Pacific Diver-Loon!

Wow what a whirlwind of a day. Getting towards the end of the year, it's money time... I decided to go for one last push before the year ends and add a few species to my non-Big-Year list (check my special annual review tomorrow). Several quality birds accumulated near Eilat, waiting for me. With the news of a diver/loon found yesterday, the temptation was too powerful. It was a go. I teamed up with Rony and Arad. We left just after midnight. First part of the night was spent looking successfully for Pharaoh Eagle-Owl - we had wonderful views of a vocal male. Our next nocturnal target was Egyptian Nightjar in Yotvata. Despite being observed there in recent days we had no luck - maybe because it was very cold and pretty windy when we searched there. 

Anyway, we got to Hashalom Lagoon off North Beach in Eilat at dawn. Very quickly we spotted the diver swimming quietly in the lagoon. Forgive me Americans, it's diver from now on.

I got my scope on it, having in mind that yesterday it was identified as Black-throated Diver by Moshe Neeman who found it. But hey, the flanks are all dark - no rear flank white patch... And is this a chinstrap? Nah, can't be. Or can it?

Then the penny dropped and it all kicked in. Pacific Diver!!! Potentially the first for Israel, and what an astonishing record. Because of the enormity of the record, and lack of sufficient experience with both species, I was cautious about releasing the news too quickly. We alerted the Eilat birders, and within a few minutes several local birders joined us. We all watched it very well, swimming and diving for food. We all agreed that it always looked good for pacific, rather small and stocky, weak-billed, pale hindneck, and when it dove it showed the dark line separating the white vent from the white belly. The chinstrap looked stronger and weaker, depending on the angle. 

Interestingly it was loosely associating with an Indian Ocean Humpback Dolphin in the lagoon:

Photo by Shachar Shalev of the vent bar

With positive feedback coming to us from experts in N America and Europe, I released the news nationally, still with an astrix. Later on during the day a global consensus has developed, agreeing that this is the first Pacific Diver for Israel!

Highly elated after this great find, we continued to Nahal Ketura. Rotem Avisar found a male Menetries's Warbler there about a week ago. As soon as we started birding the site I heard it call, and very quickly we had lovely views of a 1cy male Menetries's Warbler. It showed really well and was very vocal, even singing a bit. My photos don't do it justice - it showed exceptionally well. 

I especially enjoyed listening to its subtle song:

And then it was back home - by lunchtime! Thanks to Rony and Arad for a great day out. 

See you tomorrow in my annual review - should be fun.

Five years

Yesterday was a pretty big day for me. I celebrated five years of eBird checklist streak: for the past five years I have been out birding every day. 1825 consecutive days of eBirding, in which I went out birding every day. The last day that I didn't go birding was the 22nd of December 2018. eBird's rules for checklist streak are pretty fluid regarding the effort. I set myself a standard of daily meaningful birding, i.e. at least 30 minutes in proper birding mode, with binoculars around neck. I am pretty proud of this streak - during those five years my checklist streak was threatened by war, pandemic, eye injury, long flights. I endured all and somehow managed to keep going every day.

Kudos to my mate Dubi Shapiro for his stunning image appearing on eBird front page yesterday

To celebrate this special day, I wanted to go somewhere special. Can one celebrate during a war? Well, I can. I decided to go with Piki to Wadi Hemda in the Arava Valley, where a Basalt Wheatear has been present for a couple of weeks now. I spent many of those 1825 days of birding with Piki so it was very fitting to spend my anniversary together. We left very early to arrive on site at dawn. En route we encountered two beautiful Wolves by the roadside. My camera was in the back so thanks to Piki for sharing an image of this breathtaking beast of a hound. This one lost the tip of its tail, like my dog Lola (see below). In the back seat, Lola was very excited by the wolves. 

We arrived as planned just as the sun was rising over the mountains on the Jordanian side of the valley. In this image is my private wolf, Lola who is proving to be an excellent birding companion, just like her much-missed predecessor Bamba. 

We started searching for the wheatear all over the place. We checked every corner, bush and hill for a good couple of hours, no sign. Things were starting to look desolate, despite finding some nice birds during the search - several Greater Hoopoe-Larks, Asian Desert Warbler typically following a Desert Wheatear, and the remains of a dead Short-eared Owl.

Eventually, after a long search, we found the bird (on the other side of the road). We enjoyed wonderful views of it, foraging very actively. I have special feelings for the Basalt Wheatear. Whether it's a full species or a morph or a subspecies, it's a very special bird with a tiny population. After becoming quite regular in winter until 2020, it was totally absent for the two previous winters. So this bird was very welcome. 

