MSA
I may be relaxed but I'm not drunk....
Just back from a holiday in Eilat, with some low-key birding thrown in.
Highlights were Nubian Nightjar, Arabian Warbler and Cyprus Warbler; other treats included displaying MacQueen's Bustard, male Pallid Harrier, Rock Thrush and close views of lots of the usual bits and bods, many photographed (although I still have the pleasure of going through all the memory cards and seeing if any have come out OK!).
The idea behind the holiday was to have a break with my wife in a place where I could bird in the early am. Our holiday coincided with the Bird Festival, and the most straightforward way to do what we wanted (and no more expensive than to book direct) was to go with Wildwings. This meant I was also able to go on a couple of trips with them. It was also nice to meet up and chat with experts such as Dick Forsman (raptors) and Klaus Olsen (gull expert) – I first bumped in to Klaus on North Beach and started talking about the various races/species of gull on show, and we were soon surrounded by quite a crowd, which struck me as a little odd, until someone quietly told me who he was, and explained they were all there for a (paid for) ID workshop!
Although I did not hire a car, I managed to get chatting with people who did, so I was able to wangle a few lifts.
Being my only experience of an organised tour (although this was more of a gathering of birders with a few optional trips every day, with lectures in the hotel in the evenings) I must say the quality and knowledge of the guides was excellent, but as the day trips had to cater for all, and were time-restricted, I did feel rather frustrated at times. If I ever went to Israel again in similar circumstances, I would definitely hire a car and pick the brains of the locals for info. If the circumstances were different and I was just there for the birding, I would stay at Kibbutz Lotan rather than Eilat – cheaper and more central for the various sites. Having said that, the Nubian Nightjar was in a restricted area, so a formal trip was the only realistic option; a further trip I found out about after the event, to see Hume’s Tawny Owl, would also have been a necessity as having seen where the area was in daylight, I would not contemplate trying to find my own way there in a hire car in the dark!
All in all, I was very pleased with the trip. The accommodation was excellent (“nicest room I’ve ever stayed in” from my wife was an encouraging comment). However, migration was very slow, and the unusual (poor) weather was the main factor – the lack of sunshine for over half our stay had the added negative of making the holiday far less appealing for my wife. To compensate, I agreed to spend the last whole day with her, at her pace – whilst the Dolphin Reef was interesting, Dunn’s Lark, White-cheeked Tern and Saunders Tern (or is this still a subspecies?) would have been slightly more so (to me at least!). Birding was definitely improving just as we were leaving, and on the last day there was a Blyth’s Reed Warbler (5th for Israel) ringed at Yotvata, plus several Egyptian Nightjar flushed by the ringer – who just happened to be the guy who drove us to the airport, to rub it in.
The worst part of the whole holiday was saved for the airport on the way home. Having chosen Ovda as more convenient than Tel Aviv (another plus point of an organised tour) and been very pleased with the quick and easy transit through Customs on arrival, I really should have known better. We arrived a full three hours before take-off, and were still queueing to have our bags checked an hour after take-off! The flight was delayed, of course, and finally left almost three hours late. The bag checks were carried out in front of the queue, in full view, so we were able to watch the (lack of) progress of the three teenage staff allotted to check the bags for the two flights that afternoon. The record for checking one person was a staggering one hour!! All three staff were involved; one would question him, then another, they would move away and compare notes, disappear into a back room, then reappear a few minutes later and start all over again. Lorraine and I were about the quickest, at just 5 minutes.
I’ll post up a full report as time permits, and a few pics if they come out.
Highlights were Nubian Nightjar, Arabian Warbler and Cyprus Warbler; other treats included displaying MacQueen's Bustard, male Pallid Harrier, Rock Thrush and close views of lots of the usual bits and bods, many photographed (although I still have the pleasure of going through all the memory cards and seeing if any have come out OK!).
The idea behind the holiday was to have a break with my wife in a place where I could bird in the early am. Our holiday coincided with the Bird Festival, and the most straightforward way to do what we wanted (and no more expensive than to book direct) was to go with Wildwings. This meant I was also able to go on a couple of trips with them. It was also nice to meet up and chat with experts such as Dick Forsman (raptors) and Klaus Olsen (gull expert) – I first bumped in to Klaus on North Beach and started talking about the various races/species of gull on show, and we were soon surrounded by quite a crowd, which struck me as a little odd, until someone quietly told me who he was, and explained they were all there for a (paid for) ID workshop!
Although I did not hire a car, I managed to get chatting with people who did, so I was able to wangle a few lifts.
Being my only experience of an organised tour (although this was more of a gathering of birders with a few optional trips every day, with lectures in the hotel in the evenings) I must say the quality and knowledge of the guides was excellent, but as the day trips had to cater for all, and were time-restricted, I did feel rather frustrated at times. If I ever went to Israel again in similar circumstances, I would definitely hire a car and pick the brains of the locals for info. If the circumstances were different and I was just there for the birding, I would stay at Kibbutz Lotan rather than Eilat – cheaper and more central for the various sites. Having said that, the Nubian Nightjar was in a restricted area, so a formal trip was the only realistic option; a further trip I found out about after the event, to see Hume’s Tawny Owl, would also have been a necessity as having seen where the area was in daylight, I would not contemplate trying to find my own way there in a hire car in the dark!
All in all, I was very pleased with the trip. The accommodation was excellent (“nicest room I’ve ever stayed in” from my wife was an encouraging comment). However, migration was very slow, and the unusual (poor) weather was the main factor – the lack of sunshine for over half our stay had the added negative of making the holiday far less appealing for my wife. To compensate, I agreed to spend the last whole day with her, at her pace – whilst the Dolphin Reef was interesting, Dunn’s Lark, White-cheeked Tern and Saunders Tern (or is this still a subspecies?) would have been slightly more so (to me at least!). Birding was definitely improving just as we were leaving, and on the last day there was a Blyth’s Reed Warbler (5th for Israel) ringed at Yotvata, plus several Egyptian Nightjar flushed by the ringer – who just happened to be the guy who drove us to the airport, to rub it in.
The worst part of the whole holiday was saved for the airport on the way home. Having chosen Ovda as more convenient than Tel Aviv (another plus point of an organised tour) and been very pleased with the quick and easy transit through Customs on arrival, I really should have known better. We arrived a full three hours before take-off, and were still queueing to have our bags checked an hour after take-off! The flight was delayed, of course, and finally left almost three hours late. The bag checks were carried out in front of the queue, in full view, so we were able to watch the (lack of) progress of the three teenage staff allotted to check the bags for the two flights that afternoon. The record for checking one person was a staggering one hour!! All three staff were involved; one would question him, then another, they would move away and compare notes, disappear into a back room, then reappear a few minutes later and start all over again. Lorraine and I were about the quickest, at just 5 minutes.
I’ll post up a full report as time permits, and a few pics if they come out.
