Steppe Buzzard and Common Kestrel on Al Tobag hill
It’s so nice to notice that more and more people are getting interested in watching birds in Jordan. Even some of my guests ask me to take them to Al Tobaq hill, after they’ve read the report of these two Spanish couples about this birding site.
In the late afternoon on the 19th of September 2018 I stepped with Leonie and Marcel (from the Netherlands) in their rental car to drive up to the end of the road to Tobaq hill for some birdwatching. We hiked over the dirt road, slowly crossing the contour lines.
Bushes on the side of the road give good hiding spots for the more little birds like this Redstart. Not easy to see, but he is really there!
There were also these beautiful purple flowers, keeping up her head above the dry soil! I looked them up and it’s Colchicum. The nickname is ‘Naked ladies’ as they have no stems.
“They are characterized by pink or white flowers without stems, and long female organs that extend below ground where the ovaries are”.
Then from behind the hilltop, a Steppe Buzzard appears, and another one. They are flying around each other, like being in a fight. Marcel, who is a birdwatching guide himself, brought his camera with a zoom lens and took some nice pictures of the two, no, there is a third one! Steppe Buzzards. Here you can see the series of pictures he took of this “dance”.
And I also did my best to catch some raptors with my camera; see this picture of Common Kestrel.
We not only looked up to the sky but also enjoyed the wide view over Petra and Little Petra. And we looked down and found many fossils! In another blog, I will tell more about that!
So this hike is a perfect hike for families with a bird-loving mother or father and fossil-hunting-loving children. Or just nature-loving people!
