[rarities homepage] [appendix] [bulletin 1:01] [Latest Israel Rarities report]

Bulletin 1: 02 on Rare Birds in Israel (1995 – 2001)
James P. Smith on behalf of the Israel Rarities & Distribution Committee.

The Israel Rarities and Distribution Committee met for the second time in 2001, on Friday 30th November. The meeting was held at Kibbutz Lotan with members present being Barak Granit, Yoav Perlman, James P. Smith and Ido Tsurim. In view of the regular absence from Israel of Hadoram Shirihai and Eyal Shochat, Nir Sapir was invited to attend the meeting with a view to becoming a member of the committee in the near future.

Our criteria for rarity recording in Israel, clearly outlined in our first Bulletin 1: 01, will appear as an appendix at the end of this bulletin. However, our main objective is to assess all outstanding rarity reports since the publication of the “Birds of Israel” (Shirihai 1996). In general, we will be looking at species recorded in Israel less than 25 times up to and including the publication of the Birds of Israel.

The IRDC reviewed twenty-one reports at our second meeting, a task made easier by the fact that some members had seen the reports prior to the meeting.

---

Reports that were considered to be fully acceptable were placed into Category A as follows:

Great Shearwater Puffinus gravis - 1 off Jaffa Port, Dan region, on 9th February 1995. (B.Granit). 3rd record.

Little Shearwater Puffinus assimilis - 1 off Ashdod Port, Dan region, on 15th January 1996. Considered to be P. a. baroli. ( B. Granit). 2nd record.

Pink-backed Pelican Pelecanus rufescens - 1, age uncertain, Maoz Hayyim and Tirat Zevi, Bet-Shean Valley, from mid-May to 14th August 1997 at least. (H. Shirihai, B. Granit). 6th record.

Lesser Frigatebird Fregrata ariel - 1, Eilat north beach, 1st December 1997. (R. Riddington, J. Reid). 1st Israel record and 1st West Palearctic record. Thoroughly documented in British Birds 93:01.

Yellow-billed Stork Mycteria ibis - 1 at Ma'agan Michael, Carmel region, during mid-July to 12th August 1997 at least. (Y. Eshbol, B. Granit ). 19th record.

Southern Pochard Netta erythropthalma - 1, resembling adult female but exact age/sex not fully established, Km.20 north of Eilat, 30th April - 8th May 1998. Photographed. (H. Shirihai, B. Granit et al). 1st Israel record, and 1st West Palearctic record. Documented in Sandgrouse 22:02 (O.S.M.E).

Lappet-faced Vulture Torgos tracheliotus - 1, immature, Eilat Mountains 21st May 2001. Photographed. (B. Granit, T. Ellery, J.P. Smith). Extinct former breeder, now considered vagrant. 3rd record since 1995. This was the first one seen in flight since 1995. Two individuals have been picked up exhausted in Quetura, Eilot region, in June 1996, and in the Bet-Shean Valley in September 1998. (O. Hatzofe pers. comm.).

Tawny Eagle Aquila rapax - 1, probably adult, between Urim and Ze'elim, NW Negev on 15th March 2000. (J.P. Smith, T. Cleeves, A. Pitches et al). 1, probably adult male, North West Negev, from 16th December 2000 to 10th March 2001, at least. Appeared to be 'courting' an adult Eastern Imperial Eagle Aquila heliaca with display, nest building and copulation observed during its near three-month stay. Photographed and filmed. (B. Granit, D. MacAdams, J. P. Smith et al). 2nd & 3rd documented records. The committee requires documentation for two reports from the same area in November 1996, and December 1997.

Black-winged Kite Elanus caeruleus - 1 adult, Revadim Reservoir, Southern Judean Plain, 19th May 2000. (A. Ganz). 6th record, and the first outside the Eilot region.

Crab Plover Dromas ardeola - 2 adults, Ma'yan Zvi beach, Carmel region, on 20th July 1997. Photographed (Y.Eshbol, B. Granit et al). 3rd record. One of the finds of the decade, the first observer (and photographer) thankfully put out the news with enough time to allow four other lucky observers to see this one day wonder.

Lesser Sand Plover Charadrius mongolus - 1, age uncertain, Eilat salt pans on 22nd May 2001. Photographed. (B. Granit, T. Ellery, J. P. Smith et al). 2nd Israel record. The report from Km.20, north of Eilat during 14th - 16th April 1998 was formerly acknowledged as the 2nd Israel record but has been withdrawn by the finder after the photographs were examined by E. Hirschfeld.

Sooty Gull Larus hemprichii - 1, first-winter, Shifdan sewage pools, Dan region, on 21st September 1998. (E. Dovrat). 5th record for Israel, and the first for the Mediterranean Coast.

Audouin's Gull Larus audouinii - 1, first-winter, Ma'agan Michael, Carmel coast, from 7th to 25th January 2001. Photographed. (T. Ellery, Y. Perlman et al). 18th record. The committee would like to receive details of at least seven other reports since 1996.

