Birding Israel

We have been having a very quiet end of November 2012, with almost no new migrants coming through, but that has changed in the last three days.

We have had some Richard’s Pipits and Oriental Skylarks among the Red-throated Pipits at the Yotvata circular fields, with the north one being especially productive. We also have four Common Cranes that have been there for a number of days.

Ruddy Shelducks and Flamingos

At the Kilometer 20 salt ponds there are six Ruddy Shelducks among the Pintails and of course the Flamingos. In addition, there is one Pallas’s Gull. Here are some pictures, not all that clear…

I was out birding with a Canadian birder living in Belgium, and had a list of species that he had not seen yet. He was an accomplished birder with a highly impressive repertoire of bird sightings in the western Pale-arctic.

Setting out before sunrise we set out to look for the Sinai Rosefinch at Amram’s Pillars, but were unsuccessful. We did have a Desert Lark, a Blackstart and a White-crowned Wheatear. We did see some kind of falcon, possibly the Sooty Falcon, that lives around there, but could not make a good determination because of the lighting conditions, and the great distance. A couple of Brown-necked Ravens and one female Sand Partridge rounded out the visit there. We did hear the male Sand Partridge calling, but never saw it. On the way back to the Arava highway we saw a bird that looked suspicious. Was it an Orphean Warbler or an Arabian Warbler? We stopped the car, and took a closer look, and saw all the distinguishing characteristics of an Arabian Warbler. The white spots at the end of the tail on the underside, the characteristic jumping around made the identification clear.

Western Reef Heron at North Beach, Eilat

Getting to Eilat, I saw three Tristram’s Starlings flying around, but each time my birder missed it. At north beach we saw the Western Reef Heron that is almost always there, and had a good look at the White-eyed Gull before it decided to fly over to Jordan, and rested on a buoy just beyond the border. No Brown Booby this time, but we did have two Pied Kingfishers. 

Continuing on to the Eilat sewage treatment plant, we encountered several hundred Great Cormorants, ten or more Black Storks, well over fifty Grey Herons, an equal number of Great Egrets, Little Egrets one Squacco Heron, Coots, Pintails, Mallards, Shelducks, and five White Pelicans, one of whom was a juvenile.

At the kilometer 20 salt pans, we had the requisite Greater Flamingos, with one almost completely black individual that has apparently been kicked out of the group. We saw one Little Grebe, several Kentish Plovers, seven Northern Lapwings, one Black Stork,  one Dunlin, eight Caspian Terns, and an assortment of juvenile gulls that we did not have the patience to start identifying.

After lunch, we headed up to Uvda Valley, which had flooded, as reported earlier. We encountered quite a few White Wagtails, Trumpeter Finches, Bluethroats, Stonechats, Crested Larks, two Desert Wheatears, two Black-eared Wheatears. We did look for Thick-billed Larks, but found none, nor did we hear or see the Spotted Sandgrouse that usually are there. We were there at the wrong time of day, so that was not surprising.

All in all, not bad for one day of birding.

David Schoneveld

Birding Guide and Licensed Tour Guide

We have been witness to the migration of over 700 Common Cranes overhead in the last two days. First we hear them, and only then do we actually see them. Also one Black Redstart in the Lotan gardens of the ochruros subspecies (but with more of a white panel, almost like the samamisicus subspecies of the Redstart, but clearly not that species). Maybe some kind of hybridization.

Two hours after writing the lines above, another 500-600 Cranes came overhead. Seeing them against the backdrop of clouds was superb, and the noise they make was incredible given the altitude they flew at.

I guided a Dutch group of birders around Israel to see the types of birds that are around at the tail-end of the fall migration. We did not see anything spectacularly rare on our trip, but we did come to 115 species. Some of the highlights will be mentioned below. Although one of the focuses was birding, we did go and do the “regular” tourist things such as Sea of Galilee, Nazareth and Jerusalem.

Despite inclement weather, with downpours, we did have a good time at the Ma’agan Michael fishponds. Great Egrets and Little Egrets were about, as well as about a dozen Spoonbills. We had all three types of Kingfisher at these ponds: Kingfisher, Pied Kingfisher and White-fronted (Smyrna) Kingfisher. There were some spectacular views of them. Although we did not see any White Pelicans at the ponds themselves, we were served a treat when about a 150 of them circled above us on a backdrop of increasingly threatening skies. Our next stop, the Hai-Bar Carmel nature reserve was washed out, so there was nothing to see.

