World Trip Reports

A few notes on a visit to Israel

I spent two weeks in Israel (and some of the areas it claims), partly to visit family (and give my mother an excuse not to spend all her days at the beach-side restaurant they run), partly to sort out a few glaring omissions on my rather disappointing Israel list (I hadn’t been there in 14 years).
Although things were quiet until very recently, the Palestinians did not react kindly to Israel killing a group of militants and then closing off Gaza completely. Unfortunately, I was staying in Ashqelon, just within reach of the more advanced rockets they tend to shoot onto Israeli territory — but I only had to hide under the stairs once. I would advice against staying in Sederot, which is just over a stone's throw away from Gaza...

Visiting family does of course put some constraints on birding, but I still saw about half of the lifers I had deemed possible (optimistically).
Success!: Spotted (100s) & Pin-tailed Sandgrouse (100s), Bonelli’s Eagle (3), Lanner Falcon (1), Hume’s Owl (1 with Barak Granit as a guide), Desert Little Owl (1), Little Swift (100s), Levant Scrub Warbler (15), Spectacled Warbler (5), Finsch's Wheatear (3), Striolated Bunting (2), Rock Nuthatch (2), Sinai Rosefinch (10), and the interesting taxa Caucasian Water Pipit (10) and Desert Grey Shrike (3).
Searched for in vain: Lesser Short-toed Lark (now rare), Sombre Tit (nomen est omen), Barbary/Eleonora’s/Sooty Falcon (a bit late for the latter two), Nubian Nightjar (location inaccessible because of smugglers in the area...), Striated Scops-Owl (found a few similar-looking stones though), Olive-backed Pipit (little effort), Cyprus Warbler (bit early?), Caucasian Stonechat (oh well).
Not tried: Yelkouan Shearwater (no wind), Crowned Sandgrouse (little chance), Oriental Skylark (muddy roads), Temminck’s Lark (little chance), Siberian Buff-bellied Pipit (couldn't even see the common pipits well enough), Blue-cheeked Bee-eater (late), Asian Crimson-winged Finch (late).
Nicest other birds: Greater Spotted (>10), Eastern Imperial (10), Steppe Eagle (4), Macqueen’s Bustard (1), Common Crane (10,000s), Sociable Lapwing (3), Saker (1), Red-footed Falcon (2, late), semirufus Black Redstart (1♂, Hooded Wheatear (1♀.

Among the few mammals, Golden Jackal and Cape Hare were lifers; I also saw both Mountain & Dorcas Gazelle. I didn't see new reptiles (partly because I didn't stop on a dark highway to identify a snake). I saw a few dragonflies (mostly Red-veined Darters) and identified 14 butterfly species (shame about all the blues).

Good report but when was this? and I don't understand some of the comments in brackets; Oriental Skylark (muddy roads).

I spend a lot of my life in Israel.

John.

I was there 6-18 November. Driving dirt roads after rain was not a good idea (as I found out by walking them!), and this would probably have been the problem with the Oriental Skylark.

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