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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

ISRAEL - The North 26 Feb to 6 March (1 Viewer)

FXM

Frank Moffatt
Hi Folks,

I'm heading to Israel again. Three nights up in the Golan when I'll also drop into the Valley to Visit Hula. Then five nights (six days) in the Bet Shean when I'll visit the fish ponds and agricultural areas nearby.

In theory it's a relatively quiet time but in my opinion there's never a quiet time in Israel.

I'm breaking new ground by taking a laptop so (hopefully) I'll be able to keep you updated.

Cheers

Frank
 
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..give the poor bloke a chance, he only arrived there today!

I'm looking forward to this thread, I've been intending to visit N Israel for a long time now, and maybe this will give me the push I need to actually do something about it.
 
Hi Folks,

This is the first opportunity I've had to connect so sorry about that. I can't connect to wi-fi from my room and now I've found somewhere, El Rom Cafe, I've only got a few mins before they close so I'll update things later. Hope they've got wi-fi and Kfar Ruppin.

Managed a tick today: Black-winged Kite at the Hula. Lots of other good birds to report on later.

The pink laptop saga began at Humberside Airport. Was asked to open my bag and I got a strange look when they saw it. Security looked at it and then looked at me and said 'nice shade of pink Sir.'. Me or the laptop?

More later.

Cheers.

Frank
 
Hi Frank, Thanks for the private PM. Not sure if you have stayed in the Beit Shean area before but the kibbutz 'Neve Eitan' has good basic accommodation. If you need the phone number of Albér and Esther close to the Hula give me a call.

John.
 
Monday 27 Feb.

Good sleep and feeling fresh I spent the first 1.5 hrs having a wander around the Kibbutz. Nothing different but still plenty to enjoy. Feel like I've got to be on my toes as you never know what might turn up. Hawfinches are common here, at the moment at least, but coming from East Yorkshire I'm not that familiar with their calls. Quite a variety being used and often fooling me.

E. Jay Common
Hawfinch 35+
C. Buzzard 1-2
C. Kestrel 6+
Hooded Crow C
Jackdaw
Blackbird C
Robin 3-4
Wren 3-4 H
House Sparrow C
Chaffinch C
Linnet C
Greenfinch
Goldfinch
White Wagtail
Black Redstart 1
Chukkar 5+
Chiffchaff 1
Syrian Woodpecker
Palestine Sunbird


Drove towards Hermon. Very busy with skiers and snow sightseers. Car park was full. Never seen so many people here.

Road down from Hermon and Nimrod
Blackbird
Chaffinch
Long-legged Buzzard 1
E. Serin
W. Rock Nuthatch
Fincsh's Wheatear or Mourning 1. Probably former. Only brief view.
Stonechat
Corn Bunting
Sombre Tit 2
Chukkar 2
accipiter 1 - looked like a sparrowhawk


Mt baron Area - near El Rom
Woodlark
Corn Bunting

Large Dam nearby and pools and scrub
Spotted Redshank 1
Great Egret
C. Buzzard
E. Kestrel
Stonechat
Robin
Blackbird
Spectacled Bulbul - recorded virtually everywhere
Wren
orn Bunting
Spur-winged Plover
N. Lapwing
Mallard
Teal
Wigeon


That's all folks.
 
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Tuesday 28 Feb.
Weather: Storm is predicted to arrive today so I'll have to see what materialises. Cold but pleasant start. Cloud 2/8 but nearby Mt Hermon seems to be suffering. Light wind F3 gusting4.

Good sleep and feeling fresh I spent the first 1.5 hrs having a wander around the Kibbutz. Nothing different but still plenty to enjoy. Feel like I've got to be on my toes as you never know what might turn up. Hawfinches are common here, at the moment at least, but coming from East Yorkshire I'm not that familiar with their calls. Quite a variety being used and often fooling me.

Hawfinch Common
Greenfinch C
Goldfinch C
Chaffinch C
Linnet C
Robin 2-3
Wren 3 H
Blackbird C
Great Tit 6+
House Sparrow C
Jay C
Hooded Crow C
C. Kestrel several pairs.
Syrian Woodpecker easily seen and heard.
Spectacled Bulbul C
Laughing Dove C
Collared Dove C
Feral Pigeon C
Crested Lark C
Common Buzzard 1 H
Palestine Sunbird seen and heard regularly.