Our next birding site was Gamla, in the Golan Heights. There are only 12 Griffon Vultures left in the wild there, so it was quite satisfying to see four of them circling right above us. We did quite a lot of Stonechats, Northern Wheatears, and one Great Grey Shrike. 

In the Hula valley, we were treated to the daily ritual of the Common Crane leaving the fields and coming in to spend the night in the lake, far away from potential predators. A survey that was just completed the day after we were here placed the total number of Cranes at a record of nearly 47,000 individuals. Together with them we saw hundreds of White Pelicans, Spoonbills, Glossy Ibises, Shovelers, Coots, Redshanks, Green Sandpipers, Black-winged Stilts and others. This is always a sight to behold, and even though it was a Muslim holiday with lots of people around in golf carts and four-person bikes, the birds did not seem to be overly disturbed by it. We were practically kicked out of the park by the staff because the sunset was so spectacular, and the incoming birds were  overwhelming.

Kfar Ruppin yielded a few Yellow Wagtails, lots of White Wagtails, four Gazelles (gazella gazella), hunderds of Black Kites, Greater Cormorants, Great Egrets, Little Egrets, and a small number of Black Storks. Among  them was one lonely Steppe Eagle and one Booted Eagle. We also got to see a Marsh Harrier pick up dead fish from the ponds.

A visit to the Jerusalem Bird Observatory (JBO) was very inspiring, although yielded few birds. This site, smack-dab in the middle of the city, next to the Knesset, does such good work keeping a wild area for birds to go to. The nets yielded a Syrian Woodpecker, and the staff there was very forthcoming.

At Kibbutz Tzor’a, we went to the waste water treatment plant, and the surrounding fields. There were at least four Goldfinches about, Graceful Prinia, Stonechats, several dozen Common Mynas, Jackdaws, 10 Lapwings, several dozen Spur-winged Lapwings, and the first Bluethroats that we saw on the trip.

Going into the desert proved to be rewarding. At the Dead Sea there were of course the Tristram’s Starlings that are abundant in any green area. We did not try for Dead Sea Sparrow, and did not find any. At Ein Avdat we immediately saw the Desert Lark, which is a bold little bird, as well as the Blackstart, and the Arabian Babbler. Walking in to the ravine where the water source is, we spotted seven Griffon Vultures overhead that were sometimes soaring, and sometimes perched high above us on the cliffs. Here we saw a Grey Wagtail and a Kingfisher. From there we went to David Ben Gurion’s gravesite. On the way there, we located a female Masked Shrike, and several Chiffchaffs. We also had a few Lesser Whitethroats. The view from there is spectacular, even in the conditions of haze that prevailed that day.

In Lotan the situation at the moment is that there are several Bluethroats around, along with a few Stonechats. This will hopefully intensify as the fall continues. Yellow Wagtails have all but left, and now they are replaced by White Wagtails. We also have some Red-throated Pipits about. The Cyprus Wheatear that was here as moved on.

We did get to see the White-crowned, the Mourning and the Hooded Wheatear within the space of a day. In addition, we had the Northern Wheatear, the Desert Wheatear, and the Black-eared Wheatear. We were unsuccessful seeing the Bar-tailed Desert Lark and the Trumpeter Finch at Uvda Valley. The Spotted Sandgrouse were  not visible, but we did see them at the Km 76 Qa es-Sa’eddin site, with a good 40 of them barely visible through the scope.

Yotvata circular fields had two Common Cranes and three Hen Harriers. In addition, there were bunches of Crested Larks and Red-throated Pipits about.

On the way up north we were treated to the migration of about 100 White Storks overhead.

Some people of the group kept a list of birds that we saw, which I hope to be able to post here in the near future.

