This is a slightly different version from that published in Dutch Birding 19(2): 49-60, 1997.
Birdwatchers have for too long neglected Jordan as a Western Palearctic birding destination. But why? It possesses diverse and spectacular natural habitats, a comprehensive road network, a welcoming population and above all, it lies on one of the world's busiest bird migration routes and has great ornithological diversity. Add to this the fact that it has been politically stable for 20 years and, after all, who can resist a visit to Petra?
General Information
The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, as it is officially called, is a small Middle Eastern country, about three times the size of the Netherlands. Jordan has borders with Syria in the north, Iraq in the north-east, Saudi Arabia in the east and south, and Israel in the west. Amman is the capital and contains 1.6 million of the country's 4.1 million population. Extremely few Jordanians watch birds and visiting birdwatchers are not numerous; it is not surprising, therefore, that binoculars and telescopes attract some attention from inquisitive locals. Having said that, there are none of the hassles of North African birdwatching, and you will be most unfortunate if you encounter the army or police. Border areas and army camps should be given a wide berth, unless you get a permit (as for the Aqaba sewage works). As a tourist, you can travel freely in Jordan (but keep your passport handy for possible road checks), and you will find the locals extremely friendly and hospitable. Personal safety is not a worry. English is the second language and is widely spoken by those in towns and by the younger generation.
Local produce, especially bread, fruit, vegetables and soft drinks, is cheap and easy to obtain in every town and village. During the holy month of Ramadan, a 28-day fasting period, visitors may experience minor inconveniences. Credit cards are accepted by the larger hotels, car hire firms and some shops. However, all cards are not accepted everywhere, and Visa is probably the most useful.
Jordan's climate is essentially Mediterranean - the summers are long and hot, with any rainfall restricted to the winter months. Away from the highlands, the amount of rainfall is minimal and desert climates prevail. Spring can be rather unpredictable; it can rain until early May and nights can be cool (or even cold on high ground). In general, however, from April to October cloudless days are the norm. Average April day temperatures vary from 16°C in Amman to 25°C in Aqaba. In early April, sunrise is at about 06:00 and sunset at 19:00 (summer time). In midwinter, the corresponding times are 06:30 and 16:30. In 1996, the clocks went forward one hour on 4/5 April.
In 1996, no special vaccinations were needed to visit Jordan, but you will be well advised to check for recommended inoculations before travelling. Mild stomach bugs are a possibility, but there are no major health risks in Jordan.
Transport and accommodation
Most of the major airlines fly to Queen Alia International (QAI) Airport Amman. The lowest price (with Romanian Airlines) is currently c.£240, but the cheapest ticket on a larger airline will cost at least £330-350. Charters are generally not available. Some British agents sell reasonably-priced packages, which include flights from London and some accommodation, e.g. Jasmin Tours offer 6 nights in Aqaba in Low Season (minimum 2 people) for £370, but prices vary with the seasons. Unfortunately, both tourist season peaks (April-May and October-November) coincide with periods of peak migration.
Since 1995, it has been possible to cross from Eilat, Israel to Aqaba. Crossing from the West Bank will take you over at the King Hussein (or Allenby) Bridge, north of the Dead Sea.
You will require a visa to enter Jordan. The fee varies between nationalities (7-23JD), but it is always cheaper (and not at all complicated) to buy the visa at your entry point (except the King Hussein Bridge). Please note that there is an airport tax (JD 10) to pay on leaving QAI Airport.
The local population relies heavily on public transport and 15-seater minibuses are commonplace. Unfortunately they do not run to a timetable and can be overcrowded. Air conditioned tourist (= JETT) buses run between the main sites, and are slightly more expensive (e.g. Amman-Aqaba costs JD 4). Shared (white) taxis, or servees, also run the main routes. Ordinary (yellow) taxis are easy to hire and generally not expensive.
Car hire is not cheap, but is essential if you intend to see a large part of the country over a short period. A reliable local firm will be much better value for money than one of the international companies (i.e. JD 150-220 per week). An EC licence is acceptable for a hire car. There is an extensive network of good roads, and petrol is very cheap (JD 0.22 per litre) and easy to obtain. A four-wheel drive vehicle is pricey (at least JD 350 per week) and not necessary. However, it would give the option of exploring remote desert sites, and add considerable adventure to any trip!
