Israel 26 - 28.02.2018

Day 21 26.02.2018

After a couple of days in Low Mountain I now found myself back in the wonderful High Mountain. I expected a day lacking birds, but that was not the case. There was a slow trickle of Steppe Eagles and Steppe Buzzards, but at 15.00 there was a sudden rush of 200 Eagles. In amongst them were 2 Imperial Eagles, a single Greater Spotted Eagle, Long-legged Buzzard, Lesser Kestrel, Barbary Falcon, Marsh Harrier and a few Black Storks. Then around the watchpoint itself there was a Blue Rock Thrush, and important species for me as I continue the trend of seeing this species in every country I have birded in. After the mountains, which was late in the afternoon, we checked out a flooded area near the centre. Whilst there were not many birds, there were hundreds of dragonflies; Lesser Emperor and Globe Skimmer but far too active to pick out anything else from them.

-Black Stork

-Blue Rock Thrush

-White-crowned Black Wheatear

Species List:

High Mountain: Steppe Eagle, Greater Spotted Eagle, Eastern Imperial Eagle, Long-legged Buzzard, Steppe Buzzard, Barbary Falcon, Lesser Kestrel, Marsh Harrier, Common Swift, Alpine Swift, Barn Swallow, Rock Martin, Blue Rock Thrush, White-crowned Black Wheatear, Hooded Wheatear, Sand Partridge, Black Stork, Cormorant,

Day 22 27.02.2018

It’s time for another day off. This time I decided to head down to the sanctuary for the morning ringing, before then heading out to Yotvata to hopefully look through some larks and pipits. The mornings ringing was steady if not exceptional. We caught three Bonelli’s Warblers, one of which I ringed, but sadly they were all taken for showing before I was able to take any pictures. We also caught a Graceful Prinia, a Collard Dove, a few Savi’s Warblers, a Blackcap and the usual Lesser Whitethroats and Chiffchaffs. The Lesser White-fronted Goose was back in the park, but only in the early hours, before it flew off.

We left the park early afternoon and arrived at Yotvata for 15:00. We spent a lot of time looking through bushes for migrants. There were a lot of birds but most of them were Chiffchaff or Lesser Whitethroat. I did find a superb male Cyprus Warbler though, which was probably the highlight of the afternoon. There were a lot of larks and pipits as before; Water and Red-throated Pipits, and Crested, Short-toed and Skylark. It was pleasant birding, with thousands of Hirundines and Swifts going overhead making for quite the spectacle.

The plan was, as I had suggested to avoid getting the bus back, that the rest of the team would come up meet us after their mountain shift, so that we could look for nightjars. We had success on that front, with two Egyptian Nightjars performing very well hunting across the fields, In addition, we also had a few Stone-curlews running around along the side of the road, showing unbelievably well. On the mammal front we had some success as well; Red Fox and Desert Hedgehog were the only ones we were able to confirm but there were other eye reflections that we were unable to pin to a species.

-Lesser White-fronted Goose

-Savis Warbler

-Graceful Prinia

Species List:

Eilat Bird Sanctuary: Blackcap, Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler, Savis Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat, Common Whitethroat, Graceful Prinia, Egyptian Goose, Teal, Lesser White-fronted Goose, Chiffchaff, Marsh Harrier, Red-rumped Swallow, Barn Swallow, House Martin, Ring-necked Parakeet, Palestine Sunbird, Tristrams Starling, Laughing Dove, Collard Dove, House Crow, Spectacled Bulbul, Marsh Sandpiper, Redshank, Black-winged Stilt, Spur-winged Plover, White Wagtail, Cormorant, Blackcap, Little Green Bee-eater, Eastern Bonelli’s Warbler, Grey Heron, House Sparrow, Spanish Sparrow,

Yotvata: Cyprus Warbler, Sardinian Warbler, Reed Warbler, Chiffchaff, Lesser Whitethroat, Palestine Sunbird, Tristrams Starling, Spectacled Bulbul, Little Green Bee-eater, Eurasian Skylark, Crested Lark, Greater Short-toed Lark, Red-throated Pipit, Water Pipit, White Wagtail, White Stork, Hen Harrier, Marsh Harrier, Common Kestrel, Stone-curlew, Feral Pigeon, Collard Dove, Laughing Dove, House Sparrow, Spanish Sparrow, Trumpeter Finch, Red-rumped Swallow, Barn Swallow, House Martin, Sand Martin, Rock Martin, Common Swift, Pallid Swift, Egyptian Nightjar, Red Fox, Desert Hedgehog,

Day 23 28.02.2018

I made a return to the mountains today, specifically High Mountain, with optimism that it would be a good day of passage. Sadly I could not have been more wrong, as we struggled to muster even six Steppe Eagles. That was until we were about to leave, when we picked out a couple of birds unbelievably high, only to then find more birds moving so high you could barely see them in the scope. The time between was passed by throwing rocks or enjoying the company of at least eight Nubian Ibex, including a mother with three kids.

