Arabian Warbler and Pallid Scops Owl

Arabian Warbler is a really special bird. Very localised and one of Israel's rarest residents. Itay H. wanted to catch up with one and I was very happy to accompany him on the trip south. We arrived at the site in cool and overcast conditions. It didn't take long to find the first birds. Definitely three but possibly two more, calling and flying from tree to tree. Superb views but the poor light didn't allow for anything more than record shots.We spent a minimum amount of time - enough to enjoy the birds but keeping disturbance to a minimum (hopefully).

Nice views of the white tips on T5 and T6.

A brief moment of sunshine.

With that success we set off to another site nearby where we found what looked like an armenicus stonechat and were trying to pin down odd looking Sylvia when a small owl flew out of a tree just behind Itay. It flew straight into a huge mass of desert mistletoe in a nearby acacia and remained hidden as we scanned the tree from top to bottom. Sunbirds and Sardinian Warblers joined together in scolding the owl but we had no view of it. The commotion died down and we thought the owl had slipped away to a quieter spot. We continued our walk and on our return checked the tree again. A single Sunbird was scolding something near the canopy. There it was - a Pallid Scops Owl, beautiful, petite and superbly camouflaged.

The image above is post-processed a bit to increase exposure and try and get the most out of that gorgeous grey vermiculation. The image below was taken when the sun came out.

Two of the best desert birds - particularly the owl. It was such an unexpected pleasure to find.

Eastern Imperial Eagle

Eastern Imperial Eagles are not an unusual sight here in the winter but this bird is amazing. Every year it arrives at the end of the first week of November (7th this year) and perches on the same tree. This is the fifth or sixth year I've seen it and its second year of adult plumage. I keep an eye open for it from the end of October and I'm delighted when I finally see that distinctive silhouette against the morning sun. Relieved, too, that it made it through another year. What a beautiful and majestic bird!

 I went back to Besor Reservoir last Saturday afternoon and the Pacific Golden Plover was there with a Golden Plover. The difference in jizz was very noticeable. The Golden Plover is bulkier, shorter necked, shorter tibia, more pointed and finer billed than the

Pacific GP (seen again today) which looks 'bobble-headed', thicker billed, leggier (longer tibia) and generally thinner in build.  

Here I was looking at two birds. The first time I saw PGP it was on a Scottish estuary in a flock of 2000+ GPs. All were resting in a tightly packed flock and we had to wait for hours before the rising tide finally forced them to wake up, stretch their wings and fly. White axillaries on GP and

 dark axillaries on the PGP.

Very nice bird.

Having a shiver.

Eran Banker reported a Daurian Shrike at the beginning of the week further down the Besor stream. Itay and I had a quick look for it but no sign. Oh well, still a good morning's birding.

Pacific Golden Plover

Besor Reservoir again this morning. Lots of winter birds around. Chaffinches, Robins, Bluethroats, the first (3) Northern Lapwings of the year, Water Pipits, Spanish Sparrows, Teal, Pintail, Gadwall, Mallard and Cormorants. Four Great Egrets, a few Little Egrets, Black-crowned Night Herons, Redshank and Greenshank, Common Sandpiper, both stints, Ringed Plovers, Ruff, Stilts, a single Spoonbill, European and White-breasted Kingfishers, a Water Rail, two Citrine Wagtails, a Clamorous Reed Warbler and several Chiffchaffs. And then I saw this . . . .

One of the Golden Plovers but very leggy with a heavier bill than the European ones. I worked my way a bit closer to the bird and grabbed a few photos. Pacific Golden Plover!

Eventually it flew, giving a distinctive two syllable flight call. I didn't get to see the axillaries as the autofocus on my camera was hunting wildly - should have used binoculars instead. Anyway, a cracking bird to see here and a great start to the winter's birding!