Quick coffee and then down the road into the Hula Valley. Called in at Lehavot Ha'bashan fish ponds for just over an hour. Weather pleasant. Noticeably warmer than up in the Golan unsurprisingly.

Chiffchaff several singing
Reed Warbler one seen and heard in song.
Pygmy Cormorant 10+
Great Cormorant 5+
Grey Heron C
Night Heron small roost.
Great Egret C
Little Egret C
Cattle Egret 30+ on road down
Water Pipit C
White Wagtail C
Grey Wagtail single
C. Coot c.200
Moorhen c.20
Smyrna Kingfisher 6-8
Pied Kingfisher 8+
Meadow Pipit 2+
Red-throated Pipit 1 H
C. Teal 20+
Shoveler 10+
Gadwall 10+
Mallard C
Little Grebe C
Green Sandpiper 1
Common Sandpiper 1
Hen Harrier female
Rose-ringed Parakeet 8+
Common Buzzard 2-3
Graceful Warbler C
Northern Lapwing 25+ in fields
Spur-winged Plover C
Barn Swallow 20+
Common Swift 15+

To the Agamon Hula Reserve.
Target = Black-winged Kite... again.

BLACK-WINGED KITE: single bird seen perched with prey item of some sort on the east side of the reserve. Adult bird. Excellent and an Israel 'tick'.

Booted Eagle single pale morph.
E. Imperial Eagle single first year.
Spotted Eagle 5-6. Still find these tricky from distance to separate from Lesser-spotted.
Black Kite 10+
Marsh Harrier 15+
C. Kestrel a few pairs.
Cetti's Warbler several singing.
Chiffchaff 3-4
Barn Swallow C
Common Crane 000s
White Pelican a few seen
Penduline Tit several heard. 1-2 seen.
E. Starling a few
Ruff 6+
Wigeon 60+
Black Stork 1+
Glossy Ibis 20+
Common Snipe 3+
Meadow Pipit 3+

Many birds on the reserve once again. Just about all species noted at Lehavot Ha'bashan were present once again but in much greater numbers. Busy with visitors again but not a problem. I could see rain to the north and sure enough there was a 20 minute downpour. Thankfully I was picked up by a golf buggy and transported to the cafe area for a nice sandwich and cappucchino.

Headed back up to El Rom and had a wander to last light but nothing new to add. A good days birding.

More later.
 
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Wednesday 29 Feb
Bad weather has arrived at the Golan. Rain, sleet and cold. Managed a little birding however ansd saw some really nice display from Calandra Larks at nearby Baron Junction heading towards Syria.

Heading off to Kfar Ruppin very shortly.

Cheers
 
Wednesday 29th Continued.
Drove south along the 98 across the top of the Golan. Weather was pretty poor for the most part which meant I couldn't bird and the views were ruined.

By the time I arrived at Kfar Ruppin the winds were very strong with many branches blown down. When the rain picked up strongly again the winds dropped. Plenty of Black Kites close to the Kibbutz.

Checked into my room and headed for the Kibbutz Fish Ponds. Very nice selection of birds:

Ruff
Redshank
Spotted Redshank
Avocet
Marsh Sandpiper
Common Sandpiper
Dunlin
Little Stint
C. Snipe
Black-winged Stilt
White Wagtail
Bluethroat
Chiffchaff
Blackcap
Jay
Blackbird
Black-headed Gull
Armenian Gull - need to check these closely. Different ages present
Black Stork
Grey Heron
Black Kite
Jackdaw
Great Egret
Little Egret

Done this from memory so probably missed off a few.

Got greedy and tried to get closer to the waders. Could feel the wheels spinning and the car swerving in the mud. Panicked a little and just kept going then had to stop. Back tracked and only just got out. Left the muddy tracks behing but brought plenty back on the car and my boots. Better wait until weather improves.

Sorry, but it looks like things went a little crazy and Sunday 26th seems to have vanished and been duplicated by Tuesday 27th. Was using a template and copying and pasting but I sensed it might have gone wrong. I'll re post Sunday when I get a chance.

Bad news at Kfar Ruppin in that wi-fi wont connect from the rooms; maybe from outside... in the rain! Er no thanks. Tried the office and can't connect there either so I'm borrowing the office PC. I'll take it from here.

