I feel very sorry for myself today; in fact I think I deserve to be called a martyr. Went to look for the Rough-legged Buzzard today, but it did not show. It was not seen yesterday either, so either it moved on or it moved away somewhere. I spent the whole day in the area with Ron and several other birders. Weather was disgusting with very strong wind causing a terrible sandstorm. By the end of the day we saw quite many birds, but spirits were very low after this shameful dip. Mini-highlights included 18 Sociable Lapwings in two groups (15+3), 3 Pallid Parriers, 2 Merlins, 3 Peregrines, 5 Imperials, about 20 Long-legged Buzzards etc.
Sociable Lapwings
This dip joins several other blockers I have missed while I was away - Intermediate Egret, Pink-backed Pelican and more...
Missing the Rough-legged Buzzard was unfortunate but it might return you never know. Fingers crossed The Sociable Plovers are fantastic though. Would be interesting to know how the numbers compare with other years.
ReplyDeleteNumbers at Urim, which is the main wintering site in Israel, have been rather stable in recent decade or so. Low but stable. Same flock I guess. See here for instance: http://nubijar.blogspot.co.il/2011/12/sociable-plovers.html
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