Outside the main tourist resorts of Amman, Aqaba and Petra there are very few hotels. There are 1-2 hotels at each of Ajlun, Irbid, Azraq, Dana, Dead Sea, Al Karak. The cheapest hotels may cost JD 8-12 for a double room, but a two-star (and the government "resthouses") will cost JD 22-40. There are camp sites at Aqaba and Rum, but facilities are basic. The RSCN has camping facilities at several of its reserves, notably Dana (March-October) and Feinan (November-February). It is possible to camp away from recognised sites, especially in desert areas.
Jordan has a great variety of habitats (Andrews 1995), most of which should be visited in order to see the widest variety of species. It is a common belief that Jordan is entirely covered by desert, but the boundary between the Mediterranean and Arabian faunal regions crosses north-west Jordan south of Amman, and the habitats to the north-west are typically Mediterranean. The limestone hills covered by oak woodland, garigue scrub and olive orchards hold a rich birdlife. In detail, the country can be divided into the Rift Valley, the Rift Margins, the Highlands and the Interior Deserts (Figure 1). The deserts, which cover 80% of the country's area, include such varied habitats as the black basalt desert, the flint and limestone hamada plains and the mountainous Rum Desert.
The following guide refers to a selection of sites worthy of a visit mainly in spring, with additional comments on the other seasons. A more detailed sites guide can be found in Andrews (1995), pages 28-46.
Rift Valley
Dead Sea shore
Between the Suwayma Resthouse and the funfair, on the north-eastern shore of the Dead Sea, a small colony of Dead Sea Sparrows can be viewed in the Tamarix scrub which grows along a line of fresh-water springs. The springs attract all kinds of waders and passerines, as they provide the only fresh water in the area.
Heading south, a new road follows the eastern shore of the Dead Sea providing an alternative route to Aqaba. The specialities of this area are Brown Babbler, Tristram's Grackle, Sand Partridge, Fan-tailed Raven, Blackstart and White-crowned Black Wheatear, and it should be possible to see all of these from the roadside or by wandering up one of the side wadis. Thirty-five km along this road, the mouth of Wadi al Mujib is a haunt of Bonelli's Eagle, Little Green Bee-eater and House Bunting. In 1995/96, small numbers of Cyprus Warblers were discovered mainly in February-March in the fenced off area south of the river mouth (C.A. Hubbard, in litt.). The barren, rocky hillsides several kilometres either side of the bridge are one of the best places in Jordan to see the elusive Hooded Wheatear.
Shuna Reservoir and Wadi Shu'ayb
Picturesque Wadi Shu'ayb flows from As Salt down to the Jordan Valley. Near the village of South Shuna and viewable from the road, the river enters the small Shuna Reservoir. Winter flood water remains until the spring, providing habitats suitable for migrant herons, ducks, waders, gulls and terns, and resident species include Spur-winged Plover, Pied Kingfisher and Little Swift.
Ascending Wadi Shu'ayb the road crosses the wadi at a moderately large bridge. Turning right immediately prior to the bridge the minor road to Mahis takes you along the tributary wadi of Wadi Bir as Sabil. On the rocky slopes where carpets of spring flowers grow between the scattered trees there are Cretzschmar's Bunting, Blue Rock Thrush, Sardinian Warbler, Orange-tufted Sunbird and Red-rumped Swallow, as well as three species of shrike - Great Grey, Woodchat and Masked. The river is lined by a lush vegetation of oleander and reeds, and it is possible to see Smyrna Kingfisher and to hear Cetti's Warbler. Spanish Sparrows breed in colonies in the tallest poplars. Raptors often fly over in spring, using the wadi as a north-easterly route off the Jordan Valley (see Andrews 1996).
Fidan
Until recently it was very difficult to birdwatch in Wadi Araba, and as a result few sites have been explored. Use of the (only) road is no longer restricted, but despite the Peace Treaty, there is still a fair military presence in the area. Some 140 km north of Aqaba, a tarmac road heads off east towards the Rift Margin foothills at Fidan, giving relatively easy access to the Wadi Araba avifauna.
