Egypt, November - December 2025

Summary

Our long-awaited tour to Egypt successfully combined all the major cultural highlights of Ancient Egypt (the Pyramids, the Sphinx, Luxor, The Valley of the Kings, Aswan and Abu Simbel) with some top-quality birding. The latter included several species hard or impossible to see anywhere else in the Western Palearctic, such as Nile Valley Sunbird, Senegal Coucal, Senegal Thick-knee, African Swamphen, Yellow-billed Kite, African Pied Wagtail, Reed Cormorant and Crimson-rumped Waxbill. These 'specials' were joined by a wide range of wetland birds, raptors, migrant passerines including Isabelline Shrike, various forms of Yellow Wagtail, Siberian Stonechat and many others, and a selection of desert species including White-crowned Wheatear, Mourning Wheatear and Desert Wheatear. In a packed programme, involving air, road, boat and train travel, we covered almost the entire length of the Nile Valley, and the interesting Fayoum Oasis area too. We also visited the spectacular Valley of the Whales, in the hyper-arid Western Desert. It was an extraordinary experience; we all learned to apply 'patience and flexibility' (as advised by Ernest, one of our local guides) to get the very best out of an amazing holiday!

Tuesday 25th November

We set off from Heathrow in the morning and arrived in Cairo at about 4.00pm local time, and transferred fairly smoothly to the Baron Hotel in the colonial-era suburb of Heliopolis. We also met our local bird guide, Watter, who would be with us from tomorrow evening in Tunis. After an excellent too-large buffet supper, we retired to bed.

Wednesday 26th November

After breakfast, we negotiated Cairo's traffic for just under an hour, heading for the brand new Grand Egyptian Museum (it had been open for less than three weeks). Wow! What an experience it was: the spectacular building itself was a real highlight, and the artefacts, displayed so superbly and en masse, were enchanting and sometimes overwhelming. We were lucky to have such a good guide in the form of Ernest, who gave us a great sense of the broad sweep of Egyptian history, while also ensuring we saw and understood some standout highlights. We marvelled at the eleven-metre-tall colossal statue of Ramses II, Pharaoh Khufu's 4500-year-old funerary barque (the oldest intact ship in the world), exquisite bas reliefs of Akhenaten from the Amarna period, and of course the gallery we most wanted to see: the complete collection of every item from the tomb of Tutankhamun, including the legendary and truly fabulous solid-gold funeral mask.

With sore feet and full brains, we took our leave at 1.00pm, feeling we had done the museum justice, but that you could probably spend three days there and not see everything! We headed a little south, and had lunch in a rooftop restaurant directly overlooking the Sphinx and the Pyramids: it was Ancient Egypt overload! We saw just a few birds in Cairo and Giza: a couple of Long-legged Buzzards at the Pyramids, Hooded Crow, Laughing Dove, Common Bulbul, White Wagtail and the first of many Barn Swallows of the gorgeous, rufous-bellied resident form savignii.

After an excellent lunch, we hit the road west, towards the Fayoum Oasis and the town of Tunis. We arrived late and in the dark, and in the middle of a noisy local cultural festival, and met up with Watter.

Thursday 27th November

We were up for coffee at 6.00am, and away at 6.30am. We started off with some very local birding by Qarun Lake, seeing a range of common waders, including Little Stint and Wood Sandpiper, plus lots of Slender-billed Gulls, Spur-winged Lapwing (which would prove to be common throughout the trip), African Green Bee-eater, Clamorous Reed Warbler, Graceful Prinia and Black-winged Kite.

We transferred to the east end of lake, and spent two hours having coffee and breakfast, and watching lots of birds, with regular turnover. Up to 1500 Shoveler and a few other ducks were on the calm waters of the bay, and many waders included Marsh Sandpiper, Little Stint, Wood Sandpiper and Ringed Plover. We also saw all three kingfishers (Common Kingfisher, Pied Kingfisher and White-throated Kingfisher), Squacco Herons, a Little Heron, and Whiskered Tern and Gull-billed Tern. A quick stop on the way back to Tunis was productive, with Bluethroat, African Swamphen for some, a pair of flighty Senegal Thick-knees, Water Pipit and Kentish Plover, along with more waders.

Back in Tunis we had an excellent lunch, at a restaurant with a beautiful garden full of flowering shrubs, which hosted a highly-desirable Nile Valley Sunbird, one of our top target birds!

With the sun now sinking in the sky, we walked through the town and emerged into an area of farmland for the last hour of light. We found some nice species here, like White-throated Kingfisher and African Green Bee-eater. But patience and a brief burst of tape lure were necessary to secure another major target species: Senegal Coucal! A single bird flopped unsteadily across in front of us and perched in a nearby tree. This is a hard bird to find outside the breeding season, so we were very pleased! We celebrated with a pizza dinner in a lively restaurant near the hotel.

