Excellent day made even better!

Friday was one of those crazy days... I started early at the Jerusalem Bird Observatory, leading a birding walk for the birding club operated by BirdLife Israel. The JBO was at its best. The pistachio trees are exploding with ripe, juicy fruit and migrants respond. Our walk was very fruitful, with big numbers of common migrants and lots of nice stuff. Biggest numbers of Blackcap and Lesser Whitethroat, also Spotted Flycatchers were present in nice numbers. Several Collared Flycatchers were active - nice to see them in autumn too when they are scarce. 

A day roosting Long-eared Owl showed brilliantly. Not often it shows so well during the day there.

Then I get this WhatsApp message from Yonatan Gordon, a young and super-talented birder, asking: 'Is this what I think it is?':

Bang! Senegal Thick-Knee at Maayan Zvi! I am in Jerusalem with my group, about halfway through our birding walk, and all I really want is to jump in the car a fly to Maayan Zvi. I had a bad history with this species - the first for Israel came when I was in the UK. The second record was in 2021, one and then two birds were in Kfar Ruppin for a couple of weeks but very mobile and unpredictable. I headed up there three times to search for them, without success. It was a painful triple dip. Therefore, I HAD to see this bird. My phone didn't stop ringing, with friends heading off to twitch, asking me if I am joining. No!!! But I kept my calm, committed to my clients at the bird walk as planned, showed all the birds, answered all the questions, shared the necessary information - all very professional. eBird checklist here. But as soon as I could, I jumped in the car and flew as fast as I am legally permitted to Maayan Zvi. 

I talked to friends during my drive, the bird was stationary, not moving much, twitchers were behaving well, for the time being... However, knowing what bizarre birds thick-knees are, I was still tense whether the bird stays or not. I am relieved when I arrive and the bird is still there, not doing much, lying down in the grass on the edge of a half-dry large reservoir. I joined the small crowd assembled, that included the two heroic finders - Yonatan Gordon and Uri Laor. 

The bird was where the white arrow points. Phew. Israel tick (#489 on eBird) and in fact a global lifer. I took in the scope views. What a strange-looking bird - felt very odd and different from Eurasian Thick-knee, strange proportions with a long neck and long tail. The viewing conditions weren't great - the bird was quite distant, horrible temperatures, awful heat haze and annoying wind shaking the scope. Even with those conditions the views were good enough and I could see the important ID features - big, long and heavy bill with restricted yellow at base, plainer upperwing pattern lacking the additional, upper white bar of Eurasian, and unbarred tail. When the bird stood up and started walking the views were better. It preened and opened up its wings several times, exposing the large white patches on primaries, just about visible in this terrible photo:

Check this stupid little video I posted on X, featuring Jonathan Meyrav, Yonatan Gordon and Uri Laor, and the bird. My phone was boiling hot and was half-functioning, so sorry for the funny quality.

@JMeyrav and me fooling around at the Senegal Thick-knee site. Introducing Yonatan Gordon and Uri Laor the finders pic.twitter.com/c6PJQml5I5

— Yoav Perlman (@yoavperlman) September 6, 2024

Driving back home, the adrenalin drained out of my system, I looked back at the events of the day - quite something.

Tibetan Sand-PloverS!

So this is how it went: Saturday morning I get back from my weekly circuit of Hulda Reservoir with Piki et al. I take a look on eBird to see if anything interesting has come up. When I check a checklist from Hamaapil by Ilan Nissim Moriya, I am intrigued to see his report of two Greater Sand-Plovers. GSP is strictly coastal in Israel, so this is very unusual. I drop Ilan an email, asking for further details (I'm an eBird reviewer). Dan Sharon sends me via WhatsApp this photo, that knocks me off my chair:

Then Dan tells me it's Ilan's photo and I figured it out... According to them, this was one of three (not two) juveniles present, that all looked the same. That sounded totally unreal. Tibetan Sand-Plover is mega in Israel, with six or seven previous records, so three together?!? How can that even be real? I asked Ilan for further photos, and after lunch he sends me a bunch of convincing photos. I ask Ilan to release the news out as probable Tibetan Sand-Plover and a big twitch (in Israeli standards) develops. The first twitchers quickly arrive on site and confirm my tentative ID. I skip my traditional Saturday afternoon siesta and go with Piki to twitch them. 50 minutes drive, not too bad. I have seen two in Israel before, but not since 2013, and three together!!! When we get there several twitchers formed a bit of a queue. 

