We went to the water treatment plant south of Riyadh district followed by a western journey a few kilometres to the old wharf and finally further up the coast to just south of the fishing port.
This triangular journey bought some good birds. However, none was as good as one at the final leg of the journey near the fishing port.
In the artifical lagoons here, there was a European golden plover.
European golden plover
It stood out. It was not mixing with the five grey plover also present. Instead, if anything it was showing an affinity to be with the two red knot on site.
golden plover (left) and red knot (right)
European golden plover is rare in West Africa. It is seen occasionally in winter in Banc d'Arguin as well as the odd one in the Nouakchott area but certainly not every winter. Indeed Nouakchott is the furthest south in the continent of Africa that European golden plover is not a vagrant.
European golden plover from the rear
A list of all the other species seen in the lagoons or near-by is given at the end of the blog.
Four hours earlier we had started out at the water purification plant in Riyadh district.
We were very happy to see that the water mass there had more than doubled since our last visit. A fresh water site the size it now is should start to attract more and more birds. On the other hand it is also attracting more camels and cattle as well as picnickers.
Highlights including a sudden flight into the air of two European scops owl seemingly fighting over space in a small but heavily leafed tree.
They were lucky that the lanner falcon seen later was not around at that time.
speckled pigeon at the water purification plant
Laughing dove and Namaqua dove are always present but this may have been a first for speckled pigeon.
Temminck's stint
The waders proved to be a non-standard mix. This was only the second time in 15 months that I have seen a Temminck's stint in the Nouakchott area.
western reef heron
Despite the apparent contrast of dark legs with yellow feet, the three white birds were western reef heron rather than little egret.
spotted redshank 1
This fresh water environment was a good home for a passage spotted redshank. This is far less common than the aptly named common redshank.
spotted redshank 2
The second leg of the triangle was the area near and on the old wharf.
blue-naped mousebird
One of the types of bush in the coastal scrub was in berry and was a magnet for several birds. These included blue-naped mousebird and Sudanese golden sparrow.
Sudanese golden sparrow
The best bird from on the wharf itself was a young northern gannet. The wharf extends 250 metres into the sea and promise more than it has so far delievered.
young northern gannet
Last weekend, I returned to the usual birding spot at the waste water site. An addition to my Mauritanian list was made from an unexpected quarter. I will blog about that next.
Species at the water plant
Eurasian Teal
Western Reef-Heron
Temminck's Stint
Spotted Redshank
Common Greenshank
Wood Sandpiper
Speckled Pigeon
Laughing Dove
Namaqua Dove
European Scops Owl
Little Swift
Blue-cheeked Bee-eater
Lanner Falcon
Southern Grey Shrike
Crested Lark
Northern Wheatear
House Sparrow
Sudan Golden Sparrow
Species at the old wharf
Northern Gannet
Great Cormorant
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Caspian Tern
Common Tern
Sandwich Tern
House Sparrow
In coastal scrub near-by
Blue-naped Mousebird
Sudanese Golden Sparrow
Garden Warbler
Blackcap
Chiffchaff
In coastal scrub near-by
Blue-naped Mousebird
Sudanese Golden Sparrow
Garden Warbler
Blackcap
Chiffchaff
Grey Heron (Grey)
Cattle Egret
Grey Plover
European Golden Plover
Common Ringed Plover
Ruddy Turnstone
Red Knot
Sanderling
Mediterranean Gull
Audouin's Gull
Yellow-legged Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Caspian Tern
Common Tern
Sandwich Tern
Blue-cheeked Bee-eater
Southern Grey Shrike
Crested Lark
Spectacled Warbler
Northern Wheatear
No comments:
Post a Comment