David Schoneveld

Licensed Tour Guide and Bird Guide

For the past few days we have been having rainy weather, something which is extremely rare out here. Uvda valley is about 15 kilometers away, as the crow flies. Although the amount of precipitation was not that great, around 10 mm of rainfall, the area has an immense drainage basin. I am including here a few pictures of the flooding. This valley will be very nice and green in the springtime, hopefully, and in the next month or two there will be a wide variety of flowers that will pop up out of the ground. This will provide a large number of seeds for the birds in the coming years, so that even if we do not have rain anymore, the Sandgrouse and Trumpeter Finches, as well as the Thick-billed Larks, when they will come again in the spring.

Last time it rained this much and there was flooding at the same valley, we had spectacular views of raptors and larger birds circling over the valley, and a myriad passerines among the plants and greenery. Such a large green patch in the middle of the desert really was a bird magnet!

I went again 15 hours later and took pictures of the same area, and here is one…

Uvda Valley the very next day in the morning

12 October, 2012

Migration is going on strong around here, with the Yellow Wagtails continuing on their way, and being replaced by White Wagtails. I saw the first group of around 25 Red-throated Pipits in the Lotan agricultural fields today. In addition, there was one lone Cyprus Wheatear in the Lotan sewage. This one had been sighted by Itai Shanni a couple of days ago. The shorter primary projection was quite clearly visible on the bird. I also had one female Woodchat Shrike sitting on the wire at the Km 76 Qa e-Sa’eddin site. We are also experiencing an influx of Masked Shrikes all over the area.

In other news in the larger area, one Pacific Golden Plover was sighted by Eran Banker in Timmorim, near Kiryat Malachi, and one Dusky Warbler was ringed by Roni Livne at the Yeruham lake today.

David Schoneveld

It is always instructive to see that the cycles of nature keep on going on, and that is true for birding as well. What we saw on the way north in May is on its way south  in September. Of course it is not an exact mirror image, but the patterns are clearly visible.

We have been getting quite an influx of Shrikes, and it seems to be more than  usual for this time of the year. The wave of Red-backed Shrikes is going on strong, now accompanied by Masked Shrikes. Here on Lotan we have seen well over 10 Red-backed Shrikes, all female, and a similar number of Masked Shrikes. Several people here have seen a Golden Oriole in the trees. They can be surprisingly hard to see in the trees despite their brilliant coloring. In addition, we have been getting an influx of Short-toed Larks, with over 40 in the Yotvata fields, and at least 15 in the Ketura fields. The Yellow Wagtail influx is still going strong, and we have gotten quite a few Spotted Flycatchers here, too. European Bee-eaters have been coming back down here again, with a flock of at least 100 over the Yotvata fields. Blackcaps are back in force, as well as the first of the Lesser Whitethroats. Barn Swallows have come back again, as well as Sand Martins.

At the Km 19 Eilat sewage ponds, there were at least 40 White Storks along the large pond, and a good 20 Caspian Terns. Little Egret and Grey Heron are the norm here too. One lone Marsh Harrier with worn plumage was doing its hunting over the pond itself. The area has been closed off with razor wire at the traditional break in the fence, but there still is an area of the complex where about 10 meters of fence is entirely missing.

David Schoneveld

Hi everyone,

The first signs of the fall migration are here already. I went out with a very experienced birder who wanted to see some desert species that he had missed, and this was his first time in the Arava desert. We set out for Uvda valley early in the morning, looking for larks and sandgrouse. The obligatory Crested Lark was heard and seen immediately, as were the Trumpeter Finches, with a flock exceeding twenty flying around at first light. In addition, we had a large group of Spotted Sandgrouse, with one group of about 15 landing about 50 meters in front of the scope lens. No Thick-billed Larks were about, they migrate a short distance north and only come back later in the fall, but we did see at least 30 Sand Partridges through the scope. After spending about an hour here, we headed for the Neot Semadar Constructed Wetlands. We saw Yellow Wagtails, primarily the feldegg subspecies, Northern Wheatear, Isabelline Wheatear and White-crowned Wheatear, Green Sandpiper, and a Red-backed Shrike. There were two Kestrels chasing each other nearby. Barn Swallows, Sand Martins and Crag Martins had arrived too.

