Return to trip reports."A family holiday" to Eilat with some birdwatching and some general relaxing. One day trip to Nizzana and Urim.
Participants: Tom Backlund, Minna Backlund, Terese Palm, Martin Helin
Weather: Warm (25-30 C at daytime, about 18-20 at night), sunny with some clouds. Many days were windy, especially in the evenings. It may be totally normal but we were surprised (and horrified, guess why...) to see Nizzana covered in a thick fog when we arrived there. It cleared in a few hours.
Other birdwatchers: Several groups (among them the Finns Jyrki Normaja; Harri Muukkonen, Gustaf Nordenswan and Matti Rekila) had visited Eilat and S Israel earlier in the month so we had fairly good information on recent observations. In the end of November there weren't that many birdwatchers around anymore. We met the resident John Morgan briefly and one Danish and one British group and a Finnish group (Hannu Kettunen & Martti Siponen) which we had contacted already in Finland.
24.11. We (TB & MHe) arrived at Ovda at 2 pm and got rather quick through the formalities and managed take a short peek at North Beach between 3-4.30 pm.
25.11. Km 33 and surroundings (6-8.45 am), 3.15-4.30 pm Salt pools, the Canal, North Beach
26.11. Km 20 (6.20-10.45 am) (MHe only); pm: Salt ponds, Pumping station & surroundings, the Striated Scops Owl site
27.11. Km 20 (6.20-9.10 am), the Striated Scops Owl site + Pumping station in the evening
28.11. Nizzana & Urim. Start at 4.15 am from Eilat, in Nizzana at 7 o'clock. Back from Urim at about 3.30 pm, back in Eilat at about 7.15 pm. We drove to Nizzana turning from road number 90 to Be'er Menuha, road number 13 (instead of driving through Shizzafon, road number 12) as we heard that the latter route had been quite slow earlier in the year (road construction?; the situation may have changed by now). The roads were generally in good condition (although somewhat winding) and there were only short distances of road construction going on. Returned from Urim through Be'er-sheva (you just drive through the city along the same main street; we didn't have any city maps of Be'er-sheva). There was only a couple petrol/gas stations along this street as far as I could tell.
29.11. The road to Amram's Pillars (start at km 20) 7-9 am, 3.45-4.30 pm North Beach.
30.11. We had planned to head to Yotvata at 7.30 am after the breakfast but it was impossible to drive away from the hotel area because the roads were closed due to the 10th Eilat triathlon competition!!! There wasn't any warning about this in the hotel (Ceasar) which we sourly announced to the somewhat indifferent hotel staff. Apparently the only way we could have avoided getting stranded was if we'd understood the announcements in the local newspapers in Hebrew. We couldn't think of a way to get out of the area with a car (and besides the main road to the Dead Sea was apparently also closed all the way to Be'er Ora with only bus convoys getting through) so we had to postpone our trip to Y. and we drove there in the afternoon. Yotvata (km 50 and the area around the gas station), km 33 and km 20 12.40-4.30 pm.
31.11. We left to the airport at 9.30 am and did not watch birds that morning.
Km 20: It seemed to be okay to drive on all the dykes except the ones closest (parallel) to the border.
Km 33: As reported in e.g. Birding World the area has been partly turned into fields but the are east of the pumping station seemed to be intact. However, there weren't that many birds (=larks) around.
Km 40: We heard from a British group that in addition to the small sewage pond on the east side of the main road there is a good stream from this pond to the east which had produced e.g. a Black Stork (Ciconia nigra) and a Squacco Heron (Ardeola ralloides) (possibly the same I saw at km 20) but no Sandgrouse.
Nizzana: The military presence wasn't as disturbing as we had thought and we had no interference from the military at all (well, maybe they didn't even notice us at first because of the fog...).
We observed about 135 species during our stay.
Not all observations for each species are included in the notes, rather peak numbers or estimates for some sites are given. Also we did not try to see some species which were present as we have seen them before.
ENGLISH NAME SCIENTIFIC NAME NOTES
Little Grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis 1 at km 20
Great Crested Grebe Podiceps cristatus Up to three at North Beach
Black-necked Grebe Podiceps nigricollis 3-4 at km 20
Brown Booby Sula leucogaster 1 juvenile at the North Beach on
24-25.11. There were actually two
juveniles present for the whole period
but we only saw the other bird.
Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo In Eilat
Squacco Heron Ardeola ralloides 1 adult at km 20 on 26.11. (MH only)
(Cattle Heron) (Bubulcus ibis) 2 probable birds on 28.11. close to
Urim
Western Reef Heron Egretta gularis E.g. 13 birds on 29.11. at North Beach
Little Egret E. garzetta
Great White Egret E. alba 1 at the salt pools and 1 at km 20
Grey Heron Ardea cinerea
Purple Heron A. purpurea 1 juvenile at km 20 on 27.11.