We had finally got off the mountain when, and was looking forward to a relaxing evening  by the beach, when the phone rang that another of the volunteers had found a Black Bush Robin round the corner from the field school, in the location now known as the bushes of Liebzi. Those of us at the field school dashed round in time to see the bird perform incredibly well for about an hour before it took off into a garden. They really do live up the hype, what a stunning bird.

-Lesser Emperor

-Nubian Ibex

-Black Bush Robin

Species List: 

High Mountain: Trumpeter Finch, Collard Dove, Feral Pigeon, Steppe Eagle, Brown-necked Raven, Hen Harrier, Steppe Buzzard, White-crowned Black Wheatear, Hooded Wheatear, Desert Lark, Nubian Ibex, Lesser Emperor,

Bushes of Liebzi: Black Bush Robin, Blackstart, Little Green Bee-eater, Collard Dove, Chiffchaff, Lesser Whitethroat, Laughing Dove, House Sparrow,

Israel: 23 - 25.02.2018

Day 18 23.02.2018

Now that we have decided to have three observers stationed in the mountains, the possibilities for days off become more limited. As a result I have to make the most of them when they come around, and today I did just that!

I went early morning with the sanctuary team, who dropped me off at K19 ponds just after first light. My plan was to hike to Amran Pillars to hopefully finally see Sinai Rosefinch, but I had a quick look on the pond first. As soon as I looked over the bank, BOOM! Three Great White Pelicans sat there. They did not sit there for long though, as soon as they saw me they took off and after a couple of flybys headed in Jordan.

Speaking of Jordan, the previous day the Lesser White-fronted Goose that had wintered in Israel yesterday reappeared in Jordan, a first for the country. Since it was less than kilometre from the border, I had hoped it would return to Israel. Scanning the water produced nothing, and as a result the idea passed that I might see it again. However, I was wrong, as the bird appeared from behind me with two Egyptian Geese, flew around the pond a couple of times and then returned from where it came. I can’t say I seriously expected to see it, so I was buzzing when that happened.

Two lifers in, and I hadn’t even begun on the days birding really. I worked the scrub around the pond, all the while making my way towards the Wadi containing Amran Pillars. It was some walk, but considered it to be worth it. As I arrived at the Wadi a car pulled up, containing a young German birder that I had met the previous day. We drove to the site and there, waiting for us, were a flock of 15 Sinai Rosefinch, including at least four males. There were a few photographers in the valley, and they had put down food and water for the birds, drawing them in stupidly close. It also drew in White-crowned Black Wheatear and Scrub Warbler.

After that I took a lift back to K19, and then birded my way back to the bird sanctuary. On the way I had a host of awesome birds; Barbary Falcon, Black-eared Wheatear, Caspian Stonechat, Woodchat Shrike and an awesome flock of 70+ Dead Sea Sparrows, which were something of a surprise.

Once I had returned to the bird sanctuary I then headed to Holland Park to see what new migrants were in. The first bird I saw was an Eastern Bonelli’s Warbler, my fourth lifer of the day. It showed substantially better than the Western I had seen in Spain, so I can now finally feel like I’ve properly seen a Bonelli’s Warbler. I also had three Cyprus Warblers and three Quail, plus a host of Sardinian Warblers, Lesser Whitethroats, Sedge Warbler and Chiffchaffs. You can now feel that the birds are coming, and it’s very exciting.

