In July 2003 I visited Jordan for the second time, once again for business reasons, and I could take a couple of days for a brief visit to Wadi Dana, an area I hadn’t seen in my first visit. I rented a car at the airport and drove directly to Wadi Dana Nature Reserve, operated by the RSCN. It’s an easy 2 ½ hour drive from the airport.

The Guesthouse is located near the village of Dana, and it has wonderful views of the wadi itself. Rooms are very nice with shared bathrooms; it’s best to book them in advance through the RSCN .

July 24 .
I left the Guesthouse at 6:00 and walked to the so-called Terraced Gardens in the village of Dana, an area of fruit orchards around the village, past the small mosque towards the hills that surround it. This area is reputedly very good with migrants, although my hopes were low due to the time of the year. Chukar (Alectoris chukar) could be heard from the moment I left the Guesthouse, and a group was soon located sunning in the early morning. Passerines abounded in the orchards, including Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis), Palestine Sunbird (Nectarinia osea), Lesser Whitethroat (Sylvia curruca), and, to my surprise, Syrian Serin (Serinus syriacus). I had expected this bird to be harder to find; according to literature there’s a small population in the oak and juniper woods at Barra Forest, further south from Dana. Also, the date didn’t seem good, Spring being the ideal time to find them. But here they were, 3-4 adults seen throughout the orchards and a small group of immature birds drinking at a small pool formed by a stream that descended from the hills, together with a male Cretzschmar’s Bunting (Emberiza caesia). Orphean Warbler (Sylvia hortensis) and Sardinian Warbler (Sylvia melanocephala) were also seen around this area.

Leaving the trees behind and up the hills the terrain became dryer, with more Chukar and Scrub Warbler (Scotocerca inquieta). At 8:30 the weather was perfect, sunny but with very mild temperature. I walked back to the wadi past the Guesthouse area and saw a group of 5 Griffon vulture (Gyps fulvus) soaring over the escarpments. Black-eared Wheatear (Oenanthe hispanica) and Desert Lark (Ammomanes deserti) were common in the rocky hillsides. Couples of Tristram’s Grackle (Onychognathus tristramii) flew frequently over the wadi, their calls providing a very suitable soundtrack to the landscape.

At 11:00 I started to descend the wadi with the intention of walking all the way to Fenan, which I was told took around 7 hours.
I was somewhat deceived by the mild temperatures; by2:00 pm it was really hot and there was no shade to be found at the wadi’s bottom. Fortunately I carried a good provision of water. However, the scenery was superb and I was rewarded with spectacular eye-level views of a pair of Bonelli’s Eagle (Hieraaetus fasciatus).
The walk also produced Blue Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius), a single Little Green Bee-eater (Merops orientalis), White-crowned Black Wheatear (Oenanthe leucopyga), Mourning Wheatear (Oenanthe lugens), Desert Lark, Blackstart (Cercomela melanura), and a single House Bunting (Emberiza striolata) near a Bedouin camp. Along the wadi I also saw several agamid lizards Pseudotrapelus sinaitus and Laudakia stellio, and geckos Ptyodactylus guttatus.

I finally reached Fenan in 5 hours. I had arranged for a van to pick me up there, and while I waited I walked the area of desert and shallow wadis around the works of the new hotel, where I saw Palestine Sunbird, Blackstart, Desert Lark and a small flock of Trumpeter Finch (Bucanetes githagineus).

Pseudotrapelus sinaitus, male	Ptyodactylus guttatus

July 25.
I drove towards Azraq, stopping on the way near the Rummana Campsite. A promising site with a water spring was crowded with shepherds and their goat herds, and I only saw Isabelline Wheatear (Oenanthe isabellina), Mourning Wheatear and Goldfinch.
The Azraq wetland reserve offered a sad sight, being almost totally dry. Only Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos) and Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus) were present at the few permanent pools.I spent the night at the Azraq Resthouse Hotel, the RSCN’s Guesthouse being under reconstruction.

July 26.
I drove to the Shaumari Wildlife Reserve . In the surrounding desert  things were much quieter than in March, with only resident species like Temminck’s Horned Lark (Eremophila bilopha), Hoopoe Lark (Alaudemon alaudipes), Crested Lark (Galerida cristata), plus a Gerbil Gerbillus sp. Sitting on the reserve’s fence I saw a Long-legged Buzzard (Buteo rufinus) and a Southern Grey Shrike (Lanius meridionalis).

In the bushes near the entrance I was surprised to find what I later identified as a Spotted Munia (Lonchura punctulata), an Asian species, most likely an escape. It was eating scrub seeds and seemed rather confiding.In the trees inside the reserve I could see a roosting Barn Owl (Tyto alba), and a pair of Rufous Bush Robin (Cercotrichas galactotes) hunting among the captive Ostrich. The reserve had the same assortment of Ostrich and Arabian Oryx as in my last visit, but the Gazelles were absent. When I asked I was told that they had been released within the reserve’s perimeter, and only 2 had survived. They also had two Striped Hyenas, one of them missing a leg from being caught in a trap.
From there I drove to Qasr Amra , on the way to
Amman
. The whole area was much dryer than in March 2002 and the vegetation rather scorched, but behind the desert castle there was a partially full waterhole with Little Stint (Callidris minuta), Green Sandpiper, and Trumpeter Finch. Right next to the waterhole begins Wadi Butm, a long and shallow wadi that is an excellent area for migrants in the right season, but at this time I only saw Olivaceous Warbler (Hippolais pallida), Desert Wheatear (Oenanthe desertica) and Temminck’s Horned Lark.