The fishpond is full of birds but we ignore them as we are very focused. The sand-plovers are on show immediately. Piki is smiling - it's a lifer for him. The birds are very close and tame but we are at the back of the queue, watching from inside the car into the sun. I drive around the pond and position us at the opposite corner. Light angle is slightly better but we are quite distant. I am not comfortable in the car with the angle and the heat, hence the mediocre documentation. There are much better photos available. We appreciate their small size and short, stout bill. I discuss on the phone their intricate ID features with other birders watching them out of other cars. A little bit of doubt is raised about their identification, because of their fairly long legs and slightly larger size of two of the three. However, I leave the site feeling confident they are Tibetan Sand-Plovers. 

Sweety

In different light conditions

With Little Stint

Three Tibetan Sand-Plovers together

The doubt is dissolved eventually, especially after two of the three birds were trapped and ringed today by a local ringing group doing a pre-planned shorebird ringing session. Their biometrics confirmed they are Tibetan. Bingo.

Diaries of an avid birder

August 6th, 04:45

I have a late morning meeting in Sde Boker. My original plan is to do MacQueen's Bustard point counts before the meeting (more on that later), but the site is an active military firing zone and I could not enter this morning. I revert my plans to do my morning eBirding at Be'er Sheva river park. En route, cruising at motorway speed, I hit some sharp object on the road. Rear tire explodes, I must pull over on the shoulders of the highway at a super risky spot. I change the spare tire at maximum speed, really fearing my life with heavy lorries zooming past inches from me. I arrive at the river park slightly later than I had planned but still early enough to enjoy birding. The man-made park has really nice habitat - I like it very much, and look forward to tzicking buntings here in November. In the meanwhile I enjoy many Savi's Warblers. Also Desert Finches and Rufous-tailed Scrub-Robin are nice. I make it to the meeting on time after repairing the tire in Beer Sheva.

August 7th, 05:56

I start my monthly monitoring session of our restoration project at Maagan Michael. I need to get as many point counts done before it heats up and then I need to rush to a meeting. Not too many birds around - still lovely at Maagan Michael. Heartening to see how our restoration work is already helping migrants rest and refuel. Migrant tern numbers are building up nicely. Only on the computer screen back home I notice that one of the White-winged Terns I had photographed was ringed. I send the image to Yosef Kiat - it's his bird from Atlit, ringed July 2021, resighted at Maagan Michael July 2022. The amount of detail in images produced by these modern cameras is amazing.

August 8th, 05:55

Morning eBirding with Piki. We check Revadim old fishponds - a bit more inspiring than a routine walk down my local patch, so worth the 15 minutes less sleep. The reservoir is full of herons and ibis, also quite a few shorebirds and terns. Among the terns we pick up a sweet Gull-billed Tern, bullying other birds. 07:10 I am back home to be a normal person, family stuff, work.

August 9th, 05:55

I start my first MacQueen's Bustard point count morning in a lovely area deep in the Negev, after a two hour drive in the dark. I do this work as part of BirdLife Israel's collaboration with Israel Nature and Parks Authority in a five-year study of these threatened bustards. I come with low expectations after a very dry spring in that part of the Negev. I am pleasantly surprised to find the desert plains full of life. In this study we use 15 minute point counts and move between them to manage four or five point counts in a morning before it heats up too much. At the first point count there are so many birds I can't pull myself away. I stay there for an additional 30 minutes taking in all the birds and mammals. There are dozens of Dorcas Gazelles and Asian Wild Asses striding solemnly across the desert plains:

On the bird front, the dry plains are whopping with them. The seeds remaining on the ground from previous wetter winters, added to the produce from the ungulate's behinds probably provide sufficient resources. Over 20 Cream-coloured Coursers, including several recently-fledged young, are fun to watch. 

There are tons of passerines busily foraging along a dry wadi bed - Bar-tailed Larks stand out among the larks, and the six species of wheatear are impressive too (Mourning, White-crowned, Desert, Hooded, Isabelline and Blackstart). Add to that Spotted and Crowned Sandgrouse, Spectacled Warbler, shrikes, babblers - I really enjoy this spot! 

Driving back home, past Sde Boker I see a huge bird of prey soaring over a distant ridge. I pull over, get my bins on it - Golden Eagle! 

I see it's a young bird by the pale tail base (juveniles of the population breeding in Israel show very limited, if any, white on primary bases). Knowing that a large proportion of fledglings are tagged every year by INPA, I check with my colleagues. Within minutes this map is sent to me - indeed it's a bird that hatched in the Negev this year. How cool is that.

