Spring passage and desert night birds around Merzouga
Palearctic passerines on passage (wheatears, warblers, shrikes, bee-eaters), Egyptian nightjar (Caprimulgus aegyptius), pharaoh eagle-owl, desert sparrow, sandgrouse, greater flamingo on Dayet Srji. Erg Chebbi, Tafilalet (south-east), Morocco.
Best time: 20 Mar – 25 Apr (March to April). Where: Dayet Srji salt lake (west of Merzouga), Erg Chebbi – Auberge belt and tamarisk hollows, Rissani palmeries (Morocco). Time of day: Dawn and the first 3 hours for passage birds on the oasis and lake edge.
- You can go on your own
- Free
- Binoculars helpful
- 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: 20 Mar – 25 Apr. Last ten days of March to late April; nightjars are calling from early April
Active from 1 Mar to 15 May (March to May) in a typical year.
Time of day
Dawn and the first 3 hours for passage birds on the oasis and lake edge; nightjars and eagle-owls from dusk until about 2 hours after, and again before dawn
- Oasis passage: first light → 3 h after sunrise
- Nightjar & owl: sunset → 2 h after last light
What will you hear?
The desert's two great night voices — the endless churring of Egyptian nightjar and the deep hoot of pharaoh eagle-owl — over a noise floor close to nothing; by day, the surprise of a full Palearctic passerine chorus grounded in a dune-edge tamarisk oasis, sandgrouse arriving to drink, and flamingo and shelduck on the salt lake in a wet year.
Binoculars?
Binoculars helpful. Nightjars and eagle-owls are heard in the dark; binoculars by day for migrants in the tamarisks and flamingos on Dayet Srji.
Where to go
- Dayet Srji salt lake (west of Merzouga) — Seasonal lake; full only after winter rain, when it holds flamingos, ruddy shelduck, marbled teal and stilts. Egyptian nightjars nest on its edges — local guides know the day roosts. Map
- Erg Chebbi – Auberge belt and tamarisk hollows — Any auberge garden at the dune foot works as a migrant trap; the hollows towards Taouz for desert sparrow and eagle-owl. Map
- Rissani palmeries — Migrant fall-out in the palm groves; heavy with village noise. Map
How to go on your own, and what it costs
Bus (CTM/Supratours) to Merzouga or Rissani; any auberge at the dune foot works as a base. Dayet Srji is a 20-minute walk west of Merzouga village and the tamarisk hollows are open desert — no gate, no fee, no guide required. Local guides (ask at the auberges) know nightjar day roosts, optional.
Cost: Free (2026); local bird guide optional, check current prices.
Field-recording notes
Dry, dust-laden air: the chergui wind gets up most spring afternoons and sand will find its way into anything unsealed — keep capsules capped, use a fur, and clean connectors nightly. Nights are dead calm and cold and among the lowest noise floors in the whole calendar, apart from 4x4 tours, quad bikes and auberge generators (most stop by 23:00). No permit needed outside the SIBE; nightjars are ground-nesters, so no torches on the nest sites and no walking the lake edge in April. Pharaoh eagle-owls respond to playback — don't.
Sources
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More: all spectacles in Morocco · bird migration hotspots · Morocco in March · Morocco in April