Mr. Mohamed Habib is a coral specialist and underwater photographer.
He also has a degree in Marine Biology from the Suez Canal University in Egypt. He consults different conservation organisations such as the Red Sea Marine Protectorates of Egypt, amongst others.
His relatively new passion is bird watching, which brought him to visit our Deep South Village Wadi Lahami, which is situated directly next to a big mangrove area. Here, many special bird species nest and breed - we were very happy to hear that the famous Goliath Heron is back in the area!
Mr. Mohamed arrived with two famous Belgian bird watchers, Dirk Colin and Kris de Rouck, who also write for Dutch birding magazines. They told us that Wadi Lahami is the best spot for "birding", because it is a very calm area without noise from resorts or traffic which is why birds choose it as their resting and breeding spot. The absence of resorts and thus organic waste also guarantees that the birds hunt and eat their natural food instead of garbage, like they unfortunately do in large resort areas.
Chris & Dirk also love the village as the distance from the accommodation to the nesting areas in the mangroves is only a 5 min walk away - usually bird watchers have to travel great distances to see such special birds like we have them. Here in Wadi Lahami, they even keep their binoculars with them during meal times, as some birds can be observed while sitting comfortably in the cafeteria/restaurant area.
Many waders and shore birds are living and nesting in the mangroves of Wadi Lahami. You can always expect to see ospreys which are nesting here year round. Some of the more common birds are the White Heron, Night Heron, Striated Heron and sometimes the Spoonbill. The Sooty Falcon is common in the summer as well as the White-eyed Gull, and the White-cheeked and Caspian tern.
Sometimes we are even fortunate enough to see Flamingos including the Pink Flamingo. In fall and spring thousands of small birds like Swallows, Stonechats, Pipits, Wagtails and Kingfisher can be seen.
The Goliath Heron (first picture) is a very shy companion but seems to be back in the Hamata mangroves.
