Monday 26 March 2018

Israel: 25 - 27.03.2018

Day 48 25.03.2018
Today was not a day that will live long in the memory. A long day yesterday had taken its tole, and a cold and windswept High Mountain was not where I wanted to be. There were not even that many birds, just a slow trickle in the morning which then evaporated into nothing for the afternoon. The only consolation for the day was that the young male White-crowned Black Wheatear, which has been a regular feature of high mountain, finally allowed me to get fairly close, so that I was finally able to get some pictures of him.
-White-crowned Black Wheatear

Species List:
High Mountain: Steppe Buzzard, Steppe Eagle, Pallid Harrier, Black Kite, Marsh Harrier, Feral Pigeon, Collard Dove, Desert Lark, White-crowned Black Wheatear, Black Stork,


Day 49 26.03.2018
With yesterday being such a slow day in the mountains I am very pleased to report that today was absolutely not a slow day. For most of the morning the sky was full of Buzzards, and then again in the afternoon. However, the most amazing thing is how low the birds were, flying not far overhead in massive flocks of well over 500 birds each. Without doubt the best migration I have seen here so far. There were not a great deal of other species among the Buzzards, but a few Eagles and Black Storks were nice, and as always the White-crowned Black Wheatear was present.
-White-crowned Black Wheatear
-Steppe Buzzards
-Black Kite

Species List:
High Mountain: Steppe Buzzard, Steppe Eagle, Long-legged Buzzard, Booted Eagle, Short-toed Eagle, Black Kite, Marsh Harrier, Pallid Harrier, Lesser Kestrel, Little Swift, Pallid Swift, Common Swift, Red-rumped Swallow, Barn Swallow, House Martin, Black Stork, White-crowned Black Wheatear, Desert Lark,


Day 50 27.03.2018
After a couple of days in High Mountain today I found myself back at Low Mountain. It was an extremely hazy day, with visibility much reduced. Sadly, as has been the recent trend, there were comparatively few birds next to High Mountain, and today the variety was limited as well, with a few Booted Eagles being the only raptors of any real note. The Trumpeter Finches and Sand Partridge provided the entertainment during the quiet spells, as they spent most of the day around the station.
-Blackstart
-Trumpeter Finch

Species List:
Low Mountain: Short-toed Eagle, Steppe Eagle, Booted Eagle, Steppe Buzzard, Long-legged Buzzard, Pallid Harrier, Marsh Harrier, Trumpeter Finch, Sand Partridge, Hooded Wheatear, Blackstart, Northern Wheatear, Tristrams Starling,

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