|
[
back to the Trip Report homepage]
Southern Israel Trip Report (21/3/2000 – 3/4/2000)By Peter JonesAll photos on this page courtesy of Peter Jones Introduction
General informationFlight -- Britannia Airlines. Was good in both directions. Car Hire -- Booked with Suncars, Local rep: Thrifty.. Total disaster here unfortunately: The car was not delivered to Ovda Airport as stated in booking details, leaving me to either pay some airport officials to give me a lift to Lotan or spend the night in the desert (Ovda Airport is not open 24 hours). I also had to make my own way to Eilat the next day to collect the car. Was told of airport transport fees that were not mentioned in the original booking. These were waived! I am currently awaiting compensation from Suncars / Thrifty.
Also, at the Kibbutz was a notice board of recent sightings. Getting by in Southern IsraelSouthern Israel Population -- apart from Eilat and Be’er Sheva, there is a very small population in Southern Israel. This was refreshing in that the roads were almost deserted, but you have to think ahead as petrol stations, banks etc were few and far between. also had difficulty buying fuel with Credit cards on more than one occasion.
Border -- Need to be careful of straying into border areas. These are well marked but I very nearly ended up closer to Jordan than I should have been on one occasion. No-go area -- Minefields and Firing ranges are clearly signposted, but I did speak to 2 people who had missed the signs and strayed into a field so beware. The SitesEilat North Beach -- An unlikely looking venue, but good birds are here, even between the holidaymakers (e.g. Red-Throated Pipit, Squacco heron) and lots of good species are seen offshore and overhead. Although Western Reef heron and Striated Heron appear on most trip reports, these 2 species are by no means guaranteed. They are present in the offshore fishponds but I didn’t manage to see Striated Heron, and could not differentiate the Reef Herons from Little Egrets at the long range. Fortunately the Reef Herons were present on the lagoon just inland (North West) of the north beach. Recommend this area is visited, as the Reef Herons can be seen superbly on the island.
Route 90, Km2 -- Worth driving round this large complex of reservoirs for waders, wildfowl, and also migrants in the surrounding area. This was the only place were I saw Dead Sea Sparrow. The area tends to get incredibly busy with birdwatchers though! Route 90, Km3 -- Was good for Larks although they took some searching. Found Bar-Tailed Desert Lark here, and Hoopoe Lark, but it took 2 early morning visits. This venue has been halved in recent years due to agricultural expansion, and the numbers of birdwatchers walking off into the larks’ breeding area was depressing, and may well result in a deterioration of this site. I saw all the species really well from the main track. I’d imagine that this site would be impossible in the midday / afternoon due to the heat. Route 90, Km37, fields to east of route 90 just north of KM37 post -- A Caspian Plover was the attraction here. I failed to find the bird on at least 2 visits, but the area still had some good birds, and raptor migration was often apparent overhead.
Yotvata Holiday village -- Arabian Warbler is still present here, and although I didn’t realise at the time, I was extremely lucky to find one so easily (within 30 minutes). Most birders failed to see this species in one of its last sites in Israel. Large Acacia trees south of holiday village is worth searching, Holiday village also has an abundance of migrants (including a superb male Semi-collared Flycatcher when I was there.) Yotvata Sewage Farm -- Situated about 200yds south of the holiday village reached via a track. This was also a good site with several short visits made during the holiday. This was were I saw a Great Snipe showing extremely well, and also male Citrine Wagtail. Unfortunately towards the end of the stay, the sewage pond area was getting a lot of disturbance from birdwatchers entering the pools, probably looking to flush a Great Snipe (?!). Again this was totally selfish, as the majority of birds in the area were flushed as a result, and birds could be seen really well from the track around the sewage farm.
Shizzafon Sewage Farm -- Crowned Sandgrouse are the main attraction at this site. During the second week, I made several morning visits to try and see the birds. Here are my findings: Sewage ponds are fenced off and visible just south of the turn off for Kibbutz Shizzafon. Sandgrouse apparently feed in area just south of sewage ponds, there is also a ditch along here. Best viewing is from the car to increase chance of them landing. Sandgrouse were arriving anywhere between 7:15am and 8:45am. The Sandgrouse have an alternative drinking site in the
area, but this does not have public access. Shizzafon Alfalfa fields -- Turn right at mini roundabout at entrance to kibbutz. There were several good birds here including Syrian Serin and a Male Rock Thrush. Neot Hakkikar -- The best fishponds were off the minor road to En Timor and Neot Hakkikar. Turn left off the road at a pink and white fish farm sign. Best Pond is the overgrown one. I sat down under a bush down the bank and was lucky enough to see a Moustached Warbler feeding very close to me and a Little Crake in the reed beds.
