Tel-Aviv waterfront
Jaffa waterfront
On the way down to Eilat we drove through new Jerusalem, which was fantastic- unfortunately we had no time to stop and do the usual touristy sightseeing. However, we were able to see across the adjacent border fence into the West Bank as we were just outside of town. Continuing east, we stopped at a rest area across the valley from Jericho, the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world, and started picking up the first new birds of the trip- Arabian Babblers, Little Green Bee-eaters, and Black Storks to name a few. Another quick stop around some farm fields produced numerous White and Yellow (feldegg) Wagtails feeding on large compost piles, Spur-winged Lapwings, Desert Finches, and a few Sand Partridges. We then began heading south along the Dead Sea, where the scenery is positively stunning. Looking across the sea, the mountains of neighboring Jordan are easily visible. The Dead Sea is up to 1/3 solid matter and the most saline body of water in the world, where no life can exist. No insects, no fish, no anything. However, the adjoining mountains provide excellent opportunities to view passing raptors as well as resident Fan-tailed Ravens. We stopped along the ride at a mountaintop lookout where we enjoyed some spectacular scenery as well as White-tailed and Isabelline Wheatears and three raven species. As we were on a tight timetable we didn't have long to spend, so we began to continue on South to Eilat through the Great Rift Valley. Passing through a construction zone, we were treated to a Hyrax sitting out on a rock by the road shoulder- if a marmot and a squirrel had offspring, they would look a bit like this!
Rock Hyrax
We arrived at Eilat early in the afternoon, and were surrounded by mountains while driving through the valley- the Eilat Mountains to the west, and the imposing Edom Mountains to the east in Jordan. Our birding group is based at the Agamim Hotel in Eilat, an upscale hotel with a palm-lined wrap-around pool in the courtyard! The hotel also has a restaurant and two bars (!)- with fantastic food. Eilat is the "Vegas" of Israel, along the edge of the Red Sea with abundant nightlife, an upscale theme park, many diving opportunities, and hordes of tourists- hence the abundance of fancy hotels here. After settling into the hotel we went to the KM20 salt ponds on the north edge of town for some late afternoon birding. Coming in, a small group of Dorca's Gazelles greeted us along the entrance road. A flock of close to 1000 Greater Flamingos spend the winter here in the salt ponds every year, and there were there today as well! What a sight. They look so funky when flying- with their necks and feet outstretched while flapping constantly with their weak-looking wingbeats. Slender-billed Gulls were abundant here, the adults having all dark bills while those of the immatures appear yellowish, as were Black-winged Stilts- reminiscent of the Black-necked Stilts found in the US. A variety of Eurasian shorebirds were hanging around these pools too- Common Redshanks, Common Greenshanks, Common Ringed Plovers, Little Ringed Plovers, a Grey Plover, Marsh Sandpiper, and flocks of Little Stints. Around 50-60 lifers already!
Greater Flamingos flying w/ Jordan in the background
Dorca's Gazelles
The first full day of birding we began at the Eilat Birding Center- a preserve/research station located just outside of town that is ran through the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel and is well-renowned for its diverse birding opportunities. We visited the banding station where we were treated to several different species of old world warblers in the hand for close study- Eurasian Reed-Warbler, Savi's Warbler, Sedge Warbler, and Sardinian Warbler to name a few. This being my first birding trip out of North America, old world warblers are a thing to be reckoned with. Several distinct genera, but those within each genus can look almost identical to the untrained eye. I have a feeling I will still be trying to sort these out from each other by the end of the trip! However, there were other great birds here that weren't as confusing to ID- Eurasian Penduline-tits, two Bluethroats, and a Wryneck! Wryneck was one of the birds I was most looking forward to seeing on this trip- in the woodpecker family, it looks like a cross between a woodpecker and a nuthatch- and strikingly patterned with browns and grays. Good scope views, but only some distant ID-quality photos. They recruit several volunteers, international and local, each year to help out at the banding station here- now that would be fun and a great way to expand my ID skills of a lot of these birds!
Savi's Warbler in-hand
About mid-morning the raptors get up and start to catch thermals so we headed up to the Eilat Mountains to catch some of the migration. The mountains here by Eilat are a crucial passageway for raptors heading north in the spring- the vast majority are Steppe Buzzards, but good numbers of Steppe Eagles, Short-toed Eagles, and Black Kites, among others, are present as well. On a good day in mid to late March, hawk counters here can record over 50,000 Steppe Buzzards passing over in one day. We spent about an hour watching this morning and recorded around 1000 Steppe Buzzards as well as multiple Egyptian Vultures, Steppe and Short-toed Eagles, and Black Kites. White and Black Storks also kettle in the thermals and we saw around a hundred Black Storks passing north here as well.
Common "Steppe" Buzzard migrating
Calling this post finished for now- more on Israel coming soon!
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