Birdwatching Trip - Israel
Report - Late Summer 2000
by Arnau Bonan Barfull, David Giralt Jonama, Oriol Soler Ferrer
INTRODUCTION
This is a report of a birdwatching trip done in Israel by three Catalan birdwatchers, from 25 August until 11 September 2000. We went there by plane, Arnau and David the 25 September, and Oriol came the 27, and Arnau and David returned the 11 and Oriol the 12, because we could not find flight for the same day. That forced Arnau and David to stay the first two days quite near Tel Aviv, and Oriol to stay one day alone in Tel Aviv.
We rent a Ford Fiesta, that was big enough for three, and took us wherever we want; we are quite satisfied about the car.
The U.S. Dollar was quite high compared with Euro, that made the trip more expensive than we expected. Food was very expensive, even more in the Negev desert. Eating in restaurants was very expensive, and that forced us to eat a lot of times "fast food".
For preparing the trip we used the book 'Birdwatching in the deserts of Israel' by Hadoram Shirihai and Ofer Bahat. The book is quite good, with a lot of sites described with detailed maps-drawns. We decided to travel around the south of Israel, but at the end of the trip we went north because we were quite tired about brown-dry area. In Jerusalem we bought the book 'A guide to the Birding Hot-spots of Southern Israel' by Hadoram Shirihai, James P. Smith, Guy M. Kirwan and Dan Alon. This book is newer than the other, and has more sites described. We used more the latter, and we think that the book is ok, but perhaps lists a lot of vagrant species that had been seen in each site, and there is few information about difficult species, like where to find them and when.
We slept in a tend, mainly free camping, but in Eilat we slept in the camping close to the beach. People that had been in Israel told us to beware about free camping because of the snakes, and it is funny that the only snake that we found during all the trip was in the Eilat Camping, unfortunately we just saw one snake, as we like them.
ABSTRACT
Here follows a brief summary of the report.
August 25: We arrived at the Tel Aviv Airport at 4 P.M., we rent a car and we went to Tel Aviv where we slept.
Most interesting species: Spur-winged Lapwing, Laughing Dove.
August 26: Morning in Tel Aviv, the afternoon we went around Beer-Sheva and we spent the evening in Yeroham.
Most interesting species: Glossy Ibis, Sooty Falcon, White-winged Black Tern, White-throated Kingfisher, Rufous-tailed Scrub-robin, Isabelline Wheatear, Yellow-vented Bulbul, Masked Shrike.
August 27: Morning in Yeroham, we went to visit Jerusalem and at night we went to the Tel Aviv Airport to pick up Oriol, and we slept at Sede Boqer.
Most interesting species: Squacco Heron, Chukar Partridge, White-winged Black Tern, White-throated Kingfisher, Desert Lark, Mourning Wheatear, Olivaceous Warbler, Icterine Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat, Arabian Babbler, Masked Shrike, Tristram's Starling, Trumpeter Finch.
August 28: All day in Sede Boqer.
Most interesting species: Squacco Heron, Egyptian Vulture, Chukar Partridge, Rock Martin, Blackstart, Mourning Wheatear, Scrub Warbler, Arabian Warbler, Arabian Babbler, Yellow-vented Bulbul, Brown-necked Raven, Cretzschmar's Bunting.
August 29: All day in Sede Boqer.
Most interesting species: Egyptian Vulture, Bonelli's Eagle, Chukar Partridge, Sand Partridge, Hume's Owl, Green Bee-eater, Desert Lark, Blackstart, Desert Wheatear, Mourning Wheatear, Graceful Warbler, Scrub Warbler, Olivaceous Warbler, Icterine Warbler, Palestine Sunbird, Yellow-vented Bulbul, Masked Shrike.
August 30: Morning in Sede Boqer, afternoon in Nizzana.
Most interesting species: Egyptian Vulture, Chukar Partridge, Houbara Bustard, Spotted Sandgrouse, Black-bellied Sandgrouse, Green Bee-eater, Desert Lark, Blackstart, Mourning Wheatear, Graceful Warbler, Scrub Warbler, Arabian Warbler, Palestine Sunbird, Arabian Babbler, Yellow-vented Bulbul, Masked Shrike, Brown-necked Raven, Trumpeter Finch.
August 31: All day in Nizzana, we went to sleep at Mizpe Ramon.
Most interesting species: Lanner Falcon, Chukar Partridge, Sand Partridge, Houbara Bustard, Spotted Sandgrouse, Black-bellied Sandgrouse, Isabelline Wheatear, Black-eared Wheatear, Mourning Wheatear, Desert Wheatear, Masked Shrike, Brown-necked Raven, Trumpeter Finch.
September 1: All day in Mizpe Ramon, we went to sleep at Yotvata.
