It is difficult to now imagine what the Sharm El Sheikh area must have been like for migratory birds prior to the bloom (or rash- take your pick) of hotel complexes and their extensive and water hungry gardens.

The national park of Ras Mohammed gives us some idea, where the acatia trees and mangroves can occasionally show good numbers of birds such as shrike and warbler but Ras Mohammed as a birding site is not on the whole nearly as good as it's reputation suggests as most migrating species do not pass directly through it. This is particularly true in spring. For passerines and waders both passage and wintering it is to the gardens of Sharm that one must look.

Trip notes that have been reported online have pinpointed the Moevenpick Golf course as a water-rich garden that is worth a look, however we have never been. We do intend to go but there are so many good places we haven't quite got round to it yet.

One area we have had a good look around is the Peace Road/Delta Sharm garden area. This starts down at the Metro supermarket near Old Sharm and runs up hill to Delta Sharm and turns right down Tower Road to where the old sewage works, now dry and dead unfortunately, were situated. Over the winter this area contains chiff chaff, orphean warbler, house crow and the usual range of dove and sparrow which are abundant everywhere. Come mid April and things start to change with the arrival of lots of lesser whitethroat, garden and bonelli's warbler, blackcap and a range of shrike and flycatcher. Wryneck are around. We hope to have lots of new sightings as we get time to check the gardens out more regularly.

The great thing about the gardens of Sharm is that it doesn't really matter which one you watch- they all turn up great birds year round. I only wish one I was watching had a bloody wryneck in it. (cam)