Greater Flamingo Phoenicopterus ruber 4 at the salt pools and
e.g. 66 at km 20 on 26.11.
Ruddy Shelduck Tadorna ferruginea 1 at km 20 on 26-27.11.
Shelduck T. tadorna E.g. 22 at km 20 on 26.11.
Wigeon Anas penelope
Gadwall A. strepera 5 at km 20 on 26.11. and 2 on 30.11.
Mallard A. platyrhynchos 5-10 at km 20 and in Nizzana
Pintail A. acuta E.g. about 40 at km 20 on 27.11.
Teal A. crecca Small numbers at km 20
Garganey A. querquedula One female plumaged at km 20 on 26.11.
Shoveler A. clypeata At km 20 and n Nizzana
Marbled Duck Marmonetta angustirostris One at km 20 on 30.11.
Tufted Duck Aythya fuligula Up to three at km 20
Ferruginous Duck A. nyroca One male and two female plumaged birds
at km 20
Black Kite Milvus migrans Dozens in Urim (we didn't go to the
rubbish tip where there should be
hundreds of them)
Marsh Harrier Circus aeruginosus
Hen Harrier C. cyaneus
Pallid Harrier C. macrourus Two adult males and one female
(+1 year) in Urim
Pallid/Montagu's Harrier C. macrourus/pygargus Two female plumaged in Urim
Sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus
(Buzzard) (Buteo buteo) 1 probable in Nizzana
Long-legged Buzzard B. rufinus 1 in Nizzana, 2 in Urim
Imperial Eagle Aquila heliaca About 8 in Urim (juvenile and subadult
birds)
Steppe Eagle A. nipalensis Just one juvenile migrating in Eilat
on 24.11.
Booted Eagle Hieraetus pennatus 1 adult (light phase) near Urim
Kestrel Falco tinnunculus
Lanner Falcon F. biarmicus 1 adult in Urim
Saker Falcon F. cherrug 2 in Urim
Peregrine F. peregrinus 1 adult in Urim
Barbary Falcon F. pelegrinoides 1 in Eilat and 1 probable in Nizzana
Chukar Alectoris chukar Common in Nizzana and Urim
Sand Partridge Ammoperdix heyii
Water Rail Rallus aquaticus 1 + calls at km 20
Moorhen Gallinula chloropus Lots of calls and a few seen at km 20
Coot Fulica atra At km 20
Crane G. grus 25 birds in Urim
Houbara Bustard Chlamydotis undulata 1 male in Nizzana
Black-winged Stilt H. himantopus A few dozen
Avocet Recurvirostra avosetta 2 at km 20 on 27.11.
Ringed Plover Charadrius hiaticula
Greater Sand Plover C. leschenaultii 2 at km 20 on 27.11.
Kentish Plover C. alexandrinus
Grey Plover P. squatarola 1 at km 20 on 26-27.11.
Spur-winged Plover Hoplopterus spinosus E.g. about 40 in Urim
Sociable Plover Chettusia gregaria 1 in Urim
Lapwing V. vanellus About 150 in Urim
Little Stint C. minuta
Temminck's Stint C. temminckii
Dunlin C. alpina
Ruff Philomachus pugnax 3 at the Salt pools
Common Snipe G. gallinago 2 at km 20
Redshank Tringa totanus
Greenshank T. nebularia
White-eyed Gull Larus leucopthalmus Dozens at North Beach on all visits,
the highest count was 34 birds on
29.11.
Black-headed Gull L. ridibundus A few dozen at North Beach
Slender-billed Gull L. genei A few dozen at North Beach
Common Gull L. canus One +1st cal. year at North Beach on
25.11.
Yellow-legged/Lesser Black-backed type gulls Larus sp A few juveniles at North Beach
none of which were seen well enough to
identify
Caspian Tern S. caspia 2 at North Beach - the Lagoon
Lichtenstein's Sandgrouse Pterocles lichtensteinii 18 at the Pumping station (in
Eilat) on 26.11. and 13 on 27.11.
Crowned S. P. coronatus 2 in Nizzana
Spotted S. P. senegallus About 150 in Nizzana
Black-bellied S. P. orientalis About 80 in Nizzana. In addition, we
saw about 100 unidentified sandgrouse
(in several flocks) in Nizzana too far
away to be identified.
Rock Dove Columba livia Common
Collared Dove Streptopelia decaocto Locally common
Palm Dove S. senegalensis Common and widespread
Namaqua Dove Oena capensis 5-7 birds at km 20 on 30.11.
(Rose-ringed) Parakeet Psittacula sp. (krameri) Two were seen flying west at km
20 on 30.11., probably coming from
Jordan
Striated Scops Owl Otus brucei Three birds resting in acacias on
26.11. in a wadi just outside Eilat
(the same place as before). The next
day just two were found.
