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Northern Valley 's surveyEarly October update Most Levant Sparrowhawks have passed and many are already at their African wintering grounds. 56,000 Levants were counted this year, a relatively low number, especially compared to the 80,000 from last autumn. We still count a few dozen Levant Sparrowhawks daily, but the latest large flock was 280 birds on the 2 nd of October. Lesser-spotted Eagles are entering their peak week. Around 70,000 Eagles were counted till the first days of October, and we expect another 10,000 Eagles at least. The 4 th of October was a memorable day for Yoav Perlman, who counted 5400 Eagles at Yagur, including an astonishing 3500 in under 10 minutes !!! The following morning I counted nearly 4000 Eagles at Yagur. Small numbers of Steppe and Imperial Eagles are seen nearly daily with the occasional (Greater) Spotted Eagle joining the Lesser Spotted majority. Marsh Harriers and Black Kites pass in good numbers and smaller numbers of Montague's and Pallid Harriers, with a few beautiful males, are seen every day. Outstanding raptor observations lately include a Black Vulture seen on the 5 th of October by Carsten Rhode flying north over Gennigar. Steve Mann had a Crested Honey Buzzard over Elroi on the same day. 8 Crested Honey Buzzards were seen till now. Small groups of Common Cranes have started to migrate over Israel with the air slowly filling with their powerful calls. The number of Cranes in the Hula valley is rising daily and there are a few thousand birds present at this important wintering area. The birding areas in the northern valleys are finally beginning to produce good birds, and with growing numbers of migrants and good species being found, it truly feels like the autumn. Richard's Pipits can be found in the fields with careful searching of the large flocks of Red-throated and Tree Pipits, and hundreds of Yellow Wagtails. On the 30 th of Sept. a White-tailed Lapwing was found at the Tirat Tzvi sewage pond, A Red-breasted Flycatcher was seen on the 24 th of September at Ramat Sirin.
On the 7 th of Oct. Gerd reported up to 8 Cream-coloured Coursers in the fields. At least 5 Coursers were present daily and were joined by an adult Sociable Plover that was found by Barak Granit on the 8 th. It was quite interesting to watch these two species feeding side by side in the same field. A few Eastern Stonechats are present in the fields with singles of both the maura and the vareiagata subspecies present. A summary of the survey will appear shortly. Meanwhile, have a great autumn. Jonathan Meyrav on behalf of the survey team. Contact infoDaphna Abell |
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The IOC and IAF soaring bird migration survey is entering the final stretch. With a week of counting left, here are a few of the latest totals: 
Red-footed Falcons are enjoying the changes in weather and move through in good numbers. The attractive small falcons like cloudy, windy weather and over 2500 have been counted so far. 
A few Black-winged Pratincoles are around the past few days. On the 2 nd of October a Corncrake and a male Finsch's Wheatear were found at Ramat Sirin. A couple of Golden Plovers and a grey lover seen in the past few days were just the appetizer for a beautiful Pacific Golden Plover that was found at the fields by Tomer Landsberger on the 6 th of October (