Eilat workshop and a bonus

On Monday I joined an international workshop taking place now in Eilat, Guradians of the Flyway. Expertly organised by Noam and his team from Eilat Birding center, and Alen, with the support of Eilat municipality, funded by The Ministry of Regional Cooperation, this workshop includes almost 20 conservationists from different countries along the East Mediterranean - Central Asian flyway. Any international visitor in Israel nowadays is not taken lightly, so such an excellent team that assembled here to promote regional collaboration for birds and people is a real celebration. My contribution to the workshop was minimal, I gave a couple of talks, but mostly it was exciting to meet new and old friends from the region.

Early morning birding at IBRCE

The group - photo courtesy of Eilat Municipality

Noam with a Rüppell's Warbler

I always look for good excuses to head down to Eilat. This workshop was perfectly timed in regard to migration. Already on the way down I saw lots of cool birds, including Arabian Warbler near Hazeva and fantastic raptor migration. North Beach wasn't bouncing with birds but two Brown Boobies were cool, albeit distant. My photo is rubbish, but it's still a Brown Booby. The second bird was even farther away.

I am not sure which Brown Boobies make it to Eilat. Logically it should be the Pacific/Indian Oceans form plotus (Forster's Brown Booby). However, at least one of the two birds that have been hanging around Eilat for the last few months could be leucogaster (Atlantic Brown booby), based on the darker head and chest, and a dark spot in front of the eye. Check the series of stunning photos by Zvi Schwarzfuks. I am no expert on sexing and ageing Brown Boobies, and subspecific identification, so any insights would be very welcome.

Just before I had to head back north, Moshe Neeman, a young star birder who's a high school student in Eilat, found a Menetries's Warbler on the edge of the city, not far from his school. It would have been rude not to say hello to it before leaving. Menetries's Warbler is a good rarity in Israel with only a handful of records annually. It showed very well, and was vocal - lovely bird. Thanks Moshe! This is a 2cy male (hatched 2024) - note the obvious moult contrast best visible in the third photo (the retained feathers are browner, while the moulted feathers are grey). 

Check those diffuse tertial fringes, and that magnificent black tail

Enjoying the tasty fruit of Ochradenus baccatus

Sorry for the background noise - it was by a busy road:

I headed north along the Arava road. South of Tsofar, about 120km north of Eilat, I spotted a huge flock of White Storks at very high altitude. I pulled over and snapped a few photos. In the field I estimated 1500. It wasn't an accurate estimate because they were thermaling and constantly moving in different directions, blown by strong winds. 

It is always challenging to count birds in the field like that. Back home, I asked ChatGPT to count the birds in this image. ChatGPT came up with an estimate of 1633. I estimated that the photo I took included about 90% of the birds. So eventually, I think that in that flock there were around 1800 birds.

Eilat

I spent the past week in Eilat. My younger son, Noam, did an open water diving course,  and I was there to escort him. I joined his group for a dive today (Thursday). On other days, I dropped him and his mates off in the morning, and picked them up in the afternoon. In between I tried to work...
At this time of year, when the temperatures are so high and fall migration is just starting, all eyes are on the sea. Naturally, every morning I showed up on North Beach at first light. I enjoyed good birding action until I had to leave, too early, at 07:00. There was really nice activity around bait-balls or fish-boils that formed once or twice every morning. It was exciting to watch this. On August 7th I had six tern species going crazy over the bait-ball, picking up little fish pushed to the surface by predatory tuna: White-cheeked (the most numerous), Common, Arctic, Bridled, Lesser Crested and Caspian. In this photo, spot the Bridled Tern on the right:

Crazy scenes off North Beach, Eilat this morning. Dozens of White-cheeked Terns and White-eyed Gulls in a feeding frenzy over a fish boil. Bridled, Lesser Crested, Arctic, Common and Caspian Terns thrown in for good measure.
Digiscoped through @SwarovskiOptik ATX85 pic.twitter.com/eAh34G1tim

— Yoav Perlman (@yoavperlman) August 7, 2023

I posted this video on social media, and it generated interest by our comms team. They pushed it and the 'story' featured quite well on national media. including in English here. Sadly the editor google-translated the Hebrew text, which came out quite a mess. I did my best to help her edit. the results is somewhat awkward but OK I think.

White-cheeked Tern numbers were really high - I counted over 100 together on Thursday morning. They were flying very actively back and forth across the gulf. I photographed these flying super-fast past me on their way back from a bait-ball feast, some carrying tiny fish in their bills. Note the recently-fledged juvenile - Noam Weiss says that they had a good breeding season.

I was also glad to get my first sound recording of this seldom-recorded species:

White-eyed Gulls were present in large numbers too. Several landed on the beach to rest. The adult is a really neat bird IMO.

