Egypt Ramsar wetland
Wadi Elrayan
122 bird species recorded; the most in January.
Rowaydaabdelgwad · CC BY-SA 4.0
This month here
98 species in January.53 species in February.60 species in March.47 species in April.45 species in May.15 species in June.6 species in July.0 species in August.0 species in September.73 species in October.85 species in November.79 species in December.
The birds you are most likely to see in the month you choose, those that come for the season first. It opens on today's month.
NT
NT
NT
No records for this month.
No records for this month.
- Resident all year
- Summer visitor comes to breed
- Winter visitor comes for the winter
- Passage migrant in spring and autumn
In numbers
122 species, counted.
Our own rating, from the records only: species (50 points), threatened species (20), migrants (20) and protected status — Ramsar, IBA, SPA, observatory (10).
- 122Speciesrecorded more than once
- 74Migrantssummer, winter or passage visitors
- 4ThreatenedVulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered (IUCN)
- 2,579Recordsopen records within 6 km
- 7Raptors
- 1Owls
- 28Waders
- 8Gulls & seabirds
- 11Ducks & geese
- 14Herons, ibises & grebes
- 1Flamingos
- 36Songbirds
- 16Other birds
From open records (eBird and others, through GBIF, licensed for any use). More birdwatchers mean more records: a quiet place may have more birds than it shows.
The checklist
All 122 species.
By group, with the year in twelve cells: the darker the cell, the more often the bird is recorded that month.
Raptors7 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Western Marsh HarrierCircus aeruginosus
- Common KestrelFalco tinnunculus
- OspreyPandion haliaetus
- Black KiteMilvus migrans
- Black-winged KiteElanus caeruleus
- Greater spotted eagleAquila clanga
- Peregrine FalconFalco peregrinus
Owls1 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Little OwlAthene noctua
Waders28 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Spur-winged LapwingVanellus spinosus
- Little StintCalidris minuta
- Black-winged StiltHimantopus himantopus
- Common Ringed PloverCharadrius hiaticula
- Common SnipeGallinago gallinago
- Pied AvocetRecurvirostra avosetta
- Common SandpiperActitis hypoleucos
- RedshankTringa totanus
- DunlinCalidris alpinaNT
- Marsh SandpiperTringa stagnatilis
- Common GreenshankTringa nebularia
- Kentish PloverCharadrius alexandrinus
- Eurasian CurlewNumenius arquataNT
- Wood SandpiperTringa glareola
- Spotted RedshankTringa erythropus
- Grey PloverPluvialis squatarolaVU
- Green SandpiperTringa ochropus
- Black-tailed GodwitLimosa limosaNT
- RuffCalidris pugnax
- Jack SnipeLymnocryptes minimus
- Temminck's StintCalidris temminckii
- Greater Painted-snipeRostratula benghalensis
- Senegal Thick-kneeBurhinus senegalensis
- Cream-coloured CourserCursorius cursor
- Northern LapwingVanellus vanellusNT
- Curlew SandpiperCalidris ferrugineaVU
- White-tailed LapwingVanellus leucurus
- Greater Sand PloverCharadrius leschenaultii
Gulls & seabirds8 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Slender-billed GullChroicocephalus genei
- Whiskered TernChlidonias hybrida
- Black-headed GullChroicocephalus ridibundus
- Pallas's GullIchthyaetus ichthyaetus
- Gull-billed TernGelochelidon nilotica
- White-winged TernChlidonias leucopterus
- Little TernSternula albifrons
- Lesser Black-backed GullLarus fuscus
Ducks & geese11 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Northern ShovelerSpatula clypeata
- Eurasian TealAnas crecca
- MallardAnas platyrhynchos
- Northern PintailAnas acuta
- Ferruginous DuckAythya nyrocaNT
- Eurasian WigeonMareca penelope
- Ruddy ShelduckTadorna ferruginea
- Tufted DuckAythya fuligula
- Common PochardAythya ferinaVU
- Common ShelduckTadorna tadorna
- GarganeySpatula querquedula
Herons, ibises & grebes14 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Grey HeronArdea cinerea
- Little EgretEgretta garzetta
- Great CormorantPhalacrocorax carbo
- Little GrebeTachybaptus ruficollis
- Great White EgretArdea alba
- Squacco HeronArdeola ralloides
- Western Cattle EgretBubulcus ibis
- Glossy IbisPlegadis falcinellus
- Black-crowned Night-HeronNycticorax nycticorax
- Great Crested GrebePodiceps cristatus
- Eurasian SpoonbillPlatalea leucorodia
- Purple heronArdea purpurea
- Striated HeronButorides striata
- Great White PelicanPelecanus onocrotalus
Flamingos1 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Greater FlamingoPhoenicopterus roseus
Songbirds36 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Barn swallowHirundo rustica
- White WagtailMotacilla alba
- House SparrowPasser domesticus
- Crested larkGalerida cristata
- Hooded CrowCorvus cornix
- Graceful WarblerPrinia gracilis
- Common ChiffchaffPhylloscopus collybita
- BluethroatLuscinia svecica
