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Spring 2002 - A Season of Surprises (Part 2)April - The month opened with the
finding and identification of one the most controversial birds of
the spring. This juvenile Spotted Dove
On the 3rd, raptor enthusiast Hugh Fletcher, Simon Wilson and I
had a trip to the Western Negev. We were shocked to find bitterly
cold, damp and windy conditions at Nizzana. However, the Houbaras
were duly found along with a couple of Cream-coloured Coursers
and a good selection of sandgrouse. Passerines included at least
6 Collared and 1 female Pied Flycatcher and several
We ran several trips to the Dead Sea region in April, finding the whole area surprisingly devoid of tourists, presumably a result of the political situation. However, it worked well for us and we enjoyed great close up views of Fan-tailed Ravens, Tristram's Starlings, Arabian Babblers, Hooded Wheatears and hundreds of migrating raptors from a favourite watch point at Metzuke Deragot. Further south the fishponds of Neot Hakikkar continued to be a good place to see Little Bittern, Little Crake, Pallid Swift and Dead Sea Sparrow . Our Negev trips continued to go well even quite late into the spring and we saw a remarkable 14 Houbara Bustards on one visit on the 11th. On the same day, our party (Bobby & Isobel Silverman and Lionel Levine) witnessed a dark phase Booted Eagle catch and kill a Northern Shoveler at the Nizzana sewage pools. Little Owls were common on this particular trip and Rollers were back on their summer territories in Wadi Habasor. In the evening we were thrilled to watch several Barn Owls on Kibbutz Gevulot where the Long-eared Owls continued to show well.
Apart a from a male Rock Thrush at Lotan, the following
days saw very few fresh passerine migrants arriving in the Arava
but as if to compensate we were rewarded with good migrations of
Purple Herons, and excellent shorebird viewing at Km.20 with
up to 20 Collared Pratincoles and 2 Red-necked Phalaropes
amongst the pick. One of the highlights of the entire month came
on the 15th when Bobby, Isobel and I were treated The best new arrival in mid-April was a Black Bush Robin at Yotvata on 17th which was re-located by Jonathan Meyrav on 19th, and the Spotted Dove was still being seen at the north sewage pools in Eilat. From the 19th onwards, large numbers of new migrants began to arrive with a major wave of Blackcaps and Lesser Whitethroats. Hundreds were ringed by James Burgess and his crew in Lotan's bird reserve. With them came Barred and Orphean Warblers, Tree Pipits, Spotted, Pied and Collared Flycatchers and there was a typically elusive River Warbler in the gardens of the Kibbutz on the 20th.
In all, April has been a superbly varied month with some very exciting birding. The third and final part of the spring summary will follow soon. Good birding,
Contact infoDaphna Abell |
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turned
up at Eilat's north sewage pools and was present infrequently until
at least the 20th. This species has never been recorded in Israel
to date. It stirred surprisingly little excitement as it was generally
regarded to be an escape from captivity. However, it is worth bearing
in mind that this Asian species is partially migratory in the northern
part of its range which overlaps with Red-wattled Lapwing,
Pied Bushchat and Chestnut-shouldered Petronia, all
of which were recorded in Southern Israel during the previous autumn
and early spring. Close examination of the photographs of this Spotted
Dove show no obvious evidence that this individual was formerly
captive. I tend to favour the notion that the bird has found its
way to Israel as a genuine vagrant. Hopefully we'll be able to find
more about the seasonal movements of this species and its potential
for reaching Israel. 
11
Spotted Sandgrouse were spotted at Lotan's fields on the
1st, making it our 2nd record of this species in that area. Dave
Murdoch ringed a female Ruppell's Warbler in the organic
garden, where a couple of Desert Finches had taken up residence
and were often present through to the end of the month. 
Nightingales. It was however the fields of Urim that really stole the show
in the afternoon. We had a great selection of raptors and Hugh Fletcher
was in his element seeing all four species of West Palearctic
harriers including 2 male Pallid Harriers. A flock
of 105 White Pelicans brought the day to a fitting close.
Two Namaqua Doves arrived on the 4th at Lotan, the first
of a series of sightings around the dairy barn with perhaps as many
as eight individual birds in the area. James Burgess and his crew
ringed several of these tiny, delightful doves in mid-month including
a female with a brood patch, proving that at least one pair were
breeding in our area.
Some
exciting desert species were a feature of mid-April and we found
a migrant Cream-coloured Courser in Biqat Sayyarim on the
14th, a day which also produced 4 Crowned Sandgrouse at Shizzafon
and 5 Lichtenstein's Sandgrouse at a traditional drinking
pool in Eilat. On the same day we saw Cory's and Sooty
Shearwaters, 2 Broad-billed Sandpipers and a Citrine
Wagtail in Eilat. and there was a 'leader only' European
Nightjar hawking over the north sewage pools.
to
fabulous, close up daytime views of six, normally crepuscular, Lichtenstein's
Sandgrouse . They were photographed in Wadi Shlomo, near Eilat.