Eilat festival update - day 4

Yet another fantastic day. I began the day with a quick browse through some local sites near the city, that were rather quiet. This handsome male Eastern Black- eared Wheatear was very attractive in the clear early morning sun:

On the way north I received an RBA message about a Menetries's Warbler ringed at the IBRCE. I made a quick detour to see this excellent bird - many thanks to the IBRCE staff!

Menetries's Warbler - 2cy male

And here in the distinctive cocked-tail posture:

I headed with Asaf to Yotvata. As we drove into the fields, we noticed the same Pallid Harrier from yesterday, but this time perched on a better branch (not on a sprinkler like yesterday). It was so friendly and let us get very close. I waited patiently for it to get used to us and do some interesting stuff. For a long time it just sat there, looking and listening:

Pallid Harrier

Then it started scratching:

And shaking:
And stretching:

And then it decided to take off. I was lucky to get these shots. what a stunning bird! It really made my week.

The fields of Yotvata had a similar selection as yesterday, with a notable arrival of Tawny Pipits.

In the afternoon I led a tour to the KM19 sewage farm, which was pretty quiet but the pair of Little Crakes continued to show very well, and we had a male Namaqua Dove and several brief Dead Sea Sparrows.

And one more thing: check Stephen Menzie's terrific videos from the Festival here and here. It's great having Stephen with us, he's certainly working harder than anyone else this week...