- Clamorous Reed WarblerAcrocephalus stentoreus
- Common BulbulPycnonotus barbatus
- Western Yellow WagtailMotacilla flava
- Water PipitAnthus spinoletta
- Hoopoe LarkAlaemon alaudipes
- Lanius excubitorLanius excubitor
- Sand MartinRiparia riparia
- Zitting CisticolaCisticola juncidis
- Sardinian WarblerCurruca melanocephala
- Desert wheatearOenanthe deserti
- Pale Crag MartinPtyonoprogne obsoleta
- Common House MartinDelichon urbicum
- Northern WheatearOenanthe oenanthe
- Eastern Olivaceous WarblerIduna pallida
- Brown-necked RavenCorvus ruficollis
- Red-throated PipitAnthus cervinus
- Spotted FlycatcherMuscicapa striata
- Red AvadavatAmandava amandava
- Isabelline wheatearOenanthe isabellina
- Indian SilverbillEuodice malabarica
- Woodchat ShrikeLanius senatorNT
- Great Reed WarblerAcrocephalus arundinaceus
- Rufous-tailed Scrub RobinErythropygia galactotes
- Lesser whitethroatSylvia curruca
- Eurasian Reed WarblerAcrocephalus scirpaceus
- White-crowned Black WheatearOenanthe leucopyga
- Common RedstartPhoenicurus phoenicurus
- SkylarkAlauda arvensis
Other birds16 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Pied KingfisherCeryle rudis
- Laughing DoveSpilopelia senegalensis
- CootFulica atra
- Common MoorhenGallinula chloropus
- Eurasian Collared DoveStreptopelia decaocto
- Common KingfisherAlcedo atthis
- White-breasted KingfisherHalcyon smyrnensis
- Eurasian HoopoeUpupa epops
- Rock DoveColumba livia
- African Green Bee-eaterMerops viridissimus
- Western SwamphenPorphyrio porphyrio
- Pallid SwiftApus pallidus
- Blue-cheeked Bee-eaterMerops persicus
- Bee-eaterMerops apiaster
- European Turtle DoveStreptopelia turturVU
- European SwiftApus apus
Monthly presence relative to all bird records that month, so a busy month does not inflate every species.
When to go
The most species in January.
Species recorded in each month, with the usual temperature and rain.
- Jan18°/5°4 mm
- Feb21°/7°5 mm
- Mar26°/10°2 mm
- Apr30°/13°1 mm
- May35°/18°0 mm
- Jun38°/21°0 mm
- Jul39°/22°0 mm
- Aug38°/23°0 mm
- Sep36°/20°0 mm
- Oct31°/17°1 mm
- Nov25°/12°9 mm
- Dec20°/8°5 mm
- Bar: species recorded that month.
- Temperature: average maximum / minimum (NASA, 1991–2020).
- Rain: monthly total.
The place
Wadi Elrayan.
Nature reserve in Egypt
Wadi Elrayan is a wetland of international importance (Ramsar) in Egypt.
122 bird species have been recorded here more than once, in 2,579 open records.
The most recorded are the Pied Kingfisher, the Spur-winged Lapwing and the Slender-billed Gull.
14 species come for the summer, 59 for the winter and 1 only pass through.
4 are threatened worldwide, including Grey Plover, Common Pochard and Curlew Sandpiper.
The most species are recorded in January.
Get there and watch
- Sphinx International Airport (SPX)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 112 km in a straight lineCar hire at CAI airport (Cairo)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
Plan the visit
A guided walk, a bed nearby, a car.
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
From above
The place and its surroundings.
The satellite image of the 6 × 6 km around the place, with the bird hides, towers and trails that OpenStreetMap shows.
Around, in OpenStreetMap
- bird hides within 6 km
- observation towers within 6 km
- marked trails within 4 km
- visitor centres within 6 km
- viewpoints within 5 km
- car parks within 3 km
- restaurants and cafés within 3 km
- campsites within 10 km
- places to stay within 10 km
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet.
In our other atlases
Around Wadi Elrayan.
The lakes, beaches, islands, rivers and mountains around this place, and its night sky, in the family's atlases.
Peakyas19 mountains within 25 km‘Ilwet el-Nâyid · 3.4 kmMinqār ar Rayyān · 15 kmKawm Madīnat an Nuḩās · 15 kmKawm Madīnat Ji‘rān · 16 kmTall al Ma‘rakah · 17 kmKawm Madīnat Māḑī · 19 kmKawm al Khamsīnī · 21 kmJabal Ţanās · 24 km
Lakeyas1 lakes within 15 kmLake El Rayan50 km² · 3.7 km
Figures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.
Photographs
The place, as people saw it.
Where these figures come from
| Name and type | Wikidata (Q6562520) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Birds | 2,579 open bird records within 6 km (GBIF, CC0 and CC BY 4.0 only; mostly eBird, Cornell Lab of Ornithology) |
| See these records | gbif.org |
| Species | GBIF Backbone Taxonomy · CC BY 4.0; Wikidata (CC0); Wikimedia Commons |
| Altitude | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Temperature and rain | NASA POWER (CERES SYN1deg, 2001–2020; MERRA-2) |
| What is around | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Sister atlases | Peakyas, Lakeyas |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
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