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15 Feb 2019: Birding the Sahara
The habitat within the Sahara differs greatly, from stony plains to sand dunes to wadis filled with palm trees and scrub-like bushes. I...
Feb 15, 20191 min read
14 Feb 2019: Entering the Sahara
Morocco has been described as a cold country where the sunshine is hot. This is especially true of the Sahara in the winter, as I was...
Feb 14, 20191 min read
13 Feb 2019: Ouarzazate
Mohammed was not impressed with my choice of accommodation in Ouarzazate, as it was situated right in the middle of some mud ruins on the...
Feb 13, 20191 min read
12 Feb 2019: Oukaimeden
Oukaimeden, a ski resort in the Atlas Mountains, was the next place to target Alpine birds. This entailed eight hours of driving up and...
Feb 12, 20191 min read
11 Feb 2019: The Atlas Mountains
“But who are ye in rags and rotten shoes, You dirty-bearded, blocking up the way?” “We are the Pilgrims, master; we shall go Always a...
Feb 11, 20191 min read
10 Feb 2019: Sous-Massa
Early in the morning I drove 60 km south to the Sous-Massa National Park where I met Mohamed Bargache, a local bird guide. We then walked...
Feb 10, 20192 min read
8-9 Feb 2019: Agadir, Morocco
Morocco is an unusual and very unique country. It is way out, totally strange and far removed from my usual perceptions and frame of...
Feb 9, 20191 min read
5-8 Feb 2019: Fuerteventura & Gran Canaria
Fuerteventura is a semi-desert island with no tall trees outside of human habitation.I stayed in Puerto Rossario where I ticked the...
Feb 7, 20191 min read
4 Feb 2019: Pigeons for Breakfast
La Gomera is a beautiful, relatively small island with very narrow, winding roads leading up craggy volcanic mountains to the Garajonay...
Feb 4, 20191 min read
3 Feb 2019: Targeting the Tenerife Blue Chaffinch
There was no hardship in waking up the snorer before sunrise when I left the hostel room and headed for Mount Teide, a dormant volcano...
Feb 3, 20191 min read
2 Feb 2019: Spishing in Afrikaans
Headed out to Punta de Teno, the north-west point of Tenerife Is, at 4 o’clock in the morning, not realising the sun only rises three and...
Feb 2, 20191 min read
1 Feb 2019: Canaries in the Canaries?
The small Fiat I rented at Tenerife Airport came as a shock, it had right-hand steering and I suddenly realised I had to drive on the...
Feb 1, 20191 min read
31 January 2019: Heading North
The North African part of this Big Year has kicked off with some minor hiccups, my flight has been delayed for two hours due to a very...
Jan 31, 20191 min read
27 January 2019: Twitching with Paljas
I love words. Words have certain majesty, an undeniable feel and a tangible taste to them. Some words are old acquaintances that you...
Jan 27, 20191 min read
24-25 January 2019: Fighting off the Dandilions
I was privileged to bird with Tim Cockcroft in the Port Alfred area, and he soon found the elusive Lesser Sand Plover in the Hamburg...
Jan 25, 20192 min read
24 January 2019: Dipping in Grahamstown
Lynette Rudman graciously offered to help me search for the Cape Eagle-owls in the usual quarry in Grahamstown, where she had shown me a...
Jan 24, 20191 min read
22 January 2019: Sleeping incognito at the Airport
Sleeping incognito in a long-term parking lot is not very comfortable, but it is cheap, and with all the security patrols roving the area...
Jan 22, 20191 min read
20-21 January 2019: Bogey slain!
Kevin Ravno, a birding friend of mine, helped me to find the Cape endemics. Kirstenbosch delivered the Cape Bulbul, Dusky Flycatcher,...
Jan 21, 20191 min read
19 January 2019: Choppy Seas in the fairest Cape
Ciske, my daughter, met me for a late lunch/early dinner at King Shaka Airport in Durban before I boarded a flight to the fairest Cape....
Jan 19, 20193 min read
17 January 2019: The Emotional Roller Coaster of Twitching a Mega
It started in Wakkerstroom. Just a niggle, then a bit of a wiggle. It then developed into a full-blown itch – this twitch that would not...
Jan 17, 20193 min read
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