August 10, 05:56

It's Saturday, so it's Hulda Reservoir with Piki. Today we have special guests joining us - Yuval Dax from my team and his 9 yo son Noam who's getting into birding. Hulda reservoir is at its best now, with low water levels and lots of exposed mud to feed shorebirds. Indeed, there are plenty of shorebirds, they attract most of our attention. A flock of 27 graceful Collared Pratincoles is a pleasure to watch - I love pratincoles. Among the large number of Little Stints we manage to pull out a Broad-billed Sandpiper - nice one, quite scarce inland.

Hamaapil fishponds pec

This morning before work I checked Hamaapil fishponds. I was tempted to go there by the Pectoral Sandpiper that had been found there yesterday by Uri Gati, a fine young birder. Also recent reports from there indicating that there are lots of migrants added to the attraction. I was there early and appreciated the beautiful fishponds, now being drained ahead of the incoming pelican migration. There's an adjacent pelican feeding station - later in autumn thousands of pelicans fly around there daily. The local fish farmers use this method to avoid conflict.

I quickly got on the Pec - such a nice bird, luv 'em. It showed very well through my Swarovski scope. It is a good rarity in Israel, just about annual. However, in recent years Hamaapil fishponds have hosted one almost every year - in autumn 2020, 2022, 2023 and now this. Some of these records could have referred to a returning bird. The current bird looks bright and fresh with prominent pale mantle braces so I think it's 1cy - probably a new bird. It was foraging on the mud with many other shorebirds, mainly Little Stints and Little Ringed Plovers.

While watching the pec a Marsh Harrier flew by and spooked many birds. It was hilarious (and unusual) to watch this small group of Little Grebes fleeing from the harrier run away on the mud in panic - they clearly aren't designed for this kind of activity. I laughed out loud while watching this scene. 

That one muddy pond held hundreds of maybe even thousands of birds. Really impressive. The shorebird aggregation included several Curlew Sandpipers and Temminck's Stints. The one in the video here is still pretty, sporting a near-complete rufous summer plumage. An early Citrine Wagtail was a nice surprise among the Western Yellow Wagtails, their numbers growing now by the day. 

I checked the other fishponds  and enjoyed lots of birds. There was a nice selection of terns - Common, Gull-billed, Whiskered and White-winged. These two young white-wings looked very sweet trying to balance on a wire - they made me smile as well.

Heading out I stopped for a minute to admire a flock of European Bee-eaters on wires. While counting them through my scope suddenly I noticed a starling on the wire - WTF? I instantly noticed it is pallid brown-grey, unstreaked, with darker wings and a pale bill - Rosy Starling! I had it in the scope for maybe two seconds then it dropped down into a vegetated area and I lost it. I spent a few minutes trying in vain to relocate it while notifying the other birders on site. I had to leave for work and was relieved when the others relocated it and managed to photograph it as well.

Nice pre-work session, check my eBird checklist here.

Eilat mini-break

With all the missiles, rockets, strike drones and bombs flying around me causing unimaginable human suffering, it feels so crazy and bizarre yet so natural to go out and enjoy nature and birding. This is how we roll here. I went down to Eilat with my family for a quick break, combining birding, scuba diving and family time. It was fun as always. Birding this time of year is dominated by seawatching off north beach. I spent two early mornings and an afternoon there, taking in the tern activity. It was very good, with a lovely show of Bridled and White-cheeked Terns - many tens of each, some coming in very close. If you look closely at two O'clock of this phone photo of north beach at dawn, a flock of thirty something bridleds and white-cheeks can be seen:

When they flew over us I sound recorded them with my phone:

The more noisy birds are White-cheeked Terns. The Bridled Terns gave softer calls, that can be heard in the background.

I took a few photos using my real camera too:

I found two Arctic Terns - an adult in the evening of June 26th, and a 2cy in the morning of June 27th. In Israel, typically 2cy birds are seen - about 1-2 annually. Adults are less frequently recorded so that was very nice. I also managed to get my first photos in Israel of this rarity (albeit at a great distance). I have seen and found quite many but always settled for scope views and never managed to get a photo, until yesterday morning. ID pointers here include the small size and short bill, very pale overall, narrow carpal bar, and pale primaries with narrow dark trailing edge. In the field, the weaker and more bouncy flight action was obvious, compared to Common Terns accompanying it. Here it is with a Bridled Tern:

Driving back and forth between north beach and our accommodation, I was hoping to bump into the Yellow-billed Stork that has been hanging around Eilat since early May. In recent weeks it has become very mobile and more difficult to track down. I missed it during a quick work visit last week, and during a couple of searches on Thursday and Friday. Eventually, on Friday night, after leaving north beach, I finally found it feeding in the southern canal - what a super bird and lovely to see it here.

