The boardwalk
Through reeds and tamarisk.
Mohammad hajeer — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Mohammad hajeer — CC BY-SA 4.0 · xorge — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Mohammad hajeer — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Mohammad hajeer — CC BY-SA 4.0
What remains of an oasis that was once one of the largest bodies of fresh water in the eastern desert, fed by springs from groundwater flowing down from the Hauran mountains, and a stopover for millions of birds migrating between Africa, Europe and Asia. In the 1980s the springs all but dried up after their groundwater was pumped to Amman and the northern cities. The Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature founded the reserve in 1977 and later began pumping water back into part of the wetland, so the pools and reeds returned, and the birds with them, though the area is a small fraction of what it was. A raised boardwalk leads through reeds and tamarisk to quiet pools and a bird hide; with luck you will see herons, ducks and waterbirds, especially in spring and autumn, the migration seasons. The pools are also home to the Azraq killifish, a small fish found nowhere else on earth. The reserve is a few minutes from Qasr Azraq; about ten kilometres south is Shaumari, the reserve where the Arabian oryx was brought back to Jordan.
Through reeds and tamarisk.
In spring and autumn.
Found only here.
South Azraq, eastern Jordan
Its groundwater was pumped to Amman and the northern cities from the 1980s and the springs dried up; the reserve now returns water to part of it.
Spring and autumn, the bird migration seasons, and early morning, when birds are most active and the heat is lighter.