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The following records of sightings are largely unconfirmed and have been published in the Bulletin of the African Bird Club for information only. Some of these records were originally published in Dutch Birding, Birding World and Sandgrouse.

Records from the period December 2004 - March 2005 include the following. A White-breasted Kingfisher Halcyon smyrnensis was at Nuweiba, south Sinai, on 23 December. In January, four Namaqua Doves Oena capensis were reported at Kom Ombo, a Great Spotted Eagle Aquila clanga and c.40 White-tailed Lapwings Vanellus leucurus along the Nile on 27th, a male Pied Wheatear Oenanthe pleschanka at Abu Simbel on 24-25th and an Isabelline Shrike Lanius isabellinus at Crocodile Island, Luxor, on 29th. A male Caspian Plover Charadrius asiaticus was at El Gouna on 14 March.

Records from April 2005 include two Pink-backed Pelicans Pelecanus rufescens and 15 Yellow-billed Storks Mycteria ibis at Lake Nasser on 6-7th, an immature Great Spotted Eagle Aquila clanga at Ain Sukhna on 17th, a summer-plumaged Broad-billed Sandpiper Limicola falcinellus at a fish pond near Lake Faiyum on 20th, a Namaqua Dove at Hurghada on 13th, an adult Pharaoh's Eagle Owl Bubo ascalaphus with a chick at Steppe pyramid, Saqqara, on 19th, a Citrine Wagtail Motacilla citreola at Nuweiba, on 22nd, and a female / immature Red-tailed Wheatear Oenanthe xanthoprymna at St Katherine on 17th.

The following records are from June - October 2004. Four Pink-backed Pelicans Pelecanus rufescens and 40 Yellow-billed Storks Mycteria ibis were at Abu Simbel on 23 June. Two Little Crakes Porzana parva were found at Crocodile Island on 30 September and 1 October. A Black-winged Pratincole Glareola nordmanni was at El Gouna golf course on 25–26 September. On the Red Sea coast, nine White-tailed Lapwings Vanellus leucurus and five Terek Sandpipers Xenus cinereus were observed at Hamata on 26–29 September, while single Namaqua Doves Oena capensis were occasionally seen at Bir Shalatein and Hamata throughout the period. A Black Scrub-Robin Cercotrichas podobe was noted at Bir Shalatein on 28–29 September (this is only the second for Egypt; the first was at Gebel Elba in November 2000). Two clumps of tamarisk 20 km north of Hamata held c70 Orphean Warblers Sylvia hortensis crassirostris and three Barred Warblers S. nisoria on 21 August.

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During a Sooty Falcon Falco concolor Baseline Breeding Survey at Wadi El Gemal National Park (WGNP), Red Sea Governorate, Egypt from 3 to 10 September 2004, c150-170 breeding pairs of Sooty Falcons F. concolor were recorded on Wadi El Gemal Island plus an additional 21 breeding pairs on three of the four islands of the Qulan Archipelago. On 9 September the first known probable breeding Sooty Falcons F. concolor were noted within the interior of WGNP along the Gebel Sartut Range. One was harassing a rare soaring Golden Eagle Aquila chrysaetos (the last reported observation of this species in Egypt was in November 2000). A second Sooty Falcon F. concolor approached a soaring Lammergeier Gypaetus barbatus. Earlier in the week on 5 September c90 Crab-plovers Dromas ardeola were noted along the mud flats of the Harmata coastal mangrove section of WGNP.

The following records are from October 2003 to April 2004. Along the Red Sea coast, an alleged Frigatebird Fregata sp. flew above Dahab on 23 April. Three Ruddy Shelducks Tadorna ferruginea were at Dashour Lake, near Cairo on 6 December. An adult Montagu's Harrier Circus pygargus was seen south of Shalateen in mid-December. Lappet-faced Vultures Torgos tracheliotus were observed in Wadi Gamel on 28 October (two) and at Gebel Elba in mid-December (20). Also in Wadi Gamel on 28 October were a Verreaux's Eagle Aquila verreauxii (representing one of the most northerly records in Egypt) and a pair of Bonelli's Eagles Hieraaetus fasciatus. A Greater Spotted Eagle Aquila clanga was noted at Dashour Lake, near Cairo on 6 December. Single Caspian Plovers Charadrius asiaticus were near Shalateen and at Wadi Adieb on 15 December. At Hamata mangroves, on 20 March, a small curlew in a flock of flying Eurasian Curlews Numenius arquata was possibly a Slender-billed Curlew N. tenuirostris; it had a clean white underwing and large rounded flank spots; the call was described as co-lii co-lii, resembling Eurasian Curlew N. arquata but weaker and higher pitched. A Namaqua Dove Oena capensis was in the garden of the Shams Allam Hotel on 26 October. Three Hume's Tawny Owls Strix butleri were heard at Gebel Elba in mid-December. Six Pied Kingfishers Ceryle rudis were at Lahami Bay, 20 km north of Berenice, on 1 January.