-Great White Pelican

-Lesser White-fronted Goose

-Acacia Gazelle

-Sinai Rosefinch

-Sinai Rosefinch & Scrub Warbler

-Arabian Babbler

-Dead Sea Sparrow

-Eastern Bonelli's Warbler

-Cape Hare

-Palestine Sunbird

Species List:

K19: Great White Pelican, Shoveler, Teal, Mallard, Little Egret, Great White Egret, Spur-winged Plover, Coot, Cormorant, Cattle Egret, Grey Heron, House Sparrow, Egyptian Goose, Garganey, Marsh Harrier, Steppe Buzzard, Ruff, Lesser Whitethroat, Lesser White-fronted Goose, Tawny Pipit, Crested Lark, Chiffchaff, Spanish Sparrow, European Stonechat, Spectacled Bulbul, Laughing Dove, Collard Dove, Isabelline Wheatear, Hoopoe, Bluethroat, House Crow, Brown-necked Raven, Sardinian Warbler, White Wagtail, Trumpeter Finch, Barbary Falcon, Little Green Bee-eater, Arabian Babbler, Scrub Warbler, Graceful Prinia, Pintail, Wigeon, Dead Sea Sparrow, Barn Swallow, Marsh Sandpiper, Woodchat Shrike, Common Whitethroat, Caspian Stonechat, Black-eared Wheatear,

Amran Pillars: Southern Grey Shrike, Hoopoe, Spectacled Bulbul, Sardinian Warbler, Hooded Wheatear, Desert Lark, Sinai Rosefinch, Scrub Warbler, Blackstart, Crested Lark, Brown-necked Raven,

Holland Park: Chiffchaff, Eastern Bonelli’s Warbler, Tristrams Starling, Sedge Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat, Arabian Babbler, Common Whitethroat, Sardinian Warbler, Cyprus Warbler, Quail, Hoopoe, Black Redstart, Sand Partridge, Crested Lark, Feral Pigeon, Collard Dove, Laughing Dove, House Sparrow, Spanish Sparrow, Little Green Bee-eater, Spectacled Bulbul, Graceful Prinia, Palestine Sunbird, Common Kestrel, 

Day 19 24.02.2018

After my day off, today I was back in Low Mountain. It had rained heavily overnight, and as a result there was debris across many of the roads, and the wadi at High Mountain had a stream running through it. As has been the case for the last few days, there was a shortage of raptor movement; less than 20 Steppe Eagles, four Steppe Buzzards, Marsh Harrier and Barbary Falcon, but there were a few nice passerines around. Without doubt the peak of these was a superb male Rüppell's Warbler that had lingered after being found yesterday evening. It showed very well, and as there were not many raptors I was able to spend some time watching and photographing it, and it obliged with its performance. Because it was so slow, we left early to go and collect Gaidis from High Mountain. No sooner had we arrived than a sudden burst of 300 Steppe Eagles and 20 Black Storks moved through, so we did get to enjoy some good raptor passage in the end!

-Rüppell's Warbler

Species List:

Low Mountain: Rüppell's Warbler, Sardinian Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat, Blackstart, Hooded Wheatear, House Crow, Trumpeter Finch, Barn Swallow, Collard Dove, Feral Pigeon, House Sparrow, Pallid Swift, House Martin, Chiffchaff, Spectacled Bulbul, Steppe Eagle, Black Stork, Red-rumped Swallow, Desert Lark, Steppe Buzzard, Marsh Harrier, Barbary Falcon, Sand Partridge, Sparrowhawk, Rock Martin, Common Kestrel,

Day 20 25.02.2018

Low mountain was once again my destination for the day, as a result of how the shifts had worked out with the over volunteers. The day was generally very slow but between 15:00 - 16:00 there was a good passage of around 150 Steppe Eagles, as well as 10 Steppe Buzzards, 5 Marsh Harrier plus a single Short-toed Eagle and Hen Harrier. The Hen Harrier took on one of the Steppe Eagles on its passage through, creating quite the avian duel. There was not very much happening on the passerine front, two Striolated Buntings that flew past were about the best we managed.

A Long-toed Stint was found at the bird sanctuary during the afternoon but our attempted twitch when we left the mountain resulted in disappointment. We saw some nice bits though, including my first Kentish Plovers of the trip, and two Caspian Terns perched in the centre of the lake.