The first part of this road crosses flat desert (Wadi Abu Dubana) which holds Desert Wheatear, Scrub Warbler, Bar-tailed Desert Lark, Hoopoe Lark and Dunn's Lark (the latter has been observed in at least 1990 and 1994). Spotted and Crowned Sandgrouse are also a possibility, as there are drinking pools in the area (but well away from the road). Further on, beyond a small military camp on the left, acacias hold Little Green Bee-eater, Arabian Warbler and Brown Babbler. In winter, Cyprus Warbler, Desert Warbler and Dead Sea Sparrow have been recorded.
Aqaba
Aqaba lies adjacent to Eilat at the head of the Gulf of Aqaba, but it remains virtually unvisited by birdwatchers, and here you will have no choice but to find your own birds. Although the same variety of birds must pass over both Eilat and Aqaba, many vagrants are still waiting to be seen on the Jordanian side of the gulf.
Several areas close to the tourist hotels and town are migrant traps, e.g. the old palms and irrigated smallholdings centred on Aqaba Fort, the undeveloped ground with scattered palms inland from the beach hotels, and the road-side bushes on the circular road to the Hippic Club. Virtually any Western Palearctic migrant could turn up - maybe a River Warbler on the central reservation, a Blue-cheeked Bee-eater outside the hotel or a Rüppell's Warbler on the walk to the beach. Relatively few birds of prey fly over Aqaba and its flanking mountains, and under prevailing weather conditions the main flow of birds in this region hugs the Israeli side of the Gulf of Aqaba until north of the town (Andrews 1996). A northerly gale will disrupt this pattern, and then struggling raptors will be everywhere.
Of Aqaba's few resident species, the Indian House Crow is perhaps the most noteworthy. First recorded in Jordan as recently as 1979 (Andrews 1995), it is now numerous (even a pest) and flocks of several hundreds can be seen around the town at dusk.
An extensive sewage treatment plant lies adjacent to the Israeli border between Aqaba town and the new border crossing with Israel. Because to its location, it can currently only be visited with a military pass (see useful addresses). Habitats include open water and reed-fringed pools overlooked by a purpose-built, birdwatching tower, and since it was established ten years ago, extensive irrigated palms have been planted. The site is only rarely visited by birders, and little is known of its full potential as a migrant trap. Suffice it to say that birders peering over from the Israeli side of the border have seen a considerable amount (including Yellow-billed Stork), and the site's species list continues to grow with every new visit.
The town beaches are mostly too crowded for shorebirds - the only chance to see waders, gulls and terns at rest will be along the South Coast beaches or at the sewage works. The town beaches, are however, ideally situated for seawatching, e.g. from the jetty of the Aquamarina Hotel. In spring, migrants (herons, waders, skuas, swallows, wagtails etc.) can often be seen making landfall here, whilst throughout the year seabirds fly back and forth along the Aqaba shore and around the dock area.
Of the less common seabirds, Caspian Tern, Slender-billed Gull, White-eyed Gull, Cory's and Sooty Shearwaters, Brown Booby and skuas are possibilities. Rarities have included Crested Tern, Bridled Tern (mainly in July-August), and White-cheeked Tern. Green-backed Heron and Western Reef Heron have landed on the piers when they are sufficiently quiet.
Between the container port and the border industrial zone, there is a stretch of (as yet) undeveloped coastline with bays good for roosting gulls, terns and waders, and promontories suitable for seawatching. Target species here include White-eyed Gull, Western Reef Heron and Greater Sand Plover. There is cover for migrants at the Marine Science Station and Aquarium, and at the Royal Diving Centre. The latter site is recommended for snorkelling (for a small fee).
Rum Desert
The dramatic sandstone mesas of Lawrence of Arabia fame rise up 800 m from the surrounding sea of sand; the peaks reach altitudes of 1754-1860 m. Leaving the Desert Highway at Ar Rashidiyya, it is 28 km to the Resthouse and Rum settlement. A particularly productive birding area lies 3 km north of Rum village where there are cliffs, boulder slopes and sandy desert with bushes. Wadi Rum is but a small corner of this dramatic landscape, and without a four-wheel drive vehicle of your own there is the option to hire a local driver in his ancient jeep or hire a camel!
