Sharm El Sheikh is a popular Red Sea resort well known for birding and a good base for making day trips to nearby sites. Migrants can be found in the hotel gardens, particularly during the autumn when birds congregate at the southern tip of the peninsula, with such species as Orphean Warbler and Masked Shrike. Other birds sighted in and around the Sharm el Sheikh area are: Marsh Harrier, Lesser Kestrell, Wood Sandpiper, Spur-winged Plover, Crested Lark, Pale Sand Martin, Eurasian Collared Dove, White Wagtail, Richard's pipit, Spanish Sparrow, Little Ringed Plover and the House Crow.
The sewage farms are one of the best sites for seeing migrants along with resident Litchenstein's, Crowned and Spotted Sandgrouse which come daily to drink at the ponds.
All photographs courtesy of Guido Band
Lesser Kestrel
Spannish Sparrow
Marsh Harrier
Nabq Protected Area on the Gulf of Aqaba is the most
norther mangrove in the world and one of the best sites
to see Red Sea birds, such as Western Reef Heron,
Striated Heron and Sooty Gull. It is also an important
stop over and refueling site for migrating waders.
Interesting species have been recorded, such as Pacific
Golden Plover, Black bellied Plover and the Caspian
Tern.
St. Catherine Protectorate in the heart of the
High Mountain Range of South Sinai is a world famous
natural and cultural heritage site. The gardens around
St. Catherine's Monastery at the base of Mt. Sinai are
frequented by Sinai specialties such as Sinai Rosefinch,
Tristram's Grackle and Chukar. Other desert residents
are found including: Desert Lark, Scrub Warbler,
White-crowned Black Wheatear, White tailed Wheatear,
Rock Dove and Hume's Tawny Owl. It is also a good
location to see migrants and winter visitors.
Desert Wheatear
Blackeared Wheatear
.
Sooty Gull
North Sinai :
Birding in El Arish on the Mediterranean coast is off the beaten track for most birders, but is well worth the visit. The orchards and fields in Wadi el Arish are home to Sinai specialties: Palestine Sunbird, Yellow Vented Bulbul and Desert Finch (spring-summer), as well as is an excellent location to find interesting migrants and winter visitors. While a permit is needed, desert areas to the south harbor species such as Temminck's and Dunn's Larks .
Rose Finch
Tristram's Grackle
Whitecrowned Black Wheatear
White-tailed Wheatear
he Zaranik Protected Area 35 km east of El Arish
offers world class birding. From mid August to the
end of September Zaranik is an internationally
important bottleneck for migratory birds, with flock
after flock of waterbird passing along the coast,
while the beaches, scrub and saltmarshes are
littered with passerines and near passerines.
Over 200,000 Garganey migrate through Zaranik along
with 75 different species of waterbird.
Cretzschmar's Bunting [an endangered species],
Audubon's Gull and Corncrake are just some of the
specialties annually seen. The reserve is productive
during other seasons: Greater Flamingo occurs
throughout the year
