søndag den 8. januar 2012

Israel 7/3-13/3 2010

9/3
Left early (0530) to go to the Shizaf Reserve again. A quick stop at the Shaqaq Reserve to look for Arabian Oryx did not produce any animals beside few Dorcas Gazelle but we did see the first Desert Finches of our trip. Saw the lizard again on our way. At the Shizaf Reserve we quickly found a male Arabian Warbler. We had great views of the bird for the next hour as it sang from the top acacia trees. Having had such a successful morning we decided to go for KM 76 to strike gold with the larks.
At 1000 we arrived at very green area in the desert. It looked promising for larks. The next four hours were spend in company with Temmincks Lark 2 ♂♂ + 1, Thick-billed Lark 6, Greater Hoopoe Lark displaying, Bimalculated Lark 3, Caspian Stonechat 2 and Cretzschmars Bunting 4♂♂+1.
We left KM76 and headed back north as we had an appointment with Barak Granit in Arad at 1730. A quick stop at the gorge near Idan did not produce any Desert Eagle Owl. Be careful of the landmines and stay on the road! Near Mount Sodom we saw a very nice adult Barbary Falcon among the thousands of pallid swifts.
Met up with Barak Granit who was going to show us Humes Tawny Owl. We heard an individual quite close but we did not see the bird. Even though not seeing the owl we had an amazing night including Striped Hyena, Iranian/Indian Wolf 2, Desert Hedgehog 3, Golden Jackal 5-8 (Yotvata) and Caspian Plover 2 (Yotvata). The plovers were all seen on the North Circular Fields. After finishing up at Yotvata we drove to Eilat. Arrived at Eilat 0500 and went to bed at 0545.
Text RDN and photos SSL

Desert Finch (Rhodospiza obsoleta)
Arabian Warbler (Sylvia leucomelaena)
Thick-billed Lark (Ramphocoris clotbey)
Spiny tailed lizard. Pretty cool lizard!
Cretzschmar's Bunting (Emberiza caesia)
Bimaculated Lark (Melanocorypha bimaculata)
Tawny Pipit (Anthus campestris)
Iranian/Indian Wolf
Nebo hierichonticus

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