29 March
05.30 Royal Jordanian desk at Heathrow Airport. Everyone arrived in good time and we were able to secure places in the larger seats near the front of the plane. We took off about half an hour late but without a stop in Berlin, we arrived at Queen Alia International Airport at 16.30. Mohammad from National Travel and Tourism Services met us, collected our passports and deftly whisked us through the airport where we met our driver Lu'ai. We arrived at the Shepherd Hotel at 17.45 in time to meet Na'el Shalhoub and eat the first of many huge meals.
30 March
Our first stop was the area around the Dead Sea Hotel which proved to be very good (almost too good) with plenty of birds in all directions. A constant stream of Swallows passed overhead but we were really spoilt by a fine Wryneck and what was to be our only Orphean Warbler of the trip. Building work was being carried out on both sides of the hotel so we decided to head for the nearby Tamarisks. Some wonderful Dead Sea Sparrows were quickly found by their nests but an even rarer sight was to follow - two other birdwatchers! There had been a fair amount of rain prior to our visit and the shore area was full of birds. We could have spent the whole day there but made do with an hour where we saw a fine male Citrine Wagtail among the numerous Black-headed. Dragging ourselves away, we visited the Dead Sea Resthouse for lunch and a float. Moving on to Shuna Reservoir we fleetingly saw a Smyrna Kingfisher on the roadside and several egrets and waders. Our last stop as Wadi Shu'ayb where we saw Collared Flycatcher and Palestine Sunbird. Back at the Shepherd Hotel by 18.30.
31 March
We headed straight for the Zarqa River this morning where two Smyrna Kingfisher showed off on the wires. Jeff was in his element busy working his way thought the flowers and butterflies on the roadside and we all got to grips with Graceful Warbler. What should have been a peaceful walk was interrupted occasionally by a party of workmen and a lorry filling in small holes in the road. As they finished, a large JCB trundled up the road making a fresh batch of holes in the road. We decided that this was Jordanian job creation in action. Taking the route up to King Talal Dam, we found it virtually birdless but we did see a Sooty Orange Tip and a couple of Red-rumped Swallows. Our pre lunchtime stop was Dibbin Forest where we found plenty of superb orchids and a few woodland species. The afternoon was spent in the well preserved Roman city of Jerash where our guide patiently took us around the whole site as we tried not to notice any birds. However, he did have to wait for us as a Steppe Eagle flew over the amphitheatre. Back at the Shepherd Hotel by 18.00.
1 April
We left Amman by 08.00 with a car and the minibus. After a quick stop in the outskirts to mend a puncture, we reached Qasr al Kharana for a quick look around. Unfortunately, our first stroll in the desert here was abandoned since the army had made a camp which virtually surrounded us. We did manage a short walk a couple of kms along the road where we saw two Desert Wheatears. Nearby, we visited Qasr Amra, the Omayyad bath house where we went inside to see the beautifully painted walls and ceiling. Our lunch stop and walk along the tree lined Wadi Butm was a little disappointing since there were very few migrants and then the wind got much stronger making birdwatching very difficult. We left early hoping the wind would die down by the time we got to Azraq. We arrived at Azraq fishpools and things definitely picked up. We saw a good selection of waders plus a confiding Bluethroat, Ortolan Bunting, a flock of Desert Finches and another Wryneck. A quick stop at the Shishan pools where we noticed distant flocks of duck flying over the flooded qa'. Then to Azraq Resthouse where migrants were a bit thin on the ground but we did see another Wryneck before dinner - John was beginning to think it was the same trained Naturetrek Wryneck.
2 April
A nice early start would give us time to explore the flooded qa'. Our first attempt to reach the water got us close, but not close enough. We could see vast numbers of birds on and over the water at the far side. We found the area quite productive with two Stone Curlews and three species of Wheatear. We returned for breakfast passing the Wryneck on the road before heading out to the eastern basalt desert. Due to the rain, various low lying areas of desert were well vegetated and there were several small pools. Several Lesser-short-toed Larks sang and we all got great views of Temminck's Horned Lark. A male Pallid Harrier decided to fly overhead but we couldn't see any dark morph Morning Wheatears. Luckily, as we left and headed back towards Azraq, we saw three individuals of this highly distinctive form. We had time to visit Azraq castle before lunch at the rather bizarre Al Sayad Hotel where we enjoyed our usual massive meal.