Scuba diving was fun as always. Finally we purchased a GoPro and can show some of the stuff we see underwater when we go scuba diving. My elder son Uri and I still need to learn how to use it better but the first dives with it were already enjoyable.

Red Sea Clownfish

Why I am not going to Global Birdfair this year

Global Birdfair 2023 - me with Tim Appleton and Dale Forbes

Those of you who follow my blog regularly know that very rarely I stray away from bird stuff in my writing. In recent weeks many people have asked me whether I am taking part in Global Birdfair this year. At this point, I want to share my disappointment and frustration with attitudes I am receiving in recent months, that have led me to decide not to go to Global Birdfair this year.

I have been going to Global Birdfair for many years, representing BirdLife Israel. It really is THE place to be. Tim and Penny's friendship and support are so precious to me personally and to BirdLife Israel. It is always great to meet so many close friends, make new friends and hang out with amazing people from all around the world, to talk about birding and conservation. I am affiliated with BirdLife International, Swarovski Optik, eBird, Rockjumper Birding Tours, OSME, Dutch Birding - several good reasons to visit Global Birdfair. In normal years we go as a BirdLife Israel team, present our conservation work, and promote our international events including Champions of the Flyway. We also promote birding tourism into Israel, emphasizing the connection between birding tourism and conservation.

Since October 7th, our lives here in Israel have shattered. In the first weeks after the Hamas attack, waves of support and comradeship arrived from friends and colleagues around the world, helping us at BirdLife Israel and me personally to pick ourselves up after the horrible massacre. However, after the Israeli military operation began in Gaza, the positive vibes were muted. Instead, I started receiving vile, offensive messages from people and from organisations around the world. Surprisingly, even people that I regarded as personal friends turned their backs on me and on BirdLife Israel. Not only ignored, but actively accused me personally of committing genocide, killing children etc. This is nonsense of course, but I felt very troubled and confused by this approach. Maybe I was totally naïve. I believed that people in the birding and conservation community have some kind of basic understanding of how conservation NGOs work, and how much support conservation NGOs need especially in extreme situations like we are in now. No, some people are simply stupid, ignorant or brainwashed, unable to separate their own political or social agendas from their views about conservation and about basic human relationships and behaviour.

I want to clarify. I am not an Israeli spokesperson. I don't take responsibility for the actions of the Israeli government since October 7th (and before). I even openly criticize the Israeli government. The war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza is horrible, inflicting unimaginable suffering on civilians in Israel and in Gaza. I hope the war ends yesterday. Those who know me are familiar with my deep belief in cross-border work with our neighbours, developing partnerships with Palestinians, Jordanians and Egyptians in pre-war days. Accusing me of genocide and murder, and openly calling for my death or deportation, just for being Israeli and Jewish, is unacceptable and very wrong. Moreover, people from the global birding and conservation communities openly calling to boycott BirdLife Israel, which has happened, demonstrates how rife are ignorance and hypocrisy in these communities. 

All of these events, combined with the huge increase in antisemitism and anti-Israeli cases in the UK, led me to decide not to take part in Global Birdfair this year. Obviously, it is pointless to promote birding tourism into Israel in the near future. Moreover, I was concerned that if I tried to give a presentation or hold an event, idiots would sabotage our efforts. The whole situation is so toxic at the moment. It is very sad for me not to take part this year. I know that during birdfair, seeing all the smiling faces and sensing the strong vibes of global solidarity (unless you're Israeli) FOMO will take over me. 

I have hope that this horrible war will end soon, the hostages will return home and our crazy region will regain some kind of fragile stability. I am sure that a few months later those holding racist and antisemitic opinions will not feel comfortable to share their dangerous views anymore. The Israeli civil society, and I include myself in it, is resilient. We struggle to keep our heads above the water, but we'll make it to the other side. The strength of the civil society in Israel gives me hope for the future. I promise that in Global Birdfair 2025 BirdLife Israel will return stronger than ever, proudly showcasing the good conservation work that we do, for nature and people, against all odds.

A nice bird for good measure.