Most interesting species: Spotted Sandgrouse, Wryneck, Desert Lark, Isabelline Wheatear, White-crowned Black Wheatear, Mourning Wheatear, Sedge Warbler, Olivaceous Warbler, Booted Warbler, Orphean Warbler, Yellow-vented Bulbul, Masked Shrike, Brown-necked Raven, Cretzschmar's Bunting, Ortolan Bunting.
September 2: All day in Yotvata, we went to sleep at Eilat.
Most interesting species: Namaqua Dove, Green Bee-eater, Blackstart, Isabelline Wheatear, Mourning Wheatear, Graceful Warbler, Olivaceous Warbler, Arabian Warbler, Orphean Warbler, Rufous-tailed Scrub-robin, Yellow-vented Bulbul, Masked Shrike, Palestine Sunbird, Tristram's Starling.
September 3: All day in Eilat.
Most interesting species: Squacco Heron, Western Reef Egret, Booted Eagle, Sand Partridge, Caspian Tern, Pied Kingfisher, Green Bee-eater, Wryneck, Desert Lark, Blackstart, Isabelline Wheatear, Graceful Warbler, Olivaceous Warbler, Orphean Warbler, Palestine Sunbird, Masked Shrike, Tristram's Starling.
September 4: All day in Eilat.
Most interesting species: Sooty Shearwater, Pomarine Skua, White-eyed Gull, Caspian Tern, Pied Kingfisher, House Crow.
September 5: All day in Eilat.
Most interesting species: Squacco Heron, Lesser Kestrel, Pomarine Skua, Slender-billed Gull, White-eyed Gull, Caspian Tern, White-cheeked Tern, Namaqua Dove, Pied Kingfisher, Green Bee-eater, Desert Lark, Blackstart, White-crowned Black Wheatear, Graceful Warbler, Olivaceous Warbler, Masked Shrike, Brown-necked Raven, House Crow.
September 6: Morning in Eilat, after lunch we went to Kibbutz Lotan.
Most interesting species: Sand Partridge, Caspian Tern, Green Bee-eater, Desert Lark, Blackstart, White-crowned Black Wheatear, Desert Wheatear, Isabelline Wheatear, Scrub Warbler, Masked Shrike, Brown-necked Raven.
September 7: Morning in Kibbutz Lotan, afternoon in the Dead Sea Region.
Most interesting species: Sand Partridge, Green Bee-eater, Red-rumped Swallow, Rufous-tailed Scrub-robin, Blackstart, White-crowned Black Wheatear, Graceful Warbler, Tristram´s Starling, Brown-necked Raven, Fan-tailed Raven, House Bunting.
September 8: Morning in the Dead Sea Region, after lunch we drove to the Hula Valley.
Most interesting species: Egyptian Vulture, Sand Partridge, Desert Lark, Blackstart, White-crowned Black Wheatear, Mourning Wheatear, Scrub Warbler, Tristram´s Starling, Brown-necked Raven, Fan-tailed Raven.
September 9: All day in the Hula Valley.
Most interesting species: Great White Egret, Squacco Heron, Black Stork, Spoonbill, Glossy Ibis, Ruddy Shelduck, Long-legged Buzzard, Osprey, Armenian Gull, Pied Kingfisher, White-throated Kingfisher, Roller, Syrian Woodpecker, Rose-ringed Parakeet, Red-rumped Swallow, Rufous-tailed Scrub-robin, Isabelline Wheatear, Wood Warbler, Olivaceous Warbler, Icterine Warbler, Palestine Sunbird, Masked Shrike, Ortolan Bunting.
September 10: All day in the Hula Valley, at night we drove to Tel Aviv.
Most interesting species: Great White Egret, Squacco Heron, Black Stork, Glossy Ibis, Marbled Duck, Long-legged Buzzard, Osprey, Little Crake, Spotted Crake, Marsh Sandpiper, White-winged Black Tern, Whiskered Tern, Rose-ringed Parakeet, White-throated Kingfisher, Pied Kingfisher, Roller, Syrian Woodpecker, Red-rumped Swallow, Short-toed Lark, Isabelline Wheatear, Savi´s Warbler, Graceful Warbler, Clamorous Reed Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Olivaceous Warbler, Palestine Sunbird, Masked Shrike, Spanish Sparrow, Cretzschmar´s Bunting.
REPORT
25th of August
We flew from Barcelona to Tel Aviv , and we arrived at 4 o'clock pm. We rent a car in the airport, a Ford Fiesta, that is enough for 3 people. Going out of the airport, we saw the first Spur-winged Lapwing of the trip.
We went to Tel Aviv, and we looked for a hostel to sleep that night. We went to eat something and to have a drink, and we went back to the hostel. During that walk, we saw the first Laughing Doves of the trip. That night was quiet complicated to sleep well, as it was very warm and humid, and there was a noisy fan in our room.
