Northern bald ibis colonies, Souss-Massa & Tamri

Northern bald ibis (Geronticus eremita). Agadir coast, Souss-Massa, Morocco.

Best time: 15 Mar – 15 Jun (March to June). Where: Oued Massa estuary – Sidi Rbat (park sector), Tamri estuary & cliffs (north of Agadir), Oued Souss mouth, Agadir (Morocco). Time of day: Dawn flight from the cliff roosts to the feeding steppes in the hour after sunrise.

• Partly on your own
• Entry fee
• Binoculars essential
• Sound 3/5

Open it in the interactive calendarSunrise and sunset listening times for the day you pick, and the map.

When is the best time?

Peak: 15 Mar – 15 Jun. Mid March to mid June (eggs from March, chicks fledge May–June); birds are present all year

Active from 15 Feb to 15 Jul (February to July) in a typical year.

Time of day

Dawn flight from the cliff roosts to the feeding steppes in the hour after sunrise; return in the last 90 minutes of light

• Leaving the cliffs: 30 min before sunrise → 90 min after sunrise
• Return to roost: 90 min before sunset → sunset

What will you hear?

Guttural 'hrump' and hissing calls at the cliff, and the low grunting chatter of a feeding flock working the coastal steppe. The world's last truly wild population — around 95% of it — lives on these few kilometres of cliff.

Binoculars?

Binoculars essential. Ibis feed on the steppe and estuary fields 100–300 m from the road; binoculars needed, a scope for the cliff roosts at Tamri.

Where to go

• Oued Massa estuary – Sidi Rbat (park sector) — Park entrance and eco-guides at Sidi Rbat; the ibis feed on the steppe between the estuary and Sidi Wassay. Access is with a licensed park guide; the breeding cliffs themselves are closed. Map
• Tamri estuary & cliffs (north of Agadir) — Holds close to half the population; birds feed in the estuary fields and along the N1 road cliffs. Watch from the road and beach, never the cliff top. Map
• Oued Souss mouth, Agadir — Roosting waders, flamingos and spoonbills below the royal palace fence; sunset access only from the Inezgane side. Map

How to go on your own, and what it costs

Tamri is free: park by the N1 bridge over the estuary (bus Agadir–Essaouira stops in Tamri) and watch the feeding flocks from the road, beach and fields. Inside Souss-Massa NP the ibis sector is guided only (park rule): eco-guides are hired at the Sidi Rbat park entrance, no tour company needed. Cliffs and nests are closed everywhere.

Cost: Tamri free. Souss-Massa: park entry plus a licensed eco-guide — check current prices at the Sidi Rbat entrance.

Free or no-guide alternative: The Tamri estuary holds close to half the world population and is watched free from the N1 road, the beach and the field edges — dawn departure and evening return both visible.

Field-recording notes

Critically endangered until 2018 and still guarded: no approaching nest cliffs, no drones, no playback, and stay with the park guide inside Souss-Massa (permit through ANEF for anything beyond a day visit). Wind is the enemy on this coast — an onshore breeze builds by 10:00 most days, so the dawn departure is the window. Argan-steppe ambience is very dry and open, with goats, dogs and the N1 traffic at Tamri; the estuary mouths add surf. Fledging weeks (late May–June) are when the flocks are noisiest on the feeding grounds.

Sources

• Wikipedia – Souss-Massa National Park
• ANEF – Agence Nationale des Eaux et Forêts (park authority, permits)
• GREPOM – BirdLife Morocco

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