EGYPT - THE NILE VALLEY
In Search of Western Palearctic Megas!
DAY 1 ARRIVAL IN CAIRO - 9th April 2026
This is purely an arrival day into Cairo International Airport, and no birding or cultural excursions are planned. Night in Cairo.
DAY 2 CAIRO
This morning we will visit a couple of sites primarily in search of Senegal Coucal and possibly Streaked Weaver if any have been reported recently. But there's a fine supporting cast of other Western Palearctic megas that can also be found further south as well along the Nile such as African Swamphen (recently lumped in Purple Swamphen - but for how long?), Greater Painted Snipe, Senegal Thick-knee, African Green Bee-eater, Nile Valley Sunbird, Red Avadavat and Indian Silverbill. In the afternoon we can pay a visit to Giza and the Great Pyramid and Sphinx, because you simply have to when in Cairo! Night in Cairo.
DAY 3 CAIRO - ASWAN
We can spend most of the day searching for new species, and we can make a concerted effort to find Kittlitz's Plover which is at its most northerly site here in Egypt. In the late evening we will take the short domestic flight to Aswan and transfer to a lovely hotel where we will stay for 3 nights.
DAYS 4 - 5 ASWAN
Aswan gives us our first possibility of Yellow-billed Stork and African Pied Wagtail, although our chances of both species increase once we reach Abu Simbel. And in recent years there has been a small population of both Streaked & Village Weavers present here, along with Indian Silverbill and Red Avadavat. However, the birding around Aswan is spectacular and combining a mixture of roadside birding and making use of a motorised boat along the Nile we will have further chances of key species such as African Swamphen, Senegal Thick-knee, Greater Painted Snipe, African Green Bee-eater, Clamorous Reed Warbler and Nile Valley Sunbird, with potentially some really good photographic opportunities. Amongst a multitude of commoner species possible we could see using the Nile as a major migratory route - Ferruginous Duck, Glossy Ibis, Purple, Squacco & Striated Herons, Little Bittern, Black, Yellow-billed & Black-winged Kites, Long-legged Buzzard, Barbary Falcon, Gull-billed, Whiskered and Black Terns, various migrating passerines. Meanwhile, the Aswan area has become THE place in recent years to see the Western Palearctic mega - Three-banded Plover, a few pairs of which attempt to breed here every year at its only known site in the entire Western Palearctic! Nights in Aswan.
DAY 6 ASWAN - ABU SIMBEL
After some final birding in the Aswan area we will drive around 3 hours south to Abu Simbel where we will stay for 3 nights. We are sure to be super excited tonight as the avifauna occurring here has a closer affinity to the Afrotropics (sub-Saharan Africa) than to the Palaearctic and there are some extremely sought-after species to find over the next couple of days.
DAYS 7 - 8 ABU SIMBEL
Abu Simbel offers the keen Western Palearctic lister some of the rarest birds in our region and the possibilities are truly exciting. Mega WP species present here - Reed Cormorant, Yellow-billed Stork, Kittlitz's Plover, Plain (Brown-throated) Martin and African Pied Wagtail. If there's ever going to be another Pink-backed Pelican or African Skimmer in the Western Palearctic, then it will be here!
Potential other species are many and varied and hopefully we can witness some good migration and find the bushes and trees alive with passerines! Possibilities include Egyptian Goose, Eurasian Spoonbill, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Glossy Ibis, Osprey, White-throated & Pied Kingfishers, Spur-winged Lapwing, Little Stint, Curlew Sandpiper, Slender-billed Gull, Whiskered, White-winged & Gull-billed Terns, Laughing Dove, European Turtle Dove, Eurasian Hoopoe, Eurasian Golden Oriole, European & Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters, Bee-eater, Pale Crag Martin, Eurasian Wryneck, Woodchat & Masked Shrikes, White-crowned Wheatear, Rufous-tailed Scrub-Robin, Semicollared Flycatcher, Graceful Prinia, Great Reed & Clamorous Warbles, Marsh, Eastern Olivaceous & Eastern Bonelli's Warblers, Brown-necked Raven, Red-throated Pipit, Western Yellow Wagtail of several different races and more. If we are lucky, then an evening excursion could give us a Pharaoh Eagle Owl or Egyptian Nightjar. As we are right on the edge of the Western Palearctic boundary during prime migration season, the chances of finding something rare are pretty good!
We can also visit the spectacular Abu Simbel Temples, which were built in honour of Ramses II and his beautiful wife Nefertari. The sound and light show shortly after sunset is awesome! Nights in Abu Simbel.
DAY 9 ABU SIMBEL - CAIRO
Another full day's birding before taking a late evening flight to Cairo and transfer to a hotel for the night.
DAY 10 RETURN FLIGHTS TO UK/EUROPE - END OF TOUR - 18th April 2026
All that remains is to return to Cairo International Airport for our return journey home.
