Spring amphibian chorus of the Middle Atlas lakes and Mamora

Sahara frog (Pelophylax saharicus), Berber toad (Sclerophrys mauritanica), Mediterranean tree frog (Hyla meridionalis), Moroccan spadefoot (Pelobates varaldii, Mamora only), North African fire salamander (silent). Middle Atlas lakes (Ifrane) and Mamora cork-oak forest (Kénitra), Morocco.

Best time: 10 Mar – 30 Apr (March to April). Where: Dayet Aoua (Ifrane), Aguelmame Azigza (Khenifra), Mamora forest dayas (Sidi Slimane–Kénitra) (Morocco). Time of day: From the last light through the first 3 hours of dark.

• You can go on your own
• Free
• No binoculars needed
• Sound 4/5

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

When is the best time?

Peak: 10 Mar – 30 Apr. Mid March to end of April at the lakes; the spadefoot chorus in Mamora is earlier (Dec–Feb) after heavy rain

Active from 15 Feb to 31 May (February to May) in a typical year.

Time of day

From the last light through the first 3 hours of dark; frogs sing through mild nights

• Night chorus: sunset → 3 h after last light

What will you hear?

A wall of Sahara frog laughter and the slow purr of Berber toads from the reed margins of the crater lakes, tree frogs' hard 'crra' from the willows, and — in the flooded cork-oak dayas of Mamora — the underwater 'kok' of Morocco's endemic spadefoot.

Binoculars?

No binoculars needed. Chorus from the lake shore after dark; a torch finds tree frogs, nothing else.

Where to go

• Dayet Aoua (Ifrane) — Crater lake with a road round it; reedy west shore. Level varies hugely between years — dry in drought years. Map
• Aguelmame Azigza (Khenifra) — Deep cedar-ringed lake, the quietest of the Middle Atlas lakes at night. Map
• Mamora forest dayas (Sidi Slimane–Kénitra) — Temporary pools in the cork-oak forest; the only place on Earth for Pelobates varaldii, which calls submerged. Forest tracks are public; no collecting. Map

How to go on your own, and what it costs

All three sites are on public roads and forest tracks with no gate or fee; Dayet Aoua is a 15-minute drive from Ifrane, Azigza off the R503 south of Khenifra, the Mamora dayas off the N4/N6 forest pistes. No night restrictions; be discreet near villages.

Cost: Free (2026).

Field-recording notes

The lakes freeze in January and a March night at 1,500 m can still be 0°C — the chorus needs mild, damp nights. Sheep dogs and cattle bells on the lake shores, generators at the picnic cafés at Dayet Aoua (weekends), otherwise very quiet. Mamora's spadefoot is critically endangered and calls under water: a hydrophone on a pole in a daya after rain is the way, and no wading through the pools. Levels of these Moroccan wetlands are falling; check whether a lake has water before the drive.

Sources

• MDPI Animals – Wintering waterbirds of the Saïss–Middle Atlas wetlands (habitat loss)
• xeno-canto – Morocco recordings

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More: all spectacles in Morocco · frog and toad choruses · Morocco in March · Morocco in April