Jordan is one of the more underwatched areas in the Western Palearctic and visiting birdwatchers are often rewarded with excellent sightings of species rarely recorded. Our tour to Jordan took place at perhaps the most underwatched time of year. Although we could expect some signs of spring migration, we were hoping to see what the winter weather would bring.
19th February
Our journey started at Heathrow airport travelling to Amman via Berlin. We were met at the airport and ushered through to meet our drivers Lu’ai and Geri. By 7pm we were on the road and heading south arriving at the grand Petra Plaza hotel at 9.45. It was of course too dark to see any birds although we did see a Red Fox. Thick mist surrounded us as we neared Petra causing some concern over the weather for our tour.
20th February
There wasn’t a cloud in the sky! We had an early breakfast in order to give ourselves plenty of time to explore Petra. Our walk into the site began well with stunning views of Sinai Rosefinch and Mourning Wheatear. We managed to see most of the site, visiting the High Place of Sacrifice before lunch and the Monastery afterwards. Plenty of birds throughout the day with singing Scrub Warblers and several Blue Rock Thrushes. Night in Petra.
21st February
We left our hotel and headed towards Wadi Rum. Stopping briefly at the Sharra Highlands we were surrounded by displaying Isabelline Wheatears - at least 10 birds noisily chasing one another. Loosing altitude we reached the road into Wadi Rum. We took the road to Disi where there are irrigated fields. Perhaps the most unusual sighting was a group of Tristram’s Serins. This restricted range species was a fair distance from the Rift valley hillsides where we usually see them. After a meal and a few photo stops in the magnificent Wadi Rum, we drove the short distance to Aqaba where we had time to walk to the sea from our hotel where we saw a few White-eyed Gulls and the even rarer Little Gull. Night in Aqaba.
22nd February
Although main migration was yet to start, you never know what you might find in Aqaba. Some of us ventured out before breakfast to the productive irrigated coastal fields. Here there were many Chiffchaffs, Grey Wagtail and an early Tree Pipit. After breakfast we drove to Aqaba Sewage Works. This area can be extremely productive and over the next three and a half hours we saw a wealth of birdlife. Highlights included Little green Bee-eaters, Spur-winged Plovers, Greater Sandplover and Ferruginous Ducks. After a meal in Aqaba town we drove south along the coast checking the beaches. Our last stop was a side wadi off Wadi Yutum full of acacias where we saw our first Orange-tufted Sunbird and Blackstart.
23rd February
An early morning drive along the south beaches gave us White-eye Gull, Yellow-legged Gull and Southern Grey Shrike. After breakfast we enjoyed another tour of the sewage works. Welcome additions to the previous day included calling Brown Babbler and a magnificent Imperial Eagle overhead although perhaps the most unexpected bird was an early Olivaceous Warbler which performed well for the group. We rested briefly after lunch before checking out the palm groves in Aqaba and ended the day by watching the sunset from the Aquamarine hotel jetty. Looking into the water from here we notice two wonderful Lion Fish and two puffer fish sp. Over the next 2 hours we counted an amazing 51 White-eyed Gulls fly past towards Eilat. We saw two species here actually in Israel which we failed to see in Jordan – Cormorant and Little Egret. As we left a Kingfisher flew over the jetty.
24th February
Another pre-breakfast walk to the coastal fields provided us with our only Desert Finches of the trip as well as a flyover Red-throated Pipit. We packed as left for Wadi Araba after breakfast, stopping at promising looking spots. We all managed excellent views of Tristram’s Grackles, more Brown Babblers and our first Desert Wheatear perched on a dead camel! Although we failed to find many larks on our desert walks we did see Hoopoe, Blackstart and excellent views of several sunbirds. After our packed lunch in the company of a group of babblers we headed up to the top of the rift valley using a new and rather winding road. We stopped near a spring and saw House Buntings and arrived at Dana reserve at 5pm just in time to see the spectacular view. It was a fair bit colder than the previous few days and our attempts to listen for owls were rather brief tonight!
25th February
A small band of us took a pre-breakfast walk through Dana village and to the terraced gardens doing our best to keep to the path but failing somewhere along the line! Here we saw several species new for the trip - Chukar, Rock Sparrow and Great Tit. Back at the resthouse we used telescopes to watch Griffon Vultures on their nest ledges. The only known nesting pair of Verreaux’s Eagles in the Western Palearctic had until recently been resident at Wadi Rum. Now there appear to be at least two birds at Dana so we were scanning the skies constantly during our time here. Our first walk around Al Barra back to the nearby Lahdha spring provided us with a fantastic overview of this area. Near the spring we were treated to fine views of Black Redstart and a Finsch’s Wheatear. Back at the resthouse we spend a couple of hours scanning the skies for birds of prey. No Verreaux’s but we did see displaying Bonelli’s Eagles and Long-legged Buzzards. An evening walk to the terraces produce a notable record in the form of a Dunnock! For a second night we tried 'hooting' up an owl or two. No joy initially but after a few minutes, a Hume’s Tawny Owl started calling down in the wadi rounding the day off nicely.
26th February
This morning we had to pack and head back to Amman. After our early walk and breakfast we packed. We decided to stay at Dana for half the morning watching from the balcony for any raptors when Tricia noticed a small bird on a rock ledge. I rushed to the edge of the balcony to see a fine Alpine Accentor. Fortunately the bird performed very well, allowing the whole group to see it. This rare species is occasionally recorded in Israel in winter but had only been recorded once in Jordan in 1995. A fantastic way to end our stay at Dana. Our journey to Amman took us through the breathtaking Wadi Mujib where we had lunch. Along the way we saw Southern Grey Shrike, Alpine Swifts and House Bunting arriving in Amman at 5.15pm.
27th February
Our flight to Heathrow left at midday so some of the party took the opportunity to visit the Roman amphitheatre and the Citadel before we had to leave for the airport. Our flight to London touched down just after 4pm.
Notes on sightings
16 Ferruginous Duck Aqaba sewage works 22 Feb (record count); 3 Little Gull Aqaba 22 Feb (Jordan rarity); 51 White-eyed Gull Aqaba 23 Feb (record count); 1 Dunnock Dana 25 Feb (rare in winter); 1 Alpine Accentor Dana 26 Feb (second record for Jordan following two together at Dana in 1995); 1 Olivaceous Warbler Aqaba sewage works 23 Feb (earliest record); c.10 Tristram's Serin near Disi (Rum Desert) 21 Feb (southerly record).
Richard Bashford (leader)