Birdwatching is more than just looking for birds.
For me, it is a way to discover the landscape, meet people, walk through the mountains, and notice the small details of nature that are easy to miss when we simply pass through a place.
This is why I love what I do at Atlas Birdwatching.
I am based in the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco, where I spend much of my time exploring valleys, forests, orchards, rivers and mountain villages in search of birds. The area around Asni, Ait Mizane and Oukaimeden offers an incredible variety of habitats, and every walk can bring something different.
I love being outside
One of the best things about birdwatching in Morocco is that you do not always need a complicated expedition.
Sometimes the best experience is simply walking along a quiet mountain trail early in the morning, listening to the birds and watching the landscape slowly come to life.
In the High Atlas, we can walk through agricultural fields, walnut and fruit orchards, rivers and wooded areas before climbing towards higher mountain habitats.
I prefer walking whenever the conditions allow it. It gives us time to observe not only birds, but also the landscape, traditional villages and the way local people live.
For me, a birding trail in Morocco is not just a route from one bird to another. It is part of the experience.
Every bird has a story
One of the reasons I became passionate about birdwatching is that birds make you look at the world differently.
A small movement in a tree, a call coming from a rocky slope or a bird flying across the valley can completely change the direction of a morning.
Some species are relatively easy to find, while others require patience, experience and a little luck.
The Levaillant’s Woodpecker (Picus vaillantii) is a perfect example. Finding this beautiful woodpecker in the High Atlas is always special. It is one of the birds that makes me stop, watch carefully and appreciate the habitat where it lives.
There are many other species that make birdwatching in Morocco so rewarding, from mountain birds and wheatears to warblers, raptors and woodland species.
And sometimes, the most memorable bird is not the rarest one. It is simply the bird you were not expecting to see.
I love the High Atlas
The High Atlas is at the heart of what I do.
The mountains are more than a beautiful backdrop for a birdwatching trip. They are a living environment with many different habitats.
The valleys around Asni and Ait Mizane, the forests and higher elevations around Oukaimeden, and the surrounding agricultural landscapes all offer different opportunities for observing birds.
This is why I believe that birding in Morocco can be much more than visiting a famous birding location.
It can be about exploring a whole landscape.
One morning we may be watching birds near a river. Later, we may be walking between orchards and Berber villages. Another day, we may climb higher into the mountains looking for species adapted to the rocky and open environment.
Every day feels different.
I love sharing the experience
Perhaps the best part of my work is sharing these places with visitors.
People come to Morocco for different reasons. Some are experienced birdwatchers looking for particular species. Others are discovering birdwatching for the first time.
I enjoy both.
I like helping experienced birders find the species they are hoping to see, but I also enjoy the excitement of someone seeing a bird through binoculars for the first time.
Sometimes a guest will ask me about a bird that I have seen many times, and their question makes me look at that bird in a completely new way.
That is one of the things I love about guiding.
I am not simply showing people birds. I am sharing a place that I know and love.
Birdwatching and local life
For me, a good birdwatching tour in Morocco should also connect visitors with the place around them.
The High Atlas is home to villages, farms, orchards, rivers and traditional ways of life. These landscapes are closely connected with the birds and wildlife that live here.
When we walk through the countryside, we are not just looking at nature from a distance. We are experiencing the landscape as a whole.
A morning of birdwatching can include birds, mountain views, local agriculture, traditional villages, Moroccan tea and conversations along the way.
That combination is what makes birdwatching in the Atlas Mountains special.
I am still learning
I do not consider myself someone who has finished learning about birds.
Quite the opposite.
Every season teaches me something new.
Bird behaviour changes. Habitats change. Weather changes. The birds we find in one place one week may not be there the next.
Sometimes I spend a long time looking for one species and find nothing. Then, on another morning when I am not expecting it, the bird suddenly appears.
This is one of the reasons I continue to love birdwatching.
There is always another species to learn, another call to recognise, another valley to explore and another question to answer.
Why Atlas Birdwatching?
I created Atlas Birdwatching because I wanted to share my knowledge of the High Atlas in a personal way.
I want visitors to experience Morocco birding not only as a list of species, but as an experience.
My goal is simple: to offer relaxed, personal and genuine birdwatching experiences in the High Atlas Mountains.
Whether you are an experienced birder searching for Levaillant’s Woodpecker, a photographer looking for mountain birds, or simply someone who wants to discover the wildlife of Morocco, I want you to enjoy the experience rather than feel that you are simply following a schedule.
The reason I keep doing it
At the end of the day, I love what I do because it brings together many things that matter to me:
Birds. Mountains. Walking. Nature. People. And Morocco.
I can spend the morning outside, discover something new, meet someone from another part of the world and share with them a landscape that I have known for years.
That is more than a job for me.
It is a way of life.
And every time I see a bird I have been searching for, hear an unfamiliar call in the mountains, or watch a guest become excited about a bird for the first time, I remember why I started Atlas Birdwatching.
This is why I love what I do.