Aphenomenal 6,000 years of recordedhistory, and a prime position on theavian migration route between Africaand Europe, combine to make Egypt oneof the most exciting destinations forbirdwatchers with an appreciation of thepast. Nurtured by the life-giving waters ofthe river, one of the greatest civilisationsever to inhabit the earth developed alongthe Nile Valley leaving, as monuments totheir existence, countless temples,pyramids and artefacts which today arenumbered among the greatest historicalsites in the world. Three continents exerttheir respective influences on a remarkablydiverse avifauna, which is enriched andenhanced by the seasonal movements ofmigrants using the country as a stagingpost for longer journeys. By late October,newly arrived winter visitors may beobserved alongside the resident'specialities' and with cooler weatherconditions, this is an excellent time forbirdwatching. As we travel in the SinaiDesert and along the River Nile we will bevisiting many of the best birding localitiesin Egypt but this is a tour which also payshomage to world famous antiquitiesincluding the Pyramids, Abu Simbel,Aswan and Luxor. We begin our tour in Cairo, the largest cityin Africa. Here we will visit the GizaPyramids and the nearby Sphinx, whichepitomise the reign of the Pharaohs. Afurther glimpse of ancient Egypt isprovided in the fabulous EgyptianMuseum, a cornucopia of ancient artefactswhich includes the astounding treasures ofTutankhamun and masterpieces of earlyEgyptian bird art. We will also visit amarshy area nearby where we have a goodchance of finding such rare WesternPalearctic species as Painted Snipe,Senegal Coucal and White-breastedKingfisher, and typical birds of the regionsuch as Graceful Prinia, Blue-cheekedBee-eater and Common Bulbul. After this splendid introduction to Egypt,we will travel by road to Sharm-el-sheikand visit the surrounding desert and oasesin search of some of the more elusive ofthe local bird specialities. Givenfavourable conditions, large numbers ofraptors and other soaring birds, such asstorks and cranes, use thermals to driftsouth across the Red Sea, providing anamazing spectacle, and the bushes arelikely to be full of passerine migrants.Next, we visit Mount Sinai and thepicturesque St. Catherine's Monastery atthe base of the mountain. We will climbMount Sinai in the cool of the morningand, as we make our way up the zig-zagpath, we will look for White-crownedWheatear, Desert Lark, Tristram's Grackleand Sinai Rosefinch. At the top we will berewarded by fabulous views over thesurrounding area, whilst Brown-neckedRavens circle noisily overhead.Descending from the summit, we visit thefamous ancient monastery where, in thevegetation of its gardens, there is a goodchance of seeing skulking Scrub Warblers,plus a few migrants as well. During ourstay at the Red Sea, we will look for someof the area's specialities such as BrownBooby, White-cheeked Tern, Sooty andWhite-eyed Gulls, plus the delightful littleSooty Falcon. In addition, there will besnorkelling opportunities for anyonewishing to admire the amazingly colourfulunderwater world of the coral reef. We travel next to Luxor, in the Nile Valley,where an afternoon on Crocodile Islandshould produce such species as SenegalThick-knee, Purple Gallinule, Nile ValleySunbird and Lesser Pied Kingfisher. On ourfirst evening in Luxor we will visit thebeautifully illuminated Temple of Luxor andduring our 2-day stay we will further enjoythe many spectacular sights of this formercapital, steeped in six millennia of history.The Collosi of Memnon, Valleys of theKings and Queens, and Karnak Temple willbe unforgettable highlights to complementa fine selection of birds. We travel next to Abu Simbel, Egypt's mostsoutherly settlement, situated on the shoresof Lake Nasser. Here the African influencesin the birdlife are evident in the appearanceof such species as