Monday, December 30, 2019

Decade summary #9 - Best of 2018

Final post for my decade summary, before the special summary of 2019 - tomorrow!

2018 saw me again travel the globe quite extensively - South Africa, Israel, Sweden, Brazil; I finished my PhD, and in August we moved back to Israel, which meant daily birding intensified. but let's start from the beginning. In February I traveled with my family to South Africa. We saw incredible wildlife, including a dream mammal for me -Wild Dog, in an unforgettable encounter:


Birding was great too, including the stunning Cape Sugarbird:


In March, in perfect timing with the visit of our Filey friends Mark and Amity, one of my most wanted birds showed up not far from home, on the north Norfolk coast - Snowy Owl. It was distant so photos aren't great but the encounter was incredible:


Later on in March I visited Israel for Champions of the Flyway. Best bird was a Persian Wheatear, and I really enjoyed this stunning self-found Turkestan Shrike:


In July, during a family visit to northern Sweden I managed Hawk Owl:


My final year in the UK added several more good birds to my list, including American Bittern, Green Heron, and Buff-breasted, Semi-p and Spotted Sands.

In November I traveled to Brazil for my first visit to Latin America. The team included again Gidon, Amir and Eli. My main goal, to do a Jaguar selfie, was fulfilled successfully. 




Birding in Brazil, in the Pantanal and in the Atlantic Forest, was nothing short of spectacular.

White-headed Marsh Tyrant

Back in Israel, I managed four ticks, including Yellow-billed Kite ('only' ssp.), Pink-backed Pelican, and two firsts for Israel - Buff-bellied Sandpiper and Barnacle Goose!


(This photo was taken in January 2019)

Full summary of 2018 here.


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