The next day, I managed to spot collared dove, feral pigeon, hooded crow, laughing dove and blackbird before breakfast out of the hotel window. Following breakfast, we headed to Wadi Rum, stopping off at Mount Nebo and Madaba along the way. On the drive to Mount Nebo, I added house sparrow, white-spectacled bulbul, common swift and a eurasian jay. Mount Nebo, the place where in the Bible Moses looked over the promised lands and may now be buried, with spectacular views over the Jordan valley, brought me a superb bird. As we admired the fantastic view, I saw a small flicker in a dead bush straight bellow me. It turned out to be a wryneck, a scarce passage migrant in Jordan. At Mount Nebo, I also found a large group of blackcaps, a greenfinch and several spanish sparrows.
Our next stop, at Madaba to admire the magnificent Byzantine 6th century mosaic depicting a map of the holy land, brought me a black redstart, great tit and a lesser whitethroat. We reached the stunning wadi rum by early evening. The bedouin-style camp we stayed in was rather unclean and basic, but it was saved by its setting. On an evening stroll, I found tristram's starlings, some genuinely wild rock doves, brown-necked and fan-tailed ravens, northern and white-crowned wheatears, an orphean warbler, pale crag martin and the splendid sinai rose finch. After a great night walk, on which I heard a calling Hume's tawny owl, we had a very sound night's sleep. The next morning, my father and I went for an early morning's walk. For the first hour we quite literally only saw four birds, all rock doves. We then walked through a shrubby area, which contained an awful lot more birds. A lesser kestrel flew overhead, and in the shrubbery were olivaceous, scrub and arabian warblers as well as a chiffchaff. On the way back, I found a desert lark, eastern mourning wheatear and a male rufous-tailed rock thrush. We then returned and went on a two hour drive around Wadi Rum. On that drive, I found the only mammal of our trip, a sand fox that darted into a rocky gully, but failed to see any new birds. We then travelled to Dana nature reserve, via Aqaba for lunch.
At Aqaba, a Mallorca-style seaside resort, with its 200 yards of beach covered with sun loungers and tourists, I added baltic gull, eurasian hoopoe, masked shrike and house crow to my list. We soon arrived at Dana, where we stayed in Feynan Eco Lodge, an eco-freindly lodge that absurdly served no meat and provided no electricity to the rooms despite having dozens of solar panels. While driving into the lodge, I saw green bee-eaters, a griffon vulture and a willow warbler. On a late evening walk around the lodge, I found blackstarts, a pair of greater short-toed larks, a thrush nightingale and palestine sunbird. The next day, we went for a four-hour trek up Wadi Dana. On the walk, I saw some more griffon vultures, long-legged and steppe buzzards, common kestrel and a common redstart. The highlight was a juvenile levant sparrowhawk that cruised down the valley. The next day, I went on another early morning walk, on which I found a small flock of ortolan buntings and two hoopoes. We then drove down to Petra along a road which had some quite remarkable views. Before we left Dana, we saw the green bee-eaters again, as well as a little ringed plover by a large puddle caused by a leaking pipe and a exaltation of crested larks.
From the car on the way to Petra, I saw a pair of spur-winged lapwings by a small pond and a southern grey shrike. We stopped off at a view point, from which we could see huge numbers of birds of prey in the distance. There were certainly long-legged and steppe buzzards and a possible sooty falcon. We also were able to identify a short-toed snake eagle, which glided overhead. We then had a walk around Little Petra where we saw several sinai rosefinches. We then went on to our hotel in Wadi Moussa, the purpose-built tourist town with direct access to Petra. Opposite the hotel was an area of irrigated and lightly wooded farmland, which was quite literally swarming with hirundines, in fact every single species of hirundine in Jordan- barn and red-rumped swallows and house, sand, pale crag and eurasian crag martins as well as several swifts. Some birds of prey moved down the valley, steppe, long-legged and honey buzzards.
The next day we walked down into Petra itself, arguably the most remarkable place I have ever been. Among the ancient Nabataean buildings carved into sheer rock face, where huge numbers of hirundines, house sparrows and rock doves. The most remarkable sight came from in front of the treasury, where we sat down, only for several enormous flocks of migrating birds of prey to fly over. There were honey, long-legged and steppe buzzards, black kites, a booted eagle, some common kestrels and several unidentifiable falcons. The only new bird I got that day wandering around Petra was a female blue rock thrush. The next day we returned Petra. It was very hazy and there were no birds of prey around other than a kestrel and a steppe buzzard, but I did find a group of Bonelli's warblers near the entrance. We made our way up to the monastery, an awe-inspiring memorial to an ancient king carved into sheer rock face, where I found a male blue rock thrush and saw a group of European bee-eaters go past. We then walked to the High Place of Sacrifice, a place with stunning views of Petra. The number of birds, however, was a little less stunning. We returned in the afternoon and went for a look around the field opposite the hotel. All the hirundines were present in huge numbers, along with Upcher's, willow and a female Sardinian warbler, common and lesser whitethroat, blackcap and chiffchaff. Long-legged and steppe buzzards gave the hirundines a scare.
The next day we went back to the field very early in the morning. Almost immediately, I saw one of the birds I most wanted to see- a nightingale. It soon crawled into the undergrowth but I was over the moon. There were also several lesser whitethroats, chiffchaffs and ortolan buntings. Fantastically, I then found another four nightingales, all very close and a male Sardinian warbler.
We then drove up to the Dead Sea, via Shabak and Karak castles. At Karak, I found a pair of blue rock thrushes, rock sparrows and an alpine swift. At the Dead Sea, having spent as long as I was bare able floating in the incredibly salty water, then covering myself in the special mud the water produces, I managed to add little egret and Indian silverbill, a species that has become naturalised throughout the Jordan Valley after escaping as a cage bird in Amman, to my list. The next morning, our last of the holiday, I had a quick walk around the hotel's grounds. I found spotted and semi-collared flycatchers, another nightingale, a garden warbler, pallid and little swifts (among the huge numbers of common swifts passing over the hotel) and a cattle egret, to end a fantastic week's holiday.
Number of birds seen: 79
Jordan and year list
Sinai Rosefinch at Wadi Rum
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