Poland - Aquatic Warblers and more

I recently returned from a short work visit to Poland, with Amir Balaban. This trip was organised with OTOP, to learn about their excellent conservation work, focused on restoration, and develop collaborations. Despite all the photos, videos and sound recordings that appear below, it really was a work trip, honest! Luckily our work includes field visits, so when a group of birders meet up, and excellent birds are plentiful, sometimes meetings get a little shorter... 

Our trip started on Sunday, June 2nd. After picking up the rental car in Warsaw we headed straight to Biebrza marshes. Our first stop was at Dluga Lake, the classic spot for Aquatic Warbler. 

Such a great habitat, lots of birds singing - I especially enjoyed the snipes in display flight. Despite the less-than-ideal time of day, quickly we heard our first singing male, and soon spotted it singing from the top of a tall grass blade - fantastic!

My bimbo Aquatic Warbler
Thanks to @OTOP_tweets for hosting us pic.twitter.com/CepkB58wJW

— Yoav Perlman (@yoavperlman) June 2, 2024

Clarification: Bimbo is a term used by Spanish birders for lifer. Indeed, Aquatic Warbler was a global lifer for me.

We then continued to the OTOP reserve of Mscichy that is carefully managed specially to create optimal conditions for Aquatic Warbler. Superb example of habitat restoration. It was raining most of the time, and the tall grass was very wet. We finished our session there soaked to the bone, but it was certainly worth it. More encounters with Aquatic Warblers, still not best photos but lovely views and I love their song.

Amir doing his stuff

Next morning (June 3rd) we returned early to Mscichy to improve our views and maybe get some decent photos of Aquatic Warbler. Coming from the hot Middle east, I am used to birds peaking their daily activity in the early morning. But Aquatic Warbler in Poland isn't like that! In fact the morning session was much quieter, with less activity. Still, so many great birds around (River Warbler, Common Rosefinch etc.) that it was highly enjoyable. Habitat photo by Thomas Krumenacker:

Aquatic Warbler in its habitat - they often sing from a tall grass blade:

I was intrigued by this singing Common Rosefinch, clearly a 2cy. It was singing non-stop and being very territorial, but without a hint of pink plumage. The slow plumage development of Common Rosefinch is known and correlated with song development - see this article. 

Later on we continued to the watch tower at Bialy Grad trail - lots of good birds on the marsh there, including Black and White-winged Terns.

In the morning of June 4th we visited a state-protected old growth forest in the Lublin region. It was truly majestic, and full of birds, mosquitoes and fungi. Thanks Jarek for the help in identifying non-birds! Red-breasted, Collared and Pied Flycatchers, Gray-headed Woodpeckers, Wood Warblers etc. - superb.

Fuligo septica

Pluteus leoninus

Gray-headed Woodpecker in its nest

Red-backed Shrike

I believe I can fly! (Roe Deer)

A study visit to another restored OTOP reserve, Krowie Bagno, was very interesting regarding hydrology and vegetation management. The boggy mire is full of life, small and large. Great Snipe and Corn Crake were among the excellent birds seen and heard there.

Very cool meat-eating plant - Drosera rotundifolia

Cranberry Fritillary

In the evening it was time for main dish. We headed over to THE prime location for Aquatic Warbler in Lublin area - another chunk of OTOP-managed land, Serebryskie Bagno. It is slightly drier there, resulting in less competition with Sedge Warbler. Aquatic Warblers were so plentiful and active in the evening, in beautiful restored habitat. I split away from the group to spend quality solo time with these globally-threatened birds. It was awesome. I sat down, surrounded between four different males, serenading to each other. The air was still. The light was golden. Meadow Pipits singing in the background. I felt complete.

That median crown stripe

Bombina Bombina - the scientific name is so much cooler than the English name (European Fire-bellied Toad)

Early Marsh-Orchid

Then it was back to Warsaw for two days of meetings and events:

Of course, the visit to Warsaw included exploration of some of its fine urban wildlife sites. We joined a research team working on Mandarin Ducks in the Royal Palace Park, and wandered around the wild Jewish cemetery. 

The final new bird species for the trip was Common Redstart - I was pleasantly surprised to find them breeding inside the city. eBird trip report is here here - 130 species in total which is quite OK I think.

And that was that. Huge thanks to our hosts from OTOP - Iza, Jarek, Staszek, Slava, Łukasz, Krzysztof. Also Viktar and Thomas that joined us contributed greatly to the trip. It was awesome! And Amir... Till next time.