Day 8 - 18 April
Back to the Matash Terraces again today. Normally we and the Israeli ringers would prefer not to ring the same area on consecutive days, but due to the lake nets being flooded and the time of year, we are somewhat limited. We put nets up around the mulberry trees again with some other nets on the terraces. Francis and Yoram were with us and important visitors were expected later in the day.
It was another good day with the first Rufous Bush Robin, Whitethroat and Savi's Warbler for our trip.
Collared Dove - 1
Thrush Nightingale - 3
Nightingale
Redstart - 1
Black-eared Wheatear - 1
Graceful Prinia - 1
Reed Warbler - 1
Eastern Olivaceous Warbler -5
Willow Warbler - 1
Barred Warbler - 5
Whitethroat - 2
Lesser Whitethroat - 9
Blackcap - 94 (8)
Spotted Flycatcher - 1
Spectacled Bulbul - 1
Red-backed Shrike - 1
Masked Shrike - 2
Tristram's Grackle -2
Greenfinch - 1
In the afternoon we headed back to Yeroham Park to photograph some of the butterflies.
Then on to the Avedat Gorge and Zin River The scenery was spectacular.
Back to the Matash Terraces again today. Normally we and the Israeli ringers would prefer not to ring the same area on consecutive days, but due to the lake nets being flooded and the time of year, we are somewhat limited. We put nets up around the mulberry trees again with some other nets on the terraces. Francis and Yoram were with us and important visitors were expected later in the day.
It was another good day with the first Rufous Bush Robin, Whitethroat and Savi's Warbler for our trip.
Rufous Bush Robin - first returner of the year at Yeroham.
Savi's Warbler
As usual, there was a high proportion of Blackcaps. There were some more Tristram's Grackles and our first female Masked Shrike.
5F Masked Shrike
Scops Owl
It was fairly hot and the captures trailed off quite early. We were a little worried that there would be nothing to show our VIPs at 11.15am. However there were a few birds for Yoram to process with them while we started to take down nets.
Michael Biton, Yeroham's mayor visits
I took the opportunity to photograph some of the flowering plants after the rains.
Totals: 93 (18)
Eastern Olivaceous Warbler - 5
Eastern Bonelli's Warbler -1
Eastern Orphean Warbler - 1
Whitethroat - 1
Lesser Whitethroat - 1
Blackcap - 59 (14)
Masked Shrike -1
Tristram's Grackle - 10 (2)
Greenfinch -9
We arranged to meet with Yoram early that evening to look for scorpions at an undisclosed site near the Dead Sea. We dropped to 400ft below sea level, where the temperature was still above 30C, and tried a wadi that he checks a few times every year but this time the UV lamp revealed nothing. Whether this was as a result of the bright moonlight or after the severe weather that occurred a week or so ago. We hope he has better luck next time.
We passed through the area known for Nubian Nightjar and on our way back we were fortunate enough to see two on the road and still get back by 11.30pm. We made sure to set our alarms for 4am as we were going to a desert site, some distance away next day.
Day 9 - 19 April
Things went a bit awry when we spent 15 minutes waiting, for Darren,in the wrong bus stop! But we weren't too worried as we found him easily once we realised our mistake. We only expected to put up 4 nets so it would take no time at all. When we got to Borot Haktsinim the water was higher than Darren had ever seen it. We had to set a little further back from the cistern edge and used 5 nets.
We caught a Masked Shrike almost straight away. There was a Red-backed Shrike, in the tamarisk growing in the cistern, and although it did hit the net, it bounced and after a few minutes sitting on a branch contemplating the nets soon flew off over the top.
Scops Owl - 1
Thrush Nightingale - 1
Nightingale - 1
Graceful Prinia - 1 (1)
Rufous Bush Robin - 0 (1)
Savi's Warbler - 1 Thrush Nightingale - 1
Nightingale - 1
Graceful Prinia - 1 (1)
Rufous Bush Robin - 0 (1)
Eastern Olivaceous Warbler - 5
Eastern Bonelli's Warbler -1
Eastern Orphean Warbler - 1
Whitethroat - 1
Lesser Whitethroat - 1
Blackcap - 59 (14)
Masked Shrike -1
Tristram's Grackle - 10 (2)
Greenfinch -9
We arranged to meet with Yoram early that evening to look for scorpions at an undisclosed site near the Dead Sea. We dropped to 400ft below sea level, where the temperature was still above 30C, and tried a wadi that he checks a few times every year but this time the UV lamp revealed nothing. Whether this was as a result of the bright moonlight or after the severe weather that occurred a week or so ago. We hope he has better luck next time.
