Non-stop birding

In recent weeks I have been trying to make the most of this wonderful time of year for bird migration in Israel. Because of climate change it's still horribly hot here, but late autumn and winter migrants are pouring in following their evolution-imprinted internal clocks. I have a few weeks of birding to cover in this blogpost; I will do so in chronological order.

Red-footed Falcons are typical October birds here. The region where I live, in central Israel, is quite good for flocks stopping over. They're so popular with photographers here (justly, they're wonderful birds), so I avoided several popular sites and flocks as long as I could. While birding near home on October 14th I bumped into a small group of these elegant little devils. 

They're so small that Jackdaws and even Mynas give them a hard time. I wish this pursuit between a Jackdaw and a female Red-foot happened a bit closer to me.

One young Red-foot was super obliging.

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It's been a few good weeks for Willow Warblers

I have been so busy with work in recent weeks that I had to skip several twitches. These included a mega Verreaux's Eagle roaming the Eilat Mts., and a very showy Ring Ouzel in a small park in Mitzpe Ramon. I eventually made it down to Mitzpe Ramon (with Meidad) only after the ouzel had departed, on October 27th, but enjoyed close views of a gorgeous Olive-backed Pipit:

In Nafha farm, a Spotted Crake utilized the malfunctioning water treatment plant that created a wonderful, bird rich sewage wetland. Check all the bird calls in the background:

On October 30th I birded with my mate Frank in the Bet Shean Valley, that was full of birds as always. How miniature Black Storks look, dwarfed by the monster Great White Pelicans:

We spotted an odd raptor on an irrigation line, with white on its neck and belly. It took off, I fired off a few shots, and dismissed it as a funny Black Kite. A couple of days later, when I downloaded and edited the images, conspiratory thoughts invaded my mind - I was blown away by the short, square tail, and the bill looked heavy. But after close inspection, Amir noticed that the tail is clipped. So it is a funny Black Kite eventually, with two off characters (the clipped tail and white regions).

On October 31st we held a big public event in Ma'agan Michael. I started off with a couple of hours of early morning vismigging for the soul. It was amazing, with huge numbers of Chaffinches and Skylarks (eBird checklist here). Wild easterlies squeezed everything towards the shore - migration was really dense. Because of the strong wind I couldn't hear much, but spotted a Bimaculated Lark and a Hawfinch flying by. Many skylarks migrated over the sea, low above the waves. Breathtaking.

On the way out I enjoyed this 1cy male Siberian Stonechat, that could be Armenian (ssp. variegatus), based on the limited white on the base of tail feathers. 

During a birding walk I guided, we appreciated this spectacular Citrine Wagtail, as bright as they get.

The continuing easterlies and hot weather created conditions that are rare on the coast, and resulted with fairly decent raptor migration, including this 1cy Bonelli's Eagle:

And a dark-morph Eleonora's Falcon:

Yesterday morning, birding near home, nothing too special, just a nice selection of migrants:

Hen Harrier, one of three

1cy female Siberian Stonechat

Stock Dove is a bit of a thing in Israel:

coutellii Water Pipit - catching a bug:

Goodbye, my dearest Lola

Yesterday morning, my beloved dog Lola died tragically. We went out for a routine early morning birding walk in some agricultural fields near home. I watched pipits and wagtails and chats, she sniffed around in the bushes. On the way home she developed first signs of distress. By the time we got back home few minutes later, her condition started to deteriorate quickly. By her symptoms it was clear to me that she had been poisoned. With the help of a friend we got her to a vet quickly, but she couldn't be saved and died. Such a horrible, cruel and unnecessary end for the loveliest of dogs.

Lola arrived to our family shortly after October 7th, two years ago. She came from a village close to the Gaza border that was attacked by Hamas. When I picked her up, in the car, the radio played 'Lola' by The Kinks, and I decided to name her Lola. 

When she arrived at our house, she made us smile for the first time after October 7th. She brought so much happiness and comfort to our traumatized family. Very quickly she fit into our family, and developed a deep relationship with each one of us. The kids loved her so much. Here she is with my daughter Libby.

Lola learned her role as my birding companion instantly, and enjoyed our birding sessions together very much. She was perfect in the field. She adjusted her behavior to mine when I was birding and was very attentive to me, she stopped when I stopped, walked on when I did. She was so patient and quiet. Since eBird added the option to upload habitat photos, she appeared in my eBird checklists too.

Because she was so perfect in the field, I always took her with me when I was out birding, also with other people. Because of her friendly and calm nature, she was loved by so many people. She enjoyed going with me to my regular birding locations such as the Jerusalem Bird Observatory. Thanks Amir for these photos from Friday, a day before she died. Here she is positioned at her regular spot by the ringing table:

It was the annual ringers meeting, that included food - she was on the lookout for a quick bite:

She loved Piki very much and he loved her back. Thanks Piki for these photos:

With birding friends:

She had a special BFF, Leila. They loved each other so much and spent lots of time together.

Goodbye my dear, beloved dog. I miss you so much. My birding will not be the same without you.

Those ears