Super day at Maagan Michael

I don't do these kind of things anymore, report on a single days' birding. However, today was really brilliant and report-worthy. Once a month I spend a morning monitoring birds at our restoration project in Ma'agan Michael. I start early, and do point counts for about two hours. Then I spend the rest of the morning counting birds in the general area of Ma'agan Michael fishponds and beach. Today, my first point count was interrupted by flocks of hundreds of Great White Pelicans cruise low over me:

It was evident that there were lots of birds around. Flocks of wagtails and pipits headed south. My second point count had so many birds I struggled to end it on time. It was nice to see this migrating flock of Flamingos at eye-level.

At my third point count I had two Striated Herons - hatched this year I think. They are becoming more regular in this area, but still scarce.

Towards the end of the point count I noticed a shrike on a fence, quite distant and in bad light conditions. A quick look through the bins and I said to myself - hey, this is an Isabelline Shrike. The shrike flew out of view. I went around a small pond to try and get better views. Then a Red-backed jumped up. Disappointed, I discounted my previous ID. Only when I got back home and checked the photos I noticed it was actually an Isabelline - nice one.

The fourth and final point count was uneventful though it had lots of migrants. Then I went down to the beach to check what's on there. I bumped into this fine adult male Desert Wheatear - pretty scarce in this region, and such a beautiful bird.

I spotted a large shorebird flying south high up - Bar-tailed Godwit! Another scarce bird. Sweet.

Later on Yuval found one a couple of kms north - is it the same bird that U-turned, or another bird? This one showed really well, feeding in a coastal lagoon.

In a large dried up fishponds there were over 100 Black Storks. I checked them for colour rings and found three. 718N is from Estonia, ringed in 2022, and seen since every winter in Ma'agan Michael.

I am awaiting information about the other two - U199 and 15U6.

By 10am it was getting hot and I had to leave. My total was pretty good - 116 species. eBird checklist here.

UK family visit autumn 2024

Yesterday I returned from a nice family holiday in the UK. Our main purpose was to meet friends, and indeed much time was spent catching up with good friends. We were based in Norwich most of the time. Norwich - Norfolk - easterlies - early October... Hmmm... We travelled up to Yorkshire to visit our friends Mark and Amity. Yorkshire - easterlies - early October... You get my idea. So my days were divided between family and friends stuff after 10:00, and whatever birding I could get done before 10:00. Several mornings were spent locally in Norwich, birding city parks for my eBird checklist streak, I enjoyed that, even without seeing much - I like Norwich and its habitats. Admittedly, the habitat always looks better that what it actually holds, especially this time of year when most breeding warblers have gone already. Still, seeing birds I don't see in Israel is fun.

I spent two mornings with Mike Dawson in fantastic reserves in Norfolk - NWT Hickling Broad on September 30th, and RSPB Strumpshaw Fen on our final morning, October 8th. In Hickling the weather was awful but I enjoyed seeing pinkfeet back, and there were Curlew and Wood Sandpipers. 

En route to Yorkshire we spent one night in Sheringham with friends. I admired the regular chippy-eating visitors.

The weather was building up, and I anticipated my morning birding at Beeston Bump on October 3rd. That morning easterlies were blowing nicely, and Beeston Bump felt rare. I worked the patch hard but came up with nothing special and few indications of active migration. Scanning the sea produced a few birds I enjoyed - Brent, Common Scoter and Red-throated Diver. Just as I was about to leave and rejoin my family, birds started to appear, coming in-off - some thrushes, finches and mipits. This was thrilling but I didn't have enough time and had to leave when the game was on. Arrgghhhh...

The Pale-legged Warbler at RSPB Bempton Cliffs, the 2nd for Britain, had been found a few days before I arrived in the UK. Had I been a serious twitcher, I could have gone for it from Norwich. However, at my current status I am not a serious WP or UK twitcher. Therefore I decided to wait patiently, maybe it will wait until our planned trip up to Yorkshire on October 3rd. It was still seen on the evening of October 2nd. I was hopeful and persuaded my family that the best spot for coffee in Yorkshire is Bempton. The bloody bird buggered off that night. With negative news on 3rd and slight disappointment we travelled direct to York. York is a beautiful city and we had a lovely time with Mark and Amity.

