Israel Trip Report

Below is a list of the birds seen by myself in a weeks birding around Eilat, southern Israel. All birds were seen in the immediate area around Eilat, except one day were I travelled into the southern Negev, to Km33 and Yotvata.

Passage appeared very unusual, with a very different range of specie seen compared to similar periods before. Raptor passage, especially in the Eilat mountains, was very poor this year. Although at first glance passerine migration was light, the winter have apparently been quite wet, so there was much greenery throughout the Negev, causing passage to be very diffuse. Many of the surrounding Wadis were also full of migrant warblers and chats.

The south field area is in the process of being change very dramatically, with much of the scrub areas having been removed. Much of this area has lost its significance for birds, as have the North Fields which are predominately vines now. Km20, though, is now very good. The North reservoirs here held most of the waders we saw (and can easily be watched from a car, giving very close views, but please do not try to walk around these as it causes great disturbance). The military are also very understanding here now. Next to the reservoirs, a new sewage channel and pool has been created, which have proved very, very good for crakes and reed warblers.

Species seen :

Species	Scientific name	Individual counts
Little Grebe	Tachybaptus ruficollis	1
Brown Booby	Sula leucogaster	1
Great Cormorant	Phalacrocorax carbo	1
Night Heron	Nycticorax nycticorax	9
Squacco Heron	Ardeola ralloides	10
Cattle Egret	Bulbulcus ibis	3
Striated Heron	Butorides Striatus brevipes	2
Western Reef Heron	Egretta gularis	2
Little Egret	Egretta garzetta	13
Purple Heron	Ardea purpurea	100
Grey Heron	Ardea cinerea	20
Black Stork	Ciconia nigra	1
White Stork	Ciconia ciconia	32
Glossy Ibis	Plegadis falcinellus	7
Spoonbill	Platelea leucorodia	7
Greater Flamingo	Phoenicopterus ruber	44
Teal	Anas crecca	13
Pintail	Anas acuta	5
Garganey	Anas querquedula	45
Tufted Duck	Aythya fuligula	2
Black Kite	Milvus migrans	9
Black Kite	Milvus migrans lineatuis	2
Marsh Harrier	Circus aeruginosus	6
Pallid Harrier	Circus macrourus	1
Montagu's Harrier	Circus pygargus	2
Sparrowhawk	Accipiter nisus	2
Levant Sparrowhawk	Accipter brevipes	1
Steppe Buzzard	Buteo buteo vulpinus	167
Steppe Eagle	Aquila nipalensis	3
Booted Eagle	Hieraaetus pennatus	6
Lesser Kestrel	Falco naumanni	1
Kestrel	Falco tinnunculus	3
Sand Partridge	Ammoperdix heyi	7
Corncrake	Crex crex	1
Little Crake	Porzana parva	2
Moorhen	Gallinula chloropus	14
Coot	Fulica atra	18
Black-winged Stilt	Himantopus himantopus	91
Collared Pratincole	Gareola pratincola	11
Spur-winged Plover	Vanellus spinosus	28
Grey Plover	Pluvialis squatarola	1
Ringed Plover	Charadrius hiaticula	26
Little Ringed Plover	Charadrius dubius	25
Kentish Plover	Charadrius alexandrinus	34
Greater Sandplover	Charadrius leschenaultii	9
Curlew	Numenius arquata	3
Spotted Redshank	Tringa erythropus	2
Redshank	Tringa totanus	18
Marsh Sandpiper	Tringa stagnatilis	36
Greenshank	Tringa nebularia	8
Green Sandpiper	Tringa ochropus	13
Wood Sandpiper	Tringa glareola	25
Common Sandpiper	Actitis hypoleucos	4
Common Snipe	Gallinago gallingo	1
Sanderling	Calidris alba	1
Little Stint	Calidris minuta	37
Temminck's Stint	Calidris temminckii	3
Curlew Sandpiper	Calidris ferruginea	18
Broad-billed Sandpiper	Limicola falcinellus	1
Ruff	Philomachus pugnax	16
White-eyed Gull	Larus leucophthalmus	44
Yellow-legged Gull	Larus michahellis	28
Armenian Gull	Larus armenicus	1
