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World atlas

Souss-Massa National Park

National Park · Morocco

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Photo © This Photo was taken by Timothy A. Gonsalves. Feel free to use my photos, but please mention me as the author. I would much appreciate if you send me an email tagooty@yahoo.com or write on my talk page, for my information. Please contact me before commercial use. Please do not upload an edited image here without consulting me. I would like to make corrections only at my own source to ensure that the changes improve the image and are preserved.Otherwise you may upload an edited image with a new name. Please use one of the templates derivative or extract.

Photo © This Photo was taken by Timothy A. Gonsalves. Feel free to use my photos, but please mention me as the author. I would much appreciate if you send me an email tagooty@yahoo.com or write on my talk page, for my information. Please contact me before commercial use. Please do not upload an edited image here without consulting me. I would like to make corrections only at my own source to ensure that the changes improve the image and are preserved.Otherwise you may upload an edited image with a new name. Please use one of the templates derivative or extract. — CC BY-SA 4.0 — Source: Wikimedia Commons

ABOUT

Where the Atlantic coastal plains meet the semi-arid interior of southwestern Morocco, Souss-Massa National Park protects a landscape shaped by scarcity and adaptation. The park encompasses a mosaic of habitats defined by its BSh climate—hot semi-arid conditions with low, erratic rainfall concentrated in winter months—creating a terrain of sparse scrubland, seasonal wetlands, and open grasslands punctuated by acacia groves and drought-resistant shrub communities. The Massa River, though often reduced to a trickle or underground flow outside the wet season, becomes the ecological pulse that sustains the park's biodiversity during winter and spring. This hydrological variability has forged resilient ecosystems where small mammals shelter in rocky outcrops and burrow systems, insectivorous birds exploit the sparse vegetation layer, raptors hunt across open ground, and waders concentrate along temporary water bodies and the river margins whenever moisture returns. The park's position on migration corridors between Europe and sub-Saharan Africa amplifies its significance during passage seasons, when transient species swell the resident communities.

For wildlife photographers and birders, Souss-Massa rewards patience and knowledge of seasonal rhythms. The winter months—November through March—bring the most reliable concentrations of migratory waders, waterfowl, and raptorial species to the river valley and wetland margins, offering dramatic light across semi-open terrain where subjects remain relatively exposed and accessible. Spring migration and the brief flowering episodes that follow winter rains present opportunities to photograph small passerines and insectivorous birds in clearer focus than the park's sparse vegetation normally permits. The park's coastal access via Essaouira and Agadir makes logistics straightforward, and the landscape's horizontal expanses and lower vegetation profile create excellent sightlines for spotting birds of prey quartering across open ground. Visiting during the wetter half of the year maximizes both the ecological activity of the park and the visual drama of a semi-arid ecosystem responding to rare precipitation.