Birds seen during the day:
Spur-winged Lapwing, Hoplopterus spinosus, +7
Laughing Dove, Streptopelia senegalensis, +5
Rock Dove, Columba livia, +20
Jackdaw, Corvus monedula, 2
Hooded Crow, Corvus corone cornix, +5
House Sparrow, Passer domesticus, +15
26th of August
We woke up at 10, and we went to the beach to have a swim and then to have a shower in the public showers of the beach. Going to the beach, we saw our first Yellow-vented Bulbul.
Because Oriol was coming in 2 days, we decided to go to Beer-Sheva, as it is not far away from Jerusalem and Tel-Aviv, and there are some places there that we thought that could be interesting.
So, we drove to the south, and during the trip we turned into a small road, and we drove through it, stopping while we saw birds. The place was very dry and hot, mainly stubble fields. In a place with eucalyptus trees, we saw a young Woodchat Shrike and a Kestrel. During the walk, we saw an Isabelline Wheatear, a Laughing Dove and some Crested Larks.
It was Saturday, Sabbath, and it was very difficult to find an open restaurant in Beer-Sheva. The city was almost desert, and after looking for a restaurant for more or less one hour, we finished eating in a Chinese restaurant!!. At 4 o'clock, we went to the alfalfa fields close to town that the book recommends, but most of it has disappeared, and now there are corncobs, so there where not many bird species. We walked for a while in an open area close to a field, where we saw Spur-winged Lapwing, Isabelline Wheatear and Cattle Egret.
After, we went to Yeroham, where there is a floodwater reservoir. The part of the reservoir close to the road is used as a leisure place for the people of the town, and it has picnic areas with grass. Behind that area, there is a pool: in the middle it has dead trees, and some areas have reeds, and others have tamarisks. In one side, it is all surrounded by tamarisks. The place was plenty of different bird species and we stayed there the rest of the day. The most spectacular species seen there was a Sooty Falcon: it appeared suddenly flying to the pool, and after a fast descending, it flew away to a small pine forest. We saw it just a moment, but we saw it quite well. Unfortunately, that was the only day that we saw that species, so Oriol did not see it, and it was one of the target species of the trip. We also saw a Hobby hunting and taking a small prey. We saw quite a lot of different species like Night and Grey Heron, White Stork, Glossy Ibis, White-winged Black Tern, and also some shorebirds like Dunlin, Little Stint, Ruff, Green and Wood Sandpiper. Other noteworthy species were White-throated Kingfisher: we saw 2, one flying and one perched on a branch, a Rufous-tailed Scrub-robin and a Masked Shrike. We also saw one Water Rail that was moving through the reeds, and one crake that we could not identify. So, going to Yeroham was really a good choice, as we saw quite a lot of different species, and the place was really nice to stay in. We slept in the side of the pool that has tamarisk.
Bird species seen during the day:
Little Grebe, Tachybaptus ruficollis, +10
Night Heron, Nycticorax nycticorax, 2
Cattle Egret, Bubulcus ibis, +30
Little Egret, Egretta garzetta, +8
Grey Heron, Ardea cinerea, 4
White Stork, Ciconia ciconia, 1
Glossy Ibis, Plegadis falcinellus, 2
Mallard, Anas platyrhynchos, +10
Garganey, Anas querquedula, +30
Kestrel, Falco tinnunculus, 2-3
Hobby, Falco subbuteo, 1
Sooty Falcon, Falco concolor, 1
Water Rail, Rallus aquaticus, 1
Common Coot, Fulica atra, +30
Moorhen, Gallinula chloropus, +20
Stone-curlew, Burhinus oedicnemus, 1
Black-winged Stilt, Himantopus himantopus, +20
Great Ringed Plover, Charadrius hiaticula, 2
Spur-winged Lapwing, Hoplopterus spinosus, +50
Dunlin, Calidris alpina, 1
Little Stint, Calidris minuta, +6
Ruff, Philomachus pugnax, 1
Common Redshank, Tringa totanus, 2-3
Wood Sandpiper, Tringa glareola, 2
Green Sandpiper, Tringa ochropus, +15
Snipe, Gallinago gallinago, 2
White-winged Black Tern, Chlidonias leucopterus, +10
Rock Dove, Columba livia, +50
Collared Dove, Streptopelia decaocto, +25
Laughing Dove, Streptopelia senegalensis, +40
White-throated Kingfisher, Halcyon smyrnensis, 2
Hoopoe, Upupa epops, 2
Crested Lark, Galerida cristata, +10
Sand Martin, Riparia riparia, +25
Yellow Wagtail, Motacilla flava, +15
Rufous-tailed Scrub-robin, Cercotrichas galactotes, 1
Isabelline Wheatear, Oenanthe isabellina, 2
Sedge Warbler, Acrocephalus schoenobaenus, 1
Yellow-vented Bulbul, Pycnonotus xanthopygos, +10
Woodchat Shrike, Lanius senator, 1
Masked Shrike, Lanius nubicus, 1
Hooded Crow, Corvus corone cornix, +20
House Sparrow, Passer domesticus, +20
27th of August
We woke up at 7, and it was one of those ornithological stressful mornings' we were in the tamarisk forest, where there are also acacia trees. One of the first species of the day was Tristram's Starling: there was a group of them resting in a dead tree that was in the middle of the pool and they moved around. There was quite a lot of birds around in the tamarisk, mainly Olivaceous Warbler and other warblers like Bonelli's Warbler and Lesser Whitethroat. Suddenly, a group of Arabian Babblers arrived: they were moving in the palm trees, and jumping to the floor, some of them were wet as they already had a bath in the pool, we saw them really well. An amazing species. In the pool, there was more or less the same as the day before, adding Squacco Heron and Common Kingfisher.