The Shambles

York Minster

Mark and I escaped early morning of October 4th for some much-needed birding quality-time. The wind was still good but with clear skies we didn't expect a huge fall. We headed to Flamborough, hoping to find a good birding spot and avoid crowds. We were amazed to find Old Fall parking layby empty - were we missing a mega nearby? We walked along Old Fall hedge and quickly witnessed really nice migration - not a huge fall indeed, solid numbers of birds coming in and moving along the hedge and into the plantation. Halfway down the hedge a small bunting jumped up and flew off strongly. Mark fired off a few flight shots and I heard a sharp thin 'tzik' - Little Bunting! A few meters further down we flushed a Woodcock. We positioned ourselves at the southern side of Old Fall plantation and had a great couple of hours in beautiful weather, waves of migrants coming in and heading towards the mainland - Goldcrests, warblers, finches, thrushes. We were joined by another local Yorkshire birder Paul who had nearby another Little Bunting, maybe even two. A Richard's Pipit flew over calling, a Firecrest joined the goldcrest and tit flock, a Red-breasted Flycatcher rattled from the plantation, several Yellow-browed Warblers were very active in the sunshine, often chasing each other - magic. 

Coming from a goose-deprived country, I appreciated the incoming flocks of Pink-footed Geese.

Incredible that Mark, with his mighty photographic skills, managed to take such a lousy selfie.

Wonderful morning birding Old Fall, #Flamborough with brother @yoavperlman. Waves of migrants moving through in warm sunshine, inc Richard's Pipit, two Little Buntings, RB Fly, Firecrest, Pied Fly, 5 Yellow-brows, Bramblings, thrushes, lots of Goldcrests. A privilege and a joy. pic.twitter.com/1O0aJaTSv7

— Mark James Pearson (@Markthebirder) October 4, 2024

Inside the plantation there was lots of activity. We had fleeting views of an unidentified Acro, a nice Pied Fly, Redstart - thoroughly entertaining. Listen to all the bird calls in the Old Fall sycamores. Bliss.

Then it was back to Norwich. I refused to twitch the Winterton Asian Desert Warbler - I am so mature and responsible. I was strongly motivated to find an inland Yellow-browed. I tried very hard every morning without success, until the final morning. RSPB Strumpshaw Fen looked glorious in the sunshine. Just as Mike and I left the carpark I heard the anticipated 'Tswee'. Love the shape of this sonogram.

There were a few more quality birds including Bearded Titlings and Bittern.

I am amazed how quickly Great Egret transformed from a rarity to a common bird in the UK. I saw them at several sites in Norfolk, including Strumpshaw.

And that was that. eBird trip report here. Till next time. Thanks to all the good friends who make us feel at home in the UK.

Excellent day made even better!

Friday was one of those crazy days... I started early at the Jerusalem Bird Observatory, leading a birding walk for the birding club operated by BirdLife Israel. The JBO was at its best. The pistachio trees are exploding with ripe, juicy fruit and migrants respond. Our walk was very fruitful, with big numbers of common migrants and lots of nice stuff. Biggest numbers of Blackcap and Lesser Whitethroat, also Spotted Flycatchers were present in nice numbers. Several Collared Flycatchers were active - nice to see them in autumn too when they are scarce. 

A day roosting Long-eared Owl showed brilliantly. Not often it shows so well during the day there.

Then I get this WhatsApp message from Yonatan Gordon, a young and super-talented birder, asking: 'Is this what I think it is?':

Bang! Senegal Thick-Knee at Maayan Zvi! I am in Jerusalem with my group, about halfway through our birding walk, and all I really want is to jump in the car a fly to Maayan Zvi. I had a bad history with this species - the first for Israel came when I was in the UK. The second record was in 2021, one and then two birds were in Kfar Ruppin for a couple of weeks but very mobile and unpredictable. I headed up there three times to search for them, without success. It was a painful triple dip. Therefore, I HAD to see this bird. My phone didn't stop ringing, with friends heading off to twitch, asking me if I am joining. No!!! But I kept my calm, committed to my clients at the bird walk as planned, showed all the birds, answered all the questions, shared the necessary information - all very professional. eBird checklist here. But as soon as I could, I jumped in the car and flew as fast as I am legally permitted to Maayan Zvi. 

I talked to friends during my drive, the bird was stationary, not moving much, twitchers were behaving well, for the time being... However, knowing what bizarre birds thick-knees are, I was still tense whether the bird stays or not. I am relieved when I arrive and the bird is still there, not doing much, lying down in the grass on the edge of a half-dry large reservoir. I joined the small crowd assembled, that included the two heroic finders - Yonatan Gordon and Uri Laor. 

The bird was where the white arrow points. Phew. Israel tick (#489 on eBird) and in fact a global lifer. I took in the scope views. What a strange-looking bird - felt very odd and different from Eurasian Thick-knee, strange proportions with a long neck and long tail. The viewing conditions weren't great - the bird was quite distant, horrible temperatures, awful heat haze and annoying wind shaking the scope. Even with those conditions the views were good enough and I could see the important ID features - big, long and heavy bill with restricted yellow at base, plainer upperwing pattern lacking the additional, upper white bar of Eurasian, and unbarred tail. When the bird stood up and started walking the views were better. It preened and opened up its wings several times, exposing the large white patches on primaries, just about visible in this terrible photo:

Check this stupid little video I posted on X, featuring Jonathan Meyrav, Yonatan Gordon and Uri Laor, and the bird. My phone was boiling hot and was half-functioning, so sorry for the funny quality.