Friday 28th November

At first light, we loaded up into a 4x4 and headed out into the desert west of Tunis. Our first stop was at a collection of fish ponds at Wadi Rayan. We found a good selection of birds, some of which we had already seen (including more Bluethroats and Water Pipits), but new ones were Pallid Swift, Marsh Harrier, Green Sandpiper, a surprising Jack Snipe, Northern Lapwing, Temminck's Stint, Yellow Wagtail, Great Egret, Ferruginous Duck and Spoonbill.

After a packed breakfast taken at a café by the big lake, we headed out across utterly barren desert and big dunes to Wadi el Hitan, the famous Valley of the Whales. We first toured the small museum, marvelling at the whale (and turtle and dugong) fossils on display, and then walked around the site, where various whale (mostly Eocene Basilosaurus, some 35 million years old) and dugong specimens lie in situ in the sands. We saw fossilised mangroves too, all set amid amazing water- and wind-sculpted hyper-arid scenery. The only bird was a White-crowned Wheatear by the car park.

We then had a highly exciting ride across steep and towering dunes, which speed-freak Julia found particularly thrilling, and arrived for a late lunch at the 'Arab Castle' rock formation, with Brown-necked Ravens and a Kestrel for company. This place felt very, very remote. After a short walk in the desert sands, we had a fairly long drive home in the gloaming.

Saturday 29th November

We set off at 6.30am and went to the west end of Qarun Lake. Highlights here were 46 Black-necked Grebes, a good selection of waders, including Avocets, European Stonechat, a nicely-perched kite which allowed firm identification as Black Kite (as opposed to Yellow-billed Kite: we had a lot of 'either/ors'!), and finally a very fine Great Grey Shrike of the North African and Middle Eastern form elegans.

After a superb breakfast at a nearby lakeside hotel, with Hoopoes, Common Bulbuls and friendly cats for company, we left Tunis and the Fayoum Oasis area behind. After a ninety-minute drive to Giza, we met up with Ernest once again. We had a fantastic three hours or so around the Pyramids, including a very hot, sweaty, exciting and claustrophobic trip to the centre of the Great Pyramid, and finished at The Great Sphinx. This really is one of those historical sites where words are neither necessary, nor have a chance of doing the place justice.

After a very large, late lunch nearby, we made a brief visit to a handicraft emporium where we successfully resisted buying anything, and then drove deep into Cairo and to the shiny, brand-new Bashtil Station, in good time to get on board the sleeper train to Aswan. We departed just after 8.00pm, ate an airline-style meal, and settled down for the night. Both of us slept surprisingly well, considering the tiny cabin and rocking motion of the train. The toilets were better than those of Indian trains...but only just!

Sunday 30th November

We were woken by the steward for breakfast, including more than passable coffee. The train rumbled on, reaching Aswan at about 10.00am, where we met our new bus and local cultural guide/fixer, Ahmed.

We first made a tour of the Low and High Aswan Dams, then dropped down to the docks by Lake Philae, the water body between the two. We hopped on our boat and chugged across to Philae Island, where we spent a superb hour visting Philae Temple, a late Ptolomaeic structure sacred to the goddess Isis, with later additions by Roman Emperors up to Hadrian and Trajan, and (rather movingly) the Graffito of Esmet-Akhom, the last known Egyptian hieroglyphic inscription, carved on August 24th 394.

We then hopped back in the boat and moved to another island for a late lunch, which was excellent, and as usual closely attended by friendly cats. Our last activity of the day was a gentle cruise up the eastern shore of the lake, checking for birds along the exposed muddy shoreline, on the rocks, and in the sky above. We racked up a good selection, including White-crowned Wheatear, Osprey, many Black Kites, Purple Heron and Black-crowned Night Heron, various waders and ducks (including more Ferruginous Ducks), Egyptian Geese, and an African Swamphen.

Tired after our overnight train journey and a full day, we headed back to the docks, transferred by bus to the main dock on the Nile proper, and sailed across to the Nub Inn, our hotel for the night.

Monday 1st December

We set off early with a packed breakfast, and enjoyed several hours slowly drifting around the granitic islands in the Nile around Aswan, including the famous Elephantine Island, and the Saloga and Gazal protected areas. We had great views of lots of waterbirds, such as African Swamphens and Senegal Thick-knees, a single White-winged Tern, and waders like Ruff, Spotted Redshanks, Black-tailed Godwits and Marsh Sandpipers. Featured raptors were Osprey, Marsh Harrier and many kites, including at least one firm Yellow-billed Kite, at last! We also found Indian Silverbills and a Namaqua Dove, and a purple patch at one spot turned up Yellow Wagtail, Red-throated Pipit and Siberian Stonechat in short order.

