Marsa Matruh
Hi
We are considering staying at a resort near this town next month for a mainly relaxing beach holiday. I hope to do a little birding around the resort and a bit further afield, but thus far have found virtually nothing in any trip reports or anywhere else.
Graham
Graham,
A neglected but very interesting part of Egypt and there will be quite a few birds, particularly passerine migrants, to see in September. Unfortunately there is also a lot of bird trapping along the coastal strip each side of Marsa Matruh in the autumn with large nets over the larger trees, lines of mist nets or trammel nets just in from the beach and also hundreds of artificial clumps of vegetation with mini nets over them where there is no natural vegetation along the desert/shore edge. In addition to that there quite a few hunters with shot guns and even the little boys have air rifles as well as hunters with hand nets seeking to catch individual birds. Sad and no exaggeration to say that Egypt is 10 times worse than Malta and Cyprus combined for the killing of migrants making landfall after they have crossed the Mediterranean from south-east Europe and I estimate about 60 million are killed each autumn along the 1,000 kilometres of the Egyptian Mediterranean coast.
Having said all that it is possible to avoid some of the worst trapped coastal areas and of course where it is built up and where there are now newly constructed tourist complexes, then the trapping and killing is reduced. There are some quite large saline lagoons in front of and to the west and east of Marsa Matruh that attract waders and herons if not disturbed. I have not seen much on the large lagoon to the west except Yellow-legged Gulls but the lagoons to the east are more interesting as you move further away from Marsa Matruh. However recent tourism developments may mean it is now difficult to access some of the areas but you can view quite a lot of the area from a tarmac road near the coast that runs eastwards out of the north part of Marsa Matruh - some areas can be explored using tracks going north from the tarmac road. This road also splits the lagoons and goes north to the coast and you can then check the sea for other species - strong onshore winds can bring in Scopoli's and Yelkouan Shearwaters and skuas in September and other passage terns and herons. The cape area about 8 kilometres to the east, Ras Alam el Rum, may be better for watching the sea and can be accessed from the same tarmac road and by using tracks to reach the coast.
You can explore westwards along a coastal tarmac road (not the dual carriageway further inland) though it is rather bare (except for the above mentioned trapping activities) until about 20 kilometres west where there is an area of very low vegetation on the left side of the road which can hold migrants (but also hunters). This areas floods in the winter but is usually dry in summer and autumn. You can explore for miles along this road but there is little to see though any interesting wadi is always worth a look if there is any vegetation.
On the dual carriageway further inland from Marsa Matruh going east towards Alexandra, but only about 6 kilometres from Marsa Matru there is a tarmac road running south which takes you to some sewage settling ponds after a further 2.5 kilometres. If you can gain access it might be worth a visit and sometimes there are some small overflows from the ponds into the desert the other side of the ponds which can attract waders. You can try to use the words "mumkin henak" which means 'can I go there' to gain access to the ponds and the overflow area but there is no guarantee that you will gain access to the area.
The desert is very bare in this area and holds few birds but any low vegetation or small wadi may be worth looking into as you travel along the coast away from Marsa Matruh as I have seen Temminck's Horned Larks is some of them.
If you do have transport or intend to visit Siwa Oasis then you have a chance to see some waterbirds on the lakes there though it is a long way to travel. However there are also other possibilities on the road to Siwa in an area between 30 and 70 kilomtres from Marsa Matruh. The desert here is difficult to work but if you stop a few times and walk about you may be lucky. As well as Temminck's Horned Lark in this area I have seen Dupont's Lark and Thick-billed Lark in an area about 50 kilomtres from Marsa Matruh on the Siwa road and there are other possibilities such as Cream-coloured Courser - all seen in a previous September.
Much further west at Salum near the Lybian border, I have seen Thekla Lark but few other birds can be found here and it is a long way to go for just a few species. However if you see any apparent Northern type wheatears check them for the soon to be (already by some) split Seebolm's Wheatear which is considered to occur in this area and also Ravens can be seen on the cliffs near Salum.
If you intend to visit El Alamein the German cemetary can be very good for migrants and is hunter free. It has a lot of bushes and a range of warblers, Red-backed Shrike, Thrush Nightingale, etc., can be seen. There are also some saline lagoons in front of El Alamein though new tourist villages are being constructed all along this coast which can make access difficult but the lagoons at the western end are still viewable from the coastal road and you may be able to find access tracks down to them if you have your own transport and can drive along the coastal dual carriage. A small selection of waders and terns use these lagoons.
A few kilometres east of El Alamein towards Alexandria there is a dual carriageway heading into the desert, the inland Nile Delta road. If you happen to drive along this keep an eye out for any wheatears, Red-rumped Wheatear occurs in this area as well as other typical wheatear species which may include Desert Wheatear.
An excellent place to visit for passerine migrants in this area before El Alamein is reached is Sidi Abd el Rahman (pronounced Sidi Abdul Rakman) which is about 15 kilometres before you reach El Alamein and therefore is about 150 kilometres east of Marsa Matruh. It is a hotel complex rather than a holiday village type complex, which you reach by turning north from the dual carriageway and following along a very straight 1 kilometre long tarmac road to the coast through some saltmarsh habitat. There are several new tourist complexes scattered along the coast in this area but Sidi Abd el Rahman is a much older hotel with more mature vegetation.
You have to gain access to the hotel complex at the main gate but you pretend you want to check the accommodation for a possible stay at the hotel if you are stopped as you try to enter, then just walk around birding. There is extensive tree/bush cover in front of the hotel buildings/rooms to the right that hold many birds with frequent Red-breasted Flycatchers, warblers, Thrush Nightingale, shrikes including Masked, etc., and extensive grassy areas for pipits and wagtails. The trees just to the right of the actual hotel entrance are also very good for migrants. There are also bushes to the left and behind the main building and the whole area takes quite a while to check thoroughly.
A small marsh was formerly found to the left of the entrance, just outside the hotel grounds, and this was very good for crakes - I have seen Spotted, Baillon's and Little here at the same time. This is assuming that there is still an outflow of water from the hotal complex, otherwise it may have dried up.
The best site for seawatching is about 60 kilometres east of Marsa Matruh along the Alexandria dual carriageway and a further 12 kilometres north to the headland that sticks out north into the Mediterranean. I have always called it Ras el Heckma but I notice on some maps it is called Ras el Kenayis. You can drive right up to the end on a rough track and seawatch from your car and expect to see Scopoli's Shearwater from here as well as skuas and other species migrating along the coast - if you like seawatching that is. There are also a lot of scattered bushes in this area and probably a lot of passerine migrants but unfortunately it is also very heavily hunted with nets over the bushes and small boys with air rifles.
It is unlikely that you will have time to visit all these areas but you will see a good range of species if you visit some of them and migrants can turn up anywhere whilst the sea always has a few birds passing. It will not be as good as visiting the Nile or the Red Sea/Sinai but it still may produce a few surprises.
Hope this helps.
H