Egyptian Goose, AfricanPied Wagtail and Pink-headed Dove butthere will also be Palearctic migrants tolook for in the lake-side gardens. A boatride on Lake Nasser will enable us toexplore the secluded inlets and islandsthronged with waterbirds and waders,amongst which we could see Pink-backedPelicans and Yellow-billed Storks, twowanderers from Africa regularly occurringhere. The magnificent Abu Simbel Temples,saved from the rising waters of the lake bybeing moved block by block to higherground, will be the focus of an afternoontour and, in the evening, we plan to attend aspectacular sound and light show.We return to Cairo, for a connecting flightto London, to conclude a memorableholiday to a country where ancient andmodern worlds are inextricably linked,providing a unique background for somesuperlative birdwatching.Egypt - Birds & HistoryAn 11-day journey to the southern Sinai Desert and along the River Nile, combining the major sites of both archaeological and ornithological interest.Sunday 16th October - Wednesday 26th October 2011 Cost: £3,395Sunday 14th October - Wednesday 24th October 2012 Cost: £3,395Outline itineraryDay 1Fly Cairo.Day 2Cairo; the Pyramids andmuseum.Day 3/6Sharm-el-sheik; theSinai and St.Catherine's.Day 7/8Luxor; Valley of theKings, Karnak, etc.Day 9/10Abu Simbel and Aswan.Day 11Fly London.AccommodationComfortable tourist hotels withprivate facilities.FoodAll included in the price.GradingA. Easy birdwatching walks (theoptional Mount Sinai climb is morestrenuous!).FocusBirds and Egyptian history.LeaderGerald Broddelez.Single room supplement£295.Web quick search: EGY01156Call now or visit www.naturetrek.co.uk for your free Trip ItineraryLIBYA SUDAN SAUDI ARABIA ISRAEL CAIRO LUXOR SHARM-EL- SHEIK ASWAN ABU SIMBEL SUEZ CANAL RED SEA MEDITERRANEAN SEA EGYPT RIVER NILE Pyramids at GizaLittle Green Bee-eaterSooty Gull

Morocco-A BaldIbisBreak!A relaxing 5-day holiday, based in a comfortable and exclusive beach retreat, to the Souss-MassaNational Park, Morocco's finest birdwatching site and home to the endangered Bald Ibis.Thursday 20th October - Monday 24th October 2011 Cost: £995 Thursday 16th February - Monday 20th February 2012 Cost: £995Thursday 25th October - Monday 29th October 2012 Cost: £995Book direct on 01962 733051or see page 280 for Booking InformationS. MOROCCOALGERIAMEDITERRANEAN SEAATLANTIC OCEANMOROCCOEL KELAAMERZOUGAAGADIRERFOUDTODRAGORGEMIDDLE ATLAS MOUNTAINSHIGH ATLAS MOUNTAINSTANGIERCASABLANCAMARRAKECHOUED MASSAANTI ATLAS MOUNTAINSTAROUDANTOUARZAZATEOutline itineraryDay 1Fly Agadir; transfer Souss-Massa National Park.Day 2/4Souss-Massa National Park.Day 5Fly London.Accommodation A very comfortable beach hotel (withprivate facilities), remotely situatedin the national park and withfabulous views of the coastline. Food All included in the price.GradingDay walks only. A. Focus Birds, the Bald Ibis conservationstory, and relaxation!LeaderRichard Bashford, Chris Murphy orBob Dawson.Single room supplement£130.Web quick search: MAR03157For many consecutive wintersNaturetrek groups have been happilyplying the Souss Valley westwards,from the foothills of the High AtlasMountains to Morocco's spectacularAtlantic coast south of Agadir. Here, in theautumn, late winter and spring, the nearbyestuaries of the Oued Souss and OuedMassa are thronged with migratingwaders, gulls and terns. We watch Red-necked Nightjars at the Royal Palaceentrance (if the King is not in residence!),and sea-watch for Cory's and BalearicShearwaters at dramatic Cap Rhir. Yet it isthe draw of one of the Western Palearctic'smost enigmatic - and endangered -birds, the Northern Bald Ibis, which hasprovided the highlight of so many previoustours, and will be the primary focus of thisrelaxing long weekend.The 33,800-hectare Souss-Massa NationalPark was created in 1991. Lying betweenAgadir to the north and Sidi Ifni to thesouth, this