Bird Watching in Tunisia
Guide to birds of Tunisia, bird photography, Tunisia bird photos, birds Tunisia, Important Bird Areas (IBAs) in Tunisia, Birding Tour, Luxury Bird Watching Adventures in Tunisia, Bird Checklist in Tunisia, Tunisia Birding Holidays
A bird checklist in Tunisia discloses about 390 special species of bird are to be found in the country, 187 of them breeding. Most species are of Palearctic or desert origin. Bird watching holidays to Tunisia offer a profusion of exciting species. Be amazed by the impressive number of species of birds ranging common, wintering and migrant birds in the several Tunisia ecosystems. The country has several magnetic spots and water bodies, which are home to many thousand visiting and resident birds every year. Bird watchers to Tunisia have always enjoyed looking at and listening to birds, but an increasing number nature enthusiast have taken an interest in identifying the wide spectrum of birds and in travelling to new spots to see them.
Birds of Tunisia
Among the species of the checklist of the birds of Tunisia you can find waterfowl and wading birds, a large suite of raptors, game birds, swifts and nighthawks, etc, many of which occupy several ecosystems simultaneously. Common sightings include the Northern Pintail, White-headed Duck, Red-breasted Merganser, Goosander, Smew, Common Goldeneye, Egyptian Goose, Whooper Swan, Barnacle Goose Black Scoter, Greater Scaup, Tufted Duck, Ferruginous Duck, Red-crested Pochard, Marbled Teal, Long-tailed Duck Oldsquaw, Common Teal, Garganey, Northern Shoveler, Mallard, Eurasian Wigeon, Gadwall, Ruddy Shelduck, Common Shelduck, Common Pochard, Brent Goose Brant, Greater White-fronted Goose, Greylag Goose, etc.
TUNISIA BIRDING HOTSPOTS
Lake Kelbia
Kelbia is one of the great flood-plain wetlands situated in central Tunisia, about 20km north-east of Kairouan and 30km west of Sousse. It watered by three major rivers that rise in the mountains of the Dorsale, the Nebhana, the Merguellil and the Zeroud. This is a lake on the edge of the pre-desert steppe, which dries out completely in dry years, but is important for groundwater conservation and, in wet years, for flood control and waterfowl. The lake currently holds vast and impressive numbers of water birds such as the Purple Swamphen, Marbled Duck and White-headed Duck all of which breed on a more or less regular basis. Others include Sedge Warbler, Moustached Warbler, and Great Reed Warbler breed in the dense vegetation around the lake and Greater Short-toed Lark, Lesser Short-toed Lark, Calandra Lark, Little Egret, Squacco Heron, Crested Lark and Thekla Lark in the immediate area. Spectacled Warbler is also present and Marmora’s Warbler occurs in winter. At peak times Lake Kelbia may attract more than a quarter of a million birds.
Ichkeul National Park
Over 226 species of birds including 34 breeding residents are known to reside and visit the park. Lake Ichkeul and the marshes are exceptional stopover points for hundreds of thousands of migrating birds that winter at Ichkeul. Wintering wetland birds include the threatened marbled teal, ferruginous duck, and corncrake, and numbers of green-winged teal, northern pintail, northern shoveler and black-winged stilt. Flamingos are more prominent on the lake during summer. Predators include Booted Eagle, Bonelli’s Eagle, Peregrine Falcon, Egyptian Vulture, Marsh Harrier, Lanner Falcon, Threatened Peregrine Falcon, Collared Pratincole and Moussier’s Redstart. Migrant Marsh Harrier and Reed Warbler are common, also the threatened migrant white stork. The rare Black Stork and Glossy Ibis are recorded.
When to go for Bird Watching
The best tourist season in Tunisia is late October / early November then goes through to March. Nonetheless, bird breeding in Tunisia is more prevalent in the summer. This is when the rare varieties are most visible and its also when you can watch them build their nests and raise their young.
Common Tips For Successful Bird Watching in Africa;
- Be sure you have a decent pair of binoculars and have adjusted and practiced using them.
- Always locate a bird first with a naked eye. The field of view through binoculars is much narrower, making it harder to search.
- Note the behaviour. Wading in shallow water, climbing a tree trunk, swimming, diving through the air, emerging from a mud nest, or sitting on a fence post, all narrow the choices down considerably.
- Size is helpful, but conditions can be misleading. A bird towering overhead or flying by, may seem much larger or smaller than reality. A reference object is helpful – a tree, fence post, telephone pole, etc.
- Observe the shape or profile of the bird. A long-bill, long legs, or tufted head immediately eliminates many possibilities.
- Habitat is always a useful consideration. In the midst of a coniferous forest you expect to see a different set of birds (avifauna).
- Lastly, hire a good bird guide as they identify characteristics most helpful to identification.