-Steppe Eagle

-Steppe Buzzard

-Hen Harrier vs Steppe Eagle

Species List:

Low Mountain: Steppe Buzzard, Steppe Eagle, Marsh Harrier, Hen Harrier, Short-toed Eagle, Common Kestrel, House Crow, Striolated Bunting, Trumpeter Finch, Little Green Bee-eater, Spectacled Bulbul, Blackstart, Common Swift, House Martin, Barn Swallow, Pallid Swift,

Eilat Bird Sanctuary: Greater Flamingo, Grey Heron, Black-tailed Godwit, Ruff, Greenshank, Marsh Sandpiper, Redshank, Kentish Plover, Ringed Plover, Little Stint, Temmincks Stint, Dunlin, Black-winged Stilt, Shelduck, Caspian Tern, Black-headed Gull, Slender-billed Gull, 

Israel: 20 - 22.02.2018

Day 15 20.02.2018

After a few days in the mountains I was able to have another day off. My initial plan was to go out birding somewhere, but decided to eventually go to the Bird Park in Eilat and do some ringing. We caught a few nice birds during the morning; Spanish Sparrow, Lesser Whitethroat and a lifer for me; Savi’s Warbler, of which we caught two. Once we closed the nets we spent the afternoon birding around the bird park, where we saw quite a few bits and pieces, including another lifer; Little Crake. One had been seen in the park the previous day, so I returned to the spot where it had been seen, along with the finder of the bird. We only had to wait a short while before we saw the bird moving through the reeds. We got exceptional views, but it was never out in the open, so no photos to reflect how good the encounter was.

-Bluethroat

-Savi's Warbler

-Eastern Imperial Eagle

-Marsh Sandpiper 

-Spur-winged Plover

-Greater Flamingo

-Little Green Bee-eater

Species List:

IBRCE Bird Park: Northern Lapwing, Purple Heron, Savi’s Warbler, Palestine Sunbird, Ring-necked Parakeet, Sardinian Warbler, Spur-winged Plover, Great Cormorant, Redshank, Common Sandpiper, Spanish Sparrow, Lesser Whitethroat, Common Whitethroat, Chiffchaff, Spectacled Bulbul, Bluethroat, Black-winged Stilt, Marsh Sandpiper, Greenshank, Greater Flamingo, Black Kite, Common Swift, Barn Swallow, Marsh Harrier, Tristrams Starling, Collard Dove, Laughing Dove, White Wagtail, House Martin, Sand Martin, Rock Martin, Temminck’s Stint, Little Crake, Eastern Imperial Eagle, Steppe Eagle, Sparrowhawk, House Crow,

Day 16 21.02.2018

Once again I found myself at High Mountain, where I expected a fairly quiet day. However, for about an hour I was treated to the most exceptional show of Steppe Eagles I could ever have imagined, with nearly 300 birds flying directly overhead, all so low I could take frame filling pictures. It more than made up for the lack of eagles during the rest of time up there. But before we even got there we had to stop off at the park, and as chance would have it Anton had just caught a European Scops Owl, so we got to see that stunning beast in the hand.

-European Scops Owl

-Steppe Eagle

Species List:

High Mountain: Steppe Eagle, Short-toed Eagle, Brown-necked Raven, Desert Lark, Hooded Wheatear, Tristrams Starling, Striolated Bunting, Eastern Imperial Eagle, Sand Partridge, Sardinian Warbler, Rock Martin, 

Day 17 22.02.2018

After large numbers yesterday, and now finding myself back at Low Mountain, I was optimistic of having another good day of passage. Sadly the 65 Eagles we had were nothing on what the previous day had been. Ten Steppe Buzzards thrown in were a nice addition to our count, but that was all for birds moving overhead. As for birds on around the watchpoint, we were treated to a good performance from the Striolated Bunting, although always distant.

Once we had wrapped up in the mountains, which took a little longer than usual on account of the rental car being crashed, we headed down to go snorkelling again. As before, the Blue Ribbontail Ray was still present, and there were awesome views of Lionfish, Angelfish and the usual host of amazing species. I also found some Christmas-tree Worms, which are amazing creatures, and something I had no idea I would see. Ana, another of the raptor volunteers gave me her GoPro to take out, so I was able to grab some video, hopefully I’ll be able to get more the next time we go out.

-Striolated Bunting

-Desert Agama

-Snorkeling

Species List:

Low Mountain: Steppe Buzzard, Steppe Eagle, Feral Pigeon, Desert Lark, Lesser Whitethroat, Spectacled Bulbul, Striolated Bunting, Collard Dove, House Crow, Common Swift, Desert Agama, Painted Lady,