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