Southern Israel Update: Mid July 2003

The autumn migration is slowly gathering momentum with fresh birds and especially shorebirds, being discovered on everyday spent in the field. With a slight cooling of daytime temperatures (peaking at just 39 - 40 deg C), the birding has been most enjoyable during the last few days with the major discovery of two possible Saunder's Terns near Eilat.

The Seawatching however, remains slightly disappointing compared to other years, with no truly significant sightings despite three early morning sessions at the North Beach. Ah well, we live in hope!

Here are our notes for the 13th - 16th July 2003.

13/07 -

1 calling WHIMBREL flew south over Lotan at 22:35 hrs. Our first record.

14/07 -

Eilat: North beach: Cory's Shearwater -10, Osprey -1, Baltic Gull 1 - (1st summer), also on 15th and 16th July. White-cheeked Tern - 12 (5, 8) all full adults. Little/Saunder's Tern - 6, Caspian Tern - 34 at beach and salt pans, Shirihai gives daily max of 25 for Eilat area. Sandwich Tern - 1, Arctic Skua - 4

North sewage pools: White Pelican - 1 (first summer). Common Sandpiper - 3, Osprey - 1, Sooty Falcon - 1, Woodchat Shrike - 1 (not a breeding bird here).

Ein Evrona salt pools: Greater Flamingo - Only 14, the smallest number I've seen here since 1997. Sooty Falcon - 2, Black-winged Stilt - 350+, many still incubating eggs. Ruff - 1, Redshank - 6.

Lotan - * 1 singing male SYRIAN SERIN in tourism area at 15:00hrs. Shirihai (1996) mentions no mid-summer records for the Eilat area, though this species quite close to Lotan, at Wadi Dana in Jordan. The first Lotan record outside the period 14th Nov - 5th April.

15/07 -

Eilat Area: North beach: Cory's Shearwater - 12, Sandwich Tern - 2, Pomarine Skua - 1 (first summer).

North sewage pool: White Pelican - 1 Sooty Falcon - 1, *SAUNDER'S TERN - 1 2nd summer, presumed to be this species, photographed with adult Little Tern, plus 1 first summer small unidentified sterna tern. Wood Sandpiper - 44 flew south at 19:04 hrs, seen earlier Ein Evrona salt pools. Common Sandpiper - 4

Ein Evrona salt pools: Wood Sandpiper - 44 in mass arrival. Black-headed Gull - 1.

Eilat salt pans: Redshank - 22, Greenshank - 2, Ruff - 1 male.

Km33: Sooty Falcon - 2 hunting over the date plantation at dusk.

16/07 -

Eilat Area: North beach; Cory's Shearwater - 13, Sooty Shearwater - 1, White-eyed Gull - 8, Sandwich Tern - 3, White-cheeked Tern - 2 (1st summers). Caspian Tern - 39, including 2 adults feeding 2 begging juveniles. Little-ringed Plover - 2, WHIMBREL - 1 southern salt pans.

North sewage pools: *SAUNDER'S TERN - 1 adult/3rd summer with adult Little Tern, and 5 other small sterna terns. Present for much of the day, but departed at 17:45hrs. White Stork - 1 arrived at 17:00hrs.

Ein Evrona salt pools: Wood Sandpiper - 2, Little-ringed Plover - 3, Kentish Plover - 1

Please enjoy the gallery of thumbnails, all of the images were taken during the above mentioned period.

Click on the thumbnails to enlarge (+)
Baltic Gull	Caspian Terns	Cory's Shearwater
Ein Evrona Salt Pools	Pomarine Skua 1st summer	Unidentified (uid) Sterna Tern
Whimbrel, Eilat, 16/7/03	White Pelican 1st summer	Wood Sandpiper migrating

Good birding to all,

James P. Smith and the Birdingisrael Team

Contact info

Daphna Abell
Program Coordinator
lotan-programs@lotan.ardom.co.il
Tel: +972 8 6356935;
Toll Free: 1800 2000 75 (when in Israel)