After all COTF teams handed in their lists and we got everything sorted for the awards ceremony, I had time for few hours of sleep. But I could not sleep in on my last morning in Eilat, especially with so many sites I had no time to visit this week. Dawn found me in Holland Park. At first it was quiet with both birds and birders; then things livened up with quite many migrants and some fresh colour thrown in the mix too. The famous Caparis decidua bushes at the top of the wadi were packed with common warblers, and one Rueppel's. Several Balkan Warblers called loudly from the nearby acaciae. A male Striolated Bunting sang beautifully from a nearby rocky slope. Suddenly the distinctive call of Blue-cheeked Bee-eater echoed back from the hills - and here they were, three brilliant beauties. Not too rare but always breathtaking.
Lucky shot with my shambolic camera
For a moment they interacted with their little cousins, now called Arabian Green Bee-eaters - not too shabby either:
Holland Park holds large numbers of Blue-spotted Arab, attracted to Salvadora persica bushes - small and stunning butterfly.
Then it was the traditional group photo at North Beach, constantly interrupted by passing birds:
The award ceremony was a celebration of global comradeship and hope. Well done to the award winners - Birding Ecotours World Youth Birders with their record-breaking score and #Gees, Zeiss Yorkshire Terriers for out-of-this-world fundraising, Leica Welsh Red Kites for being so prominent in getting the message out, but a special shout-out to all the kids and women who took part in the race, especially Team Spectacled who received an award for their special efforts and contribution, and Little Bastards who came second with an amazing high score (183 species!). Noam and the Israeli - Palestinian team Palestine Sunbirders did an incredible job too, showing the world that Palestinians and Israelis can do great things together. Of course, the true winners are the birds of the flyway, this year receiving much-needed protection from our comrades in Serbia and Croatia. Good luck guys with your important work.
So proud to be part of the team making this inspirational project happen, year after year. My contribution to the project is rather minimal, so hats off mainly to Jonathan, Dan and IBRCE for doing the major part. Many thanks to all those who donated to the cause - you are all stars! And to our supporters in BirdLife International, Swarovski Optik, Leica and Zeiss.
After the race I headed up to Jerusalem to spend little time with my family there. In my final morning I had to see some birds and spent an hour at JBO. Good to meet up there with most of team JBO / Manomet Rocking Redstart who certainly rocked the flyway with their efforts.
After a few days of easterlies, that did bring a sprinkle of scarce birds to the east coast, last night weather shifted and heavy rain and storms hit the Norfolk coast. This was a day I just had to be out, despite my aching body after the bike accident I had a couple of weeks ago. As I switched on my phone in the morning I saw the message: 'PGTips ringed at Spurn'. Shit. A dream bird to see in the WP, but 4 hours drive and there was no positive news of it after it was released. So after a quick consultation with Dougal, my birding companion for today, and a few more friends, decided to skip and and stick with Plan A - East Hills. I had to accept that this is the closest I would get to a PGTips today:
Yesterday our mate Dave had an Arctic Warbler on East Hills which Dougal needed, and I just wanted to get out there and see some birds. We started walking at 09:30, hoping the tide would drop enough to cut across the deepest creek and save time, but sadly the water was too high still, and we had to walk all the way around along the beach. It was raining hard, the wind picked up seriously, so the walk itself was hard work. Also my dislocated shoulder was killing me - maybe this activity today was a bit too extreme? But our spirits were high as it all looked well for a good arrival of birds.
We got to East Hills and it was still raining hard, but it was evident that there were birds around. From the first line of trees we already had Spotted Flycatcher and a few Willow Warblers. Dougal was keen to look for the Arctic Warbler, but I worked my way across the hills slowly. Along the way I picked up more migrants - Pied Flycatchers, Redstarts, two Tree Pipits and more Willow Warblers. After a short while, while scanning a mixed flock of tits and Goldcrests, I found a Firecrest - fine bird. Sadly it was in the canopy of tall conifers, so no photos. Unlike some of the Goldcrests that foraged very low, possibly because of the howling wind.
By the way, this bird with some grey on the nape looks like a continental bird. See here.