Hint: Apparently this place gets incredibly hot.. If you plan to go here, arrive early, or late (?) in the day, and if possible visit this place on a day when the weather is expected to be lousy in Eilat / nizanna. (I left at 9am and already it was starting to get really hot.) En Advat -- This was a spectacular gorge with a few species not present in the Eilat area (Bonelli’s Eagle, Egyptian Vulture) Access is not allowed after 4pm, but you can re-enter after the warden has left the area to listen for owls from the viewpoint. No Eagle Owls were there this year. Nizzana -- This site is very well documented. One additional thing I found was that Bustards especially were fairly easy to see in the early morning and late afternoon at Km8 past the fenced off airfield.. The sandbanks are the perimeters of firing ranges, so it is best to view from the roadside here! Eilat Mountains -- Parking areas near Mount Yoash were good for viewing Raptors and Storks passing through.. Once the ground heated up after about 9am, the birds disappeared high into the sky. Eilat Water Pumping station -- The Lichenstein’s Sandgrouse drinking site. Birds come in at dusk to a drinking pool (actually a very fine trickle of water coming from a hosepipe) east of the fenced off areas. When I visited, the birds came in and were seen well by a dozen or so birders sitting behind the boulders between the fenced off areas. Again, this area has good birds in the surrounding area, and is worth a visit outside the Sandgrouse times. I saw my only House Bunting here. The BirdsMigrating Species
Many other species were seen migrating throughout the holiday, the first week I saw small numbers of Rupell’s Warbler, Cretzschmar’s Bunting, Cyprus Warbler. The second week was good for Orphean Warbler, Steppe Eagle, Booted Eagle. Several Rarities were present during the stay. These birds were present for a few days at the same site, and were fairly easy to catch up with. This trip I saw the following rare migrants:
The Highlight for me being a winter plumaged Caspian Plover which I found just north of Kibbutz Lotan. Other rarities in the area during my stay, which I did not see, included:
Virtually all of the migrant species were constantly feeding and were incredibly easy to approach and photograph. This was another highlight of this trip. 2 species worthy of a mention to British Birdwatchers especially are Quail and Little Crake. These secretive species were both seen incredibly well during the holiday. Quail were numerous around Eilat especially at Switzerland Park. Little Crake was seen at the Neot Hakkikar Fishponds which I believe is a regular site for this species. Israel Specialities / Desert Species
To view Peter Jones' systematic list of sightings click the arrow
Contact infoDaphna Abell |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| © Copyright 2002-2005 [Kibbutz Lotan Center for Ecotourism and Creative Ecology]. All rights reserved. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Having
visited Northern Israel on two occasions and reading of other people’s
trip reports, I was keen to have a holiday in the South of Israel.
The list of potential new species for me to find was in the 70’s!
and the guarantee of good weather ensured that I would have pllenty
of opportunities for photographs. This trip report highlights the
logistics of my visit, useful information on Southern Israel’s best
birdwatching sites, and the full list of species that I saw throughout
the holiday.
Accommodation
-- Entire holiday was spent in Kibbutz Lotan some 50km north
of Eilat. Kibbutz was situated in a great area for birdwatching,
and some good species such as Bimaculated Lark, Trumpeter
Finch, Rufous Bush Robin and Wryneck were seen
and photographed around the Kibbutz. Rooms were basic but good,
hot water all the time, Food was ok, and facilities were good. A
bomb shelter has been converted into a birders’ base for exchange
of info., Beer and Internet facilities which were very useful for
keeping in touch with loved ones!
Military
presence -- Nizzana was the only site with a very heavy military
presence. I was quizzed about my activities but the soldiers were
reasonable enough. A sure-fire way to get rid of them is to offer
to show them your field guide of the area’s species!
Switzerland
Park -- The current ringing station and nature reserve. Can
be reached from the tracks north of the north beach, and also from
the road off Route 90 signposted Jordan border. Look for signs to
"ringing station" and "Plant a tree". The International
birdwatching centre is now based in the petrol station on the other
side of route 90 from here.
Route
90, Km40 -- I visited this area at the beginning of the holiday
(leave route 90 (East) at km40). At the end of the track I turned
right and didn’t find a great deal. Had I turned left I would have
eventually found a farm building and some superb, underwatched habitat
(Mainly fields, and scrub). By the second week, this area had Cinereous
Bunting, Pale Rock Sparrow, Montagu’s Harrier, Little
Swift, Lesser Short-toed Lark, Ortolan, and Blue
Rock Thrush.
Kibbutz
Lotan -- a good area to be based. The Kibbutz has an abundance
of very tame birds migrating through, and there is a reserve just
south of the Kibbutz that looks like it will get better and better
as the vegetation matures. The fields to the north (Turn right off
Route 90 about 2 km north of Kibbutz Lotan onto a track) were really
good throughout my visit. Look for black muckheaps and puddles that
were a magnet for migrants.
En
Gedi -- I only visited the south reserve of the two reserves
at En Gedi. I saw everything that I wanted to see by 8am (Sand
Partridge, Fan-Tailed Raven and a nice Male Cyprus
Warbler). The car park of the holiday village nearby had lots
of Grackles.
Throughout
the 2 weeks Lesser Whitethroats, Chiff-Chaffs and
Steppe Buzzards were by far the most numerous migrants in
the area. All three species were constantly being seen at all locations
visited. Other species which were abundant throughout the trip but
in smaller numbers included Bluethroat, Blackcap,
Black Kite, Northern Wheatears and Black-eared
Wheatears, Red-Throated Pipits, Ortolan Buntings and
Yellow Wagtails.
With
the exception of Sinai Rosefinch, Spotted and Black-bellied
Sandgrouse (which I saw with the help of Kibbutz Lotan
tour guides), and Nubian Nightjar (which I saw, albeit briefly,
on a Hadoram Shirihai tour), I managed to see a great many of the
Desert Species and Eilat specialities by visiting the well-known
sites around Eilat and the Negev desert. Due to the nomadic lifestyle
of many of these species it is far more enjoyable to spend time
in the desert searching for these species yourself than going after
previously recorded sightings. Several species were fairly easy
to find including Desert Lark, Trumpeter Finch, Blackstart,
Desert Finch, Mourning Wheatear. Other species such
as Scrub Warbler, Sand Partridge and Hooded Wheatear
required a little luck, and I only found small numbers of these
birds. Birds such as Cream Coloured Courser, Houbara Bustard,
Bar-tailed and Hoopoe Lark were all found easy enough
at the well-documented sites.