shams Alam Resort
Eurasian Collared-Dove (Streptopelia decaocto)
common and seen daily.
Laughing Dove (Streptopelia senegalensis)
Very common in gardens; seen daily.
Namaqua Dove (Oena capensis)
quite common throughout
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis)
1 ind. at WG delta
European Bee-eater (Merops apiaster)
only in total 3 ind. over gardens of GBR
European Roller (Coracias garrulus)
1 ind. over GBR
Eurasian Hoopoe (Upupa epops)
Not uncommon
Eurasian Wryneck (Jynx torquilla)
1 ind. at WG delta, very secretive
Red-backed Shrike (Lanius collurio)
common in gardens of hotels, mainly juv.
Masked Shrike (Lanius nubicus)
1 ind. at WG delta, not shy
Hooded Crow (Corvus cornix)
quite common in gardens of hotels
Brown-necked Raven (Corvus ruficollis)
common
Greater Hoopoe-Lark (Alaemon alaudipes)
En route to Bir Shalatein, close to BE
Greater Short-toed Lark (Calandrella brachydactyla)
quite common, mainly in early morning
Sand Martin (Riparia riparia)
some seen in fixed flocks of swallows
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica rustica)
common, hundreds seen daily
Willow Warbler (Phylloscopus trochilus)
common in every bush
Common Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita)
not as common as congener
Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla)
1,1 in gardens SARH
Garden Warbler (Sylvia borin)
1 ind. GBR
Lesser Whitethroat (Sylvia curruca)
abundant
Spotted Flycatcher (Muscicapa striata)
abundant
Common Redstart (Phoenicurus phoenicurus)
common
Whinchat (Saxicola rubetra)
common
Northern Wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe)
on various occasions
Desert Wheatear (Oenanthe deserti)
twice during whole stay
Isabelline Wheatear (Oenanthe isabellina)
a pair once in desert north of GBR
White Wagtail (Motacilla alba)
started to arrive only on 1st Oct; after that common in gardens; seen daily.
Yellow Wagtail (Motacilla flava)
very common in gardens; seen daily
Tawny Pipit (Anthus campestris)
1 ind. on salty ground near NP-HQ of WG
Tree Pipit (Anthus trivialis)
common in gardens only the last 3 days
Red-throated Pipit (Anthus cervinus)
uncommon in gardens; seen every 3rd day
House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)
rather common in gardens
For some years it seems to be almost impossible to spend a decent time in the desert. One offer, we checked turned out to be expensive and we were said to be back in the hotel far before sunset. Thus, unfortunately, we missed the Megas like Pharaoh Eagle-Owl (Bubo ascalaphus) and Hume’s Owl (Strix butleri).
In total 83 species of birds. Not really exciting for two weeks; spring near Safaga in 2005 was much more productive in sheeer numbers of species!