Thursday, December 22, 2011

Ringo Star

Went ringing this morning at my local alfalfa field, near Bet Kama. Weather was good and there were lots of birds in the recently-cut field. A flock of about 400-500 pipits was impressive.
Star bird of the morning was this ringtail - adult female Hen Harrier. What a bird! It made me and Meidad sprint like maniacs when it flew into the net, not sure how come it didn't bounce out. It was a ringing tick for me - haven't had one in Israel for quite a while.

Hen Harrier - adult female




Meidad
I managed to screw the release image up - the focus escaped to the background...

We had some real birds too. We had a good catch of Meadow Pipits. Some, like this bird, were really grey (not age-related). From what i read it is monotipic, but are eastern birds greyer than western ones?
Among the meadows were some Red-throated and Water Pipits:

Red-throated Pipit - 1cy

I just love using my 500 mm lens for in-hand photography. Check this completely flat background:

Zitting Cisticola
Lots of raptors flying around and over the field - Eastern Imp Eagle, Peregrine, Merlin, Long-legged Buzzards etc.

Many thanks to Darren, Rony and especially Meidad for their help this morning.

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