Jordan Trip Report
1 – 8 March 2000
I benefited from a few days off to make a small birding trip in Jordan. Arriving in Amman, I hired a car after a long discussion on the model rented by the agency (attention, the agency OPINION of the airport is not honest), finally the departure. The long drive of almost 1500 km went very well, people are respectful of the highway code and the many police make sure that people observe the laws as in France (nothing like the madness of Lebanon).
Itinerary:
Amman Airport, Dead Sea, Aqaba by the Jordan valley, Aqaba and its surroundings (birding and swimming), Wadi Rum (think of Laurence of Arabia), Pétra, Al Karak, Dead Sea (birding and swimming), Wadi ash to sir, Irâq Al Amir, Madaba, Amman, Al Amiriyya, Amman airport.
Books:
* Guide birds of Europe of North Africa and the Middle East by H. Heinzel
* Field Guides to the Birds of the Middle East by R.F. Porter.
The Birds of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan by Ian J Andrews (bought after consulting English ornithologists in Aqaba).
Weather: Sunny and an average temperature approx. 20-24°F
Splendid landscapes and nature much respected for the area;
Friendly people, polite who say hello. Only one problem Dinard Jordanien (JD) is worth approximately 10 FF. For a person, budget for 8 days: flight Beirut – Amman, good rented car with very good hotels, good food: was quite expensive. By reducing the comfort of the car and by sleeping more simply it is necessary to take 7-8,000 FF.
I met a group of English ornithologists at Aqaba and 2 German young women ornithologists (all the hardware in full sun, without car come there in taxi) at Irâq Al Amir. Almost the whole of the observations were carried out under good conditions: visibility and duration. Only exception the dust devls of the desert which crossed in front of the car. The birds do suffer persecution by the men, I saw only 2 hunters in the north of the Dead Sea – agricultural zone.
What I saw:
Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis
Little Egret Egretta garzetta
Shoveler Anas clypeata
Steppe Eagle Aquila nipalensis
Short-toed Eagle Circaetus gallicus
Black Kite Milvus migrans
Yellow-billed Kite Milvus migrans aegyptius
Long-legged Buzzard Buteo rufinus
Steppe Buzzard Buteo vulpinus
Sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus
Kestrel Falco tinnunculus
Little Ringed Plover Charadrius dubius
Kentish Plover Charadrius alexandrinus
Spur-winged Plover Hoplopterus spinosus
Wood Sandpiper Tringa ochropus
Black-headed gull Larus ridibundus
Yellow-legged Gull Larus cachinnans
White-eyed Gull Larus leucophthalmus
Rock Dove Columba livia
Collared Dove Streptopelia decaosto
Turtle Dove Streptopelia turtur
Palm Dove Streptopelia senegalensis
Great Spotted Cuckoo Clamator glandarius
Swift Apus apus
Hoopoe Upupa epops
Blue-cheeked Bee-eater Mreops orientalis
Ring-necked Parakeet Psittacula krameri
Wryneck Jynx torquilla
Skylark Alauda arvensis
Crested Lark Galerida cristata
Desert Lark Ammonanes deserti
Bar-tailed Desert Lark Ammonanes cincturus
Pale Rock Martin Ptyonoprogne rupestris
Crag Martin Ptyonoprogne fuligula
Swallow Hirondo rustica
Red-rumped Swallow Hirondo daurica
House Martin Delichon urbica
Tree Pipit Anthus trivialis
Red-throated Pipit Anthus cervinus
White Wagtail Motacilla alba
Yellow-vented Bulbul Pycnonotus xanthopygos
Redstart Phoenicurus phoenicurus
‘Eastern Redstart’ Phoenicurus phoenicurus samamisicus
Black Redstart Phoenicurus ochruros
Wheatear Oenanthe oenanthe
Isabelline Wheatear Oenanthe isabellina
Desert Wheatear Oenanthe deserti
Black-eared Wheatear Oenanthe hispanica
Hooded Wheatear Oenanthe monaca
Rock Thrush Monticola rubetra
Blue Rock Thrush Monticola saxatilis
Blackbird Turdus merula
Blackcap Sylvia atricapilla
Orphean Warbler Sylvia hortensis
Arabian Warbler Sylvia leucomelaena
Sardinian Warbler Sylvia melanocephala
Cyprus Warbler Sylvia melanothorax
Whitethroat Sylvia communis
Graceful Warbler Prinia gracilis
Chiffchaff Phylloscopus collybita
Palestine Sunbird Nectarinia osea
Woodchat Shrike Lanius senator
Masked Shrike Lanius nubicus
Jay Garralus glandarius atricapillus
Brown-necked Raven Corvus ruficollis
Fan-tailed Raven Corvus rhipidurus
House Crow Corvus spendens
Tristam’s Grackle Onychognathus tristamii
House Sparrow Passer domesticus
Spanish Sparrow Passer hispaniolensis
Chaffinch Fringilla coelebs
Linnet Carduelis cannabina
Goldfinch Carduelis carduelis
Greenfinch Carduelis chloris
Sinai Rosefinch Carpodacus synoicus
Trumpeter Finch Rhodospiza obsoleta
Cretzschmar’s Bunting Embriza caesia
Marc Almecija
College Franco-libanais LP 130 Tripoli Libia