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First trip to Israel. Wife, mother, sister and brother-in-law participated and they are NOT birdwatchers.
Weather: Warm (20-25 C at daytime), sunny with some clouds. Two days (27th and 28th ) were very windy with strong winds from the south. The weather in Petra was quite cold with heavy overcast and really bad for watching vultures and other species.
Other birdwatchers: A female Finnish birdwatcher at North Beach first morning. Through IBCE I met an American living in Brussels and an Englishman living in Frankfurt. There were also two Danish guys whom I met later and a Swedish guy who I met in Petra.
Locations Visited
| 96-12-25 | Cemetery | 07.00-09.00 |
| 96-12-26 | North Beach-Arawa Border | 07.00-11.30 |
| Water Pump Station | 15.00-17.15 | |
| 96-12-27 | Guided Tour by International Birdwatching Centre of Eilat | 07.30-13.30 |
| North Beach | 15.00-17.00 | |
| 96-12-28 | Km 33, Km 40 | 07.00-13.00 |
| North Beach | 15.00-17.00 | |
| 96-12-29 | Petra | |
| 96-12-30 | North Beach-Arawa Border | 07.00-10.30 |
| 96-12-31 | Nahal Shahmon | 09.00-10.00 |
The interesting birds at Petra were found from the entrance and before entering the gorge. When in Petra head for the "High Place" - in nice weather an astounding good observation spot. The walk to the "High Place" is fairly easy but it takes about 45 minutes to get there. The rest of Petra is not so interesting from a birdwatching view.
Key to locations where birds were seen
| E = Eilat | WPS = Water Pumping Station | NB = North Beach |
| SP = Salt Pans | NS = Nahal Shahmon | Cem = Cemetery |
| IBCE = Tour by IBCE |
Check List of Species Seen
| LATIN | SPECIES | OBSERVATIONS |
| Podiceps ruficollis | Little Grebe | 1 at K18.5 |
| Podiceps cristatus | Great Crested Grebe | 1 at NB |
| Podiceps nigricollis | Black-necked Grebe | 2-3 at K18.5 |
| Calonectris diomedea | Cory's Shearwater | 2 at NB |
| Sula leucogaster | Brown Booby | 3 at NB |
| Phalacrocorax carbo | Cormorant | NB |
| Egretta gularis | Western Reef Heron | 15-20 at NB |
| Egretta alba | Great White Egret | 1 at SP |
| Ardea cinerea | Grey Heron | NB,SP |
| Phoenicopterus ruber | Flamingo | Around 20 at K20 |
| Tadorna tadorna | Shelduck | K20 |
| Anas crecca | Common Teal | K20,K40 |
| Anas platyrhynchos | Mallard | K20 |
| Anas acuta | Northern Pintail | K20 |
| Anas clypeata | Northern Shoveler | K18.5, K20 |
| Accipiter nisus | Sparrowhawk | WPS |
| Buteo buteo | Steppe Buzzard | 1 at K18.5 |
| Buteo rufinus | Long-legged Buzzard | 1 at Ein Netafim |
| Aquila nipalensis | Steppe Eagle | 1 at WPS, 33 at Petra |
| Aquila heliaca | Imperial Eagle | 1 adult at WPS |
| Hieraaetus pennatus | Booted Eagle | 1 light phase at Arawa border |
| Falco tinnunculus | Eurasian Kestrel | IBCE, Petra |
| Falco biamircus | Lanner | WPS, Eilat (while waiting for the jeep) |
| Falco peregrinus | Peregrine Falcon | 1 adult female at K18.5 |
| Ammoperdix heyi | Sand Partridge | IBCE |
| Gallinula chloropus | Moorhen | K18.5 |
| Fulica atra | Eurasian Coot | K18.5, K40 |
| Himantopus himantopus | Black-winged Stilt | SP, K20 |
| Recurvirostra avosetta | Avocet | 2 at K20 |
| Char. leschenaultii | Greater Sand Plover | 24 at Oil harbour in Eilat (IBCE) |
| Char. alexandrinus | Kentish Plover | 1 at K20 |
| Calidris minuta | Little Stint | K20 |
| Calidris alpina | Dunlin | K20 |
| Tringa totanus | Redshank | NB,SP, K20 |
| Tringa stagnatilis | Marsh Sandpiper | 1 at SP |
| Tringa nebularia | Greenshank | SP,K20 |
| Larus leucopthalamus | White-eyed Gull | Around 40-50 at the most NB |