WILDLIFE

Type

Northern Bald Ibis

Geronticus eremita

Moussier's Redstart

Phoenicurus moussieri

Greater Hoopoe-Lark

Alaemon alaudipes

Struthio camelus

Common Shelduck

Tadorna tadorna

Tadorna ferruginea

Blue-winged Teal

Spatula discors

Northern Shoveler

Spatula clypeata

Mareca strepera

Anas platyrhynchos

Northern Pintail

Aythya fuligula

Great Spotted Cuckoo

Clamator glandarius

Spotted Sandgrouse

Pterocles senegallus

Black-bellied Sandgrouse

Pterocles orientalis

Common Wood Pigeon

Columba palumbus

European Turtle Dove

Streptopelia turtur

Eurasian Collared Dove

Streptopelia decaocto

Spilopelia senegalensis

Gallinula chloropus

Red-knobbed Coot

Fulica cristata

Tachybaptus ruficollis

Greater Flamingo

Phoenicopterus roseus

Eurasian Stone-curlew

Burhinus oedicnemus

Eurasian Oystercatcher

Haematopus ostralegus

Black-winged Stilt

Himantopus himantopus

Recurvirostra avosetta

Pluvialis squatarola

Common Ringed Plover

Charadrius hiaticula

Anarhynchus alexandrinus

Eurasian Whimbrel

Numenius phaeopus

Eurasian Curlew

Numenius arquata

Bar-tailed Godwit

Limosa lapponica

Gallinago gallinago

Common Sandpiper

Actitis hypoleucos

Green Sandpiper

Tringa ochropus

Marsh Sandpiper

Tringa stagnatilis

Common Redshank

Spotted Redshank

Tringa erythropus

Common Greenshank

Tringa nebularia

Ruddy Turnstone

Arenaria interpres

Calidris canutus

Calidris pugnax

Curlew Sandpiper

Calidris ferruginea

Temminck's Stint

Calidris temminckii

Calidris alpina

Cream-colored Courser

Cursorius cursor

Sternula albifrons

Gull-billed Tern

Gelochelidon nilotica

Hydroprogne caspia

Chlidonias niger

Thalasseus sandvicensis

Lesser Crested Tern

Thalasseus bengalensis

West African Crested Tern

Thalasseus albididorsalis

Hydrocoloeus minutus

Slender-billed Gull

Chroicocephalus genei

Black-headed Gull

Chroicocephalus ridibundus

Ichthyaetus audouinii

Mediterranean Gull

Ichthyaetus melanocephalus

Yellow-legged Gull

Larus michahellis

Ciconia ciconia

Northern Gannet

Great Cormorant

Phalacrocorax carbo

Plegadis falcinellus

Egretta garzetta

Ardeola ralloides

Pandion haliaetus

Black-winged Kite

Elanus caeruleus

Short-toed Snake Eagle

Circaetus gallicus

Hieraaetus pennatus

Aquila chrysaetos

Bonelli's Eagle

Aquila fasciata

Eurasian Sparrowhawk

Accipiter nisus

Montagu's Harrier

Circus pygargus

Western Marsh Harrier

Circus aeruginosus

Long-legged Buzzard

Western Barn Owl

European Roller

Coracias garrulus

Common Kingfisher

European Bee-eater

Merops apiaster

Eurasian Wryneck

Falco tinnunculus

Eleonora's Falcon

Falco eleonorae

Falco biarmicus

Peregrine Falcon

Falco peregrinus

Black-crowned Tchagra

Tchagra senegalus

Great Grey Shrike

Lanius excubitor

Woodchat Shrike

Pica mauritanica

African Blue Tit

Cyanistes teneriffae

Galerida cristata

Greater Short-toed Lark

Calandrella brachydactyla

Pycnonotus barbatus

Brown-throated Martin

Riparia paludicola

Riparia riparia

Eurasian Crag Martin

Ptyonoprogne rupestris

Hirundo rustica

Western House Martin

Delichon urbicum

Cetti's Warbler

Phylloscopus sibilatrix

Western Bonelli's Warbler

Phylloscopus bonelli

Phylloscopus trochilus

Common Chiffchaff

Phylloscopus collybita

Iberian Chiffchaff

Phylloscopus ibericus

Acrocephalus schoenobaenus

Common Reed Warbler

Acrocephalus scirpaceus

Western Olivaceous Warbler

Melodious Warbler

Hippolais polyglotta

Common Grasshopper Warbler

Locustella naevia

Zitting Cisticola

Cisticola juncidis

Eurasian Blackcap

Sylvia atricapilla

Sardinian Warbler

Curruca melanocephala

Western Subalpine Warbler

Curruca iberiae

Spectacled Warbler

Curruca conspicillata

Spotless Starling

Sturnus unicolor

Common Blackbird

Spotted Flycatcher

Muscicapa striata

Erithacus rubecula

Luscinia svecica

European Pied Flycatcher

Ficedula hypoleuca

Phoenicurus ochruros

Common Redstart

Phoenicurus phoenicurus

Blue Rock Thrush

Monticola solitarius

European Stonechat

Saxicola rubicola

Northern Wheatear

Oenanthe oenanthe

Isabelline Wheatear

Oenanthe isabellina

Desert Wheatear

Oenanthe deserti

Western Black-eared Wheatear

Oenanthe hispanica

Red-rumped Wheatear

