Global Big Day, 11 May 2024

Yesterday was Global Big Day and World Migratory Bird Day. Global Big Day is organised by the Cornell Lab, in association with Swarovski Optik and Global Birding. My team, Champions of the Flyway, included the original trio - Jonathan, Re'a and me. It was good to be back in the game with this team. In Global Big Days we normally take the northern route. This year, because of the war, the northern route is more challenging. For example, Mt. Hermon is off limits currently. Also the northern sections of the Hula Valley and the Upper Galilee are not safe now. We planned our route for yesterday staying away from trouble, hoping that it will be a relatively quiet day on the non-avian flying object front... 

We left early and arrived at the entrance to the Hula NR to try for owls. Nothing. A pre-dawn drive through Agamon Hula was quiet, Barn Owl was the only decent bird or mammal. Disappointing start. At dawn we were positioned by the lake and started our daytime birding. The lake itself was quiet because the water level is very high. Still, there was a small flock of terns that flew over the water including Gull-billed, Little and Common, and our first Marbled Ducks. 

Global Big Day under fire! We're in the Hula Valley, enjoying great birds but keeping an eye open for other flying objects too...#globalbirding #birdsuniteourworld pic.twitter.com/859aGiHgue

— Yoav Perlman (@yoavperlman) May 11, 2024

The big trees west of the lake were actually quite good with many Golden Orioles and other migrants in the mulberry trees - Great Reed (in the pic below), Barred and Garden Warblers etc. 

The most surprising observation however happened shortly after Jonathan mused over the possibility of finding an African vagrant. We spotted a large bird flying low towards us over the reedbed - what's this!? Bloody hell - a turaco! One of the smaller species, schalow's-style flew quickly over us and disappeared. Obviously an escape but totally crazy to see this bird flying around here.

We continued birding through the open fields picking up some stuff including Lesser Gray Shrike. Nice to see large flocks of migrant Turtle Doves in the fields. More Marbled Ducks were spotted in the canals - I love them.

Because Re'a is an Odonata expert, on top of being a top birder, we did pay a little bit of attention to critters. Re'a recommended that I take a photo of this Levant Clubtail because it is endemic to our region, and because it is so pretty:

Overall birding was slightly quieter than we had hoped for but at least the weather was OK (the day before it was awfully hot) and there were no sirens. We left Agamon Hula at 07:30 with 74 species, semi-pleased with a half-decent list to start the day.

Our next destination was the Petroleum Road running along the western slopes of the Golan Heights. I became more familiar with this region after the discovery of breeding Yellow-throated Sparrows there in 2022. It was so excellent up there. Many quality species, lots of migrants - especially raptors. Highlight was a pair of Yellow-throated Sparrows that eventually gave themselves up after quite a long search. 

Other great birds added to our list were Upcher's and Eastern Orphean Warblers, Eastern Black-eared Wheatear, Cretzschmar's Bunting, Roller, both cuckoos. We really enjoyed birding there. We did have to keep an eye open for rockets and missiles - we made sure to stay away from the danger zone in the far northern end of the road, close to the Lebanese border.

Upcher's Warbler singing

Check that magnificent dark tail

Woodchat Shrike - high density including fresh juveniles

We then drove to some sites in the Golan Heights, picking quality stuff along the way like Black-headed Bunting, Calandra Lark, Little Swift, Great Crested Grebe, Griffon and Egyptian Vulture. 

When we arrived in Susita it was already very hot. The site was developed recently, including a better access road, carpark and cashier for those wanting to walk into the site... INPA who manage this national park and developed it thought it would be a good idea to stick a huge metal horse on the mountain top. The local Long-billed Pipit agrees with that and is using it as its favourite singing spot - can you see it?

We then headed down towards Bet Shean Valley. It was getting really hot and the fatigue was kicking in. Cold drinks and ice cream were necessary to keep us going. When we arrived in Kfar Ruppin, with around 100 species in the bag, it was already properly hot. Check the video here.