The two speciality birds of prey of the Rum Desert are Verreaux's Eagle and Sooty Falcon. The best place to look for Verreaux's Eagle is high over the cliffs behind the settlement - perhaps whilst sampling a glass of sweet Bedouin tea at the Resthouse. The few pairs of breeding Sooty Falcons are only present between May and October. Resident species include Long-legged Buzzard, Mourning and White-crowned Black Wheatear, Hooded Wheatear (difficult), Scrub Warbler, Sinai Rosefinch and House Bunting.
Passerine migrants are often concentrated around the settlement or at the springs. Some of the more unusual migrants recorded here include River Warbler, Olive-tree Warbler, Semi-collared Flycatcher and Isabelline Shrike. Migrating raptors pass over the mountain ridges.
Further east from Rum, several large farms use underground water reserves to irrigate the mudflats. These agricultural areas, such as the one at Disi, are little explored. In winter, the potato and alfalfa fields can be full of pipits and larks, while Hen Harriers hunt overhead.
Rift Margins
There is access from the King's Highway to all the major wadis flowing into the Dead Sea between Madaba and Al Karak. These are Wadi Zerqa Ma'in, Wadi al Wala/Wadi al Hidan and Wadi al Mujib.
Resident birds of prey in the rugged hills and gorges include Griffon Vulture, Long-legged Buzzard, Bonelli's Eagle and Barbary Falcon. Egyptian Vulture and Lesser Kestrel are also present in summer, and large numbers of raptors pass over on spring migration.
The barren, rocky hillsides provide habitat for a wide variety of species including Chukar, Sand Partridge, Rock Martin, Desert Lark, Blackstart, Mourning Wheatear, Scrub Warbler, Tristram's Grackle and Rock Sparrow. A good place for Long-billed Pipit is where the King's Highway cuts through Wadi al Wala, as are the steep slopes west of Ma'in before the final descent to Hammamat Ma'in. Finsch's Wheatear can be found on this terrain in winter, and flocks of Calandra Larks amass in the stubble fields on the plateaux.
Wadi Dana
There can be few more dramatic and unspoilt wadis in the Southern Rift Margins than Wadi Dana. From the overlooking hills (at 1500 m), the U-shaped wadi descends steeply to Wadi Araba (at sea level). It crosses a wide range of habitats, the most accessible of which are the Barra Forest (an open oak-juniper woodland), rocky outcrops of the northern shoulder of the wadi (by the campsite) and the terraced gardens behind the village. A large area is managed as a wildlife reserve by the RSCN, and the village of Dana is a conservation village.
Prime birding in a spectacular landscape can be had around the rock domes which surround the Rummana campsite, and from here rocky spurs form ideal raptor-scanning points overlooking the wadi. The camp is signposted, and is reached by taking the quarry road north and then west from Ar Rashadiyya cement works. There is a car park at the guard-house and a shuttle bus takes visitors down to the camp site. There is an entry charge and a fee for camping.
The varied, high altitude avifauna includes Chukar, Desert Lark, Rock Martin, Black-eared Wheatear, Woodlark, Long-billed Pipit, Orphean Warbler, Orange-tufted Sunbird, Fan-tailed Raven, Tristram's Grackle, Rock Sparrow and Cretzschmar's Bunting. In autumn, when many natural springs are dry, an artificial drinking pool (with an overlooking hide) attracts hundreds of birds, including Sinai Rosefinches - and a couple of Nubian Ibex in 1996! In addition, Eagle Owl, Hume's Tawny Owl, Little Owl and Scops Owl all breed, and at night they can often be heard in the vicinity of the camp.
Resident birds of prey include Griffon Vulture, Bonelli's Eagle and Barbary Falcon, with Short-toed Eagle, Lesser Kestrel and Sooty Falcon also present in summer. Verreaux's Eagles occasionally occur in the area, but breeding has not been confirmed. A major raptor migration route passes over Wadi Dana in the spring, with probably hundreds of thousands of birds (mainly Steppe Buzzard) involved (see Andrews 1996).