Kingfisher Alcedo atthis One at North Beach on 24-25.11.
Pied Kingfisher Ceryle rudis Two birds at North Beach - the Lagoon
throughout the period perhaps staying
overnight on the other side of the bay
(to the SW, i.e. in the direction of
the Port)
Little Green Bee-eater Merops orientalis A few birds here and there
Bee-eater M. apiaster One lingering at km 20 on 26.11.
Hoopoe Upupa epops Two in Urim on 28.11.
Desert Lark Ammomanes deserti A few
Hoopoe Lark Alaemon alaudipes One or two at km 33 on 25.11.
Calandra Lark Melanocorypha calandra Two birds in a flock of Skylarks in
Urim on 28.11. (TB only)
Crested Lark Galerida cristata Common
Skylark Alauda arvensis Thousands in Urim, single birds around
Eilat
Rock Martin Ptyonoprogne obsoleta A few
Meadow Pipit Anthus pratensis Only one in Eilat on 24.11. and one in
Urim on 28.11.
Red-throated Pipit A. cervinus A few in Eilat and in Urim
Water Pipit A. spinoletta A couple of dozens in Eilat and
surroundings
Yellow Wagtail Motacilla flava Just one at km 20 on 26.11.
Pied Wagtail M. alba Dozens
Yellow-vented Bulbul P. xanthopygos Common
Robin Erithacus rubecula One near the cemetary on 26.11.
Bluethroat Luscinia svecica Common
Black Redstart Phoenicurus ochruros
Stonechat Saxicola torquata
Blackstart Cercomela melanura
Isabelline Wheatear Oenanthe isabellina One in Urim on 28.11.
Wheatear O. oenanthe One close to km 20 on 27.11.
Desert Wheatear O. deserti Two males and a female at km 33 on
25.11., a male at km 20 on 27.11. and
a male and a female in Nizzana
(airfield road)
Finsch's Wheatear O. finschii Two female-plumaged birds in Nizzana
on 28.11.
Hooded Wheataer O. monacha One male at km 33 on 25.11. and one
male on 29.11. on the way to Amram's
Pillars
Mourning Wheatear O. lugens One on the way to Amram's Pillars on
29.11.
White-crowned Black W. O. leucopyga One at the cemetary on 27.11., two
near Amram's Pillars on 29.11. and one
at km 50 on 30.11.
Graceful Warbler Prinia gracilis Common
Scrub Warbler Scotocerca inqueta 8 birds on the way to Amram's Pillars
Reed Warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus Singing at km 20
Clamorous Reed Warbler A. stentoreus One singing at km 20 on 26.11. and
probably calling on 27.11.
Spectacled Warbler Sylvia conspicillata 3+ in Nizzana
Sardinian Warbler S. melanocephala
Desert Warbler S. nana Two birds at km 33 on 25.11.
Blackcap S. atricapilla One male close to the Pumping station
on 27.11.
Chiffchaff Phylloscopus collybita Dozens
Brown Babbler Turdoides squamiceps One at the salt ponds and 5 at
km 50-Yotvata
Penduline Tit Remiz pendulinus About 7 birds at km 20 on 27.11.
Palestine Sunbird Nectarinia osea Common
Great Grey Shrike Lanius excubitor About 20 in Nizzana and Urim
House Crow Corvus splendens At least 100 in Eilat
Carrion Crow Corvus c. cornix About 50 in Nizzana and Urim
Brown-necked Raven C. ruficollis E.g. about 10 at km 20 on 26.11. and
about 100 in Nizzana & Urim
Tristram's Grackle Onycognathus tristramii Common in Eilat
Starling Sturnus vulgaris Thousands in Urim
House Sparrow Passer domesticus Common
Spanish Sparrow P. hispaniolensis
Chaffinch Fringilla coelebs Two at km 20 on 26.11., a call in
Nizzana
Serin S. serinus One at km 20 on 27.11.
Greenfinch Carduelis chloris 5 at km 20 on 26.11., 25 on 27.11.
Linnet C. cannabina 2 at km 20 on 26.11., about 30 in
Nizzana/Urim on 28.11.
Goldfinch C. carduelis 6 in Nizzana/Urim on 28.11.
Desert Finch Rhodopechys obsoleta 4 at km 33 on 25.11., about 30 in
Nizzana on 28.11. and 6 at km 33 on
30.11.
Sinai Rosefinch Carpodacus synoicus A flock of 14 birds (with at least
three males) near Amram's Pillars on
29.11.
House Bunting Emberiza striolata One close to the Pumping station (in
Eilat) on 27.11.
Corn Bunting Miliaria calandra On all visits to km 20 1-3 birds, 3 in
Nizzana, 3 in Urim on 28.11.