Читать книгу Mountaineering in the Moroccan High Atlas. Walks, climbs & scrambles over 3000M онлайн

27 страница из 47

Birdlife, however, abounds, and indeed the whole country is a very rewarding destination for a bird-watching holiday. Species endemic to North-West Africa are Moussier's redstart, Barbary partridge and the Levaillant's green woodpecker. Specific to a wider area of North Africa is the Mourning wheatear and White-crowned wheatear.

White storks may be seen throughout the country, nesting on the most precarious-looking structures. Choughs and Alpine choughs are common, in particular around the Toubkal refuges. Rollers and bee-eaters are late spring/early summer visitors, while hoopoe and jay are seen year-round in the lower forested hillsides. Keep an eye out for the shy Black-crowned tchagra at lower altitudes. A number of species of owl can be seen, given the right habitat – Tawny, Little and Eagle owls are all present in the mountains.

Meadows in springtime, Ait Bougammez

Lammergeier above Toubkal refuges

The High Atlas are also the ideal terrain for raptors – the reward for many bird-spotting mountaineers. Falcons such as the kestrel, Barbary falcon and Lanner falcon; the Long-legged buzzard; both the common Black kite and rare Black-winged kite; and many eagles (Golden, Booted, Tawny, Bonelli) may well be spotted during a typical two-week trip. It is, however, the Lammergeier (Gypaetus barbatus) that is the greatest prize in these areas. There is a breeding pair in the Toubkal region and others in the Mgoun massif. Often the shadow of this great bird gliding in search of carrion is seen against the snowfields. When you look up, its huge size is apparent when compared to the choughs that may be trying to mob it.