Barra Forest, south of Dana village, is reached by turning left 1 km down the Al Qadisiyya to Dana village road, and then left again at the Department of Forestry building. Although Tristram's Serins were recorded at Barra in the 1960s (Wallace 1984), it was not until recently that the true significance of this area was recognised - a population of c.800 pairs of this near-endemic serin was found in 1995 (M.I. Evans, in litt.). They can also been found adjacent to the tarmac road down to Dana village, and even in the single pistachio tree at the Rummana Campsite. Previously, the total world population (mainly on Mount Hermon, Israel/Lebonan/Syria) had been estimated to be a mere 250 pairs!
Petra
The world-famous antiquities of Petra are the crown of Jordan's many archaeological wonders, but the well-used tracks also allow easy access into the mountains of the Southern Rift Margins. The entry fee is now JD 20. Approach is on foot from the Resthouse through the Siq to the Amphitheatre. After this, exploration can be made in various directions: (a) to the High Place and descending via Wadi al Farasa, (b) to Ad Dayr (the Monastery), with views down to Wadi Araba, and (c) the bushes and spring in Wadi as Siyyagh. Longer walks for the more adventurous explorer, for which a guide is recommended, are to the spring and oasis at Sabra, and the mountain peak of Jabal al Harun.
Target species at Petra include Hume's Tawny Owl (not guaranteed, but listen out at the Corinthian Tomb or Siq at dusk), Barbary Falcon, Sooty Falcon (summer/autumn) and Sinai Rosefinch. Pallid Swift are especially numerous over the town of Wadi Musa. Large numbers of raptors pass over the site in spring. Passerine migrants can drop in anywhere at the right season, but especially in the vegetated wadis and near any trace of water. A Semi-collared Flycatcher once forced a welcome beak whilst climbing the many rock steps to Ad Dayr.
Highlands
Amman National Park
This is a convenient site for migrants, breeding and wintering birds close to Amman. The so-called National Park, which is actually a recreational park, is situated west of the Desert Highway, some 13 km south of Amman's Seventh Circle. Pines planted in the 1960s are surrounded by orchards and extensive rolling hills which add to the diversity of birds at this site.
Breeding species include Rufous Bush Robin, Spectacled Warbler and Masked Shrike. The local specialities, Upcher's Warbler and Black-headed Bunting, do not arrive until late April. Winter finch flocks attract Merlins, with up to 10 roosting nearby. Woodlark and Finsch's Wheatear are regular in winter, but the Yellowhammer flocks have yet to yield a Pine Bunting.
Dibbin Forest
Dibbin Forest lies on high ground (600-800 m) north of the Zarqa River and can easily be combined with a visit to the extensive ruins of the Roman city of Jarash. A dual carriageway links Amman with Jarash; turn off west after ascending the hill out of Wadi Zarqa. The forest of mature Aleppo Pines Pinus halepensis, with its understorey of Arbutus and evergreen Quercus, contains a breeding population of Mediterranean character. Drive past the litter-strewn, public areas and explore the higher forest tracks and, if time permits, also work the more open habitat of the limestone ridge behind (at 1000 m).
Resident birds include Syrian Woodpecker, Wren and an isolated population of Blue Tits. Short-toed Eagle, Sparrowhawk and Hobby possibly nest in the forest, as may Bonelli's Warbler. Amongst the winter visitors a few Brambling, Siskin, Woodlark, Goldcrest and Hawfinch can be seen. The higher, more open areas hold Finsch's Wheatear, Yellowhammer and Rock Bunting in winter. A small relict population of Persian Squirrels Sciurus anomalus occurs in the forest.
Interior Desert
Qasr al Kharana
Qasr al Kharana is a convenient stop 57 km east of Amman on the road to Azraq. The desert south and west of this desert castle contains a variety of habitats dominated by flint-covered hills, broad wadis, and low limestone bluffs. This is an excellent area to look for the typical species of the Eastern Desert such as Red-rumped Wheatear, Hoopoe Lark and Temminck's Horned Lark. Cream-coloured Courser occurs in summer, and elusive Thick-billed Lark has occasionally been seen.
Wadi al Butm
15 km east of Qasr al Kharana, further along the road to Azraq, is the Umayyad bath-house of Qasr Amra. It is situated in Wadi al Butm, a broad, open wadi lined with ancient butm or Atlantic Pistachio Pistacia atlantica trees and shrubs. This is one of the richest migrant traps in the Eastern Desert, and it can be easily explored by walking west from the Amra site.