Baltic Gull	Larus fuscus fuscus	144
Great Black-headed Gull	Larus ichthyaetus	2
Black-headed Gull	Larus ridibundus	48
Slender-billed Gull	Larus genei	58
Whiskered Tern	Childonias hybridus	4
Gull-billed Tern	Gelochelidon nilotica	8
Caspian Tern	Sterna caspia	11
Common Tern	Sterna hirundo	50
Sandwich Tern	Sterna sandvicensis	1
Lichtenstein's Sandgrouse	Pterocles lichtensteinii	12
Feral Pigeon	Columba livia 'feral
Rock Dove	Columba livia	4
Turtle Dove	Streptopelia turtur	5
Collared Dove	Streptopelia decaocto
Laughing Dove	Streptopelia senegalensis
Namaqua Dove	Oena capensis	7
Ring-necked Parakeet	Psittacula krameri	1
Swift	Apus apus	11
Pied Kingfisher	Ceryle rudis	1
Kingfisher	Alcedo atthis	2
Little Green Bee-eater	Merops orientalis	20
Blue-cheeked Bee-eater	Merops superciliosus	16
Bee-eater	Merops apiaster	88
Hoopoe	Upupa epops	3
Wryneck	Jynx torquilla	13
Bar-tailed Desert Lark	Ammomanes cincturus	6
Desert Lark	Ammomanes deserti	7
Hoopoe Lark	Alaemon alaudipes	2
Crested Lark	Galerida cristata	12
Sand Martin	Riparia riparia	161
Crag Martin	Hirundo rupestris	3
African Rock Martin	Hirundo fuligula	2
Swallow	Hirundo rustica	94
Red-rumped Swallow	Hirundo daurica	2
House Martin	Delichon urbica	1
Blue-headed Wagtail	Motacilla flava flava	15
Black-headed Wagtail	Motacilla flava feldegg
Grey-headed Wagtail	Motacilla flava thunbergi	3
Syke's Wagtail	Motacilla flava beema	1
Supercillia Wagtail	Motacilla flava supercillia	1
White Wagtail	Motacilla alba alba	15
Tree Pipit	Anthus trivialis	52
Red-throated Pipit	Anthus cervinus	5
Yellow-vented Bulbul	Pycnonotus xanthopygos
Woodchat Shrike	Lanius senator	8
Masked Shrike	Lanius nubicus	6
Rufous Bushchat	Cercotrichas galactotes	1
Black Bushchat	Cercotrichas podobe	1
Nightingale	Luscinia megarhynchos	8
Bluethroat (Red-spotted)	Luscinia svecica svecica	1
Redstart	Phoenicurus phoenicurus	5
Blackstart	Cercomela melanura	14
Whinchat	Saxicola rubetra	9
Northern Wheatear	Oenanthe oenanthe	7
Black-eared Wheatear	Oenanthe hispanica	5
Mourning Wheatear	Oenanthe lugens	4
Hooded Wheatear	Oenanthe monacha	1
White-crowned Black Wheatear	Oenanthe leucopyga	13
Arabian Brown Babbler	Turdoides squamiceps	27
Savis' Warbler	Locustella luscinioides 1 Heard
Sedge Warbler	Acrocephalus schoenobaenus 12
Reed Warbler	Acrocephalus scirpaceus	7
Olivaceous Warbler	Hippolais pallida	11
Orphean Warbler	Sylvia hortensis	6
Arabian Warbler	Sylvia leucomelaena	1
Blackcap	Sylvia atricapilla	49
Whitethroat	Sylvia communis	1
Lesser Whitethroat	Sylvia curruca	37
Ruppell's Warbler	Sylvia rueppelli	3
Subalpine Warbler	Sylvia cantillans	1
Spectacled Warbler	Sylvia conspicillata	1
Willow Warbler	Phylloscopus trochilus	3
Chiffchaff	Phylloscopus collybita	3
Bonelli's Warbler	Phylloscopus bonelli	4
Wood Warbler	Phylloscopus sibilatrix	3
Scrub Warbler	Scotocerca inquieta	3
Graceful Warbler	Prinia gracilis	31
Pied Flycatcher	Ficedula hypoleuca	5
Collared Flycatcher	Ficedula albicollis	16
Spotted Flycatcher	Muscicapa striata	1
Palestine Sunbird	Nectarinia osea	3
Ortolan Bunting	Emberiza hortulana	1
Trumpeter Finch	Bucanetes githagineus	1
Desert Finch	Rhodospiza obsoleta	1
Indian Silverbill	Euodice malabarica	9
House Sparrow	Passer domesticus
Spanish Sparrow	Passer hispaniolensis	336
Dead Sea Sparrow	Passer moabiticus	14
Tristram's Grackle	Onychognathus tristramii	73
House Crow	Corvus splendens
Brown-necked Raven	Corvus ruficollis	7

If anyone requires any more information, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Ben Miller

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