We took a path that surrounded the pool, and we went to the place where there is the dam. In that area there is less vegetation around the pool, just few small bushes. There we saw our first Mourning Wheatear, a really spectacular bird. Walking around the small hills that are around the pool, we saw Desert and Crested Lark and Trumpeter Finch. We went back, and in an area where there are tamarisk we saw a group of Chukar Partridge, they were quite confident, and we could see them quite well.
We went to Jerusalem for a tourist visit. After visiting the typical places, we went to the Society for the protection of Nature in Israel, where we bought the book 'A guide to the birding hot-spots of southern Israel'.
Because we had to be at midnight at the airport to pick up Oriol, we went direction to Israel, and we stopped in Ramat Razilel: the place is quite mountainous and the vegetation is mediterranean, dominated by pine trees. We went to a kind of valley, where we thought that we could see some raptors. There were not many passerines around, and we saw Jay, of the atricapillus group with quite a lot of white in the face, Great Tit, and we heard Sardinian Warbler. We saw two Short-toed Eagles and a Sparrowhawk, and also some Chukar Partridges.
Bird species seen during the day:
Little Grebe, Tachybaptus ruficollis, +10
Night Heron, Nycticorax nycticorax, 2
Little Egret, Egretta garzetta, +4
Cattle Egret, Bubulcus ibis, +10
Squacco Heron, Ardeola ralloides, 1
Grey Heron, Ardea cinerea, +4
Glossy Ibis, Plegadis falcinellus, 2
Mallard, Anas platyrhynchos, +10
Garganey, Anas querquedula, +20
Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Accipiter nisus, 1
Short-toed Eagle, Circaetus gallicus, 2
Chukar Partridge, Alectoris chukar, +20
Moorhen, Gallinula chloropus, +10
Common Coot, Fulica atra, +20
Black-winged Stilt, Himantopus himantopus, +20
Spur-winged Lapwing, Hoplopterus spinosus, +30
Common Sandpiper, Actitis hypoleucos, 2
Green Sandpiper, Tringa ochropus, +10
Ruff, Philomachus pugnax, 1
Common Redshank, Tringa totanus, 2
Wood Sandpiper, Tringa glareola, 2
Snipe, Gallinago gallinago, +6
White-winged Black Tern, Chlidonias leucopterus, +6
Rock Dove, Columba livia, +20
Collared Dove, Streptopelia decaocto, 3-4
Laughing Dove, Streptopelia senegalensis, +30
Cuckoo, Cuculus canorus, 1
Common Kingfisher, Alcedo atthis, 1
White-throated Kingfisher, Halcyon smyrnensis, 1
Hoopoe, Upupa epops, 1
Desert Lark, Ammomanes deserti, +10
Crested Lark, Galerida cristata, 2
Barn Swallow, Hirundo rustica, 2-3
Yellow Wagtail, Motacilla flava, +10
Mourning Wheatear, Oenanthe lugens, 1
Northern Wheatear, Oenanthe oenanthe, 1
Blackbird, Turdus merula, 1
Olivaceous Warbler, Hippolais pallida, +15
Icterine Warbler, Hippolais icterina, 1
Blackcap, Sylvia atricapilla, 1
Lesser Whitethroat, Sylvia curruca, 2
Sardinian Warbler, Sylvia melanocephala, 1
Bonelli's Warbler, Phylloscopus bonelli, 1
Spotted Flycatcher, Muscicapa striata, 1
Great Tit, Parus major, 1
Arabian Babbler, Turdoides squamiceps, +8
Yellow-vented Bulbul, Pycnonotus xanthopygos, +40
Masked Shrike, Lanius nubicus, 1
Tristram's Starling, Onychognathus tristrammi, +10
Jay, Garrulus glandarius, +10
Hooded Crow, Corvus corone cornix, +4
House Sparrow, Passer domesticus, +20
Trumpeter Finch, Bucanetes githagineus, +15
click here for part two of report