Atlantic coastal site incorporatesa variety of habitats, ranging from Arganiaspinosawoodland, cultivated fields andRetama and Euphorbia steppe, to dunes,cliffs, sandy beaches and wetlands. Itencompasses the estuaries of the OuedSouss (the northern limit of the park) andthe Oued Massa, a large and magicallagoon that has formed where the estuaryis cut off from the sea by sand dunes. Welong believed the Souss-Massa to beworthy of a tour in its own right, and it iswithin this national park, nestled betweengolden dunes and with splendid panoramicviews of the Atlantic Ocean, that we founda wonderfully appointed hotel, the perfectbase for a short, rewarding, yet relaxingbirdwatching holiday. With Morocco's richheritage in mind, the owners have built anddecorated their hotel tastefully, using a finemix of traditional materials, localhandicrafts and luxurious carpets andfabrics, all collected from Morocco's variedand bustling souks. The lavishness of thebeds and bedclothes, indeed of all fixturesand fittings, exude a feeling of calm andinvite relaxation. We will have plenty of timeto fully enjoy the hotel's enviable location!A relaxed five days is envisaged, for someof the best local birding is available fromthe hotel terrace! Together with an open-air pool, the hotel boasts a traditionalHammam (Turkish bath/massage room)offering a suite of health treatments, andfine cuisine (salads and grilled fish andmeat being a particular speciality) to beenjoyed on a beautiful outdoor terraceoverlooking the ocean. The Souss-Massa National Park holds awealth of birds, and the diversity ofhabitats within it ensure us of a widevariety during our stay. However, the parkderives its greatest importance from itsprotection of three of the four Moroccanbreeding colonies of the Northern BaldIbis. These three colonies are located oncoastal cliffs within the park and totalled33 breeding pairs in 2000, or 52% of theMoroccan and world population. Severalroost sites exist, and most of the coastalsteppes and fallow fields are used asfeeding areas at different times of the year.In addition, the park attracts a host ofmigrant birds, both on passage and duringthe winter. In fact, almost anything can anddoes turn up here and the chance offinding a vagrant from southern Africa orthe Americas adds to the excitement ofthis locality. However, it is the plight of theIbis which provides the principal focus onthis tour. In the face of threatened invasivetourism development, severalorganisations, including the RSPB andBirdLife International, are working toprotect the Northern Bald Ibis whosebreeding population now stands at over100 pairs, of which 75 pairs breed in theSouss-Massa National Park and 25 in theTamri region, 60 kilometres north of Agadir. On this holiday we will be following ourusual Moroccan tour format, with ourminibus being driven by our local driver inorder to provide flexibility in our explorationof the park and to ensure a relaxed pace.Tamri will certainly be on our list of places tovisit, a real stronghold for the Ibis. BarbaryFalcons can regularly be seen around thecliffs here, whilst the beach often supportsa flock of Audouin's Gulls in a variety ofplumages. At other times our focus willremain within the picturesque Souss-MassaNational Park where, during the five days inwhich we explore its rich mosaic of habitats,a wealth of birds may include such speciesas Greater Flamingo, Bald Ibis, Glossy Ibis,Marbled Teal, Ferruginous Duck, CommonCrane, Osprey, Marsh Harrier, Tawny Eagle,Black-bellied Sandgrouse, Black-wingedStilt, Laughing Dove, Alpine Swift, PlainMartin, Tawny Pipit, Black-crowned Tchagra,Zitting Cisticola and Moustached Warbleramongst many others.For pleasant winter warmth and sunshine,good birding, an appreciation ofconservation in action and authentic local hospitality, we think this holiday is hard to beat!Our beach hotelNorthern Bald Ibis