Global Big Day update!#GlobalBigDay #globalbirding #birdsuniteourworld pic.twitter.com/jf3mKYkqyv

— Yoav Perlman (@yoavperlman) May 11, 2024

Kfar Ruppin and other fishponds in the area provided us with some species of shorebirds and other waterbirds. It was a bit frustrating - there were very large numbers of Ruff, Wood Sandpiper, Little Stint and Ringed Plover, but the variety mixed in among them was minimal. Still we had hundreds of Collared Pratincoles, Temminck's Stints, Whiskered Terns and more. Dead Sea Sparrow is a local specialty and was well appreciated. I love those blackish hind-trousers the males have:

And that was that. I must admit that after several years of doing big days, our motivation to do a full full day, including afternoon and evening, has dwindled a bit. We are content with the amount of effort we put into this mode of birding. We ended the day with a respectable 131 species - see our eBird Trip Report here: https://ebird.org/tripreport/235300

Our daily total is quite OK, given the difficult date for this event here in Israel. Migration slows down, quite dramatically, after May 7th-8th. Also it becomes much hotter by the day. The current date, the 2nd weekend of May, suits better northern countries (North America and northern Europe) but is much more difficult in southern latitudes. The current date choice reduces the level of interest in Global Big Day here in Israel because many birders are already in post-migration mode and couldn't be bothered to go out and see few birds. 

I call here the organisers of Global Big Day and World Migratory Bird Day to consider moving next year's event one week earlier, to the first weekend of May. With climate change that should be a good date even in northern North America and Scandinavia, and certainly a favourable date in the Mediterranean Basin and Middle East for example. 

Hey Jonathan and Re'a - it was another blast of a day, so much fun birding with you guys. Till October 12th, Go Champions!

Global Big Day May 2023

Yesterday was Global Big Day, organised by eBird, part of World Migratory Bird Day and Global Birding Weekend events. It was an unusual big day for me,  because for the first time in several years I didn't do a proper big day - I had a good reason though (see below). Also, our third team member Re'a made a bunk, so it was just Jonathan and me. We decided to spend the morning around birdy Kfar Ruppin - possibly the most productive place to spend a morning birding this time of year, when migration is dwindling here. Hey World Migratory Bird Day and eBird - please shift the date one week earlier (first weekend of May rather than second) so more southerly countries could enjoy good migration too. Thanks!

We left early, Jonathan did his story things, and we arrived at Kfar Ruppin nice and early, in time for a good coffee and fresh dawn birding. Kfar Ruppin fishponds, where we have our restoration project with the kibbutz, are so amazing. This specific reservoir has held low water levels, and amazing bird levels, for several months now. 

Swarovski Optik gear put into good use

That specific reservoir had so many birds, both in numbers and species richness - it was great to simply be there and take it all in. We bumped into another Jonathan, Yonatan Gordon, and his dad. Yonatan is a super keen, sharp-eyed and excellent teenaged birder - he already is a hotshot and will surely lead the Israel birding community in the future. Yonatan jumped into our car and joined us for the rest of the morning, while his dad got a couple of hours off... Back to the birds, the muddy edges had hundreds of shorebirds, mostly Little Stints and Ringed Plovers spiced up with Broad-billed, Curlew and Temminck's Sands; Whiskered and White-winged Terns flying gracefully over the water; Marbled and Ferruginous Ducks swimming; Little Crake, Little Bitterns and acros in the reeds. Bliss. Listen to the soundtrack in these rubbish videos I took.

eBird checklist for Kfar Ruppin fishponds here.

We checked a few more sites around Kfar Ruppin, including our restored wetland at Amud Reservoir - good stuff there included singing Common Nightingales, and Rollers displaying over their breeding cliff. Check the background sound here too.

The morning ended too quickly and we had to drive back home, adding some random stuff on the way back. Our morning total was 97 species, poor for a big day but quite OK (I think) for a concentrated four-hour effort. Had we done a full big day, that would have been a decent start.