Hopefully more to come. If not I'll do a better job from home on my return. Sorry about this.

Cheers for now.

Frank
 
I was in Israel last week and managed to get in some bird/animal spotting. Even to an inexperienced birder like me there was so much to see.

The forecast says you'll have a couple of rainy days, but hopefully you'll have dry spells to go birdwatching. And isn't the Hermon nice and white this time?

have fun!
 
Thursday 1st March
I'm at Tuvia's so I'm borrowing his PC.

Overcast, grey, damp, raining, cold but with light winds from SW. Up and out 0645 - 0915 to Kfar Ruppin Fish Ponds via the Cemetery.

Black Francolin - usually easy to see around here. 3-4
Chiffchaff

Black Stork 10+
Pallas's Gull 3+
Armenian Gull - common
Black-headed Gull - very common
Redshank
Greenshank
Marsh Sandpiper
Bl-w Stilt
Spur-w Plover
Little Stint
Dunlin
Ruff
Black Stork 12
Spoonbill - 1
Avocet

Similar selection to previous day.

Decided to head to north fish ponds but problem with car. Ended up at Budget offices in Afula about 50kms west. Exchanged for some sort of large Mitsubishi thing - an upgrade apparently with just 28500kms on the clock but it's big, cumbersome and feels old (don't say it Paul).

Went to the Harod Valley reservoirs and ponds. Very good. 1200 - 1445.
Black Francolin 2+
Chiffchaff -a few
Black Stork 80+
Pallas's Gull 5+
Armenian Gull - common
Black-headed Gull - very common
Redshank
Greenshank
Marsh Sandpiper
Bl-w Stilt
Spur-w Plover
Green Sandpiper
Ruff
Spoonbill - 6+
Grey Heron - common
G Cormorant - common
Pygmy Cormorant
Little Egret
Great Egret
Tufted Duck 8+
C. Swift - 00s
Barn Swallow - 00s
Black Kite - 25+
Marsh Harrier 20+
Great Spotted Eagle 5
Osprey - 1
E. Kingfisher - 1h
Smyrna
Pied Kingfisher
Red- t Pipit
Water Pipit
Clamorous Reed Warbler - h

Lots of birds in this area. An excellent place. Just a small sample of what's around. Fantastic for raptors.

Back to Tel Yosef junction for a coffee and falafel. Teamed up with Tuvia here and we headed to Mt. Giboa.

E. Sparrowhawk
Long-legged Buzzard
Corn Bunting
Linnet
Chukkar
Black Redstart
Southern Grey Shrike
Sardinian Warbler
C. Kestrel
Chiffchaff
Collared Dove
C. Swift
Despite the very poor weather early on and the issue with the car this was an excellent days birding.

Got out of El Rom just in time as the roads are blocked with snow. Hermon is closed due to heavy snowfalls. The roads around Ein Gedi are closed due to flash flooding. Saw the snows and it would be great to see the desert floods. Maybe tomorrow. I came here to witness birding in the norh during the winter months and I'm certainly experiencing that.

As I said earlier I'll re post Sunday 26th. It's on my desktop on the laptop.

Cheers for now.

Frank
 
Friday 2nd March
To Kfar Baruch Reservoir first 0730 - 1130 but I also returned 1500 - 1700.. Highlights:

E. Imperial Eagle - 2 first year birds. Superb.
Marsh Harrier - 6+
Black Kite - numerous
Long-legged Buzzard - 1-2
Common Buzzard - 2+
C. Kestrel - several
E. Sparrowhawk - 1
White-headed Duck - 9
Marbled Teal - 8
White Pelican - 21
Greater Flamingo - 10
Common Crane - c.175
Marsh Sandpiper - 20+
Ruff - c.350
Little Stint - c.30
Ringed Plover - 1
Spotted Redshank
Redshank - c.15
N. Lapwing - .40
Spur-w Plover -common
Greenshank - 2+
Black-winged Stilt
Skylark
Crested Lark
Red-throated Pipit
Meadow Pipit
Little Grebe - c.60
Black-necked Grebe - 3+
E. Starling - c.50
Cetti's Warbler
C. Swift
Barn Swallow
House Martin - 2+
Gadwall
C. Teal
Shoveler
Pintail
Mallard
Wigeon
Tufted Duck c.80
White Stork - c.90
Common Snipe - 2-3
 
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