Luxury Morocco Birding Tour 14 Days | Western Palearctic & Endemic Species

Arrive at Casablanca Mohammed V International Airport (CMN). Meet your private Morocco Planet representative and specialist birding driver. Transfer to your luxury hotel in Casablanca for a detailed tour orientation and species checklist review

• Target Species: Coastal gulls, urban swifts

Travel north along the Atlantic coast. Stop first at Lac Sidi Bourhaba to scan freshwater pools for Marbled Duck, Red-knobbed Coot, and passing Balearic Shearwaters over the ocean. Continue to the vast saltwater lagoon of Merdja Zerga ("Blue Lagoon") to observe Greater Flamingos, godwits, Greenshanks, and wintering waterfowl. At dusk, scan marsh edges for the rare African Marsh Owl

• Target Species: African Marsh Owl, Marbled Duck, Red-knobbed Coot, Balearic Shearwater, Greater Flamingo

Depart at first light for The Zaers, a protected cork-oak hunting forest southeast of Rabat. Search the undergrowth for the elusive Double-spurred Francolin alongside Black-crowned Tchagra, Black-shouldered Kite, Long-legged Buzzard, African Blue Tit, and European Serin. In the afternoon, ascend into the Middle Atlas to overnight in Azrou

• Target Species: Double-spurred Francolin, Black-crowned Tchagra, Black-shouldered Kite, African Blue Tit

Explore the ancient cedar woodlands around Azrou for Levaillant's Green Woodpecker, Ruddy Shelduck, Firecrest, Wood Lark, and North African races of Great Spotted Woodpecker and Coal Tit (alongside troops of Barbary Macaques). Continue east to the stony sagebrush plains near Zaida to search tussock grass for the notoriously elusive Dupont's Lark

• Target Species: Dupont's Lark, Levaillant's Green Woodpecker, Seebohm's Wheatear, Thekla Lark, Black-bellied Sandgrouse

Drive south through the dramatic date-palm canyon of the Ziz Valley. Search palm groves for Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters, Lanner Falcons, and Barbary Falcons. Arrive in Merzouga at the base of the massive Erg Chebbi dunes, settling into your desert Kasbah lodge for a two-night stay during peak spring/autumn migration

• Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, Lanner Falcon, Barbary Falcon, White-crowned Wheatear, Wryneck

Board 4x4 vehicles before dawn in search of the Egyptian Nightjar in desert scrub. Scan the open hamada for Greater Hoopoe-Lark, Desert Sparrow, African Desert Warbler, Thick-billed Lark, and Cream-colored Courser. If winter rains have filled the temporary Dayet Srji lake, view flamingos and waterfowl framed by red dunes. Late afternoon searches along desert cliffs target Pharaoh Eagle Owl and Barbary Falcon

• Egyptian Nightjar, Desert Sparrow, Greater Hoopoe-Lark, Pharaoh Eagle Owl, African Desert Warbler

Scan scrub near Goulmima for Streaked Scrub Warbler and Fulvous Babbler. Continue to the sheer pink granite walls of Todra Gorge to spot breeding Alpine Swifts, Crag Martins, Rock Buntings, and nesting Bonelli's Eagles. In the late afternoon, bird the high stony plain of the Tagdilt Track (~1,600 m) for Temminck's Lark, Thick-billed Lark, Bar-tailed Lark, and Crowned Sandgrouse

• Target Species: Temminck's Lark, Thick-billed Lark, Streaked Scrub Warbler, Bonelli's Eagle, Tristram's Warbler

Drive west through the Rose Valley, checking riverbeds for Moroccan White Wagtails and migrating waders. Stop near Ouarzazate for Trumpeter Finches, White-crowned Black Wheatears, and Western Mourning Wheatears. Ascend High Atlas mountain slopes in search of Tristram's Warbler in low maquis scrub before checking into your hotel in the Ourika Valley

• Target Species: Tristram's Warbler, Trumpeter Finch, Moroccan White Wagtail, Western Mourning Wheatear

Ascend winding mountain roads to Oukaimeden (2,600 m) in the High Atlas. Search high Alpine slopes and snowlines for the Atlas Crimson-winged Finch, Atlas Horned Lark, Moussier's Redstart, Alpine Accentor, Seebohm's Wheatear, Rock Sparrow, and swirling flocks of Red-billed and Alpine Choughs. Descend toward the Souss Valley to overnight in Taroudant

• Target Species: Atlas Crimson-winged Finch, Atlas Horned Lark, Moussier's Redstart, Alpine Accentor, Golden Eagle

Bird the rich Souss Valley, scanning roadside citrus orchards and argan scrub thickets for Little Swifts, Pallid Swifts, European Rollers, Black-shouldered Kites, and migrating passerines. Arrive on the Atlantic coast at Agadir in the afternoon to prepare for coastal wetland exploration

• Target Species: European Roller, Black-shouldered Kite, Pallid Swift, Spotless Starling, Common Bulbul

Spend an intensive day inside Souss Massa National Park, one of North Africa's premier wetland reserves. Walk coastal steppes to observe roosting and feeding colonies of the critically endangered Northern Bald Ibis. Scan river estuaries and reedbeds for Black-crowned Tchagra, Marbled Duck, Glossy Ibis, Purple Heron, Marsh Harrier, Plain Martin, and Moustached Warbler

• Target Species: Northern Bald Ibis, Black-crowned Tchagra, Plain Martin, Marbled Duck, Glossy Ibis, Purple Heron

Head north along coastal cliffs, conducting a seawatch at Cap Rhir for shearwaters, skuas, and terns. Continue to Oued Tamri to visit one of the world's largest breeding colonies of Northern Bald Ibis, offering superb close-range photography opportunities. Scan beach estuaries for Audouin's Gulls, Barbary Partridges, and Moussier's Redstarts before arriving in Essaouira

• Target Species: Northern Bald Ibis, Audouin's Gull, Barbary Partridge, Moussier's Redstart, Zitting Cisticola

Observe Eleonora's Falcons hunting over the mouth of the Oued Ksob and off the protected cliffs of Mogador Island (breeding April–October). Drive north along Atlantic coastal lagoons through Oualidia and El Jadida, scanning tidal mudflats for wintering shorebirds, before arriving in Casablanca for your final night

• Target Species: Eleonora's Falcon, Audouin's Gull, Masked Wagtail, African Chaffinch, Eurasian Curlew

Enjoy breakfast at your hotel before your dedicated driver provides a comfortable, private transfer to Casablanca Mohammed V International Airport (CMN) for your onward flight.