Felucca Birdwatching in Aswan
A long, wonderful day birdwatching in Aswan, sailing around the islands, with AUC Press Nature Foldouts in hand!
One of the most beautiful places to sail along is Qubbet El-Hawa (dome of the wind).
Some of the birds I spotted today include:
Grey Heron
Purple Heron
Great White Egret
Squacco Heron
Glossy Ibis
Little Egret
Little Bittern
Cattle Egret
Great Cormorant
Kingfisher
Purple Gallinule
Common Moorhen
also a kite I could not properly identify flying high over Qubbet El-Hawa.
I am pleased to see that all these birds are listed in Birds of the Nile Valley Nature Foldout.
The felluca captain, my friend Jumah جمعه , stopped to show me a rare tree, only two of which can be found here in Aswan. It is called Shjarah Almsthyah الاشجاره المستحيه. When touched, its leaves immediately relax as though going to sleep. But Jumah likes to strike it with a stick and chant “عيب استحي” (“ayb astahy”), as though magically sending it into a spell. More information about a similar plant can be found here: http://www.shajrah.com/ميموزة-مستحية
We also observed plenty of fishermen today, and caught a few fish ourselves, observing Nile Tilapia, Nile Carp and Nile Puffer.
Jumah approves of the AUC Press Nature Foldouts, especially the Arabic translations!
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