Champions of the Flyway!

Saturday, April 27, 2019

Israel 2019, day fifteen - Hatzuk Beach and Yoav's patch


Cyprus White-arse
 
Another pre-dawn excursion, this time north to Tel Aviv and the Hatzuk Beach area, a scrubby, productive wasteland on the Mediterranean coast. A Cyprus Wheatear had been found there the day before, and Yoav promised a decent cast of migrants - and both aspirations were duly met as the sun came up, with a couple of hours great birding and lots of land-bound and overhead action.


Pre-dawn Savi's
 
Back in Yoav's hometown of Mazkeret Batya, we checked out his local patch on several early mornings - a vegetated stream with decent habitat that begins just a few minutes from the house and leads into more open, agricultural land with adjoining suburban gardens. He's building up quite the patch list here, and one evening excitedly exclaimed that the following morning was when Collared Flycatcher was going to be added to that list, and proceeded to tell me exactly where it would be - and there it was. Nobody likes a smart-arse, Yoav.....

Great Reed Warbler, five minutes from the house...
 
... as well as Syrian Woodpeckers...
 

..... and a Collared Flycatcher on demand
 
Mynas are everywhere in the neighbourhood ....
 
... as are Red-rumped Swallows