Tuesday, December 31, 2024

Special summary: Best of 2024

As 2024 comes to a close, I look back and think of all that I have been through during this year. It has been a horrible year nationally, with the ongoing war bringing unimaginable suffering, sorrow and grief to everyone in the region. However, during this awful year, nature was my personal remedy, my own method to handle all the horrors of war, a beacon of hope. If in any other year I am very religious about going out and birding, this year I felt even more dedicated to spend time outdoors as much as possible, for my mental health. With that heavy mental burden, 2024 still was a year in which I experienced amazing nature, in Israel and overseas, and hugely appreciated every bird, animal and plant I encountered.

In this annual review I will look back at the most significant birding and wildlife experiences, for me. 


Birding in Israel

This has been another excellent year of birding in Israel for me. This year I added three species to my Israel list, that in eBird stands on 490: European Storm-Petrel, African Desert Warbler and Senegal Thick-knee. It was another year of non-stop birding, with my eBird birding streak now extending more than six years. I birded intensively but without going crazy, certainly without doing a Big Year. I twitched but not every bird, only those that were significant to me and had time to go for. I also did a lot of fieldwork, mainly during spring and summer.

The year started well with great views of the lingering Gray-headed Swamphen at HaMa'apil:


An early January morning in Uvda valley provided a stunning encounter with Arabian Wolf and a rare overwintering Pied Wheatear:



Seawatching in January and February was good, with several westerly storms pushing quality seabirds to our shores. As mentioned above, on January 27th we had a good seawatch south of Tel Aviv that produced a European Storm-Petrel. No photos of this one because we tried to obtain identifiable scope views rather than grab the camera and risk losing the bird. I wish it showed well like this Parasitic Jaeger chasing a Sandwich Tern:


Spring migration was wonderful, and I enjoyed every moment of it. I was pleased with this photo of Cinereous Bunting - my best so far:


Typical March scenes on Mt. Amasa - Eastern Black-eared Wheatear and Blue Rock Thrush (wait for it).


Israel's second African Desert Warbler was found south of Haifa on March 23rd. I arrived late in fading light, others got much better photos than me, but who cares - another Israel tick for me.


Champions of the Flyway happened on April 1st, and was as fun and thrilling as always despite missing our international friends. Birding was awesome.


Semicollared Flycatcher

I love the variety and colours of spring migrants, like these Western Yellow Wagtails I had one morning at Maagan Michael

Camouflage brilliance at the JBO - Eurasian Nightjar

May Global Big Day was a blast (pun intended) while birding up in northern Israel with Jonathan and Re'a


Spring and summer fieldwork took me mainly to the desert, where our long-term collaborative projects on Asian Houbara (AKA McQueen's Bustard) and sandgrouse continue. Always a privilege to spend time in the remotest parts of the country in pristine habitat with its most threatened birds and animals, working for better conservation.


Spotted Sandgrouse

Asian Wild Ass

Summer is prime time for monitoring night birds, including 'my' Nubian Nightjars and Pallid Scops-Owl with Yosef.

Made in 2024


Not exactly a bird but in summer I had a very unique nocturnal experience, wading in shallow water with one of the world's rarest amphibians, the Hula Painted Frog.


Mid-summer is also the time to brave the heat and head down to Eilat for scuba diving and birding combo. I managed to connect with the rather mobile Yellow-billed Stork that roamed between Eilat and Aqaba:


Red Sea Clownfish - GoPro photo taken by my son Uri while we were scuba diving together

The IBRCE hosts several Painted Saw-scaled Vipers that are somewhat less mobile:


When autumn arrived, many migrants used our restored sites at Kfar Ruppin and Ma'agan Michael for refueling and resting. These White Storks were resting from their arduous journey in a newly-restored wetland - how wonderful.