@JMeyrav and me fooling around at the Senegal Thick-knee site. Introducing Yonatan Gordon and Uri Laor the finders pic.twitter.com/c6PJQml5I5

— Yoav Perlman (@yoavperlman) September 6, 2024

Driving back home, the adrenalin drained out of my system, I looked back at the events of the day - quite something.

Tibetan Sand-PloverS!

So this is how it went: Saturday morning I get back from my weekly circuit of Hulda Reservoir with Piki et al. I take a look on eBird to see if anything interesting has come up. When I check a checklist from Hamaapil by Ilan Nissim Moriya, I am intrigued to see his report of two Greater Sand-Plovers. GSP is strictly coastal in Israel, so this is very unusual. I drop Ilan an email, asking for further details (I'm an eBird reviewer). Dan Sharon sends me via WhatsApp this photo, that knocks me off my chair:

Then Dan tells me it's Ilan's photo and I figured it out... According to them, this was one of three (not two) juveniles present, that all looked the same. That sounded totally unreal. Tibetan Sand-Plover is mega in Israel, with six or seven previous records, so three together?!? How can that even be real? I asked Ilan for further photos, and after lunch he sends me a bunch of convincing photos. I ask Ilan to release the news out as probable Tibetan Sand-Plover and a big twitch (in Israeli standards) develops. The first twitchers quickly arrive on site and confirm my tentative ID. I skip my traditional Saturday afternoon siesta and go with Piki to twitch them. 50 minutes drive, not too bad. I have seen two in Israel before, but not since 2013, and three together!!! When we get there several twitchers formed a bit of a queue. 

The fishpond is full of birds but we ignore them as we are very focused. The sand-plovers are on show immediately. Piki is smiling - it's a lifer for him. The birds are very close and tame but we are at the back of the queue, watching from inside the car into the sun. I drive around the pond and position us at the opposite corner. Light angle is slightly better but we are quite distant. I am not comfortable in the car with the angle and the heat, hence the mediocre documentation. There are much better photos available. We appreciate their small size and short, stout bill. I discuss on the phone their intricate ID features with other birders watching them out of other cars. A little bit of doubt is raised about their identification, because of their fairly long legs and slightly larger size of two of the three. However, I leave the site feeling confident they are Tibetan Sand-Plovers. 

Sweety

In different light conditions

With Little Stint

Three Tibetan Sand-Plovers together

The doubt is dissolved eventually, especially after two of the three birds were trapped and ringed today by a local ringing group doing a pre-planned shorebird ringing session. Their biometrics confirmed they are Tibetan. Bingo.

Diaries of an avid birder

August 6th, 04:45

I have a late morning meeting in Sde Boker. My original plan is to do MacQueen's Bustard point counts before the meeting (more on that later), but the site is an active military firing zone and I could not enter this morning. I revert my plans to do my morning eBirding at Be'er Sheva river park. En route, cruising at motorway speed, I hit some sharp object on the road. Rear tire explodes, I must pull over on the shoulders of the highway at a super risky spot. I change the spare tire at maximum speed, really fearing my life with heavy lorries zooming past inches from me. I arrive at the river park slightly later than I had planned but still early enough to enjoy birding. The man-made park has really nice habitat - I like it very much, and look forward to tzicking buntings here in November. In the meanwhile I enjoy many Savi's Warblers. Also Desert Finches and Rufous-tailed Scrub-Robin are nice. I make it to the meeting on time after repairing the tire in Beer Sheva.

August 7th, 05:56

I start my monthly monitoring session of our restoration project at Maagan Michael. I need to get as many point counts done before it heats up and then I need to rush to a meeting. Not too many birds around - still lovely at Maagan Michael. Heartening to see how our restoration work is already helping migrants rest and refuel. Migrant tern numbers are building up nicely. Only on the computer screen back home I notice that one of the White-winged Terns I had photographed was ringed. I send the image to Yosef Kiat - it's his bird from Atlit, ringed July 2021, resighted at Maagan Michael July 2022. The amount of detail in images produced by these modern cameras is amazing.

August 8th, 05:55

Morning eBirding with Piki. We check Revadim old fishponds - a bit more inspiring than a routine walk down my local patch, so worth the 15 minutes less sleep. The reservoir is full of herons and ibis, also quite a few shorebirds and terns. Among the terns we pick up a sweet Gull-billed Tern, bullying other birds. 07:10 I am back home to be a normal person, family stuff, work.

