2011 was quite an extreme year. I did not travel outside of Israel, but high-speed local birding never ended. Some highlights included an amazing post-breeding invasion of Thick-billed Larks, and a succession of national megas: 1st Firecrest, 2nd Bean Goose, 3rd Masked Wagtail, 5th Whooper Swans and 6th Green Warbler! But my favourite rarity of the year was a wee Red-flanked Bluetail in the Eilat cemetery, the second for Israel, found by James P. Smith and his Birdfinders goup, which I twitched against all odds with my 4 year-old son Uri:
Wishing you a safe and healthy Chanukah and year ahead 5780!
ReplyDelete