On an evening visit to Luxor Museum we saw a nightjar in the grounds of building nearby.
Visited the Winter Palace for a meal one night - the guys had to borrow ties from the hotel security man - and paid approx. £15 each for a meal in the 1886 restaurant - didn't have wine but stuck to beer - and thought this was reasonable for a meal in such oppulent surroundings. The food wasn't much cop though! Two restaurants we can recommend is the Nefartari on the 1st floor of the building opposite the end of the hotel driveway and the Jamboree in Luxor.
If anyone wants to read my full report on the trip please PM me and I'll be happy send it. It is a bit lengthy and is more of a personal record.
Here's the full bird list. There were 6 of us in total and some of the others saw a few birds that we didn't.
Lesser pied kingfisher
Grey heron
Purple heron
Squacco heron
Hoopoe
Little egret
Pallid swift
Cattle egret
Black kite
House sparrow
Grey wagtail
Hooded crow
Lesser whitethroat
White wagtail
Little green bee eater
Palm dove
Graceful warbler
Clamorous reed warbler
Nile valley sunbird
Senegal thick-knee
Bluethroat (red spot). Two of our group later saw a white spot.
Common bulbul
Black-shouldered kite
Spur winged plover
Red avadavat
Blue cheeked bee eater
Chiffchaff
Rock martin
Glossy ibis
Marsh harrier
Mourning wheatear
Common sandpiper
Brown necked raven
Spoonbill
Kestrel
Purple gallinule
Snipe
Greenshank
Coot
Moorhen
Ringed plover
Little stint
Teal
Shoveller
Zitting cisticola
Black winged stilt
Black tern
Marsh sandpiper
Ruff
Slender billed gull
Black headed gull
Willow warbler
Nightjar
Blue headed yellow wagtail
Wood sandpiper
Kentish plover
Tufted duck
Red-throated pipit
If anyone wants to know the locations for any of these , just ask, and I'll try and remember!
None of us had mozzie bites and nobody was ill during the week! The temperature was about 30 degrees all week, and by the end of the week were tombed and templed out! But we want to go again.
Sandra
Very interesting and enjoyable report Sandra, thanks I am holidaying in Sharm El Sheik in Feb. Although this is not a birding trip I would be interested to hear your views on what I might see, do you think it might be similiar to your list? I know its a different location but I would be grateful for your comments, thanks
Sorry Paul. I don't know anything about that area - as I didn't know anything about Luxor before we went. One of our members had a short volume on Birds of Egypt but it wasn't a lot of good. The drawings were rubbish and it omited some birds we saw every day. Try putting a request on Information Wanted section on front page and I'm sure someone will advise you.
Have a super holiday - we did!
Sandra