Many migrant passerines stop over in the wadi vegetation. It is a excellent site for Ficedula flycatchers, nightingales, redstarts, wheatears, warblers, shrikes and buntings. Less frequent visitors include Nightjar, Woodlark, White-throated Robin, Rock Thrush and Upcher's Warbler. Striated Scops Owls have been reported here, but Scops Owls also occur on passage.
The significance of the site increases in winter, when up to ten Imperial Eagles and five Steppe Eagles frequent the area; at dusk they congregate to roost on the roadside, electricity pylons. Large winter flocks of Stock Doves are a recently-discovered feature of this area.
Shaumari
Shaumari is another migrant trap in the Eastern Desert, lying some 11 km south of Azraq. The headquarters of the RSCN Wildlife Reserve, which breeds locally extinct or endangered species such as Arabian Oryx, Gazelle, Wild Ass and Ostrich, is reached by turning west off the road to Al Umari. The approach road crosses typical degraded desert, which holds low densities of typical desert species such as Cream-coloured Courser, Temminck's Horned Lark, Hoopoe Lark and Desert Wheatear. The fenced-off reserve has an extraordinarily luxuriant growth of scrub and grass - a vivid display of the damage that grazing animals have inflected on the surrounding desert. A viewing platform gives extensive views.
The tall Casuarina and Eucalyptus tress, which dominate the reserve centre, are visible as an 'island' from as far away as 30 km, and they offer extensive cover and shade for migrants. Shaumari is a particularly good place for Golden Oriole, Collared and Semi-collared Flycatchers, and even Red-breasted Flycatcher in late autumn. Local breeding species include Long-legged Buzzard, Barn Owl and Desert Finch. Cranes winter in the area, and a few Hen Harrier and Merlin hunt over the reserve, while Long-eared Owls roost in the larger trees.
Basalt Desert, east of As Safawi
From Azraq it is worth making a detour northwards into the Basalt Desert. Take the main road through As Safawi towards the Iraqi border and explore the area north of the highway, 9 km east of As Safawi where there are a few derelict stone buildings behind a small mudflat. A pair of the black morph of the Mourning Wheatear (Andrews 1994) is resident here, but, it and the dark annae race of the Desert Lark can be found anywhere along the roadside north from Azraq. The black morph Mourning Wheatear, or Basalt Wheatear as it has been informally christened, is an intriguing form (possibly a species?) restricted to the Basalt Desert of Jordan and adjacent parts of Syria and Saudi Arabia (van der Vliet & de Lange 1997). This apparently barren moonscape also holds Bar-tailed Desert Lark, Temminck's Horned Lark, Thick-billed Lark, Desert Wheatear and Trumpeter Finch. In spring 1995, Bimaculated Lark and Pale Rock Sparrow, as well as many Lesser Short-toed Lark were found nesting in the flush of vegetation which followed a wet winter. The exciting discovery, in the winter of 1995/96, of 15-20 roosting Imperial Eagles in the Ar Ruwayshid area (M.I. Evans, in litt.) suggests that this area may still hold some surprises.
Azraq Oasis
The name Azraq conjures up images of a lush oasis brimming with wildlife, and a magnet for migrant birds in a sea of desert. Since the 1980s, however, water extraction for Amman and local agriculture has decimated the natural spring flow which fed this extensive wetland. An incredible 600 wells were pumping water at Azraq in the mid 1990s. Nowadays, surface water is hard to find, and visitors are often disappointed by the run-down nature of Azraq. The success of a visit depends largely on the amount of run-off water that has accumulated during the previous winter, but it is a sad fact that the oasis is on its last legs. In the short-term, attempts are being made to revitalise the oasis by pumping water from the Amman pipeline back into the pools. The long term future for the oasis is less rosy.
Shishan Pools
At present, the Shishan pools and adjacent marsh, immediately east of South Azraq village, are being kept alive by the addition water from the Amman pipeline. The area is still attractive to migrants, but they occur in nothing like the numbers of past decades. Interesting species seen here in the recent past include Penduline Tit, Moustached Warbler and Cyprus Pied Wheatear. It is also a good place to see the large hirundine roost at dusk, and some raptors also drop in to roost in the vegetation here.