The reason I headed back so early, abruptly cutting short my big day effort, had to be dramatic. I headed back for the premiere of a new documentary movie, Observation Diary, part of the documentary movie festival Doc Aviv. It's a beautiful movie, created and directed by the talented Itay Marom. The movie follows the birding diaries of the late Amit Geffen, a young and talented birder whom I had the honour and pleasure to guide, mentor and work with until he passed away in 2007, at the tender age of 21. I was fortunate to participate in the movie, and there is even lovely footage of my late dog Bamba, out birding with me. Several friends - Nadav, Yael, Nimrod and others also take part in the movie. 

The premiere was awesome - it was a powerful experience, to share the experience with so many people. Everyone involved in the movie were very excited - I have so much appreciation and gratitude towards Itay, Idit and their team for giving me the opportunity to take part in such a beautiful project. This is Udi, Amit's dad, and me at the premiere - photo taken by my son Uri.

Global Big Day and Pin-tailed Snipe

Yesterday was Global Big Day, organised by eBird, part of the international events of Global Bird Weekend and World Migratory Bird Day. Our team 'Champions of the Flyway' traditionally included Jonathan, Re'a and me.

Initially, we had plans for a selective Big Day, focused on special specialties only, at a slower pace. Eventually, we changed our plans and returned to a proper, ambitious full Big Day effort, the way it should be done.

We left our homes in central Israel in the early hours to arrive in the Hula Valley enough time before dawn for some night birding. Our traditional Tawny Owl was waiting for us at the entrance to Hula NR. A night drive in the Agamon failed to produce other new owls (only Barn) or a nightjar, but produced a surprising, late Golden Oriole - our only one for the whole day, spotted by Re'a roosting in a big tree.

Several Jungle Cats were hunting in the dark, including this poser:

At day break, we were positioned at the southern end of the Agamon, and enjoyed this scene, now complete with crane cacophony:

The Agamon and adjacent fields were fantastic (eBird checklist here). Huge numbers of birds. many species, good quality including Moustached Warbler, Black Francolin, Pallid Harrier. A cut alfalfa field was coated with hundreds of Yellow Wagtails, and even larger numbers of Corn Bunting. Several Red-footed Falcons were hunting over the ploughed fields.

Red-footed Falcon

Montagu's Harrier

We quickly visited Lehavot Habashan fishponds - it would have been rude to leave the Hula Valley without seeing Marbled Teal. There were still good numbers of Marbled Teal there, 108, alongside a nice selection of shorebirds (eBird checklist here).

We left the Hula Valley satisfied with 114 species under our belt. When we arrived at Susita it was already very hot. Birding was tough, we missed Long-billed Pipit but added a few good species. While birding there news broke of a Pin-tailed Snipe in central Israel, close to home. We contemplated the option of altering our route to twitch the snipe. In an act of maturity and responsibility we decided to stick to Plan A and continue as planned. This came with some disappointment, as Jonathan and I are doing a Big Year. 

Global Big Day is timed to suit best N American birders' calendar. In Israel, both October and May Big Days happen when the weather is very hot. Yesterday was no exception, and when we arrived in the Bet She'an Valley the temperatures were soaring towards 40 degrees, making birding difficult. What to do when it's so hot? We walked a couple of alfalfa fields, failed to find Oriental Skylark but added Richard's pipit and a surprise Spectacled Warbler. We were melting. Bad choice. Birding the fishponds, for waterbirds, stationary, made more sense (eBird checklist here). The White-tailed Lapwing remained in it's wonderful pond that hosted many new shorebirds for the day. There were some raptors up in the air, though we failed to intercept a proper stream of raptor migration the whole day. Light conditions were harsh, and we were in a hurry, so I didn't take any photos. Jonathan shot this video of the wonderful pond with the lapwing: 

We left Bet Shean Valley with 142 species and headed cross-country towards the Dead Sea.

Ein Gedi NR carpark was exploding with humans rather than birds. Still, some nice desert species were present, including Fan-tailed Raven.

Note that the bird in the center is ringed:

Ashalim Reservoir is a stunning location, and I love birding there. It provided us with a few good species, including Dead Sea Sparrow and African Swamphen (eBird checklist here).