It was interesting to see them catching flying insects, probably Chironomus midges that are abundant in the early morning.

A Brown Booby was present for a short while one morning, perched on a distant border buoy. Note the Cory's Shearwater sailing past at the very beginning of the clip:

Another welcome visitor to 'my' bit of beach - Striated Heron, made in 2023.

On August 9th I joined the monthly pelagic monitoring trip organised by INPA and Eilat Birding Center. On the boat were Chen and Ofer from INPA, and Noam and Netanel from IBRCE. Expectations were high, after last month's trip yielded European and Wilson's Storm-Petrels. Our trip was a bit hard going, to be honest. For a couple of hours we didn't see a single bird. Eventually, two Swinhoe's Storm-Petrels arrived to check the slick. They flew up and down the slick for about 30 minutes and showed very well. I managed to get my best photos of the species to date. Note how extremely worn this individual is - incredible how it can still fly so well like this.

Strange how times change. Only a decade ago, a pelagic trip with two Swinhoe's would be regarded as a huge success. Nowadays, that they have become so regular off Eilat, sometimes in quite large numbers, our result feels mediocre, almost disappointing. 

Away from the gulf, there wasn't too much to see. KM20 saltpans held decent numbers of shorebirds. best of the bunch was a Terek Sandpiper. Noam and I had an Olive-Tree Warbler during a meeting in Neot Smadar.

What a great day!

Not a very inspirational title but it really was simply a great day. Spent it with a group of journalists who are here to cover the Champions of the Flyway. They all write for birding magazines and websites so they are keen birders themselves. It was great to be out with them. In the morning also the Hellenic Ornithological Society team joined us which was fun.

We started off at Uvda Valley. Pretty quiet to start with but eventually we had quite many birds. Habitat looks good after yesterday's rain - lots of water. We had a nice variety of open-country migrants - pipits, wheatears, larks, wagtails etc. Highlights were two Spectacled Warbler families, three stunning male Pallid Harriers, and a possible singing Bar-tailed Lark. This Desert Agama (Trapelus pallidus) was lovely:

Neot Smadar sewage was packed with migrants, mainly Yellow Wags but also a Citrine, Garganey and a few other bits and bobs. 

After lunch I checked this Semi-collared Flycatcher found by Jonathan in the city center - nice male, great bird sadly on an ugly perch:

Then in the afternoon we checked Holland Park. Lots of warblers and the regular desert species showed well. Also Wryneck, Nightingale, a nice flock of Bee-eaters and overhead big raptor passage. This corking male Sinai Agama (Agama sinaita) was my personal highlight:

Balkan Warbler

The evening at North Beach was magical. Constant arrival of birds, stuff going through all the time, lots of quality and variety. Highlights were the two long-staying Brown Boobies, 9 Oystercatchers, Arctic Skua. Also the expected White-eyed Gulls and Western Reef Egret. Flocks of Spoonbill and Glossy Ibis came in off the sea. Massive raptor passage overhead, including single Lesser Spotted Eagle and Montagu's Harrier. Huge duck flocks (mainly Garganey) circling the gulf. Great stuff.

Oystercatchers

Spoonbills

In the evening at IBRCE we had the opening ceremony of COTF. It was a brilliant evening. looking forward very much to the race on Tuesday. Special thanks to Noam, Tzadok and the IBRCE team for hosting the event.

Eilat Festival update - what a day!

Yesterday was a bird-packed day. Hadn't done the day list yet, but I hope the bird racers next week will have such a good time!

My tour began in the late morning, so I started birding solo early. First north beach - lots of Finns and some birds too. The Brown Booby was patrolling along the Jordanian border, one Arctic Skua flew over, Barbary Falcon was after the Garganeys, two Heuglin's Gulls etc.

Brown Booby

Then I quickly checked KM20 saltpans - lots of shorebirds but nothing more exciting than Greater Sand-plover and Marsh Sandpipers. Outside the saltpans had this lovely flock of European Bee-eaters - added much-needed colour to migration: 

Before breakfast quickly checked Ofira Park which was surprisingly good with Semicollared Flycatcher, a few Wrynecks, several Tree Pipits etc.

Semicollared Flycatcher

Wryneck

After breakfast our long-distance tour began. Our first stop was at Yotvata - a Caspian Plover had been fund earlier on by British birders. We got to ths site and all the clients were on the bird quickly. It was a fine male, but it crouched down in the middle of a dry field, and viewing it through heavy heat haze was, well, you know... Here is a poor record shot of him:

While watching the plover good raptor migartion was happening overhead - Steppe and Booted Eagles, Several Lesser Kestrels plus lots of the commoner species.