We passed through the area known for Nubian Nightjar and on our way back we were fortunate enough to see two on the road and still get back by 11.30pm. We made sure to set our alarms for 4am as we were going to a desert site, some distance away next day.
Day 9 - 19 April
Things went a bit awry when we spent 15 minutes waiting, for Darren,in the wrong bus stop! But we weren't too worried as we found him easily once we realised our mistake. We only expected to put up 4 nets so it would take no time at all. When we got to Borot Haktsinim the water was higher than Darren had ever seen it. We had to set a little further back from the cistern edge and used 5 nets.
We caught a Masked Shrike almost straight away. There was a Red-backed Shrike, in the tamarisk growing in the cistern, and although it did hit the net, it bounced and after a few minutes sitting on a branch contemplating the nets soon flew off over the top.
Borot Haktsinim
There was very little around - we knew that birds still had plenty of small pools and need not come to the waterhole. We caught nothing else.
Desert sunrise
Total: 1
Masked Shrike - 1
We finished early and spent the morning at the Avdat ruins. This is a Nabatean city that was the most important city on the incense route after Petra. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avdat
Reconstructed ruins
Mourning Wheatear with scorpion
Reconstructed columns
Cistern with collapsed roof
The Nabateans stored water by excavating underground tanks.The walls were rendered and the water remained clear while the roof was intact. http://nabataea.net/water.html
These cisterns were placed along the route at the distance camels are able to travel in a day. At Borot Haktsinim the roof has collapsed long ago. The Nabateans also developed a means of limiting erosion by building stone walls across wadis. This methodology was forgotten long ago, but is now being used to encourage plants to flourish in the desert.
A series of walls retain top soil and limit erosion.
In the evening after dinner we went for a drive to the rubbish tip and Yeroham Park, looking for animals. There were no jackels or hyenas at the tip and just some Hares at the park. We did find some Spur-winged Plover chicks on the road by the Sewage plant, but having caught some we tried the EE sized ring and they were just too small. They were released back to their parents without any individual markers.
Day 10 - 20 April
Ringing at the mulberry trees again. There were fewer birds today and the grackles are definitely getting wise to the nets! The 'first for the trip' birds kept coming with Redstart and Red-back Shrike and Black-eared Wheatear that Chris manoeuvred into the nets.
Ringing at the mulberry trees again. There were fewer birds today and the grackles are definitely getting wise to the nets! The 'first for the trip' birds kept coming with Redstart and Red-back Shrike and Black-eared Wheatear that Chris manoeuvred into the nets.
5M Redstart
Red-backed Shrike 5M
Black-eared Wheatear
Spectacled Bulbul
We continued to catch lots of Blackcaps, and one bird carried a ring from the N. MUSEUM PRAHA, ring number TR16669. The adult male had already been marked within the scheme run in the Czech Republic.
The total exceeded 140 captures.
Totals: 133 (8)
Totals: 133 (8)
Collared Dove - 1
Thrush Nightingale - 3
Nightingale
Redstart - 1
Black-eared Wheatear - 1
Graceful Prinia - 1
Reed Warbler - 1
Eastern Olivaceous Warbler -5
Willow Warbler - 1
Barred Warbler - 5
Whitethroat - 2
Lesser Whitethroat - 9
Blackcap - 94 (8)
Spotted Flycatcher - 1
Spectacled Bulbul - 1
Red-backed Shrike - 1
Masked Shrike - 2
Tristram's Grackle -2
Greenfinch - 1
Steppe Buzzards continue to migrate through.
In the afternoon we headed back to Yeroham Park to photograph some of the butterflies.
Grass Jewel
The course of the Zin River is clear fom above.
We parked and walked up the gorge. There had clearly been severe flooding with the recent rains.
Several areas within the gorge still hold water.
Chris scanning for birds.
Brown-necked Raven
We saw a couple of Eyptian Vulture and a Griffon Vulture, that on closer inspection of the photograph bears a wing tag.
Griffon Vulture K66 at rest on a ledge.
We were unsuccessful in finding any of the species that remain outstanding. Larks were never likely but no Trumpeter Finch or Sinai Rosefinch or any smaller Falcons.
We drove onto a camp ground as we made our way out and found a pair of Sand Partridge.
Male and female Sand Partridge.
They were most obliging - I even managed a brief video.