A Long-billed Pipit Anthus similis was singing in the Gebel Elba area in mid-December. On the Red Sea coast, an Ethiopian Swallow Hirundo aethiopica was claimed from Shams Alam on 19 March (reportedly seen briefly but well in flight). Unusual wintering warblers at Gebel Elba in mid-December included two Orphean Sylvia hortensis, twenty Cyprus S. melanothorax and three Desert Warblers S. nana. Desert Warblers S. nana were also recorded at Wadi Gamel (one on 10 December) and at Lahami Bay, 20 km north of Berenice (daily from 29 December to 5 January, with a maximum of six on 31 December). A Red-breasted Flycatcher Ficedula parva was at Wadi El Gemal Marsh on 26 October with another there on 28 October. An Isabelline Shrike Lanius isabellinus was at the checkpoint south of Marsa Allam on 26 October, with another at Qalun village on 11 December; three were wintering at Gebel Elba. House Crows Corvus splendens were seen at Ain Sukhna on 14 November (six) and at Hurghada on 15 November (three); one at Qalun village on 11 December had reportedly been in the area for a year. A juvenile Rose-coloured Starling Sturnus roseus was observed at Lake Qarun on 1 November. Approximately ten Red Avadavats Amandava amandava, including a nest-building pair, were at Lake Qarun, 3.8 km east of Shakshuk village, in early November.

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The following records are from March to September 2003. Two Pink-backed Pelicans Pelecanus rufescens and 45 Yellow-billed Storks Mycteria ibis were at Abu Simbel in mid May. At the same locality, a Great White Egret Egretta alba possibly of the sub-Saharan race melanorhynchos (with all-black legs) was noted on 23 September. Single Lammergeiers Gypaetus barbatus were noted at Sheikh Shazli on 19 March and at Gebel Elba on 15 June. Four Lappet-faced Vultures Torgos tracheliotus were seen at Sheikh Shazli on 19 March, 50+ at Shalatein in mid May, with 65 there on 13 June and 35+ on 18 September. Sooty Falcons Falco concolor were observed at Hamata (five) and at Abu Simbel (three) in mid May, with six at the latter locality on 24 September. Also at Abu Simbel, three Greater Painted-snipes Rostratula benghalensis were observed on 21 September. Nine Crab-plovers Dromas ardeola were at Hamata on 15 June, with no less than 144 there on 17 September, including pairs with begging juveniles; a pair with a juvenile was found at Abu Ghusun mangrove, a few kilometres north of Hamata, on 19 September. At Abu Simbel, 15 Senegal Thick-knees Burhinus senegalensis and 11 Kittlitz's Plovers Charadrius pecuarius were seen in mid May; at least 13 Kittlitz's Plovers C. pecuarius were there in late September. At Hamata, at least 120 Greater Sand Plovers C. leschenaultii and between 4 and 7 Terek Sandpipers Xenus cinereus were counted on 17 September. Two White-tailed Lapwings Vanellus leucurus were on El Gouna golf course on 25 September. Fifteen Sooty Gulls Larus hemprichii were at Hamata in mid May. An African Skimmer Rynchops flavirostris reported at Abu Simbel in mid May was assumed to be breeding; one was also seen there on 23 September. Lichtenstein's Sandgrouse Pterocles lichtensteinii were relatively common in the deserts of the newly established Wadi el Gemal-Hamata Protected Area in June. African Collared Doves Streptopelia roseogrisea were recorded at Sheikh Shazli (30+ on 19 March) and at Shalatein (three in mid May; seven on 18 September). Also at the latter locality were 14 Namaqua Doves Oena capensis, with one at Abu Simbel on 22 September. In mid May, four Pharaoh's Eagle Owls Bubo ascalaphus were seen at Abu Simbel, 12 Black-crowned Sparrow Larks Eremopterix nigriceps at Shalatein, and 12 African Pied Wagtails Motacilla aguimp, two Olive-tree Warblers Hippolais olivetorum and a Rose-coloured Starling Sturnus roseus again at Abu Simbel, with 20+ African Pied Wagtails M. aguimp there in late September. Single first-winter Steppe Grey Shrikes Lanius meridionalis pallidirostris were claimed from El Gouna on 16 September and from Abu Simbel on 22 September.

