Egypt Sep 26—Oct 14, 2010
Posted by David Bishop
David Bishop
David Bishop loves his vocation and cannot imagine anything better than exploring wild and beautiful places in Asia and the Pacific in the company of friends and clients. H...Related Trips
Our 2010 Egypt tour was absolutely marvelous and a great success. As VENT's first exploration of the antiquities and nature of Egypt and Jordan, it proved to be a very special departure. It was a great pleasure for us to showcase these fascinating countries and their incomparable antiquities, outstanding birding and natural history experiences, surprisingly superb food, and wonderfully friendly people. I doubt any of us will ever forget the Temple of Ramses II at Abu Simbel, the exquisite galleries adorning the tombs in the Valley of Kings, and the very Nile itself.
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But what of the birding? Quite simply, it was fabulous. We tallied an exceptional 195 species, substantially more than virtually any other tour company ever sees, including such gems as Egyptian Nightjar, Red-footed Falcon, a flock of 14 White-tailed Lapwings, Three-banded Plover, Sooty and White-eyed gulls, White-cheeked Tern, gorgeous views of the elusive Lichtenstein's Sandgrouse, clouds of Spotted Sandgrouse, Eurasian Wryneck, Masked and Woodchat shrikes, Fan-tailed Raven, Greater Hoopoe-Lark, Fieldfare, Red-throated Flycatcher, Citrine Wagtail, and Trumpeter Finch. Add to this some neat herps and a total of ten species of mammals, including six species of bats, one of which was a fabulous close view of a naked-backed tomb bat.
Our thanks to Abdullah and Mohammed, our very special guides in Egypt; Anwar in Jordan and the many local guides; and the drivers and hotel staff, all of whom helped make this such a memorable tour. And our thanks to all of the participants for helping to make this such an outstanding tour. We look forward to traveling with you all again.