Just spent a week at the Sofitel Hotel, Karnak. Here's our bird list as I can remember it!
Monday
House sparrow
Tuesday (hotel grounds)
Willow warblers
Commun bulbul
Whoopoe
Little egret
Kestrel
Black kite
Pied kingfishers
Pelican sp. (5 over-flying)
Flamingo (8 over-flying)
Pied wagtail
Palm doves
Blue tit
Great tit
Wednesday (en route to Valley of the Kings)
Spur-winged plover
Moorhen
Feral pigeons
(Desert) wheatear
Thursday (Dendara temple)
Hooded crows
Friday (Crocodile Island and the Movenpick hotel which now seems to be the Jolie Ville)
Pied kingfishers by the dozen
Purple gallinule
Grey wagtail
Yellow wagtail
Cattle egret
Black-shouldered kite
Squacco heron
Blue throat
Spur winged plover
Coot
Cormorant
Grey heron
Purple heron
Marsh harriers
Saturday (Abu Simbel & Aswan)
Swifts
Swallows
House martins
Crag martins
White crowned black wheatear
Monday (waiting for pick-up to airport)
Nile valley sunbird in the hotel grounds
If anyone is interested in reading the whole report i.e. temples & tombs, accommodation etc. please ask and I'll e-mail it.
All our trips were well organised by Abdel Naby who has a shop in the main street opposite the entrance to the Hilton Hotel (which is expected to open after refurbishment October 2008). Abdel's charges are much less than those of the tour company. The guide he provided (as last year) worked at the Karnak museum and was excellent. Again, please ask if you want Abdel's e-mail address or phone number.
Sandra
Hi , Sandra. Was interested to read your report because we're off to Crocodile island at the end of January. Already have a good idea of what's going to be around the resort but I wondered what the Aswan trip was like ? Did it involve a lot of time travelling - if so was it worthwhile ?
[QUOTE=cheshirebirder;1079501]Hi , Sandra. Was interested to read your report because we're off to Crocodile island at the end of January. Already have a good idea of what's going to be around the resort but I wondered what the Aswan trip was like ? Did it involve a lot of time travelling - if so was it worthwhile ?[/QUOTE]
The whole trip took c7 hrs. to get there including 3 hours from Aswan to Abu Simbel thrugh the Western desert. The car was a new saloon so very comfortable. We had purposely missed the convoy back from Aswan so Abdel, our trusty man in Luxor, had arranged 1st class train tickets for the rest of the journey which took 3 hrs. The car beat us back by over an hour and was at the station to return us to the hotel. We spent about 1.5 hrs. at Abu Simbel and it was worth it. Abdel had also arranged a guide to meet us there. We had the white-crowned black wheatear there, and crag martins near the temples.
The gardens of the hotel on Crocodile Island have loads of birds and cover different habitats.
I have to add another couple of birds to my report. Will do that separately.
If you want the whole report do please PM me with your e-mail address and you can read the lot!
Sandra