We moved on towards Shaumari Wildlife reserve where we hoped to see some desert species at last. As we reached the turning, the wind really picked up and sand swept across the road giving us a view in all directions of about twenty metres! We didn't stay long sheltering in the centre but drove on explore the western side of the qa'. This time we managed to get to the birds - thousands of them. Mainly Ruff but there were a few gulls and terns alongside them. With some time left we visited the productive fishpools again and this time were given a complimentary glass of tea from the manager. A rather insistent puppy decided that Lu'ai needed his trousers chewed and pestered him all the way back to the minibus. However, we all arrived safely back at the Resthouse. Clocks forward one hour.
3 April
It became clear when we awoke at 6.30 that the rest of Jordan knew it was, in actual fact, 5.30! Lu'ai had just arrived back from Amman and confirmed the real time. A misunderstanding somewhere along the line meant that we had a nice long time for a pre-breakfast trip. We decided to give Shaumari another chance since the wind had died down. We saw a good selection of birds including our first Great Grey Shrikes and of course, another Wryneck.
We had a long drive ahead of us stopping for a brief look at the Mosaic map at Madaba then carrying on through the stunning Wadi Mujib. Bird of the day was a pristine male Lesser Kestrel feeding actively below us as we climbed the south side of the wadi. If only we could have been as lucky with the plants. Our much-awaited Black Iris stop was a bit disappointing. Jeff did his very best scouring the ground but none of the Irises he found were in flower. Maybe we should extend the holiday for another couple of weeks?
Later, we reached the amazingly well preserved Karak Castle where we were given a grand tour. We left in time to reach Dana with some daylight still left. At 17.40 we got to the tower above the campsite and got out. It was freezing! We hoped there would be plenty of blankets in the tents. The clear sky did give us an amazing view of the Hale Bop comet. The campsite was very busy with a large and noisy school group who didn't really stop yelling all evening. We celebrated John's birthday in a tent with crisps, champagne and wine before the Dana campsite staff spoilt us rotten with a fine meal. By this time, we were all ready for bed but unfortunately, the school children weren't. They must have kept going for most of the night, stopping for a couple of hours before the wolf impressions started!
4 April
Trying not to be too quiet when we got up at 06.00 (and trying to warm up after a freezing night), we had a dawn walk from the campsite before a fine breakfast and then a walk around Barra to the beautiful village of Dana. We hit the jackpot with several good species including Tristram's Serin and Long-billed Pipit singing. A look around the village preceded our trip back to the campsite and lunch. As usual we had all eaten twice as much as we needed to so a walk up Jebal Rumana was called for. A spectacular passage of three hundred Buzzards, a few Black Kites and a Steppe Eagle we well worth the walk. As we waited for our evening meal in the dimming light, we were amazed to see an Eagle Owl fly over the campsite and land in a tree briefly.
5 April
A short pre-breakfast walk gave us our first Barbary Falcon alongside the tail end of the previous day's Buzzard passage. A short stop at the Dana fruit groves failed to find David his Tristram's Grackle but we still had plenty of time. Driving south towards Petra we arrived in the rather grand Petra Plaza Hotel in time for lunch. After two days camping where I think none of us braved the showers, we ready for a good wash and brush up. After lunch, we headed for Little Petra - a little taster for the following day where we saw a small group of Sinai Rosefinch and a pair of Blue Rock Thrushes.
6 April
Today was going to be a long day. We managed to get inside the gates at Petra by 08.30 while Lu'ai negotiated for a guide. The site was breath-taking for all and many films were used up during the day. Our guide took some of the party up to the High Place of Sacrifice and down past the soldier's tombs. Meeting the rest of the group for lunch, we then climbed the steps for an hour before we reached the spectacular monastery. It was worth the climb for David since there saw one Tristram's Grackle right at the top - that's dedication!
Back at the bottom we saw a male Collared Flycatcher and some of us held back to count a small passage of Buzzards (110), before meeting the others by the minibus. They had just been watching 36 Bee-eaters perched in the trees. We didn't hold it against them! Back to the Petra Plaza for the night.
7 April
We left Petra stopping at a chemist for Lu'ai who had been feeling unwell for a couple of days. The sky was overcast and it was still fairly breezy. Our first scheduled stop at the viewpoint in the Sharra Highlands lasted about 1 minute since none of us could endure the biting wind. We decided to head south and get to a lower altitude - surely the desert would be warmer! Nearer Wadi Rum we saw our first White-crowned Black Wheatear and a Thrush Nightingale. Lunch at the resthouse was interrupted by a Verreaux’s Eagle sitting on the cliff. We all had a chance to see this rarity perched for a short while until it flew overhead and was joined by another and an Egyptian Vulture. Our invigorating jeep ride to our campsite in Wadi Umm Ishrin was to be another culture shock since the Petra Plaza but what a setting! A short walk along the wadi produced only a few species and only Richard and Lu'ai were up long enough to hear the Hume's Tawny Owl call at 21.30.