Clamorous Reed Warblers breed in the reeds indeed

Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters enjoyed foraging over our restored wetland too:


Lots of shorebirds and marsh terns in another restored wetland in Kfar Ruppin


Autumn migration was much welcome after the long, hot summer. The autumn rarity season started well with a trio (!) of petite Tibetan Sand-plovers at Hama'apil on August 24th:


Followed by my second Israel tick of the year, Senegal Thick-Knee found by Yonatan Gordon and Shachar Yogev at Maayan Zvi on September 6th. Rubbish photo but a great bird - third record for Israel:


Also at HaMaapil, the male Greater Painted-Snipe returned for its fourth year:


Where over a nearby pond, scarce in Israel Black Terns were performing well:


I love that season when Caspian Stonechats show up in Israel:


The Tel Aviv Pacific Golden-Plover returned for another winter and was well appreciated on October 26th with Piki:


I was away for much of October and November (see below), during which I missed quite a few good birds including Eyebrowed Thrush and Pallas's Leaf Warbler. When I walked through the door returning from Tanzania on November 16th, I placed down my suitcase and literally at that exact moment the rare bird alert went off on my phone - Bearded Reedling in Be'er Sheva! I haven't seen one in Israel since December 1995, but I was too exhausted and needed rest after the long journey. Luckily the bird stayed another day:


Unintentionally, this image of Black Kites in DNA formation near Kfar Ruppin went almost viral
December was extremely busy at work and I had little time for birding away from my very local sites near home. I did manage a quick twitch to see Israel's 11th Eurasian Tree Sparrows at Poleg marsh on December 21st (my second in Israel, after one I ringed in 1998):


The final good bird of the year was this stonking male Pied Bushchat near Hazore'a on December 22nd:


I ended the year with 371 species, not too shabby for a year of constant, good effort without going crazy.


I didn't come near the top three Big Year effort lads - Igal Siman Tov, Avner Rinot and Ran Nathan who ended up with 393, 391 and 382 respectively and respectably. Well done guys, maybe next year ;-) In the meanwhile, I am satisfied with all the birds I saw, the beautiful places I visited and the good time I spent outdoors.

Global birding

In 2024 I travelled overseas three times. The first trip was in June, when Amir and I were hosted by our colleagues at OTOP - BirdLife Poland. The main attraction was of course Aquatic Warbler that showed beautifully at their restored site:


There were lots of other cool birds to see of course, including this young male (I guess) Common Rosefinch, digiscoped through my trusted Swarovski Optik ATX85:


In late September to early October I visited the UK with my family. I didn't have much time for proper birding. Mark and I had a sweet morning on Flamborough Head. 

When I stayed in Norwich I was determined to find a local Yellow-browed Warbler, why - I cannot explain. I failed every day until the final morning, when I found one in RSPB Strumpshaw Fen.


In early November I flew to Tanzania where I led an 11-day tour for Rockjumper across this incredible country. The spectacular wildlife experiences and encounters were innumerable. Some avian highlights included:

Beesley's Lark - one of an estimated global population of 60

Maasai Apalis - this photo even made it to the front cover of African Bird Club bulletin

Golden-winged Sunbird - what a stunner

Black-headed Gonolek

Gray-capped Warbler

We also saw a mammal or two

Elephants in Tarangire NP

Lions on a Zebra kill in the Serengeti

*******

And that's a wrap. Time for thanks and credits. As always, the love and support of my family - my wife Adva, and our three kids Uri, Noam and Libby, allows me to keep this lifestyle of mine. Thank you. My dog Lola, that joined our family in late 2023, proved to be a wonderful birding companion.


My birding friends and colleagues at BirdLife Israel made all of these birding experiences even more enjoyable. Thanks to Piki, Micha, Nadav, Meidad, Noam, Rony, Alen, Yotam, Amir, Jonathan, Re'a, Arad and so many more - you are all awesome. Thanks to Swarovski Optik for providing me with the best birding optics in the world. Thanks to all of my supporters and followers here on the blog and on my social media channels - your support means so much to me.

A new year begins in a few hours, with hope that it will be a better year. May this new year bring the immediate release of all 100 hostages that are still held in captivity in Gaza by Hamas, and end the horrible war causing so much pain and misery to Israelis and Palestinians. From a birding point of view, I will keep spending time outdoors as much as I can, and will keep on birding at full capacity - that's the only way.

I wish you all a beautiful, peaceful, quiet 2025.
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Monday, December 16, 2024

Tanzania days 9 - 11: Ngorongoro

Our final region visited during our recent Rockjumper tour to Tanzania was Ngorongoro Conservation Area. In fact, we visited Ngorongoro twice during the tour, once on November 10th, en route to the Serengeti, and again, post Serengeti, on November 13th - 14th, plus a little more birding on the way out on the final day on our tour, November 15th. Ngorongoro Conservation Area is very special, because it uniquely includes two very distinct ecosystems: the crater rim, covered with lush forests hosting a mouthwatering array of highland species, and the crater floor, with grasslands, wetlands and dry lowland forest.

