Northern Israel, Winter 2019 - Kibbutz Terns

Here's the first in a series of photo-heavy posts from a memorable twelve days in the north of Israel, which ended a couple of weeks ago, incorporating late November and early December.

For the first part of the trip, I was fortunate to be invited to spend the best part of a week at the magical Jordan Valley Birding Center, helping them with a few comms, marketing and logistics issues, which meant sampling this winter birding paradise as part of my research (tough life, eh?) - and what a place it is. Much more to follow over the next week or two, but to kick off, here's a few terns...

.... all White-winged (Black), but for a Whiskered at the foot of the post. In typical JVBC fashion, I spent a peaceful half-hour enjoying these beauties at point-blank range in the warm sunshine, two minutes from the birder's lodge, at the fish ponds - which i had basically to myself.

Unst, Shetland - Autumn 2019 (part three)

Terriers - Team Unst 2019

The local patch (right outside our door) ....

....  which just so happened to be the most northerly substantial cover in the UK 

The Valley of Dreams 

Balta Light = sleepless nights

Making friends

Making more friends

Hide and seek

Darren's eyesight isn't what it used to be, but the Zeiss gear really helps

Poaching Brydon's patch

Taking Darren's requests for peace and quiet very seriously indeed

Fieldcraft masterclass

Rich in a ditch #26

... #349

The legendary and wonderful Bobby's Bus Shelter!

Unst, Shetland - Autumn 2019 (part two)

Red-breated Flycatcher in the Health Centre garden - one of several we stumbled upon during the week, this bird was next to the Blyth's Reed Warbler when we open the gate and peeked in....

Chaffinches and Bramblings were arriving throughout, often into the gardens around the cottage in Norwick

Pied Fly in the Shetland sunshine

Snow Buntings were also arriving throughout, although were less numerous than Lapland Buntings

One of many Common Redstarts, this bird seemed particularly pale and grey,with a strong wing panel, and hung around on the deck in a quarry with a Black Redstart - we are as yet unable to magically turn it into something rarer however

Shetland Wren

A Greenland Wheatear on Lamba Ness....

... where this Short-toed Lark hung around, often with Lapland Buntings

Another Redstart, this one in the ditch at Skaw

Twite - always a joy

Gannet and Viking longboat - none more Shetland

A Tree Pipit near the cottage 

European Golden Plover (above and below, showing plumage variation)

Red Breasted Merganser

Unst, Shetland - Autumn 2019 (part one)

There were plenty of warblers to enjoy (and ponder over) during our week on Unst at the end of September, and Yellow-browed Warblers were happily a common occurrence, present in almost every suitable patch of shrubbery. The one above frequented a garden in the village... but can you find it?

 

The classic east-coast-curled-sycamore-leaf-and-sibe-sprite shot

 

And of course they weren't confined to bushes and trees - new arrivals in particular were routinely found in along fence lines, in tall grass... 

 

...and feeding on the sunny side of walls

 

Of the five or more Lesser Whitethroats we had, all morphologically fitted blythi (Siberian)...

 

.... while the Willow Warblers were a fascinating mix of plumages - from the clasic trochilus (above), to much less colourful birds, to those with pale greenish-grey and yellow, Hippolais-like colour schemes (below). 

 

And then there were Chiffchaffs. A few were regular collybita-types, but many were on a dull, brownish-grey spectrum including many like the one above.....

 

.... and several tristis-types which, while not precisely fitting the traditional Siberian template, surely were (and doubtless would be if DNA'ed)....  

 

.... as well as several 'classic' tristis, pheeping away like timid Bullfinches. The Phylloscs up there were endlessly interesting and would make for a seriously fascinating project if there was the possbility of a co-ordinated pan-island ringing and DNA effort.  

 

A classic commoner-acting-rare - a Garden Warbler among the pine needles of a local garden....

 

... and finally, a legit rare acting, looking and feeling the part. This Blyth's Reed Warbler was a joint find in the Health Centre garden in Baltasound, which we found in a flurry of new arrivals in this fantasy walled garden that I'd happily spend all autumn birding in....