Oenanthe moesta

Oenanthe leucura

Spanish Sparrow

Passer hispaniolensis

Passer domesticus

Motacilla cinerea

Anthus campestris

Red-throated Pipit

Anthus cervinus

African Chaffinch

Fringilla spodiogenys

Trumpeter Finch

Bucanetes githagineus

European Greenfinch

Chloris chloris

Linaria cannabina

European Goldfinch

Carduelis carduelis

Serinus serinus

Emberiza calandra

Ortolan Bunting

Emberiza hortulana

Emberiza cirlus

Emberiza sahari

Spatula querquedula

Eurasian Wigeon

Mareca penelope

Marmaronetta angustirostris

Ferruginous Duck

Melanitta nigra

Helmeted Guineafowl

Numida meleagris

Coturnix coturnix

Double-spurred Spurfowl

Pternistis bicalcaratus

European Nightjar

Caprimulgus europaeus

Tachymarptis melba

Cuculus canorus

Rallus aquaticus

Porzana porzana

Great Crested Grebe

Podiceps cristatus

European Golden Plover

Pluvialis apricaria

Eurasian Dotterel

Eudromias morinellus

Northern Lapwing

Vanellus vanellus

Phalaropus fulicarius

Tringa glareola

Calidris minuta

Collared Pratincole

Glareola pratincola

Chlidonias hybrida

Franklin's Gull

Leucophaeus pipixcan

Great Black-backed Gull

Parasitic Jaeger

Stercorarius parasiticus

Pomarine Jaeger

Stercorarius pomarinus

Stercorarius skua

European Storm Petrel

Hydrobates pelagicus

Leach's Storm Petrel

Hydrobates leucorhous

Cory's Shearwater

Calonectris borealis

Scopoli's Shearwater

Calonectris diomedea

Manx Shearwater

Puffinus puffinus

Yelkouan Shearwater

Puffinus yelkouan

Balearic Shearwater

Puffinus mauretanicus

Gulosus aristotelis

Black-crowned Night Heron

Nycticorax nycticorax

Western Reef Heron

Egretta gularis

European Honey Buzzard

Pernis apivorus

Griffon Vulture

Circus macrourus

Eurasian Scops Owl

Blue-cheeked Bee-eater

Merops persicus

Levaillant's Woodpecker

Picus vaillantii

Eurasian Golden Oriole

Oriolus oriolus

Garrulus glandarius

Western Jackdaw

Coloeus monedula

Brown-necked Raven

Corvus ruficollis

Ammomanes deserti

Bar-tailed Lark

Ammomanes cinctura

Eurasian Skylark

Alauda arvensis

Melanocorypha calandra

Pale Crag Martin

Ptyonoprogne obsoleta

Great Reed Warbler

Acrocephalus arundinaceus

Moustached Warbler

Acrocephalus melanopogon

Eastern Olivaceous Warbler

Locustella luscinioides

Western Orphean Warbler

Curruca hortensis

Tristram's Warbler

Curruca deserticola

Common Whitethroat

Curruca communis

Dartford Warbler

Fulvous Babbler

Troglodytes troglodytes

Common Starling

Sturnus vulgaris

Turdus philomelos

Common Nightingale

Luscinia megarhynchos

Saxicola rubetra

Oenanthe seebohmi

White-crowned Wheatear

Oenanthe leucopyga

Petronia petronia

Anthus pratensis

Anthus trivialis

Anthus spinoletta

Eurasian Chaffinch

Fringilla coelebs

Eurasian Siskin

Sooty Shearwater

Short-eared Owl

Barbary Ground Squirrel

Atlantoxerus getulus

North African Hedgehog

Atelerix algirus

Maghreb Roundleaf Bat

Hipposideros tephrus

Panglobal Common Dolphin

Delphinus delphis

Eurasian Wild Boar

Dromedary Camel

Camelus dromedarius

Egyptian Mongoose

Herpestes ichneumon

Egyptian Slit-faced Bat

Nycteris thebaica

Kuhl's Pipistrelle

Pipistrellus kuhlii

Sundevall's Roundleaf Bat

Hipposideros caffer

Mustela nivalis

Addax nasomaculatus

Scimitar-horned Oryx

View Complete List (259 more) →

COMMUNITY

0 Community observations

No community observations yet — be the first to log a sighting here.

Natural environment

Souss-Massa National Park

Dry conditions dominate, with strong contrasts between day and night.

Usual climateHot semi-aridLowland

Average annual temperature 19.2 °C Average of the twelve monthly means

Average elevation 33 m Lowland

Climate pattern Hot semi-arid Also: Hot desert

A year of temperatures

Monthly means, with the coldest and warmest highlighted

Monthly minimum · January 15.4 °C Monthly maximum · August 22.6 °C

Global temperature scale

−40°−20°0°20°40°

Terrain and elevation

33 m · Lowland

Average terrain elevation estimate across the hotspot; the figure does not represent its highest summits.

Elevation scale

33 m

02,0004,0006,0008,000m

Lowland

Long-term climate averages, not live weather.

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