Records from the period October 2002 to March 2003 include the following. A Great Bittern Botaurus stellaris was seen at Lake Qarun on 29 December. A Great White Egret Egretta alba was at Abu Simbel on 18 March. A total of 65 Glossy Ibis Plegadis falcinellus were at several localities along the Nile between Luxor and Aswan on 20 and 21 October, with 32 at Luxor on 19 March. At Salathein, 31 Lappet-faced Vultures Torgos tracheliotus and one Eurasian Griffon Vulture Gyps fulvus were seen on 21 March. A late pale-morph Booted Eagle Hieraaetus pennatus was at Gabel Asfar on 25 December. An immature Eastern Imperial Eagle Aquila heliaca was north-west of Naama Bay on 13 November. A Little Crake Porzana parva was observed just south of Aswan on 5 October and another on an island in the local nature reserve the next day. At El Gouna, 300 Common Cranes Grus grus were seen on 16 March. A Three-banded Plover Charadrius tricollaris was found at El Gouna golf course on 13 March; this appears to be the fourth for Egypt and the Western Palearctic. Two White-tailed Lapwings Vanellus leucurus were on the Nile between Luxor and Kom Ombo on 4 January. Seven Jack Snipe Lymnocryptes minimus were found along the Bilbeis to Abassa road in the eastern Nile delta on 26 December. A Broad-billed Sandpiper Limicola falcinellus was at Hurghada on 16 March. Great Black-headed Gulls Larus ichthyaetus were noted at Lake Quarun on 29 December (at least 14), north of Ras Gharib on 31 December (62), at Hurghada on 1 January (5) and at Zafarana on 2 January (4). In total, 21 Greater Crested Terns Sterna bergii were seen between Ain Sukhna and Ras Gharib on 31 December, with ten in the Hurghada area on 1 January, and 28 at El Gouna on 21 March. At least 200 White-winged Terns Chlidonias leucopterus were in the Lake Qarun area on 29 December. At Aswan, two African Collared Doves Streptopelia roseogrisea and a European Turtle Dove S. turtur were present from 1 to 3 January. Also there was an Egyptian Nightjar Caprimulgus aegyptius on 5 October. Six White-throated Kingfishers Halcyon smyrnensis were counted at Gabel Asfar on 25 December, and from 20 to 25 along the Bilbeis to Abassa road with 60 Pied Kingfishers Ceryle rudis on 26 December. A Eurasian Wryneck Jynx torquilla was at Wadi el Natrun on 27 December. African Pied Wagtails Motacilla aguimp were noted at Aswan on 4 October and at Abu Simbel on 18 March. Five Moustached Warblers Acrocephalus melanopogon were at Lake Qarun on 29 December. A Ménétries's Warbler Sylvia mystacea was found at Aswan from 1 to 3 January, a Cyprus Warbler S. melanothorax at the Wadi Hagul road on 3 January, and a Desert Warbler S. nana north of Hurghada on 2 January. Two Orphean Warblers S. hortensis and a first-winter Red-breasted Flycatcher Ficedula parva were at Giftun Village, Hurghada on 30 December, a late date. The pair of Hooded Crows Corvus corone cornix reported on 25 December 2001 were in the same territory at Giftun Village, Hurghada, and five together were presumed to be a family party with the previous year's young. A female Dead Sea Sparrow Passer moabiticus was at Abu Simbel on 18 March. A Desert Sparrow Passer simplex was claimed from Farafra Oasis on 14 February, after a major weather system with strong south-westerly winds had moved in two days earlier; all previous Egyptian records are from the Gebel Uweinat area in the extreme south-west.

Last page update 13th November 2007

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