Late in the afternoon we arrived at Heimar Reservoir. Immediately we enjoyed a fantastic show by Sooty Falcons, at least four of them, hunting hirundines high up. Top quality birds. Just before dusk we Re'a struck again - Isabelline Shrike! Boom! Very nice surprise.

After dusk we checked a nearby site for Nubian Nightjar. It's not their main site, and habitat there isn't optimal, so it wasn't a big surprise we didn't succeed. However, the day was topped by a fantastic Desert Owl hooting in a nearby wadi.

Our daily total was a very satisfying 159 species. This is our best autumn Big Day score so far. This is the second time we do a cross-country effort. In May 2019 our route was even crazier, because it included also Mt. Hermon, and we ended up with 164 species. So our score yesterday is pretty good for our effort I reckon. Of course, like in every Big Day, we missed a good number of silly species, and gained a few 'Wild Cards'. 

Thanks Re'a and Jonathan for another memorable Big Day. It was a day full of quality birding and lots of fun with the best possible team. Thank you guys.

Thanks to the organisers, eBird and Global Birding - always a pleasure to participate in this global event. Thanks to Swarovski Optik for the privilege to use the best optics in the world.

####################### Post-script ##############################

After a well-deserved night sleep, this late morning I went with Jonathan to look for the snipe at Tel Afek. We weren't optimistic. This is a super intensive site, most it it developed for recreation. Yesterday, as the park filled up with hundreds of noisy families, the bird vanished. This early morning many birders searched for it, without success. We birded the park hard, checked all habitats that made some sense for a skulky snipe, without success either. Then Oren Maman called - 'Come quick, I found it!'. It was sitting quietly under a tree in the most intensive section of the park, between picnic tables and screaming kids. We must have walked right past it, as did many other birders. 

It sat there motionless for a while until a screaming kid that ran past it flushed it a short distance. Fantastic views of it. Great year bird, and a good rarity in Israel, with about 14 records only. The identity of this bird was confirmed by call, and by photos of it preening (by Ron Singer), displaying its pin-like outer tail feathers.

Note short tail

Open face

Pin-tailed Snipe, Tel Afek NP. Amazing bird in a silly place, between picnic tables and screaming kids ('habitat' photo below)
חרטומית חדת-זנב הבוקר בגן לאומי תל אפק
Taken through @SwarovskiOptik ATX85@BirdLifeIsrael @JMeyrav @SPNI @rashut_hateva @BirdGuides @TarsigerTeam pic.twitter.com/vPTMagA0Nz

— Yoav Perlman (@yoavperlman) October 10, 2021

Up and up

Since my previous update, I continued doing more or less the same. I am still out birding every day, migration is still awesome, life is still busy, and birds are great. Here are some highlights from recent week:

A week ago it was Champions of the Flyway. I had planned to race, but last minute my team disintegrated. Therefore I re-joined the organising team. For this, I travelled up to the Hula Valley, where I accompanied some teams competing in the race, checked they're doing OK, helped those that needed help, and basically enjoyed a good afternoon birding in the valley. At Lehavot HaBashan fishponds, the only reservoir with water was jam-packed with birds (eBird checklist here). Importantly, it held the largest concentration of Marbled Teal I have ever seen in Israel - I counted 404! Incredible number for this globally and nationally threatened duck. It is possible that it's the entire population breeding in the Hula Valley. INPA (with the assistance of us, BirdLife Israel) are monitoring their breeding. In 2021, the national breeding population included 59 families that produced 508 chicks. 80% of the national breeding population was in the Hula Valley. This video shows a section of the reservoir:

A nearby alfalfa field held a nice flock of Red-footed Falcons and Lesser Kestrels - always wonderful to see.

A majestic flock of 900 Great White Pelicans (4500 aerial kgs!) drifted against Mt. Hermon towards the Agamon. Magnificent.

In the Agamon I did a cheeky live Facebook video of the flock that went down to roost:

After dark, as the teams ended their day and arrived at Agamon HaHula, we (the judges) picked their brains, grilled them and ended up with the winners - The Wrens. Well done!

