James Smith's daily sightings reports

25th November 2001 - Kibbutz Lotan

After yesterday's 500 km round trip to the Negev, it was nice to relax a little around the Kibbutz. Although I spent much of the day in the office or in meetings, by the end of the day I had put together a nice collection of casual observations.

In many ways it was a perfect day. Comfortably warm but not hot, clear blue skies with no wind and a clarity to the air that we only ever see in the Arava at this particular time of year. The locals call it winter!

Just after lunch time I noticed a large raptor cruising over the hills to the west of Lotan and ran to my apartment to get my scope. The bird proved to be an adult Steppe Eagle, which we do see on migration sometimes well into December. Others raptors included a Barbary Falcon and a couple of Sparrowhawks.

Around the Kibbutz I noted two lingering late migrants, a Yellow Wagtail and a Tree Pipit, possibly the same birds that I noted last week. A short stroll out towards the dairy barn in late afternoon produced a male Desert Wheatear and the regular female Finsch's Wheatear. There were also 18 Little Green Bee-eaters scattered around the Kibbutz surroundings in small groups of up to five. The bird of the day was Pallid Swift, with 3 hawking over the Kibbutz during the late afternoon and while I'll have to check my records, I'm pretty sure that we've have no November records of this species from Lotan. Virtually all our Pallid Swifts are seen on spring migration from early February.

Of the mammals I noted 11 Nubian Ibex on the mountain skyline above Lotan, saw several Red Fox and found the fresh footprints of a Striped Hyena near the bird reserve.

Good birding to all,

James Smith.

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Daphna Abell
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lotan-programs@lotan.ardom.co.il
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