Fish Pools
A group of small fish pools, just south of South Azraq village, are conveniently located to the east of the Azraq-Shaumari road. The pools were dug in the 1980s, but water levels are falling, as everywhere in the oasis. The numbers of birds is never great, but this is made up for by the large variety of migrants that have been recorded there, e.g. Little Crake, Corncrake, Black-winged Pratincole, White-tailed Plover, Broad-billed Sandpiper Marsh Sandpiper and Egyptian Nightjar in recent years. In autumn, it is (or at least, was) an important drinking site for a variety of birds of prey, notably Montagu's Harrier and Honey Buzzard, with groups of birds whiffling out of the blue sky. On the positive side, the local Desert Finch population has benefited greatly from the spread of nearby farms - a flock of 250 assembled here in December 1996.
Qa' al Azraq
The qa' is a crescent-shaped basin surrounding the wetland which floods in wet winters to form a large, but transient shallow lake. Access can be made from various points, but even drivers of four-wheel-drive vehicles should remember that wet mud starts way before the water's edge. It is not an easy place to work and a considerable amount of exploration may be necessary.
If flooded in spring, the qa' is a superb place for migrant waterbirds, and exceptionally (as in 1991 and 1995) the level is sufficiently high to allow breeding waterfowl to rear young before the qa' returns to being a dusty mudflat (Andrews 1991, Khoury 1996). Numbers of waders and terns can be well in excess of 5000, the commonest species being Ruff, Little Stint, and White-winged Black Terns. A few Greater Sand Plover occur on the mudflats, but the local speciality, White-tailed Plover, prefers the flooded silt dunes, for example those south of the fish pools. Migrant pipits, wagtails, wheatears, shrikes and warblers feed in the grasses and scrub around the mudflat. Scattered islands, formed by mounds of the local salt workings in the dry season, form important refuges for breeding birds such as Black-winged Stilt, Avocet and even Little and Gull-billed Terns. Lesser Short-toed Lark breed in large numbers in the low vegetation surrounding the qa'.
In winter, a flooded qa' attracts huge numbers of wildfowl. The sight of 3500 Shelduck, 6000 Teal, 1000 Shoveler and 2000 Crane is memorable, and it was this concentration that attracted many wildfowlers, especially in the 1960s. Rarities such as Greater Flamingo, White-fronted Goose and Ruddy Shelduck were recorded in the winter of 1991/92.
References
Andrews, I.J. 1991. Is Azraq still an oasis. OSME Bulletin 27, 13-19.
Andrews, I.J. 1994. Description of the black morph Mourning Wheatear Oenanthe lugens in Jordan. Sandgrouse 16, 32-35.
Andrews, I J 1995. The birds of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Musselburgh.
Andrews, I.J 1996. Preliminary data on raptor passage in Jordan. Sandgrouse 18, 36-45.
Khoury, F. 1996. Observations on the avifauna of the Azraq wetland, Jordan, June 1995. Sandgrouse 18(2), 52-27.
van der Vliet, R. and de Lange, R. 1997. Varia: 'Basalt Wheatear'. Dutch Birding 19:18-19.
Wallace, D.I.M. 1984. Selected observations from Lebanon, Syria and Jordan in the springs of 1963 and 1966. Sandgrouse 6, 24-47.
Recommended literature and field guides
Harris, A, Shirihai, H & Christie, D 1996. The Macmillan birder's guide to European and Middle Eastern birds. London.
King, A 1996. Jordan revealed. London.
Porter, R F, Christensen, S and Schiermacker-Hansen, P 1996. Field guide to the birds of the Middle East. London.
Shirihai, H 1996. The birds of Israel. London.
Useful addresses
Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature in Jordan (RSCN) (arrangements to visit, or camp in, the RSCN reserves) P.O. Box 6354, Amman 11183, Jordan, telephone + 962-6-811689, fax + 962-6-847411.
Water Authority, PO Box 252, Aqaba, fax + 962-3-315982. A letter of admission for the sewage works near Aqaba can be easily obtained here (it is situated on the main road into Aqaba from Wadi al Yutum); the military passes can then be obtained from the offices on Mut'a Street, behind the Al Amira Haya Hospital. You will have to allow a little time to achieve your aim, but it is worth it.