It was a very tough day for photography. Most of the time I daren't get the camera out of the bag because of the heavy rain. And light was..., well there was no light today. And all the better birds I saw today did not play ball at all. But good birds kept on coming. Immediately after Dougal called me to say he had just had a Red-breasted Flycatcher (probably the same one from yesterday) I heard a familiar call, a call I had spent many days listening out for - Greenish Warbler! I knew exactly what it was. It gave several clear calls, and then I located it for a second or two very close to me, maybe 4-5 meters away at eye level - it was in a small conifer, good views but all too brief. I knew excatly what features to look for. I saw the wingbar well, and the good supercilium meeting above the small bill. It was a relatively bright bird so I assume it is a 1cy. It vanished quickly - the whole tit and goldcrest flock had moved on and the bird was gone. I spent some time trying to relocate it, and was joined by Dougal and Pete (another birder who walked with us out to the hills) but without success. I am really happy with this bird. I saw one a few months ago in Suffolk, but it feels good to find a fresh migrant in a migrant hotspot.
We continued to work the habitat for a couple more hours. I was mostly searching for the greenish. We saw more Pied and Spotted Flys, Redstarts, one Cuckoo and a few other bits and pieces. I actually saw some fresh migrants falling out of the sky into the trees - pretty cool. There was this miserable Siskin there - it was very wet like all birds today:
Eventually I got brief views of the Red-breasted Fly but it was very shy, like most other birds today, because of the fowl weather. All three of us heard and saw a Yellow-browed Warbler - probably the same bird, and one was there yesterday as well so probably the same as yesterday. The view from the far end of East Hills towards Wells Woods was rather gloomy today. Lots of birds on the mud but I didn't have a scope and my brain was on passerine mode anyway. I did notice some 50-60 Brent on the saltmarsh.
Then the weather became so bad that we hardly saw birds anymore, and we just wanted to get back home. The walk back was again very wet and quite cold - bye bye summer I guess. We got back to the car drenched but rather pleased. It was a good day, with quality and decent numbers. This is very good compared to the rather weak results from nearby strategic points in N Norfolk - Blakeney Point and Scolt Head - very few migrants in both these sites today.
Migrant totals for today 11:00 - 14:00 on East Hills:
Spent the last few days at home, did some small hikes near my house and enjoyed migration infull swing. On Monday a good take-off of Lesser Spotted Eagles, with about 1000 birds that roosted in the nearby forest flying low over my house. Scops Owls are very vocal at night, with at least three males singing right now around my house. I also had two birds singing in daytime during a hike today. Also today during that hike my first European Bee-eaters for my area this season, one Semi-collared Flycatcher, and one Nightingale. Still many lingering winter visitors, with several Hawfinches and Siskins, one Grey Wagtail and a late Chaffinch. After dinner I was tempted by the singing scops, put a mistnet up and caught this gorgeous bird. It is like a cute toy...
Had a pleasent morning ringing at Ashdod. I had a guided group at 09:00, so I had plenty of time to enjoy the birds and the fine weather today, before the millions of screaming kids arrived. Birdwise, it seems that winter has settled down, and most migrants have moved on. The commonest birds I ringed were Bluethroat and Chiffchaff, with a few other bits and pieces. Sweetest birds were two Penduline Tits - part of a small group hanging around:
This Sardinian Warbler felt a bit paler and neater than our local birds - perhaps a migrant?
Other birds seen during the morning were a Bittern (my first for this site), several flyover Siskins and a Wryneck - most probably it will stay for the winter.
Spent a full week of non-birding but walking and driving around the Galilee, from east to west. There were sooooooooooooooooo many birds around. Many winter birds showing in exceptionally large numbers. It feels like we are going to have a good winter here after a few bird-less winters. One of the most dominant species around was Hawfinch, with many sites holding tens of birds. Siskins also in large numbers. Some scarcer species such as Woodlark (many singing) and Dunnock were seen in fine numbers, especially on the higher peaks. Saw some nice stuff during the week, including three Rose-coloured Starlings on 10/11 near Eilabun, two Rock Buntings in two sites, and several Mistle Thrushes and Redwings. It was a very intensive week and I'm happy to get back home. Tomorrow hope to get some ringing done - maybe Hawfinch?
