| Birding Field Reports Southern Israel |
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 Pectoral Sandpiper –
Calidris melanotos
Pectoral Sandpiper – Calidris melanotos
On April 30th around midday, Marcus Craig found a Pectoral Sandpiper at the Yotvata sewage pools. Although probably the most common North American vagrant Wader in Europe, in Israel Pectoral Sandpiper is extremely rare and the Yotvata bird is only the 6th record for the country...
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 White-throated Robin - male
Late April 2008 birding news
With May just around the corner and Honey Buzzards everywhere in the Arava valley the last leg of spring is upon us. The cool mornings are full of the bubbling calls of European and Blue cheeked Bee-eaters and Shrikes can be seen on every bush and fence. The last week of April was a very exciting one, with some very good birds found. Here is a short summary of the significant birds, waves and highlights of late April...
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 Greater Sandplover
Southern Israel Birding news – mid April 2008
With the spring migration's first major wave now over, April rolled in with its selection of interesting migrants. March 2008 was one of the best we had in southern Israel for several years. Besides some rare winterers still lingering around (Oriental Honey Buzzard, Olive backed Pipits), some significant birds continued the great spell of rarities right into April.
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 Siberian Stonechat
Southern Israel Birds Gallery – March 2008
We are happy to present you with a beautiful collection of photos of the most interesting birds seen in southern Israel during March 2008. All of the birds in the gallery were seen on our tours and many were kindly contributed by visiting birders and friends. I chose several nice quality migrants and some of the best images of resident Sandgrouse ever taken.
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 Thick-billed Lark
Southern Israel birding report –
Late March-early April 2008
The second international spring migration festival in Eilat was a great success. Over 170 people took part in the festival tours, lectures and presentations. A full festival report will follow shortly. The last week of March started off with 2 rather slow days, but a nice wave of migrants and some real rarities followed later in the week.
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 Caspian Plovers
Caspian Plovers at Yotvata- 23 March 2008
At around 10:00 in the morning on the 23rd of March, good friends Tamir Siman-tov and Iris Magen found 5 Caspian Plovers in the Yotvata circular fields. The birds were sitting at the edge of a small puddle of water on the main path of the field...
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 White-tailed Plover
Southern Israel birding notes – Mid March 2008
Migration is gaining momentum and birds are getting thick in the air and on the ground. "Crazy" March is raising its head, and towards mid month we received the year's first sandstorms and hazy, hot weather wave...
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 Kurdish Wheatear
Early spring in the southern Arava - 6-8 March 2008
The first major find of the spring was a handsome male Persian (Kurdish) Wheatear Oenanthe xanthoprymna at the Neot Smadar sewage pools. The bird was initially seen by Thomas Krumenacker who is staying with us at Lotan for a month.
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 Nubian Nightjar
Birding Southern Israel – Early Spring 2008
Spring is in the air and winter is giving its final push. As the valley fills with the first trickle of spring migrants, some wintering species are getting thin on the ground. This winter was very mild in the southern Arava and although there were some days and nights with extreme cold snaps, it was very dry.
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 Curlew
Birding Southern Israel – January 2008
Winter in the southern Arava is characterized by very cold nights and early mornings, but warm clear days, that add up to ideal birding conditions. Although I had a full day of birding ahead of me, I had a lot of ground to cover and the days are short.
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 Buff-bellied Pipit Late November 2007 - Southern Arava
The days are short and the nights clear and well into single digits. The morning is filled with the calls of wintering Bluethroats and Black Redstarts.
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 Steppe Grey Shrike Steppe Grey Shrike at Yotvata showing some real muscle
Steppe Grey Shrike Larus meridionalis pallidirostris is a rare winterer in open desert and semi agricultural habitats in the Southern Arava region. Every year single birds winter in the region and the Yotvata area has hosted quite a few individuals of this handsome species in recent winters.
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 Red-breasted Flycatcher Late October 2007 in Southern Arava
As winter slowly creeps in the last migrants are passing through and are replaced by wintering species. The days in are still quite warm, but are getting shorter and shorter, and the nights are becoming quite cold.
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 Lesser-spotted Eagle Northern Valleys soaring bird migration survey – fall 2007
Another migration survey has come to a close. Most of the birds of prey have already passed Israel on their way to their wintering grounds in Africa.
To the Survey »
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 Storks White Storks as Peace Doves
"Half a billion birds, more than every other place in the world, pass through Israel every fall and spring. Nature protectors try to woo more tourists into the country – also in order to strengthen their own nature protection lobby.
By Thomas Krumenacker - Translation: David Schoneveld"
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 Bean Goose MEGA SIGHTING: Bean Goose- Anser fabalis (rossicus), at Eilat
"On the morning of 14 March James Smith met me at the K19 sewage pools and reported that he had just seen a Bean Goose, and that it flew inland from the sea due north and must have landed somewhere in the area. Of course this was big news as there are no records of Bean Goose in Israel in modern times. We set out and thoroughly searched all the areas where a Goose might land, a real Goose chase…"
Full report »
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