New book about Birds of Morocco by Ignacio Yúfera

Waking up everyday with the amazing views of the Jebel Musa on the Moroccan coastline, obviously has a strong impact on us. Its proximity to Tarifa, literally on the other side of the Strait of Gibraltar, compels us to visit Morocco often. So often now, that we consider it one of our main birding regions. For this reason there’s always a great deal of excitement when a new book about the birds of this region is being published. Birds of Morocco, by Ignacio Yúfera, is a beautifully presented book, a photographic journey through some of the most interesting birding routes in the country. It contains high-quality pictures of all the charismatic species of birds you would want to see, but not only.

The chapters of the book are organized to reflect different birding routes, so we can actually discover the birds in the book in a similar way as we would when traveling along the Moroccan mountains, desert and coast. Along with the fantastic photography, the text provide a sense of ambience: it’s informative and absorbing. This is a photography book that can actually be read and used as a relevant information source on some aspects of the biology of the birds, the Moroccan culture, and, also importantly, the fabulous gastronomy! Short fragments of Arabic poetry and local sayings enrich some of the descriptions.

However, the strongest point of this book is, undoubtedly, its photography. Ignacio Yúfera is considered by many to be one of the best nature photographers in Spain, and it won’t be a surprise to anyone familiar with his work, that the technical quality here is excellent. Some of our favorite pictures depict the most humble and inconspicuous species, like the different larks or the charismatic Desert Sparrow. On the other hand, the Pharaoh Eagle Owl, the Eleonora’s Falcon and the Bonelli’s Eagle, stand out with the characteristic strength of these species, same as the brightly colored images of the Tristram’s Warbler and the Moussier’s Redstart, to name a few.

It’s also important to note that Birds of Morocco is available in English, Spanish and Arabic, which constitutes an important and conscious step to raise awareness of the diversity and the sensitive ecosystems of Morocco among the local population.

This spring, we will be running several trips to Morocco, from the northern coast, across the Atlas and the Sahara Desert, all the way to the legendary city of Dakhla, and the reading of this book increases our excitement greatly.

Highly recommended!