Citrine wagtails

I've been keeping an eye on Besor reservoir between twitches. The continual presence of surface water has been good for waders with lots of Common Snipe, Black and White Storks, Spoonbills, Great White, Little and Cattle Egrets, Grey Herons (not so many Purple), Pelicans, Glossy Ibis, Black-crowned Night Herons, Black-winged Stilts, Ruff, Greenshank, Spotted Redshank, Dunlin, both common Stints, Ringed Plovers Marsh, Common, Wood and Green Sandpiper. Bascially all the common species. As migration picked up Yellow Wagtail numbers increased and decreased giving way to White Wagtails and this morning I saw two of my favourite wagtail - Citrine.

No crakes visible this year but Water Rail are around - two this morning. Lots of Common Kingfishers and a few White-breasted. Raptors included Greater and Lesser Spotted Eagles, Booted Eagles, Peregrine and, of course, hundreds of Black Kites. Red-throated Pipits have arrived and a few Short-toed Larks have been passing through. So, good and steady birding with a wide range of interesting species - looking forward to seeing what the winter brings!

White-throated Bee-eater

This crowd-pleaser (1st for Israel, 3rd WP) has been around since the middle of August but today I finally had a chance to see it. Itay Herling very kindly offered a birding trip and I jumped at the chance. We met at 5 a.m. near Sde Boker and headed south. The drive through the desert as the dawn slowly broke was wonderful - soft pastel hues and and strange contrasts. Arrived at K20 (the Bee-eater site) around half past seven and met Itay Shani who was guiding a group. So far they'd had no luck locating the bird. The bee-eater has been difficult to track down and, while local to the site, has been very flighty and mobile. We split up to cover ground and within 3 minutes Itay S phoned saying that he'd found it.
Eventually got some superb views. What an amazing bird!

The K20 pools usually have a lot offer and Itay H and I found a cracking Broad-billed Sandpiper. Unfortunately it flew off before I could get a photo. Consolation was a pair of Hoopoe Lark....

Broad-billed Roller

This was an unashamed but very satisfying twitch. Gabriel Levitsky found this bird yesterday in Karmiya and it was obviously going to be a major attraction (1st for Israel, 4th for WP). It was also less than 50 km from Nir Oz. I was without transport today but Itay Herling saved the bacon and picked me up at the kibbutz gate at 06:00 sharp. Arrived in due course and spent a good two hours of fruitless searching. We'd more or less given up and were heading back to the car when we spotted the bird perched high in a tree by the car park - the same tree as it was first found in yesterday. What a cracking bird! A superb lifer for me - I'd been hoping to see this species in Namibia last year but without success - finally catching up with one was a great joy.

Karmiya is a beautifully landscaped kibbutz - full of huge trees and green spaces. Other good birds of the morning were Ortolan, Hobby (3), Back-shouldered Kites, a couple of Honey Buzzards and many Golden Orioles. Also saw several European Rollers on the way home - as Itay said 'It's not often you see two species of Roller in Israel!'

Pin-tailed Sandgrouse

I really like sandgrouse - beautifully plumaged birds and a real prize (for me) to get decent non-flight views. My usual views are flying or middle distance birds on the ground, heat haze and cryptic plumage making decent  views difficult and photos impossible. On the way back from Besor Reservoir this morning I saw four Pin-tailed Sandgrouse coming in to land in a lettuce field I was passing. I pulled the car over and was taking a few standard record shots when another pair circled in and landed within 10 m of me. Superb! They didn't seem at all fazed by either me or the farm vehicles passing by. 

This is a (breeding?) pair - male with black throat and two breast stripes, female with white throat patch and three breast stripes. Gorgeous.

Besor held seven Ferruginous Duck - a very good number of this species here, unusally large numbers of Glossy Ibis (~50) and Night Heron (~25), the long-staying Great White Egret, Squacco and Grey Herons, Little Egrets, fewer Black-winged Stilts than usual, four White-breasted Kingfishers, a couple of Rufous Scrub-robins, couple of Cetti's Warblers but otherwise it was pretty quiet. No bee-eaters or Rollers at all and nothing singing from the reed beds. All in all though, an interesting session with the Pin-tails definitely making my day!