Champions of the Flyway 2021 results (1/3)@flywaychampions 2021 overall winners are The Wrens. They recorded a staggering 166 species - well done! The team included Klil (18 yo) & Avner Zeitlin & Shachar Hizkiya (16 yo) pic.twitter.com/rPqi9v5i48

— BirdLife Israel (@BirdLifeIsrael) October 1, 2021

Fast forward a few days (and miles and birds), on October 4th I joined Darren for an enjoyable ringing session at his site in Sde Boker. Among the many 'normal' looking Willow Warblers, one really stood out. It was huge (wing 74), dark and sooty, probably belonging to an eastern or northern population, maybe 'yakutensis', maybe 'acredula'. Hopefully DNA results will provide an answer.

Next day I paid Ma'agan Michael a monthly visit. We are restoring a large section of the fish farm into a rich wetland, for biodiversity and climate. The work on the ground should commence very soon. In the meanwhile I am monitoring bird responses to management activities, including description of 'before' and 'after'. It was a fairly quiet morning, but at Ma'agan Michael even a quiet morning results in 93 species (eBird checklist here). This was a fascinating scene on the beach - Horned Ghost Crabs working on a Loggerhead Sea turtle Carcass - doing what they should: clean, decompose, recycle.

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A post shared by Yoav Perlman (@yoavperlman)

My post-work birding session at Ma'agan Michael was interrupted by news of a White-tailed Lapwing at Kfar Ruppin, found by Barak and co. White-tailed Lapwing is not a drop-everything-and-run rarity, unless one's doing a Big Year. An hour later I was watching it, from a safe distance in harsh light - not the best quality I'm afraid.

The pond it was in was wonderful. So many birds, so diverse (eBird checklist here). 

Rearguard Blue-cheeked Bee-eater on overhead wires:

Reporting live from the field, while writing this post at home, I got messages indicating there's good eagle migration over home. I step outside and look up. Eagles. I spend 23 magical minutes counting them until the stream drifted east where I can't see behind me neighbour's house. 1092 Lesser Spotted Eagles and a bit of other stuff too. Cool.

Greater Spotted Eagle with Lesser Spotted Eagle

Lesser Spotted Eagles

This recent checklist also marks my 5000th checklist on eBird.

Over and out.

PS all videos taken through Swarovski Optik ATX85 using a Swarovski phone adapter.

Hula weekend

Spent the weekend up in the Hula Valley with my wife, my brother and his wife. No kids. Good food, wine, spectacular scenery and a little bit of birding in between.
In the Agamon, Barny is still present - patiently waited for my brother:

Nice to see the beautiful, petite Demoiselle Crane among the 47k Common Cranes, luckily outside the main feeding area:

A crane or two... Always a treat to be on a mobile hide tour

White-tailed eagle

5 Marbled Ducks in Hagome junction fishponds

Hula Festival update day 2 - Agamon

Fantastic day today, combination of inspiring, almost spiritual birding, and high-quality birds. Started off early and did the sunrise mobile-hide tour. As always it was an exceptional experience. Light and weather conditions were just right with dramatic clouds and very thin fog. The experience of 35,000 cranes in your face is always awesome. Tried all kinds of photographic artistic stuff, most of it failed, but still some nice results.

Black-winged Stilts

We had a very close encounter with a huge, fat Jungle Cat. I had the wrong camera settings for this scenario, but becuase it's such a great animal decided to share this image anyway.

Note the Caspian Stonechat in the left foreground. Saw several today.

Better soaring conditions today so we had lots of raptors today, including 2 White-tailed, 7-8 Greater Spotted, 2 Eastern Imperial and 3-4 Booted Eagles.

Landing lights

Other highlights in the morning included the Black-winged Kites, hundreds of pelicans, 9 Marbled Ducks before breakfast in a nearby reservoir, and many more.

In the afternnon checked the Hula Reserve and stayed for the roost. Saw 3-4 Citrine Wags, and the roost included nice numbers of harriers (only 1 pallid) and 3-4 Merlins.