Depending on the light and angle it can look quite sooty brown

In flight the whitish wing flashes show, as well as the complete terminal tail band

Yosef was there too, and later on he notified us that he had trapped the bird for his research. It was fascinating to watch the bird from up close - it was identified as a 1st-calendar female. The whitish tips to primary and carpal coverts are typical for a young Basalt Wheatear. 

Note the partial moult, with replaced greater and lesser coverts and inner alula. 

eBird checklist here. 

After enjoying this special wheatear we continued to Ovda Valley. One section of the valley experienced a massive flood last week, and was looking great. There were good numbers of common birds there, nothing special, just nice to be out in great weather, with fine company. eBird checklist here.

Quick quiz: take five seconds and estimate how many Spanish Sparrows are in this flock:

Five years of @Team_eBird checklist streak! 1825 consecutive days of birding. Basalt Wheatear is a proper bird to celebrate. Here's to another five. Thanks Piki for the wolf pic pic.twitter.com/LV3C59a9Cs

— Yoav Perlman (@yoavperlman) December 21, 2023

Here's to another five years!

Kenya part 2 - into Tsavo East (October 9-10)

I won't write about the war

I can't write about the war

I can write about birds and wildlife

After we were done with the wonderful Arabuko-Sokoke forest (see previous post), our Rockjumper tour headed on October 9th towards Tsavo East National Park. First stop, on the northern side of Arabuko Sokoke forest reserve was at Jilore, a known site for the range-restricted (in Kenya) Zanzibar Red Bishop. It was a short stop, because we had a long day of driving ahead of us, yet it was a very enjoyable one. It was our first group birding session with common Kenyan farmland birds. We did find a large flock of the bishops, but they didn't pose very well for photos. It was also our first encounter with Northern Carmine Bee-eaters, hawking for flying insects from overhanging powerlines. 

Zanzibar Red Bishop

The drive along road C-103 heading to Sala Gate was actually really good. There were lots of great birds by and on the road. We made slow progress with all the eBirding...

There were lots of fun birds to stop and watch, including entertaining White Helmetshrike, Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse, Eastern Paradise Whydah and the first stunning Golden-breasted Starlings.

White Helmetshrikes

Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse - subtle and beautiful

Tail with a little bird attached to it (Eastern Paradise Whydah)

In Tsavo East NP past Sala Gate the terrain became very dry and it was hot. As a result bird densities were rather low. We had to cross the park from east to west to reach our accommodation in Voi. The first half of the drive provided encounters with some typical dry-country birds, including Somali Bee-eater and Bunting, Chestnut-headed Sparrow-Lark and more.

Somali Bee-eater - poor photo of a quality bird!

Kori Bustard

Buff-crested Bustard was common

Chestnut-headed Sparrow-Lark

Von der Decken's Hornbill

Because of the habitat aridity there were few mammals in the eastern side of the park. We did encounter our first Gerenuks, such unique antelopes, the way they stand up to reach fresh acacia leaves with their long giraffe-like necks. Also out first Fringe-eared (Beisa) Oryx and Coke's Haartbeest.

Gerenuk

Fringe-eared (Beisa) Oryx

Coke's Haartbeest

The further west we made it in the park, towards Aruba Lodge and dam, mammal and bird densities increased. Elephants, Plains Zebras, Northern (Masai) Giraffes and many antelopes were frolicking in the lush vegetation around the dam. There were more cool African birds to be seen too.

Southern Ground-Hornbill

Kittlitz's Plovers were plentiful by the dam

Working on the next gen

Yellow-throated Spurfowl - stunning and common

The next day (October 10th) was happily spent in the western section of Tsavo East and around our accommodation, Voi Safari Lodge. So many excellent birds, too many to mention. Lots of mammals too, including our first Lions, sleeping of course. 

Fischer's Starling - Carrying Nesting Material

Golden-breasted Starling - wow

More Stunnery

Hence the name: Blue-naped Mousebird

Taita Fiscal

Straw-tailed Whydah

Yellow-spotted Bush Sparrow. I love Petronias.

Cut-throats in large flocks - quite unusual

Abyssinian Scimitarbill

Two of the pride of Lionesses, with their heads up!

The lodge grounds and waterhole were excellent, with large numbers of animals coming in to enjoy a good splash. This theme of wildlife lodges with cool waterholes is a great feature of African safari trips.

The lodge gardens held several sunbirds, including this stunning male Black-bellied Sunbird (such an uninspiring name for a brilliant sunbird!) that waited for us in the carpark:

Next stop - Taita Hills. Stay tuned!