Steppe Eagle

After Yotvata we drove to Hazeva where we met up with Ayla and Andrew who work there on the babblers. They took us to see a habituated group, which was great. But the main attraction was a pair of Arabian Warblers that showed very well - not the best images I have of them but the views were very good, and again - satisfied clients.

Arabian Warbler

Supporting cast was several desert Finches, Eastern Orphean Warblers, and raptors included two Eastern Imperial Eagles and a stunning male Pallid Harrier.

Desert Finch 

Eastern Imperial Eagle - into the sun - this one had jesses on his legs, must have escaped from trappers

On the way out bumped into this obliging female Namaqua Dove:

Then we drove up to the Judean Desert. We first went into a beautiful wadi. We climbed down before dusk and did some general birding in the wadi, that was fun with typical desert species and tons of raptors coming down to roost on the tall cliffs. After dusk we had a pair of Hume's Owl calling and communicating with each other. Rather early the male flew over our heads and we all had great flight views, and later on we all saw him very well, holding a rodent in his mouth. I was holding the torch (as always) so here is a great phonescoped shot by IBRCE volunteer Bas Kok  - thanks Bas for letting me to use your image here:

Very statisfied we left the wadi, and after dinner we headed down to Neot Hakikar. We arrived there when it was already too cold and dark, so there were no nightjars foraging whatsoever. After a couple of hours of intensive searching we had to give up but just before leaving we enjoyed several singing Nubian Nightjars around us - nice experience (though I'd rather see one than hear three...). However a major bonus was a Pharaoh Eagle Owl that gave several brief views.

The tour ended very late and the clients got back to Eilat very late at night, after a long but satisfying 'Rambo Tour'.

Many thanks to my co-leaders - Naom, Meidad and Paul, and to the IBRCE volunteers for the good company in the car.

Family holiday birding

Went down to Eilat with the family for a long weekend. It's holiday season in Israel, so lots of people on the road and everywhere practically, but we managed to have a very good time. During the three mornings I spent there I managed to squeeze in two hours of birding, before the family woke up and I got the terminating phone call from my wife: "good morning, we're up!". That means I was under a real pressure of time each morning to get something done before I had to go back, and most of the birding was done before sunrise. As a result, in this post the photographic quality is lower than I usually present here.

Friday morning started off at the IBRCE, said hello to the guys and enjoyed this sweet Scops Owl they had just caught:

Drove off with Re'a to KM20 saltpans that were packed full with shorebirds, mainly Little Stints and Ringed Plovers with many hundreds each. We scanned the large flocks very fast but the best we came up with was one Broad-billed Sandpiper. In this image the focus escaped to the Little Stint on the right, sorry, didn't have the time to check the images on the camera: 

Both at MK20 saltpans and later on at KM19 sewage farm lots of marsh terns present - mainly Whiskered Terns but fewer white-winged and one black.

Whiskered Tern

Saturday morning I went to check Yotvata. As I drove in I was happy to see a large flock of about 40 Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters thrashing a beehive near the cafe. Most were juveniles. 

The southern circular field was swarming with birds and I had a really good time there. While I was birding got a call from Re'a that they had just caught a Common Rosefinch but I decided to give it a miss and continued birding. In the field there were about 1000 Greater Short-toed Larks, among which I heard one Lesser Short-toed; many tens of Tree and Red-throated Pipits, with fewer Tawny and one Richard's Pipit; many wheatears (isabelline, nothern, desert and black-eared), many whinchats and Red-backed Shrikes, tons of hirundines; one Black-headed Bunting; Barbary Falcon and several harriers (marsh, pallid and montagu's) cruising over the field - great fun.

Black-headed Bunting

The sewage ponds were very birdy too but nothing special. This juv. Collared Pratincole appeared for a brief visit (still before sunrise): 

In the late afternoon I got another call from Re'a that they were watching both a Purple Swamp-hen and White-tailed Lapwing at KM19, but I was busy with the family so could not go for these good birds. Took a chance and hoped they'd wait for me till the next morning. 

So Sunday early morning I first had a quick look at north beach that had very little apart for the resident Brown Booby and 3-4 distant White-cheeked Terns. Then I headed off to KM19 sewage tanks. The tanks are full of fish and had loads of gulls and herons, but no sign of the chicken or the lapwing...

Armenian Gull - this must be 1cy but how on earth do they get so bleached and worn in such a short time?

A small flock of five Spoonbills was fresh in:

  

Only bird of note was one Citrine Wagtail.

So to conclude, not a bad family birding holiday. Eilat is always fun. This is not a classic period for birding in Eilat - still very hot and not too many common migrants hopping all over the place like in spring, but still some sites were good and some quality too.