A prolonged and productive coffee stop on the west bank produced White-crowned Wheatear, plus a good selection of passerines in a patch of acacia scrub. We found many Chiffchaffs, Lesser Whitethroats, a Black Redstart, three Hoopoes, a Desert Wheatear, African Green Bee-eaters and a Nile Valley Sunbird. An hour in the botanic gardens on El Nabatat Island (or Kitchener's Island) was pleasant enough, but turned up little birdwise: just a brief Bluethroat and a Black Redstart.

We took lunch on an island overlooking the Nubian village at the south end of Elephantine Island, and then drifted through more reedy channels, catching up with many Ferruginous Ducks, herons, egrets, and even a furtive Little Bittern. A final brief stop on land by a pair of ponds was well worthwhile: we saw lots of Lesser Whitethroats, plus Little Heron, African Green Bee-eaters, Hoopoe, and the icing on the cake in the form of an Isabelline Shrike, an extremely migrant to the Nile Valley.

Then it was back to the hotel for a relatively early finish, at the end of a thoroughly relaxed and enjoyable day.

Tuesday 2nd December

We made a relaxed start: breakfast was at 8.00am (enlivened by two somewhat distant Black Storks), and we left at 9.00am by boat across the Nile, to rendezvous with our bus in Aswan. We headed off south for the roughly four-hour journey to Abu Simbel, a journey broken first by a flat tyre, and then a brief rest stop at a café. Birds were few, but included some quality: a distant Greater Spotted Eagle, Steppe Buzzard and a pair of Mourning Wheatears right where our tyre burst!

After grabbing a quick lunch on the go in the outskirts of town we arrived at the famous temple site at about 3.00pm. And what a time we had, enjoying the colossal facades of the Temples of Ramses II and his Queen Nefertari, and their breathtaking carved and engraved interiors. The thought of these entire temples having been translocated from their original locations, now under Lake Nasser, and painstakingly reconstructed and built into reinforced artificial mountains just added to the whole experience. We were on a high, compounded by checking in to our best hotel yet, mere yards from the temple site!

Wednesday 3rd December

We were up for a 7.00am breakfast, and set off for the dock at 7.30am. We chugged off happily, enjoying magnificent views of the temples from the water, and feeling quite smug at the size of the crowds already swarming the place, where we had had the place almost to ourselves the previous evening!

Good birds came steadily over the next four hours or so of our cruise: Great White Pelican, another confirmed Yellow-billed Kite, Reed Cormorants (at their only Western Palearctic site, and a lifer for Watter!), a very brief Brown-throated Martin (extremely rare in Egypt), Pallas's Gull, Greater Flamingoes, Great Grey Shrike, a selection of waders and wildfowl (including Wigeon), Clamorous Reed Warbler, many White-winged Terns and more.

At the very end, and right in front of Nefertari's temple, we found a cracking African Pied Wagtail: again, this is a huge Western Palearctic bird; it is an Afrotropical species only available to regional list-keepers in the upper Egyptian Nile. We had a light lunch at a café by a little reedy pond with showy Clamorous Reed Warblers, and then retired to our hotel in the warmest part of the day for a little R&R.

Simon went out for an hour from 4.30pm, exploring a reedy bay just near the hotel, and seeing stacks of Black-crowned Night Herons and Barn Swallows, plus Senegal Thick-knees, Purple Herons and another Reed Cormorant. Sadly, he couldn't turn any of the Collared Doves into African Collared Doves, another of Abu Simbel's Western Palearctic exclusives!

Later before dinner we boarded the hotel's amusing electric golf buggy and headed down to the temples once again for the entertaining son et lumière show. The best thing was seeing the temple lit up spectacularly at night. Gorgeous.

Thursday 4th December

We got up for a 6.00am start and drove down to the bays by the airport, briefly seeing a Desert Lark en route. Alas, we could find none of the recently colonising Village Weavers, but we saw plenty else in gorgeous warm morning light, including Desert Wheatear, Hoopoes, Marsh Harriers, Pallas's Gull, lots of Yellow Wagtails, including the forms feldegg and possibly beema, and various waders and other waterbirds.

Our second morning site was also entertaining in a low-key way, with lots of Clamorous Reed Warblers, good views of Siberian Stonechat and Bluethroat, Osprey, two African Pied Wagtails, and brief views of the other recent local colonist from tropical Africa, Crimson-rumped Waxbill. This is the only site for them in the Western Palearctic, and there are thought to be no more than ten of them...so far!

After breakfast, we set off for the fairly long journey across the desert. The few birds seen en route (again, we were not permitted to stop in this sensitive zone near the Sudanese border) included Greater Spotted Eagle, White Stork and Desert Wheatear.

