The birds of Morocco are a rich blend of indigenous and migratory birds. You can enjoy birding in Morocco any time of the year with one of our Berber Treasures Morocco tours of Morocco.
Morocco’s diverse bird habitats range from soaring mountains, craggy coastlines, wetlands, lush plains to desert sand dunes and everything in between. In this article on bird watching in Morocco I will provide an overview of some of the glorious variety of bird habitats in Morocco which you can include on the Morocco bird watching holiday you choose from our Berber Treasures Morocco tours of Morocco and also focus a little more on migratory birds in Morocco. In future articles I will explore in more detail particular Morocco birding highlights including Morocco’s Desert, the southern Morocco Atlantic coast, Morocco’s Atlas Mountain chains, Morocco’s northern Atlantic and Mediterranean migratory and resident birding hot spots and more.
The Northern Hemisphere spring and autumn (fall) offer amazing opportunities for bird watching in Morocco on our Morocco tours as hundreds of species of birds travel in Morocco following their migratory routes. Birds seem to be everywhere you look. Whether you are a keen birding enthusiast or a casual birder you can’t helped but be impressed by the sight of huge populations of migrating eagles, storks, cranes, harriers, kites, vultures, buzzards, larks, thrushes, martins, finches and so many more – in fact more than 250 different bird species migrate through Morocco. So get your binoculars and field guides ready because on our Berber Treasures Morocco bird watching tours of Morocco you will be busy spotting a wonderful array of migratory and resident birds in Morocco.
While different bird species migrate through Morocco at different times there are periods of more clustered activity which you can take advantage of on our Morocco tours geared to bird watchers. In general the greater swell of migratory bird movement northward takes place from February through May (with lesser movements during June) reaching a crescendo of activity in March and April. The southward bird migrations through Morocco principally occur from August through November with a concentrated peak in September and October, but some species (including some Warblers, Nightingales and Woodchat Shrikes) arrive as early as July and others (including some sea birds) as late as December.
Storks nesting atop an ancient kasbah tower – join our Berber Treasures Morocco tours for bird watching in Morocco
Morocco’s Atlantic coastline is a crucial link in the East Atlantic Flyway connecting northern breeding grounds in North America, the Arctic Circle and nearby islands and Northern Europe to wintering grounds in Western Europe, Morocco and Western Africa, Some important Morocco birding hot spots along Morocco’s Atlantic coast include Souss Massa National Park (also known as Souss Masa and Oued Masa), Tamri, Sidi Moussa – Oualidia, Merja Zerga; and of course along Morocco’s Mediterranean coastline, most especially Cape Spartel, during the biannual migration across the Gibraltar Straits. Berber Treasures Morocco bird watching tours of Morocco allow you to tract the Moroccan aspects of the East Atlantic Flyway.
Morocco’s majestic mountain environments include the High Atlas Mountains, Middle Atlas Mountains, Anti-Atlas Mountains, Rif Mountains and Jebel Saghro Mountains (also known as Jebel Sahro). The oldest and highest national park in Morocco Toubkal National Park located in the western High Atlas Mountain and the proposed Ifrane National Park area in the Middle Atlas Mountains both offer landscapes or mountain peaks, forests, alpine lakes and rivers which attracts a great variety of birds. More than 140 different species have been recorded in the Middle Atlas Mountain area around Ifrane with most breeding here and you can also find many migratory Palearctic birds.
The incredible Morocco Sahara Desert attracts a surprisingly diverse array of bird species from resident desert birds to migratory soaring and water birds. Morocco’s desert environments range from stony plateaus, baked earthen plains, soaring sand dunes, lush oases, both permanent and seasonal lakes and rivers, to the desert side foothills and high valleys of the High Atlas Mountains and Jebel Saghro Mountains. Morocco desert bird watching hotspots to add to your list of must sees on your Berber Treasures Morocco tours of Morocco include the permanent lake Barrage al Mansour Eddhabi at Ouarzazate, the seasonal Merzouga Lake (also known as Tamezguidat or Dayet Srij) at the base of the 100 m to 150 m high Erg Chebbi sand dunes, as well as the gorges (eg Dades Gorge and Todra Gorge and their oasis’), the desert foothills of the eastern High Atlas Mountains and the proposed Eastern High Atlas Mountain Park area and the Jebel Saghro Mountains area especially around the Tagdilt area.
Morocco has fantastic birding opportunities. Join us on our Berber Treasures Morocco bird watching tours of Morocco and you can explore Morocco’s wonderfully diverse birding environments as well as medieval cities and souks, old pirate ports, ancient desert caravan towns, traditional Berber villages and Morocco kasbahs. Our Berber Treasures Morocco tours include special group bird watching tours of Morocco with different itineraries focusing of Morocco’s birding highlights.
Berber Treasures Morocco tours of Morocco including our birdwatching tours of Morocco are conduct throughout the year. Our Morocco group bird watching tours focusing on migratory birds operate in February through April and August through October. If you have questions about Morocco travel at particular times or want to know more about our bird watching tours of Morocco please ask us. Contact us now for more details of all our Morocco tours.
White-crowned Black Wheatear: see the Birds of Morocco on our Berber Treasures Morocco tours
Australia’s leading Morocco-Australia based Moroccan specialist tour operator – conducting unique small group tours of Morocco and customised individual private tours of Morocco. We are Morocco travel experts.