Diedert
Well-known member
Dear all,
Earlier this year I inquired some information about WP-birds in Algeria. Deciding most of them were not worth the risk or effort, my friend Lonnie and I went to see the Algerian Nuthatch last weekend.
Some people asked if we could do a English version of the report as well. A small summary will be given here, but a full English report will soon be available on cloudbirders.com. A Dutch post can be found here, with some pictures.
Ever since we saw the endemic Algerian Nuthatch listed in our Collins Bird Guide, we promised to each other that as soon as it would be save, we would travel to Algeria to see this bird. Last friday, June 1th, we flew from Amsterdam to Constantine where we would meet our guide, Karim Haddad, and we would try to see the Nuthatch.
We arrived in the afternoon at the airport, where Karim and his brother picked us up. We immediately went birding, in a forest just outside the city. Here we added our first African species, like Ultramarine Blue Tit and Atlas Pied Flycatcher. After several hours, we drove back to Constantine. The city is surrounded by a huge gorge, in which Peregrines and Jackdaws breed. The Jackdaws belong to ssp cirtensis, which is endemic for the City of Bridges. Here we would end our day with the most beautiful view.
The next day Karim woke us at 04:00 to go to the Babor Mountains, the region where the Nuthatch lives. After a three hours drive with a short stop along the way, we arrived at the Djimla Forest, one of the four forests containing the Algerian Nuthatch. During the roadtrip we saw several other species like Common Bullbull, Blue Rock Thrush and Melodious Warbler.
After a 20 minute walk up the hills, Karim showed us a small gap in an Algerian Oak. Within the first minute a beautiful Algerian Nuthatch came flying in and showed really well. The next several hours we were able to watch the male and female flying in and out the nest to feed their chicks. What a stunning bird!
After that we birded some more in the hills and throughout the province, with mostly species known from Southern Europe, such as Booted Eagle and Western Swamphen. The next day we had an early flight back to Amsterdam, via Algiers and Paris.
Algeria is a really beautiful country and we experienced 0 safety problems. Not once were we halted by police or anything. We would recommend Karim to the fullest, he took care of us really good and arranged everything smoothly. For interest in his details, feel free to contact me.
Kind regards,
Lonnie Bregman & Diedert Koppenol
Earlier this year I inquired some information about WP-birds in Algeria. Deciding most of them were not worth the risk or effort, my friend Lonnie and I went to see the Algerian Nuthatch last weekend.
Some people asked if we could do a English version of the report as well. A small summary will be given here, but a full English report will soon be available on cloudbirders.com. A Dutch post can be found here, with some pictures.
Ever since we saw the endemic Algerian Nuthatch listed in our Collins Bird Guide, we promised to each other that as soon as it would be save, we would travel to Algeria to see this bird. Last friday, June 1th, we flew from Amsterdam to Constantine where we would meet our guide, Karim Haddad, and we would try to see the Nuthatch.
We arrived in the afternoon at the airport, where Karim and his brother picked us up. We immediately went birding, in a forest just outside the city. Here we added our first African species, like Ultramarine Blue Tit and Atlas Pied Flycatcher. After several hours, we drove back to Constantine. The city is surrounded by a huge gorge, in which Peregrines and Jackdaws breed. The Jackdaws belong to ssp cirtensis, which is endemic for the City of Bridges. Here we would end our day with the most beautiful view.
The next day Karim woke us at 04:00 to go to the Babor Mountains, the region where the Nuthatch lives. After a three hours drive with a short stop along the way, we arrived at the Djimla Forest, one of the four forests containing the Algerian Nuthatch. During the roadtrip we saw several other species like Common Bullbull, Blue Rock Thrush and Melodious Warbler.
After a 20 minute walk up the hills, Karim showed us a small gap in an Algerian Oak. Within the first minute a beautiful Algerian Nuthatch came flying in and showed really well. The next several hours we were able to watch the male and female flying in and out the nest to feed their chicks. What a stunning bird!
After that we birded some more in the hills and throughout the province, with mostly species known from Southern Europe, such as Booted Eagle and Western Swamphen. The next day we had an early flight back to Amsterdam, via Algiers and Paris.
Algeria is a really beautiful country and we experienced 0 safety problems. Not once were we halted by police or anything. We would recommend Karim to the fullest, he took care of us really good and arranged everything smoothly. For interest in his details, feel free to contact me.
Kind regards,
Lonnie Bregman & Diedert Koppenol