We reached Aswan at about 2.30pm and boarded our dahabiya boat, the Merit, which immediately struck us as very much more than just comfortable! We enjoyed a late lunch and settled in for a lazy afternoon, watching the banks of the Nile go by.

Huge skeins of Glossy Ibises, numbering several hundred, flew to roost towards sunset, along with numerous egrets, herons, gulls and terns. At about 7.00pm we moored at Kom Ombo, and trooped up a low hill to the fabulous Ptolemaic era temple there, floodlit and looking simply wonderful. This dual temple to Sobek (the crocodile god) and Horus (the falcon god) was stunning, and the exquisite engravings and reliefs were a joy to behold. We finished with a visit to the fascinating small museum dedicated to mummified crocodiles. Awesome!

We enjoyed a late dinner, cruising north in the darkness with the full moon high overhead.

Friday 5th December

Shortly after 7.00am, we moored at Esna, and boarded the tug boat which had been towing us throughout the journey to transfer to land. We walked a little way to the Temple of Khnum, the creator of the animal kingdom and god of the Nile cataracts. We enjoyed the fabulous, very late (Roman era) architecture, complete with much intact original colour, superb frescoes, and remarkable images of Roman emperors depicted as Egyptian god-kings.

After a leisurely breakfast, we cruised until noon, enjoying various waterside and river birds on the way, and then moored at Watermelon Island for an hour's walk around the fields. Here we found some interesting birds, such as Bluethroat, Red-throated Pipit, both European Stonechat and Siberian Stonechat, Yellow Wagtails (including one of the endemic resident Egyptian form pygmaea), Hoopoes, African Green Bee-eaters, Black-winged Kites, and an impressive three new species for the trip: two Turtle Doves, an Isabelline Wheatear, and a truly excellent sixty or so Trumpeter Finches. This last species is normally a desert specialist, and a wintering flock on farmland was highly incongruous!

We enjoyed yet another great lunch, before carrying on towards Luxor. We moored south of the city for the night. Sadly, both of us were really quite ill: the less said the better! Apparently, others on board had been too...and Simon now tells me that the Nile boats are renowned for it!

Saturday 6th December

Today was primarily a cultural day. After breakfast on board, we finally said farewell to the Merit, and set off for Luxor. Sadly, as we were still ill, we had to forgo Karnak and Luxor temple, although we did see the latter from the bus later!

Thankfully, our hotel was very comfortable, and perfect for recovering! It was on an island in the Nile where the extensive greenery and riverside wetlands held tame Hoopoes, Indian Silverbills, Yellow Wagtails and other birds.

Sunday 7th December

Simon got up shortly after dawn for some birding by the Nile, and was rewarded with a fine White-tailed Lapwing, many Indian Silverbills and a few Red Avadavats, and all the 'usual wetland suspects' by the Nile.

We had a leisurely breakfast together on the terrace, being careful not to overeat and set off our poor stomach again! We then set off at 12.30pm for our final cultural adventure, on the west bank of the river, across from the city of Luxor. We first took in the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut, set magnificently against a steep escarpment. As well as the stunning vista, we enjoyed Long-legged Buzzard, a Mourning Wheatear and lots of Pallid Swifts here.

Next, we drove the short distance to The Valley of the Kings, just over the ridge from the previous site. Here, we explored four decorated pharaonic tombs: the extraordinarily deep tomb of Merenptah, those of Ramses IV and IX, and the tomb of the boy king Tutankhamun, whose treasures we had seen back in Cairo. He now lies separated from his worldly goods, in his tomb, but with a little more daily company than he bargained for thirty-three centuries ago!

Birds were rather few, as expected in such an arid setting, but did include quality in the form of both Greater Spotted Eagle and Eastern Imperial Eagle, and many Pallid Swifts.

With dusk gathering, we made one last stop at the Colossi of Memnon, named by the Emperor Hadrian after a hero of the Trojan wars, but actually depicting Pharaoh Amenhotep III. Some serious cross-cultural history was going on there! Simon enjoyed a meal in the Italian restaurant at the hotel; Julia remained close to the bathroom...

Monday 8th December

Simon again got up early and scored with an impressive 6+ White-tailed Lapwings, a Kentish Plover, lots of Red Avadavats and half a dozen Nile Valley Sunbirds. Julia concentrated on recovering for the trip home...

Some last-minute flight schedule changes meant a slightly frantic early departure from the hotel, but we reached Luxor airport in plenty of time for our noon departure. An hour later we were in Cairo, where we met up with Yasser, and successfully checked in at Terminal 2 with plenty of time to spare.

Our flight left pretty much on time, and we left the arid realm of Egypt for the howling gales of England! What an adventure it had been.