13 April 14 - Watching Me, Watching You

We spent the rest of the day around the Kfar Ruppin kibbutz. There are extensive fish ponds that you are allowed to drive around & which really needs a car: given the size of the kibbutz & the numbers of fish ponds. Also having a car helps as a mobile hide allowing a closer approach to many of the birds. There are also plenty of fields to check out as well. There is a great bird hide overlooking a reasonable sized pond, with bushes & uncultivated areas behind it. The numbers of birds present on the kibbutz is just incredible and more like numbers on a bird reserve, rather than a farm. There can't be many farms in the UK that have those numbers of birds on their land. It's well worth a couple of days staying here with some much good birding on the doorstep.

This was an old watch tower: But it looks like another design on the theme of bird hides

The kibbutz was still a working farm & well as a significant fish farm

Olives were also an important product

Pygmy Cormorant

Black Stork: Dull billed sub adults flying over one of the fish ponds

White Stork: Both White Storks & Black Storks were commonly found on the kibbutz

Night Heron: Immature & adult of the nominate nycticorax subspecies of the Old World. The remaining 3 subspecies all occur in the New World. There was a roost of around 40 birds in the Palms by the bird hide

Osprey: No surprise seeing Ospreys here with all the fish ponds

Chukar: Late afternoon saw us looking for Black Francolin in the fields alongside the road to the kibbutz. We saw this bird as we were driving back a farm track, but were disappointed on stopping to find it was just a Chukar

Black Francolin: After some further searching we found this male. This is the nominate francolinus subspecies which occurs in Cyprus, Turkey, Asia Minor, Israel to Iran & Iraq. I had forgotten how stunning they are since the last ones I saw in India in 1991

Turtle Dove

Smyrna Kingfisher: This is the nominate smyrnensis subspecies, (also known as White-breasted Kingfisher), which occurs from North Israel to the Arabian Peninsula across to NW India

Pied Kingfisher: The nominate rudis subspecies of Africa through Israel to Turkey

 Pied Kingfisher: Who could ever get bored of this feeding action

Collared Flycatcher: This female was around the flat in the kibbutz, but was always shy & elusive 

Collared Flycatcher: Female. A better view of the wing panel

Great Tit: This is the terraesanctae subspecies which occurs in NW Syria, Lebanon, Israel & Jordon

Jay: This is the atricapillus subspecies which occurs in South Syria, Lebanon, Israel & West Jordon

Dead Sea Sparrow: Male

Ortolan: There were several birds around the pond in front of the bird hide

Egyptian Locust

Egyptian Locust: What a fantastic pair of eyes

Simon photographing the Dead Sea Sparrows

After another great days birding we headed into Beit She'an to find some of the restaurants were open this time. Getting back to the kibbutz, the Scops Owls were calling again, so I had another look for them. Initially, I saw a couple of birds in a similar area to the first night. Then after some more looking, I found a very obliging bird which was calling from a low tree & only 4 metres off the ground. He seemed quite happy for me to take some photos & in the end I left him there still calling away. With such a density of Scops Owls on the kibbutz, then it's a great place to see them.

Scops Owl: They do like calling from the Palm trees

Scops Owl: Initially, I only had chance for a quick couple of shots of this bird, before he flew. But then he came back & settled down to calling from what looks to be a favourite perch

Scops Owl

Scops Owl: The bird of the trip for me as this bird was so showy

Scops Owl: Watching Me, Watching You, the latest product from 'Head & Shoulders'

16 Jan 14 - The Grey & Brown Of Gujarat (The Sequel)

All good films (& unfortunately a lot of bad films as well) have a sequel. So here is my attempt. Getting back for lunch a bit earlier today gave me chance to have a look around Desert Coursers camp with the camera, before we headed out again. Also had chance to say goodbye to the Indian jeep companions as they had a 36 hour taxi & train journey back to Chennai (lucky them).

Bruce's Scops Owl: Bruce was still sleeping through the day in his tree

Black Redstart: Male. The grey crown & lower mantle confirm this is the phoenicuroides subspecies as opposed to rufiventris, where these areas are both black. Both have the orangey-red belly

Black Redstart: I saw this same subspecies in Margate in the UK in Nov 11 where it is a vagrant

Desert Lesser Whitethroat: This bird is a paler grey than UK Lesser Whitethroats & doesn't have the same contrasting face mask

Desert Lesser Whitethroat: Another view of the general colouration. Lesser Whitethroat taxonomy has changed several times over the years - currently Clements splits the Lesser Whitethroat group into 4 species

Desert Lesser Whitethroat: Not a brilliant photo, but it does show the tail pattern. The only slightly darker tail is another separating feature from Lesser Whitethroat

Calotes versicolor: Thanks to Dave Gibbs for spotting this wasn't a Common House Gecko

It was soon time to head out again to the Little Rann. We were visiting another lake this afternoon, as well as some nearby farmland & Mesquite thorn bush in the hope of Stoliczka's Bushchat. Mesquite is a very common bush with long thorns throughout Gujarat, but it's actually an invading non-native bush from Southern South America. Due to the thorns little of the local wildlife & domestic animals will eat it & it's so prolific there is no hope of it being eradicated.

Camels are an important livestock in Gujarat

Pied Kingfisher: This widespread Asian & African species prefers hovers over water to fish, rather than using a perch

Pied Kingfisher: This is the leucomelanurus subspecies which is found in most of the Subcontinent and it's different from the African race rubis subspecies (which reaches as far North as Turkey)

Crested Lark: This photo shows why Mesquite thorn bush has been so successful

Rufous-fronted Prinia: The rufous front becomes duller with wear, but the whitish lores, supercilium & underparts are all features for this species

Rufous-fronted Prinia: The extensive white tips in the tail are another good features for this species

Siberian Stonechat: Male. Both maurus & indicus winter commonly in this part of India

Siberian Stonechat: Male. Look at that white rump as it takes off

Siberian Stonechat: A second flight shot of the same bird

Siberian Stonechat: A nearby female 

Common Babbler

Long-tailed Shrike: The black of the mask only gets onto the lower forehead which confirms this is not a Bay-backed Shrike

Baya Weaver: Out of plumage Weavers aren't easy, but Streaked Weaver would have been more heavily streaked on the back & Bengal Weaver would have had a more obvious yellowish supercilium which would have curved down around the rear of the face