August 9th, 05:55

I start my first MacQueen's Bustard point count morning in a lovely area deep in the Negev, after a two hour drive in the dark. I do this work as part of BirdLife Israel's collaboration with Israel Nature and Parks Authority in a five-year study of these threatened bustards. I come with low expectations after a very dry spring in that part of the Negev. I am pleasantly surprised to find the desert plains full of life. In this study we use 15 minute point counts and move between them to manage four or five point counts in a morning before it heats up too much. At the first point count there are so many birds I can't pull myself away. I stay there for an additional 30 minutes taking in all the birds and mammals. There are dozens of Dorcas Gazelles and Asian Wild Asses striding solemnly across the desert plains:

On the bird front, the dry plains are whopping with them. The seeds remaining on the ground from previous wetter winters, added to the produce from the ungulate's behinds probably provide sufficient resources. Over 20 Cream-coloured Coursers, including several recently-fledged young, are fun to watch. 

There are tons of passerines busily foraging along a dry wadi bed - Bar-tailed Larks stand out among the larks, and the six species of wheatear are impressive too (Mourning, White-crowned, Desert, Hooded, Isabelline and Blackstart). Add to that Spotted and Crowned Sandgrouse, Spectacled Warbler, shrikes, babblers - I really enjoy this spot! 

Driving back home, past Sde Boker I see a huge bird of prey soaring over a distant ridge. I pull over, get my bins on it - Golden Eagle! 

I see it's a young bird by the pale tail base (juveniles of the population breeding in Israel show very limited, if any, white on primary bases). Knowing that a large proportion of fledglings are tagged every year by INPA, I check with my colleagues. Within minutes this map is sent to me - indeed it's a bird that hatched in the Negev this year. How cool is that.

August 10, 05:56

It's Saturday, so it's Hulda Reservoir with Piki. Today we have special guests joining us - Yuval Dax from my team and his 9 yo son Noam who's getting into birding. Hulda reservoir is at its best now, with low water levels and lots of exposed mud to feed shorebirds. Indeed, there are plenty of shorebirds, they attract most of our attention. A flock of 27 graceful Collared Pratincoles is a pleasure to watch - I love pratincoles. Among the large number of Little Stints we manage to pull out a Broad-billed Sandpiper - nice one, quite scarce inland.

Hamaapil fishponds pec

This morning before work I checked Hamaapil fishponds. I was tempted to go there by the Pectoral Sandpiper that had been found there yesterday by Uri Gati, a fine young birder. Also recent reports from there indicating that there are lots of migrants added to the attraction. I was there early and appreciated the beautiful fishponds, now being drained ahead of the incoming pelican migration. There's an adjacent pelican feeding station - later in autumn thousands of pelicans fly around there daily. The local fish farmers use this method to avoid conflict.

I quickly got on the Pec - such a nice bird, luv 'em. It showed very well through my Swarovski scope. It is a good rarity in Israel, just about annual. However, in recent years Hamaapil fishponds have hosted one almost every year - in autumn 2020, 2022, 2023 and now this. Some of these records could have referred to a returning bird. The current bird looks bright and fresh with prominent pale mantle braces so I think it's 1cy - probably a new bird. It was foraging on the mud with many other shorebirds, mainly Little Stints and Little Ringed Plovers.

While watching the pec a Marsh Harrier flew by and spooked many birds. It was hilarious (and unusual) to watch this small group of Little Grebes fleeing from the harrier run away on the mud in panic - they clearly aren't designed for this kind of activity. I laughed out loud while watching this scene. 

That one muddy pond held hundreds of maybe even thousands of birds. Really impressive. The shorebird aggregation included several Curlew Sandpipers and Temminck's Stints. The one in the video here is still pretty, sporting a near-complete rufous summer plumage. An early Citrine Wagtail was a nice surprise among the Western Yellow Wagtails, their numbers growing now by the day. 

I checked the other fishponds  and enjoyed lots of birds. There was a nice selection of terns - Common, Gull-billed, Whiskered and White-winged. These two young white-wings looked very sweet trying to balance on a wire - they made me smile as well.

Heading out I stopped for a minute to admire a flock of European Bee-eaters on wires. While counting them through my scope suddenly I noticed a starling on the wire - WTF? I instantly noticed it is pallid brown-grey, unstreaked, with darker wings and a pale bill - Rosy Starling! I had it in the scope for maybe two seconds then it dropped down into a vegetated area and I lost it. I spent a few minutes trying in vain to relocate it while notifying the other birders on site. I had to leave for work and was relieved when the others relocated it and managed to photograph it as well.

Nice pre-work session, check my eBird checklist here.