| Larus ichtyaetus | Great Black-H. Gull | 1 juv at NB |
| Larus ridibundus | Black-headed Gull | NB,SP |
| Larus genei | Slender-billed Gull | 2 at NB |
| Larus cachinnans/arm. | Yellow-legged Gull | NB, SP |
| Sterna caspia | Caspian Tern | 2 at NB, 1 at SP |
| Pter. Lichtensteinii | Lichtenstein's Sandgrouse | 32 at WPS |
| Columba livia | Rock Dove | IBCE, Petra |
| Streptopelia decaocto | Collared Dove | Eilat,K40 |
| Streptopelia turtur | Turtle Dove | Eilat |
| Streptopelia senegalensis | Laughing Dove | Eilat |
| Oena capensis | Namaqua Dove | 1 f at Arawa border, 2 f at K20 |
| Otus brucei | Striated Scops Owl | 1 at NS on two occasions |
| Apus pallidus | Pallid Swift | 2 at K33 |
| Alcedo atthis | Kingfisher | 1 at SP |
| Ceryle rudis | Pied Kingfisher | At least 3 at NB |
| Merops orientalis | Little Gr. Bee-eater | IBCE, SP, K40, total of around 40 |
| Upupa epops | Hoopoe | 1 at K40 |
| Ammomanes cincturus | Bar-tailed Desert Lark | 2 at K33 |
| Ammomanes deserti | Desert Lark | Ein Netafim, Cem, Petra, IBCE |
| Alaemon alaudipes | Hoopoe Lark | 3 at K33 |
| Galerida cristata | Crested Lark | Arawa border, K33 |
| Ptyonoprogne fuligula | Rock Martin | Arawa border, K40 |
| Anthus pratensis | Meadow Pipit | NB |
| Anthus spinoletta | Water Pipit | NB |
| Anthus rubescens | Buff-Bellied Pipit | 1 at Arawa Border |
| Motacilla alba | White Wagtail | Eilat |
| Pycnonotus xanthopygos | White-spectacled Bulbul | Eilat, Cem, NB, Arawa, K40 |
| Luscinia svecica | Bluethroat | Arawa border, K40 |
| Phoenicurus ochruros | Black Redstart | K40, Petra |
| Cercomela melanura | Blackstart | Cem, IBCE, Petra, K40, NS |
| Oenanthe deserti | Desert Wheatear | Two males at K20 and a female at K33 |
| Oenanthe lugens | Mourning Wheatear | 1 male at Cem, 1 male at Petra |
| Oenanthe monacha | Hooded Wheatear | IBCE, 1 male 1 and 1 f. at K20 |
| Oenanthe leucopyga | White-crowned Black Wheatear | Cem, IBCE |
| Prinia gracilis | Graceful Warbler | NB, IBCE, K40 |
| Scotocerca inquieta | Scrub Warbler | IBCE, Petra |
| Acrocephalus stentoreus | Clamorous Reed Warbler | 1 singing at K18.5 |
| Sylvia melanocephala | Sardinian Warbler | IBCE, Cem, K40, Arawa Border |
| Sylvia nana | Desert Warbler | 3 at K33 |
| Phylloscopus collybita | Chiffchaff | K40, Arawa Border |
| Turdoides squamiceps | Arabian Babbler | K40 |
| Nectarinia osea | Palestine Sunbird | Cem, IBCE, NS, K40 |
| Lanius excubitor | Great Grey Shrike | 1 at K40 |
| Corvus splendens | Indian House Crow | Eilat, NB |
| Corvus ruficollis | Brown-necked Raven | IBCE, K40 |
| Corvus rhipidurus | Fan-tailed Raven | Around 100 at Petra |
| Onychognathus tristramii | Tristram's Grackle | Eilat, Around 3000 at K40 |
| Passer domesticus | House Sparrow | Eilat, IBCE, Petra, Cem |
| Passer hispaniolensis | Spanish Sparrow | NB, Arawa Border, Petra |
| Passer moabiticus | Dead Sea Sparrow | K18.5 |
| Fringilla coelebs | Chaffinch | 1 female at Arawa Border |
| Carduelis chloris | Greenfinch | Arawa Border, Petra, K20 |
| Carduelis carduelis | Goldfinch | 1 at K40 |
| Rhodospiza obsoleta | Desert Finch | Around 30 at Arawa Border |
| Bucanetes githagineus | Trumpeter Finch | Around 20 at ICBE |
| Carpodacus synoicus | Sinai Rosefinch | Around 10 at Petra |
Birds seen by others
| Gavia arctica | Black-throated diver | 1 at New Lagoon |
| Butorides striatus | Green-backed Heron | 1 at NB (in the fishfarms) |
| Torgos tracheliotus | Lappet-faced vulture | 1 at Petra |
| Sylvia leucomelaena | Arabian Warbler | Several around K40 |
| Phylloscopus humei | Hume's Warbler | 1 at K40 |
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