After breakfast, a short visit to the wetlands at Lotan. We have had to close the wetlands due to problems with drainage, and the threat of a fine from the Israeli Ministry of Health, and have a temporary solution for the sewage. This attracted a lone Glossy Ibis, that has been here for the past five days. Yellow Wagtails abounded too. The birder I was with had never seen a Graceful Prinia, so we looked for a few minutes and found it in the shrubs nearby.

We proceeded from there to Km 53, just south of kibbutz Yotvata. The target was the Arabian Warbler. We did not see him the first day, but did see a pair the next day that were chasing each other. We did see an Orphean Warbler, which can be easily confused with the Arabian Warbler. A few Chiffchaffs and Lesser Whitethroats were hopping in the Acacias. We did see a group of seven Arabian Babblers among the trees.

We continued on to Eilat, in the vain hope of seeing a White-eyed Gull, but no luck. At the salt ponds of the Ringing Station in Eilat there was nothing really exciting, with a large group of Slender-billed Gulls, Redshanks and Black-winged Stilts. We proceeded to the Km 2o salt ponds, and saw Itai Shanni of the IBRCE in Eilat underway. He was driving and stopped all of a sudden. The reason was that, under a tree, there were two Stone Curlews and one Lichtenstein’s Sandgrouse hiding from the intense heat. The salt ponds themselves did not hold any great surprises. A large group of Ruffs, Slender-billed Gulls, only about 60 Greater Flamingoes were about.

Before we headed back, we stopped at Samar sewage and saw one female Hooded Wheatear. We were looking for Desert Finch which had been seen here, but no luck this time.

When we headed out in the evening, we went to the circular fields in Yotvata. Since there is  only a crop of castor nut plant, there are very few birds about. We did see one Great Grey Shrike and one Woodchat Shrike. We did look for the Pharaoh’s Eagle Owl, but were unlucky. The fact that my spotlight decided to give up the ghost did contribute a lot to this.

Better luck next time, but the birder I was with did have nine lifers that he could add to his list!

David Schoneveld

The summer has been a quiet one, but for a while an unusually hot one. In July, there were a few surprises that came up from the Red Sea, with Brown Booby, Arctic Skua and Bridled Terns in  the mix. I was receiving regular updates from Itai Shanni, responsible for Eilat and the Arava on behalf of the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel.

I went out for two days to see what has been coming  in at the beginning of the fall migration, and went to Yotvata, especially their sewage pond. In  the spring, the sewage pond itself was reasonably good for birding,but the area which was behind it was completely dry. That area has been filled up again  with water run-off from the sewage works, and is doing a good job attracting birds. There is an influx of Namaqua Doves right now, with four at the sewage ponds, and at least three at the Yotvata dairy barn. I saw a Collared Pratincole at the sewage pond, It took a little bit of concentration and observation to make the definite distinction to rule out the Black-winged Pratincole. In addition, there were about 10 Yellow Wagtails, a single Red-backed Shrike, a Short-toed Eagle and a Long-legged Buzzard. Shai Kabessa, of the Hai-Bar Nature reserve at Yotvata, told me that the last two are recuperating from injuries sustained during spring migration, and have chosen to hang around. They can be seen regularly around the area.

David Schoneveld

Licensed Tour Guide and Birder

I was guiding a non-birding related group in the Eilat mountains in the past four days, and saw every day hundreds and hundreds of Honey Buzzards overhead. Migration began at first light and increased as the day progressed. There were some breaks, but just from my vantage points I must have seen well over 3,000 birds, and am sure that there were thousands more. What struck me was that they were already at altitude just as the day was breaking, and stayed at that altitude for most of the day.  Among them, there were several kettles of Black Storks (300+), a few Marsh Harriers, and  hundreds of Levant Sparrowhawks. European Bee-eaters were present in their hundreds, as well as Common Swifts, House Martins and Sand Martins. We hiked up Mount Shelomo, and could witness the migration above and below us. The Black Storks were truly impressive to see at such close range, no more than twenty meters away, while standing on the summit of the mountain.

I also saw some White-crowned Black Wheatears without the white crown and made sure that they were the right species, and not a Basalt Wheatear, in light of the individual we had seen at the end of March at Uvda valley. I can report that none of the individuals can be identified as this rare bird.

David Schoneveld

Licensed Tour Guide and Birder