Jordan's remarkable variety of habitats - from rugged mountains and evergreen woodlands to scrubby steppe and hot deserts also makes for a dazzling variety of bird species. Jordan's Great Rift Valley is something of a high-traffic crossroads on the main migration routes for birds moving between Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Russia, and Africa. At certain  times of the year, the skies over the Rift Valley are full of circling birds of prey.

    Bird watching in Jordan is also enhanced by the genuine friendliness of the Jordanian people, and the opportunity to combine bird-watching with trips to some of the Middle East's most awesome ancient and natural wonders, such as Petra, Wadi Rum, or the Dead Sea.

What sort of birds can you see?

    The Eastern Desert habitat is interrupted by the Azraq Wetland Reserve, and is home to aquatic and desert species along with migrants in the spring, such as the Temmiink's Horned Lark, Desert Lark, Hoopoe Lark, Desert Wheatear and Trumpeter Finch. In winter, Cranes and Imperial Eagles roan across this area, while in the Desert Castles area east of Amman you can see Tick-billed Lark and Red-rumped Wheatears.

    In the western highland Mediterranean habitats, surrounded by open steppe country, the wooded area of Ajloun, Zubia, Dibbin, and Dana are home to the Palestine Sunbird, Upchers, Orphean, and Sardinian Warbler. The more open steppe habitats typically contain the Spectacled Warbler, Long-billed Pipit, Black-eared Wheatear, Woodchat Shrike and Linnet.

    The rift margins and valleys of the western highlands represent the crossroads of four biogeographic zones. Wadi Shu'eib and Wadi Mujib with their perrenial watercourses are home to beautiful Smirna Kingfisher, while at the magnificient rocky gorges of Wadi Rum, Dana, Mujib and Petra you can find the Griffon Vulture, Bonelli's Eagle, Hume's Towny Owl, Blackstart, different Wheatears, Scrub Warbler, Sinai Rose Finch, House Bunting, Tristram;s Grackle and Fan-tailed Raven.
The Dead Sea area and Wadi Arabah are home to Arabian and African species such ass the Sand Partridge, Bar-tailed Dunns and Hoopoe Larks, Littke Green Bee-eater, Blackstart , and Arabian Warbler.

Important Bird Area [IBAs] in Jordan

    A total of 17 sites have been declared as IBAs in Jordan, covering 9.5% of Jordan's area. Two of Jordan's national parks, and the six nature reserves are IBAs.
Five of the IBA sites are fully protected by law, five are partially protected, and two further are officially proposed for legal protection.