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birds. Autumn migration (September to October) through the Sinai is 
particularly spectacular. One of the most impressive sights is migration 
along Sinai's Mediterranean coast. The Protected Area at Zaranik on Lake 
Bardawil is the ideal site to see migrants. One can sit at Zaranik and 
watch tremendous flocks of herons, ducks, waders, gulls and terns, flying 
along the shore. On the beach, passerines, kingfishers and quails take 
refuge in the scrub, while pelicans and raptors can be spotted soaring 
overhead. Zaranik is not open to the general public, but access can be 
arranged through the North Sinai Governorate Environmental Office. If 
this is not possible, there are many other areas along Sinai's northern 
coast which birdwatchers can explore. 
In the autumn, migrating birds are found throughout the Peninsula, 
especially on the Gulf of Aqaba and Suez coasts. Passerine migrants occur 
in nearly all vegetated areas, even in remote desert oases, such as 
St Catherine. Birds work their way south to the tip of the Peninsula and 
then cross over to the Eastern Desert coast by way of the chain of islands 
lying at the mouth of the Gulf of Suez. In the vicinity of Sharm 
El-Sheikh and Ras Mohammed, large numbers of raptors and storks can be 
seen riding the thermals overhead as they cross the Gulf. The tip is also 
a bottleneck, with many birds stopping to feed and rest before continuing 
their journey south. Birds of prey and other exhausted migrants roost in 
the trees near the sewage pond located between Na'ama Bay and Sharm 
El-Sheikh and in the coastal mangroves. 
Spring migration (March to April) is also a good time to watch birds in 
the Sinai, but more information is needed about migration through the 
Peninsula during this season. As in the autumn, large numbers of birds 
migrate along the Mediterranean coast. Spectacular numbers of storks have 
been recorded at Zaranik in the spring, as well as a variety of raptors 
and passerines. Other birds enter Sinai at narrow points along the Gulf 
of Suez, for example at Gabel Tor. Ras Mohammed, at the tip of the 
Peninsula, is also a important migratory route, as thousands of birds of 
prey cross into the Sinai and then migrate up the coast to Eilat. 
In addition to migrants, interesting resident species occur in the Sinai. 
Cream-coloured Coursers and a variety of larks and wheatears can be seen 
while driving through the desert, especially in wadis and vegetated 
depressions. Sinai is also home to a number of rare resident species, 
such as Houbara Bustard, Lichtenstein' s Sandgrouse, Hume's Tawny Owl and 
Temminck's Horned Lark. Since the Peninsula is a transition point between 
the Middle East and North Africa, there are a number of birds resident in 
the Sinai found nowhere else in Egypt, such as Tristam's Grackle , Sinai 
Rosefinch, and Orange-tufted Sunbird. Red Sea species, such as Western 
Reef Heron and Green-backed Heron, occur on the beaches and in the 
mangroves in the south, and White-eyed Gull and Brown Booby, breeding on 
nearby islands, frequently appear along the southern coasts. 
