The drive back from the Red Sea Hills to Khartoum is long and boring, taking about 10 hours. The dullest stretch is the flat featureless desert that has to be crossed between Haya in the east and Atbara, which is on the Nile. However, 150km before Atbara (at N18 degrees 07.36 - E035 degrees 16.01) I saw three vultures circling and got out to identify them. I then spotted some others sitting nearby and went over to see if there was a carcass they were feeding on. I could not see a carcass, but found a couple of pools of water that are not visible from the road. It looks as though they have been dug deliberately, though it was hard to tell if they would hold water all year, as some others were dry. There were quite a lot of Lappet-faced Vultures here, plus some Ruppell's Vultures and a couple of Eurasian Griffon Vultures. There was also a Steppe Eagle and some passerines. There was not time to check the passerines properly, but they included Red-throated Pipit, Ortolan Bunting, Chiffchaff and Short-toed Lark. This might be a site worth checking on future crossings, especially as there is precious little else to look at round there.
Lappet-faced Vulture, pools between Atbara and Haya 1st November 2012
Ruppell's Vulture, pools between Atbara and Haya 1st November 2012
Eurasian Griffon Vulture, pools between Atbara and Haya 1st November 2012
Ruppell's and Lappet-faced Vultures, pools between Atbara and Haya 1st November 2012
Steppe Eagle, pools between Atbara and Haya 1st November 2012
Ortolan Bunting, pools between Atbara and Haya 1st November 2012
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