My favourite mistake

 On Wednesday evening news broke of a first for Israel - Sharp-tailed Sandpiper found by Shachar Shalev at KM20 saltpans in Eilat. Excellent find by Shachar - well done! Shachar sent me breaking news from the field at 18:22, over three hours drive to Eilat, too late...

Few hours later I made my way down south to Eilat with a car full of hopeful twitchers. We arrived in Eilat at dawn, and started working the saltpans. The conditions were harsh, with very strong wind making all the shorebirds very flighty and viewing through telescope challenging. We did our very best, together with few other twitchers (less than 10...). We circled the saltpans for many hours, again and again and again. We kept finding new birds, coming in and shifting between sections, which gave us hope that the sharpie might be hiding somewhere. We also checked other wetlands in the area, but sadly, after half a day of intensive searching we had to give up and admit a dip. There was no sign of the bird - it may have departed overnight. 

Thankfully, it was not all gloomy. The KM20 saltpans were full of birds to the brim. They were moving around constantly, and it was clear that new birds were arriving through the morning. Scenes like a tight flock of Wood Sandpipers dropping out of the sky, or a graceful flock of Gull-billed Terns arriving low over the saltpans and resting on the track, are always thrilling.

Gull-billed Terns with lazy Slender-billed Gulls

Closer

A little closer

Not too close (big crop)

Wood Sandpipers fresh in - who knows how many miles they flew nonstop before landing here, seemingly exhausted

In central and northern Israel, Glossy Ibis is a trash bird, resident and often frolicking in horrible sewage ponds and other ugly sites. Down in Eilat I receive a good reminder that in fact part of the population are proper migrants, like this quartet (presumingly) arriving fresh in from Africa.

There were several goodies mixed in with the common species. Terek Sandpiper is always a treat to watch, I love their upcurved bill:

A few Broad-billed Sandpipers were present, some of them with more rufous plumage that this rather monochromatic individual, still very beautiful to my eyes:

Great Sand-Plover, likely a female

Ruddy Turnstone is a bit of a novelty down in Eilat, especially when in such bright breeding plumage

We also had a White-tailed Lapwing at IBRCE, and a Lichtenstein's Sandgrouse at their regular site, KM20 entrance grove. Then it was the long way back home, on the one hand disappointed by the dip, on the other hand quite satisfied after an excellent birding session (eBird checklist here). Philosophical thoughts about the meaning of twitching become even darker after a dip.

A few words about conservation:

KM20 saltpans are a world-famous and globally important stopover site and birding site. This site is well familiar to so many birders who have visited Eilat in recent decades. This fantastic migration hotspot is primarily a commercial salt production facility. Worryingly, the saltpans will go through serious changes in the next few years. We are working together with the salt company and other partners to find sustainable solutions that will maintain the importance of this site for migratory birds, as well as development of alternative solutions for migratory birds near IBRCE. More on this to come.