Late April 2008 birding news

May 5, 2008 – 10:52 am

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.

As previously reported single White-throated Robins were reported from the 20th of April. As expected, and like in spring 2004, good numbers of this handsome migrant followed and over 20 birds were found since. White-throated Robins were found and reported from Lotan, Neot Smadar, Samar, Elifaz and Ketura date plantations, Yotvata and more. Indeed a nice wave. It is interesting to note that this year, like in spring 2004, the birds appearance coincided with a major heat wave with predominant east winds. Significant numbers of these normally rare migrants were also reported by friends in Jordan and the UAE. On the 21-23 April a massive passerine wave swept over southern Israel. Amazing numbers of Thrush Nightingales (over a 100 a day), Redstarts and Whinchats were seen everywhere. Good numbers of Red-backed and Lesser Grey Shrikes were also noted.

On April 23rd I drove through the Hayun plains, a rarely visited and vast area of Hamada plains and wide sandy Wadis. Good numbers of Spotted Sandgrouse were found and also single Bimaculated (late) and Thick-billed Larks.

On the 24th I was guiding a couple of German birders and we were lucky to find a classic adult Great Snipe at the Neot Smadar sewage. The bird stayed till the following day.

On the 25th we started early at Kibbutz Samar where 2 male WT Robins showed very well. From there we proceeded to the Birdwatching Park in Eilat where we had nice views of both the male and female Black Bush Robins, we have high hopes that they stay and breed. From here we headed north to the Yotvata Acacia scrub where we found yet another Black Bush Robin (a worn female type) and 2 more WT Robins.

On the 26th Tomer and Avner reported 1-2 Arctic Terns and a single White-cheeked Tern at the North Beach. Up to 4 lutea Yellow Wagtails were at K20. That afternoon Tomer and Avner also reported a male Pied Wheatear at Neot Smadar orchards. I saw the bird that evening but it was very flighty and hard to get close too, but it was a beautiful black and white adult male, a plumage rarely seen in southern Israel.

On the 27th we were searching for the male Pied Wheatear when we found a female Pied Wheatear not far from there. A stunning male Daurian Shrike was reported by Tomer and Avner from Elifaz sewage.

In the following days no less than 6 other Pied Wheatears were found in the southern Arava. This is by far the best spring for this rare migrant for 20 years.

On the 28th we headed up to the Eilat mountains for a raptor session. With the weather being just right, we enjoyed some excellent migration and in a 2 hour session we logged around 12,000 Honey Buzzards, Good numbers of Levant Sparrowhawks, some Black Storks, 5 Montague’s Harriers and a single Juv E. Imperial Eagle. Down at the Southern Salt pans we found 8 Broad-billed Sandpipers.

On the 29th I found another male Pied Wheatear at Ketura and another Daurian Shrike, a female type, at Yotvata circular field. During a night drive we saw a Short-eared Owl hunting over the fields. Small numbers of River Warblers were also present in the last days of April with birds reported from Lotan, Yotvata, Bahad 1 sewage and the Nizzana area.

On the morning of the 30th Marcus Craig found a nice Pectoral Sandpiper at the Yotvata sewage. Although probably the most common North American vagrant to be recorded in Europe, Pectoral Sandpiper is an extremely rare wader in Israel and this is the 6th record for the country and the first since 1998. The bird is most likely of Siberian origin and on its way to its breeding grounds. The Pectoral Sandpiper is still at Yotvata and I will post some images very soon.

Some other good birds are worth noting although from further a field.
On the morning of the April 27th, Yosef Kiat of the Jerusalem Bird Observatory caught and ringed a bird showing characteristics of an Oriental Cuckoo (Cuculus saturatus).The identification of Oriental Cuckoo is very difficult, even in the hand, but the Jerusalem bird is a very strong candidate with good plumage and wing formula. If concluded as an Oriental Cuckoo, this will be the 2nd record for Israel, with the first being a bird ringed in Eilat by Hadoram Shirichai in 1985. Some images of the bird can be seen on the Israeli birders forum here: http://www.tapuz.co.il/tapuzforum/main/forumpage.asp?forum=1002&firstmsg=15

Another interesting record was a Greenish Warbler (Phylloscopus trocholoides nitidus) that was caught and ringed at Sdeh-Boker on the morning of May 1st.
This is the 3 record for Israel.

So, spring 2008 is shaping up to be one of the best we had in southern Israel in recent years, and surely more surprises and rarities are just waiting to found as we roll into may.

Stay posted.
Jonathan Meyrav /// Lotan center for Birdwatching

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Daphna Abell
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