Birding along the crater rim was fantastic, though thick early morning fog made it trickier for some hours. Already by the Lodoare Gate area we started seeing great birds, including the east African endemic Gray-capped Warbler, African Emerald Cuckoo, Spectacled Weaver and more.

Gray-capped Warbler

African Emerald Cuckoo - female

Spectacled Weaver

Driving up the ridge, we stopped to check a nice gully and had amazing views of a pair of Schalow's Turacos, though my photos aren't great, from a mile away. Check Kathy's photos in the eBird checklist here. I missed the photo opp when they landed so close. 


We birded a few more spots along the crater rim, with a focus on the few places where we could walk. Nyati Campsite was fun, with Bronze Sunbird performing, Cape Robin-Chat, Hunter's Cisticolas, African Citril, African Stonechat, Red-cowled Widowbird, and many more.

Bronze Sunbird

Cape Robin-Chat

African Stonechat

Red-cowled Widowbird

Hunter's Cistocola

I was intrigues by the local form of White-eyed Slaty-Flycatcher, nyikensis. So different-looking from the widespread form in Kenya, fischeri, that is darker and has a very broad pale eye area. Surely their taxonomy needs to be better studied.

The most surprising birding location was Ang'ata Camp. The staff there were very friendly and allowed us to roam the camp grounds. We were stunned by the quality birds there. Brown-backed Woodpeckers, territorial African Hobbies (!), Brown-headed Apalis, adorable Yellow-bellied Waxbills - great stuff.

African Hobby!

Brown-backed Woodpecker





Brown-headed Apalis

Yellow-bellied Waxwing - cutest bird of the trip


Driving along the crater rim, we had many brief views of one of the most stunning birds in East Africa - Golden-winged Sunbird. It took us a while until we found a cooperative male - he's incredible isn't he?



Around the crater viewpoint it was possible to walk by the toilet block, where Gray-capped Warbler showed well again. Nearby were Gray-headed Nigritas (no photos sadly), Abyssinian Thrush and several beautiful Cinnamon-chested Bee-eaters. Really excellent birding.

Gray-capped Warbler

Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater

And here's the cinnamon chest of the Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater

Abyssinian Thrush

Down the bottom of the crater it was a totally different story. Wonderful story, in totally different flavours and colours. We descended into the crater from the eastern slope, with the sun in our backs. It was a beautiful descent, from the lush forest into the rich grasslands. Immediately we started seeing lots of mammals and birds. Among the mammals we had one Black Rhinoceros - distant but good views of this rare giant. We also had more Lions, and another exciting and close encounter with African Wolf.


African Wolf


The wetland and Lake Magadi held huge numbers of birds. Many flamingoes, ducks, gulls and shorebirds kept us very busy for a few hours.

African Rail


Blue-billed Duck photobombed by Lesser Flamingo

Lesser Flamingos


Layers of Ngorongoro: Lesser Flamingos, Great White Pelicans, Black-winged Stilt (right), Barn Swallow (left), Thomson's Gazelle, Zebras and a safari vehicle

The surrounding grasslands and woodland had some great birds. We got our fill of Gray Crowned-Cranes - they are such stunning and elegant birds, especially from up close. They were numerous inside the crater. 




The picnic site in Lerai Forest held Speke's Weavers and showy Rufous-tailed Weavers.

Rufous-tailed Weaver

Speke's Weaver


On our very final morning of the tour (november 15th) we travelled back from Karatu to Arusha. I hijacked my group on my eBird checklist streak challenge, and we stopped for a short birding session along the access road to A Nomad's Lodge. It was nice there and we enjoyed open woodland birds. African Goshawk was nice.

Black Goshawk

Black Cuckooshrike

Slate-coloured Boubou

White-browed Robin-Chat

And that wrapped up our Tanzania tour. 433 bird species which is pretty good I reckon, 36 mammals, nonstop top-class birding and wildlife, stunning scenery, spotless logistics organised by our ground agent. Special thanks to Peter, our local guide and driver, who did an excellent job. Check the detailed trip report on Rockjumper website here, and the eBird trip report here, complete with photos of 292 species taken by Kathy and me.
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