Red-flanked Bluetail Tarsiger cyanurus - 1, first-winter or female, Zfat, Galilee region, from 1st to 31st January 1996. Photographed. (B. Granit et al). 1st record. An unexpected mid-winter prize for the finder and seen well by many during the following month.

Dusky Warbler Phylloscopus fuscatus - 1, Ram Farm, Beer-Sheva on 18th October 1997. Trapped, ringed and photographed. (E. Shochat, Y. Perlman, M. Whitehouse). 1, Hazeva, Northern Arava, on 27th January 1998. (Y. Perlman). 3rd & 4th records. All of the records to date have been one-day occurrences. The Hazeva bird was the first in mid-winter but continues the sequence of Siberian/Asian pylloscopus warblers to be found in Israel during winter (see next sp.)

Pallas's Warbler Pylloscopus proregulus - 1, Beer-Sheva (in a city park), 10th February to 12th April 1998. (E. Shochat, I. Tsurim et al). 3rd record.

Eurasian Tree Sparrow Passer montanus - 1, Kefar Ruppin, Bet-Shean Valley, on 20th October 1998. Trapped, ringed and photographed (Y. Perlman, R. Lindroos). 6th record. All accepted records to date have come from Northern Israel during October - March. The committee is awaiting details for at least two other credible reports.
____________________________________________________________________
The following reports remain under consideration:

Audubon's Shearwater Puffinus lerminieri - 1, Eilat north beach on 15th May 1999.

Bateleur Terathopius ecaudatus - 1, immature at Tirat Zevi, Bet Shean Valley, on 23rd October 2000.
____________________________________________________________________
The following reports have also been received by the committee but await circulation;

Great white Egret Egretta alba - 1 of the eastern form, E.a. modesta at Kefar Ruppin, Bet-Shean, on 25th November 1996.

Pied Stonechat Saxicola caprata - 1, male at Eilat, from 4th to 7th November 1996.

Blyth's Reed Warbler Acrocephalus dumetorum - 1, on 20th April 1991, Beer-Sheva sewage ponds. Trapped, ringed and photographed.

Basra Reed Warbler Acrocephalus griseldis - 1, 13 -14th April 1999, Ein-Rimon, 11 Km north of Beer-Sheva.

Ménétries's Warbler Sylvia mystecea - 1, adult female, Kefar Ruppin, Bet Shean on 16th October 1998. Trapped, ringed and photographed. 1, first-winter female, Kefar Ruppin on 12th November 1998. Trapped, ringed and photographed.

Steppe Grey Shrike Lanius pallidirostris - 3, all first-winters as follows - at Km.33, Southern Arava, on 22nd November 1997, at Km53 (Yotvata), Southern Arava, on 27th November 1997, and at Ein Avdat, Central Negev, on 22nd November 1999. We know of quite a number of other reports that need to be submitted to the committee.
________________________________________________________________________

The following report was rejected:
White-fronted Sandplover - 1, Km20, north of Eilat, on 5th April 2000.
________________________________________________________________________

Guidelines for submitting rare bird species in Israel from IRDC bulletin 1: 01:

Ideally we would like to receive reports that include the following:

1. Written documentation of date, location, observers, weather and optical aids used.
2. Full written documentation of the events surrounding the observation.
3. Full written documentation of the identification complete with field notes.
4. The inclusion of good quality photographs, digital images or video images.
5. The inclusion of ringing data/ bio - metrics where appropriate.
6. The inclusion of sound recordings where appropriate.
7. Supporting documentation from co-observers.
8. Brief documentation of the observer’s previous experience of the species.

We realize that not every report will meet these criteria but we encourage all finders of Israel rarities to submit what ever they can to the committee. Reports from sole observers will also be considered. On the other hand, reports that mention just a few lines of a description with comments such as “ we did not bother to look at it closely, because it’s a common winter visitor back home” will not be considered seriously by the committee.  We look forward to receiving your records and publishing our results accordingly.

---

This concludes the findings of the IRDC's most recent meeting at Kibbutz Lotan on 30th November 2001. The next meeting is planned for February 2001 and all observers with outstanding reports dating back to 1996 or earlier, are encouraged to submit their observations to any one of the committee members, or mail them to:

James P. Smith
Israel Rarities & Distribution Committee
Kibbutz Lotan
D. N. Chevel Eilot
88855 ISRAEL
Fax: +972-8-6356-937
e-mail: jamesp_smith@yahoo.com
IRDC web pages - http://www.geocities.com/birdingisrael/RC/Rarities_Committee.html
Appendix 1.

We look forward to receiving your records and publishing our results accordingly. The members of IRDC are Barak Granit, Yoav Perlman, Nir Sapir, Eyal Shochat, Hadoram Shirihai, James P. Smith and Ido Tsurim.

James P. Smith

[back to top]

---

... ... . .

Contact Us

Kibbutz Lotan Centre for Birdwatching 2001 ©