The most noticeable birds in almost every area are the various different species of heron. Squacco Heron are particularly numerous, as are Purple Heron which outnumbers the Grey Herons by a large factor. Both Cattle Egrets and Little Egrets are also common, a decent-sized heronry consisting of nests of both species is in the northern part of the hotel. Pied Kingfishers are also here in quite large numbers.
The northern part of the island is dominated by the hotel, and its manicured grounds. The lawns are good for Hoopoe, and I found several groups of Eastern Olivacous Warblers and Lesser Whitethroat in the bushes and trees. The football field in the northeast is also a good spot to get close views of Spur-winged Plovers.
The southern tip of the island is fenced off completely. Access is possible, but would involve clambering through a large fence. Beyond the fence is a large area of very short grass and not much else. There were plenty of Wagtails and Pipits on the grass, as well as Northern Wheatears and Hoopoe.
The best birding areas are the east and west flanks of the island. In the east are a number of small farms (mainly onions and similar crops) with scattered low bushes, areas of short grass, and reedbeds. In the west the farms are larger, and are mainly wheat, there are similar areas of short grass and reedbeds.
The reedbeds in the east were easier to access, and were very productive. Clamorous Reed Warblers were very noticeable, but there were also Eurasian Reed Warblers, Sedge Warblers and a Red-spotted Bluethroat. Hirundines here included Sand Martin, House Martin and two different races of Barn Swallow (Red-bellied and White-bellied forms). The short grass was filled with various different races of Yellow Wagtail (see later post), and loads of Red-throated Pipits. The farms in this area were in various states of harvesting, and the fields with bare ground were good for larks. I had both Crested Lark and Thekla Lark, my first ever sighting, totally unexpected.
Another unexpected bird in the east was Masked Shrike, of which I saw at least 4 different birds. Very flighty, but very nice.
The farms in the west were less interesting, lots of Fan-tailed Cisticola and Graceful Warbler, as well as both Little Green Bee-eater and Blue-cheeked Bee-eater but not much else. The short grass areas had similar groups of Yellow Wagtails and Red-throated Pipits, as well as a group of 3 Painted Snipe.
The reedbeds in the west were extensive but harder to get close to than the east, though I did get great views of an African Swamphen here.
I had a chance encounter with a very nice local chap called Mahmoud who took me out in his boat to get a closer look at the shallow areas south of Crocodile Island, which was great. The headline item here was a group of 8 Ferruginous Ducks, as well as both Whiskered Terns and White-winged Black Tern, Western Marsh Harrier, and another group of 4 African Swamphen.
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