8 April
We headed straight for well-vegetated Rakabat canyon but weren't too hopeful of too many migrants since a rather noisy group of French tourists had camped at the mouth. After breakfast and another walk across the wadi so see the rock art (found eventually!), we took the jeeps back to the resthouse and carried on south to Aqaba for a three-night stay in the Aquamarina II.
After lunch in Aqaba, a few of the group had a look around the town and a few went exploring the irrigated coastal fields. A couple of Collared Flycatchers, a Nightingale and a Thrush Nightingale were seen alongside the usual handful of Blackcaps and Lesser Whitethroats. A late afternoon walk to the Aquamarina I on the coast gave us Caspian Tern, Yellow-legged Gull and the distant blob of a Brown Booby on the border buoy - unfortunately too far away to see much on it. Frustrating views of gulls and terns and a few large flocks of ducks landing on the sea near the border made us wish we could get access to the private bit of the beach. Flying fish also put in an appearance.
9 April
After a pre-breakfast walk to the public beach and coastal fields we left for the wonderful sewage works. There was a little trouble getting the necessary paperwork but we finally got there at 09.50 and didn't know where to look first. The pools on the roadside were full of waders and the main pools full of herons, gulls and ducks. We began working our way through the birds and found several new birds for our trip. Most notable of all was a tiny duck, smaller than the Teal sitting next to it. It proved to be Jordan's first Cotton Teal a vagrant from Asia. Quite a treat for us (it was my birthday after all)! A walk around the perimeter produced a few more species including a Namaqua Dove and a flock of Spanish Sparrows. We didn't really want to leave but lunchtime beckoned and we headed back to town. After lunch we had a drive to the south beaches where a lucky stop by a group of small fishing boats gave us great views of 7 White-eyed Gulls and a Cory's Shearwater. An evening walk by some of the group suggested that there had been a fall of migrants since the two previously quiet bushes in the hotel garden were full of noisy warblers.
10 April
The pre-breakfast walk to the coastal fields looked fairly promising since we had already seen 3 Thrush Nightingales in the car park behind the hotel followed by another five in roadside bushes and in our walk along the road adjacent to the fields, we counted at least 30! In addition, there was at least 1 Nightingale, 1 Wryneck up to four Collared Flycatchers and numerous Sylvia warblers. An amazing morning so far!
The sewage works were again full of birds including a few new waders for us. Little Stint, Curlew Sandpiper and an elegant White-tailed Plover which was being chased by the Spur-winged Plovers. We met Jamal Reyate who told us that, had we been here half an hour earlier, we would have seen 500 hundred white storks. We had to make do with about thirty circling overhead but we did see a confiding group of Night Herons and a wonderful flock of Ortolan Buntings before we left. In the afternoon a few of us checked the beach, the palms behind the hotel and the coastal groves for migrants before dinner at 20.00.
11 April
Our last morning in Aqaba allowed another visit to the beach before breakfast. Most notable was a Squacco Heron which landed on the roundabout and stood under the lawn sprinkler! We headed north at 08.00 and took the road along Wadi Araba. We had a long way to go today and there were so many sites which looked worthy of investigation. Much of the southern area just outside of Aqaba is being irrigated and planted with palms and should provide some excellent cover for migrants in the future. We stopped at a small group of trees and saw three new species for the trip - Brown Babbler, Little Green Bee-eater and Spotted Flycatcher. In the green fields, we passed good numbers of White Storks feeding as well as a pale phase Booted Eagle and a couple of Cuckoos including one hepatic form. Our destination was the Fidan desert at the base of Wadi Dana. We didn't have very long to look but a quick march out in the desert produced the birds we were looking for - a pair of Bar-tailed Desert Larks which appeared to be nest building next to a large stone. We left them in peace and walked back without seeing another bird. We briefly explored some acacia scrub and had lunch at a nearby spring before carrying on north to Lot's cave. Our journey to Amman took us past the Dead Sea where thousands of people seemed to be enjoying the outdoor life amongst the litter. Lu'ai said this was the only place in Jordan where you could get caught in a traffic jam! We arrived in Amman at 18.30
12 April
We had enough time to visit the Roman amphitheatre in Amman before we left for the airport at 12.00. We said our goodbyes to Lu'ai who had survived the trip despite feeling fairly unwell for a few days. Mohammad was with us to see us safely on the plane which left Amman at 14.25. We touched down at 17.30 UK time and were amazed to see our bags were the first to arrive.
Our trip had gone very well despite the less than ideal winds for the first few days meaning there was not much migration going on. We had managed to catch up with most species we aimed to and saw several bonus species. The final bird list was 168.
Richard Bashford (leader)