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Petra
Sand Partridge
J O R D A N
Outline itinerary
Day 1 Fly to Amman
Day 2 Amman
Days 3-4 Azraq
Day 5 Dead Sea
Days 6-7 Petra
Days 8-9 Aqaba
Day 10 Depart Amman
Party Size
Maximum of 12 clients (two leaders with
more than six clients).
Accommodation
Comfortable accommodation in twin-bedded
and single rooms, with private facilities.
Transport
By small coach or minibus.
Basalt Desert at Safawi, where we look for the
dark morph of Mourning Wheatear (known as
Basalt Wheatear), Thick-billed and Bar-tailed
Desert Larks and Trumpeter Finch. We shall also
visit Azraq Castle, which has been involved in
wars since the Roman times.
Day 5
In the morning we will leave Azraq and head
west, towards the Dead Sea. On the way we shall
visit Mount Nebo, Wadi Midjub and the shores of
the Dead Sea. Highlights today may include
Dead Sea Sparrow, Palestine Sunbird, Whitespectacled
Bulbul, Little Green Bee-eater,
Mourning Wheatear, Arabian Warbler, Arabian
Babbler, Sand Partridge, Greater Hoopoe and
Dunn’s Larks and Blackstart. We stay overnight
at a hotel near to the Dead Sea.
Days 6 & 7
Today we drive further south and we will explore
the Wadi Dana reserve. Here we can expect to
find Tristram’s Starling, Syrian Serin, Chukar,
Rock Martin, Scrub Warbler and raptors
including Bonelli’s Eagle, Barbary Falcon and
Eurasian Griffon Vulture.
Later we make the short drive to Petra where we
stay for two nights. Petra is one of the wonders of
the Middle Eastern World, a gigantic natural
amphitheatre, hidden in the rocks, out of which a
delicately coloured city, with immense façades,
has been carved. The temples and caves of
Petra rest high up above a chasm, with huge
white rocks forming the Bab, or gate, of the Siq,
the narrow entrance towering more than 20
metres high. Bird life here in the desert is scarce,
but we would hope to see Barbary Falcon,
Blackstart, Palestine Sunbird, Sinai Rosefinch,
Striolated Bunting, White-crowned Wheatear and
Fan-tailed Raven. In the evening we will look for
the elusive Hume’s Owl.
Days 8 & 9
This morning we leave Petra and drive to Wadi Rum.
In this gorge we have our best chance of seeing the
very scarce Verreaux's Eagle. Other species of note
here include Hooded Wheatear, Brown-necked
Raven, Trumpeter Finch, Blackstart, Long-legged
Buzzard, Rock Martin, Masked Shrike and Tristram's
Starling. We then move on to the Red Sea and our
final destination, Aqaba, where we stay for two
nights. This coastal resort overlooks the Israeli town
of Eilat – whereas Eilat has managed to degrade
much of the good birding habitat, Aqaba has kept
much of its cover, influencing the migrating birds to
move from Israel to Jordan!
In the Gulf we may see Brown Booby, Western
Reef Heron and perhaps a lingering Great Blackheaded
Gull. The shore often holds Indian
House Crows, Greater Sand Plover and Whiteeyed
Gull. The Gulf is a great flyway for migrating
birds, and if conditions are right, we may find
many grounded migrants in Aqaba. No
Ornitholidays’ tour is complete without a sewage
works visit, and Aqaba can provide this! The
area is thronged with waterbirds and migrants
and we can look for Little Green Bee-eater,
Eurasian Hoopoe, Eurasian Wryneck, Collared
and Semi-collared Flycatchers, Red-throated
Pipit, Black-headed Wagtail, Common Quail, and
many species of lark, swallow and pipit.
The drier habitats hold Striolated Bunting, Sand
Partridge, White-crowned and Hooded Wheatears
and overhead we can always be on the lookout
for migrating flocks of herons, storks or waders,
or the numerous birds of prey such as Black Kite,
Lesser Spotted Eagle and Steppe Buzzards.
Day 10
We drive to Amman, with a few stops for birding
en route. Later, we catch our flight home and
arrive into London in the early evening.
Includes
All flights, meals, accommodation, transport,
entry fees, services of the leaders, airport
taxes and tips.
Gradings
Good
150
Blackstart
Mainly Warm
Low
Special
Relaxed
Excellent
Easy
Scheduled
To make a booking please call Ornitholidays on 01794 519445
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