Israel 2 and 3 plus Sharm el sheikh

Two non birding trips to Eilat in March 1988 and 1990 were both family holidays with not too much chance of birding. The first saw the four of us based in one of the cheaper seafront hotels. The lack of opportunity to go birding was compounded by a boat trip into the gulf which resulted in three of us being struck down with food poisoning. Sue ignored my advice to avoid the chicken served on board and was the only one not affected!!

The only real highlight of the week was bumping into a Birdquest group who kindly invited me out on their bus for an evening jaunt into the mountains where a staked-out Humes Tawny Owl (Strix butleri) performed well, a bird that wasn't even on our radar during the 1979 visit. Now renamed as Desert Owl (Strix hadorami).

The second visit was just Sue and I and included a jeep trip out into the desert north of Eilat with staff from the Birdwatching centre and a two day trip up to Jerusalem and Massada. Locally, two evening  trips up to the 'dripping tap pool' outside of town produced 13 and 14 Lichtenstein's Sandgrouse respectively and a variety of birds were seen around the hotel, beach and salt pans. Raptor watching was minimal but still notched up 180+ Steppe Eagles. A single Hooded Wheatear, found in a wadi whilst the rest of the group enjoyed a rustic lunch served on a blanket in the shade of an acacia bush, was the best passerine. Not sure I recorded every species but notes shiw 110 species.

A package holiday with pretty much no birding took us to Sharm-el-Sheikh in March 2004 and a stay at Sonesta beach with just White-eyed Gulls on the beach and a few Crowned Sandgrouse in to the old, and by then, hideous sewage works. A bird tour group, can't remember the name or even the nationality(!) invited us aboard their coach to watch them fly in at dusk; I guess it helped to minimise disturbance as well.

Fuerteventura.

So I thought of doing a 'birds on this day' entry but decided on a simpler 'birds in this week/month'.

To start with, a non-birding trip to Fuerteventura over the last week of March 1994 with Sue, and intended as an early spring break of sun, swimming pool, sight-seeing with a little birding thrown in. Looking back, I totalled just 15 hours of 'proper birding' with some stuff recorded whilst driving around the various parts of the island.

We stayed in Caleta de Fuste which, in 1994 at least, had easy foot access into nearby desert which was ideal for early morning, pre-breakfast birding.

This local area produced singles of Houbara Bustard on two dates but,being on foot rather than having the ability to watch from a car on a gravel track, meant that it/they were a little distant; trying to get closer would have been fruitless. This same area also produced all the Black-bellied Sandgrouse, up to a dozen on each of three days plus great views of Cream-coloured Coursers, 5-9 birds with 4 elsewhere at Gorriones. A group of four were right by the roadside from the car on an day excursion to the south of the island.
Another local speciality, the Canary Islands Chat was common and easy to find here and at other sites totalling about 20 birds.

Other notables in this week were:-

Cory's Shearwater 52+
Egyptian Vulture 9
Barbary Partridge 3
Stone Curlew 1
Kentish Plover 12
Turtle Dove 30
Hoopoe 30
Berthelot's Pipit common
Great Grey Shrike L.e.koenigi 20
Plain Swift 2
Spectacled Warbler common, 50
Sardinian Warbler 12
Trumpeter Finch 25
Lesser Short-toed Lark 75

Only 52 spp in a week but not another birder in sight all week!

How things change with birders from the UK (and elsewhere)  twitching the long-staying Dwarf Bittern/s on the island over 2017, 2018 and 2019. Is it still there now??

Quieter..

The last few days have seen a cooler, strengthening wind and a reduction in inverts with just a couple of male Eupeodes spp, one on 'patch' and the other in the garden. At the pond a couple of Great Black-backed Gulls dropped in for a wash, a Heron was pushed north by gulls and a single Sparowhawk, presumably one of Tuesday's birds, soared up before diving behind the pub in search of lunch!! Today, Saturday, is a cloudy, breezy with little chance of anything of interest so no '1 hour exercise' today. Duck Soup by the Marx Brothers was on earlier, a throw back to simpler times, and definitely a Desert Island DVD!

Nice to find on Twitter today that OSME have released the current Sandgrouse as a free pdf; long time since I been a member and looking forward to reading it.

Elsewhere, over the border in Sussex there's been plenty of the usual spring wandering Red Kites and, whilst its unlikely any will drift over Pompey, I must make the effort to check out any Herring Gull noise!

With so little on offer I've decided to revisit some earlier birding trips and notable UK birds over the last fifty although, sadly, almost none will have photos.

Day 2 and a massive surprise...

Another glorious spring day started  with two Buzzards over the garden and a white spp butterfly, too quick to tell if Small or Green-veined. Still only male Hairy foots in the garden.

Not much chance for variety, walk wise, in the coming weeks (months??) but I guess an hour of 'authorised' activity in this same area may produce a few inverts even if bird life variety is likrly to be very limited.

Elsewhere, plenty of Andrenas deemed flavipes by people far more knowledgeable than myself and another smart Andrena fulva. Whilst trying to photograph this a huge black beastie almost flew into me and certainly gave me a start especially when I realised it was a Violet Carpenter Bee!!!

All the Bee Flies I checked were Dark edged; I'm guessing other species are highly unlikely here. Few butterflies but a single Comma was new.

The swans are spending more time on or near the nest; two days ago a pair of cheeky Mallards were dozing and sat down on the shoulder of the nest whilst the swans were off feeding unconcerned.

Finally, the first Blackcap was heard singing from the far side of the dog walk field.

Below, Dark-edged Bee Fly, Andrena flavipes and Mute Swan nest

Lockdown

Today, just a week after the weather changed for the better, sees us in day one of lockdown, unable to go anywhere other than for essential foods and small amounts of local exercise. In situations like this it's brought home to me that I should really have moved to a more rural area as the only wildlife in the few yards of concrete garden are Hairy footed Flowerbees and the odd nightime visit from foxes. On the bright side opening the door today let in sounds of Blue Tit, Coot, Canada Goose and Mallard.

A local exercise walk on this sunny day brought a good number of first-for-year Bee Flies around the flowering Blackthorn along with lots of small Andrena spp, a very bright and furry Andrena fulva plus singles of Peacock and Brimstone. Amongst a few hovers Epistrophe eligans was the best.

Gull noise alerted to two Sparrowhawks, I'm guessing both males, which were happy to spar with each other until both driven off, one to the south by one group of Herring Gulls and the other to the west by another group.

Songbird wise just single Chiffchaff and no sight nor sound yet of Blackcap.

The weather was warm enough to draw out two plate-sized terrapins fir a bask on a partly submerged log.

I'm rather regretting not following the trend of overnight nocmigging favoured by some others.

Well that didn't last long...

The weather from Monday returned to the usual grey and grim and the flurry of butterflies  vanished. A Blackcap, presumably new in, was sub-singing, a Kingfisher flashed past and both harriers drifted down river but a Water Vole on the dipping pond, first for year, was easily the highlight and this Marsh Marigold above the brightest.

One last visit to TH with Mum before the inevitable closure was very quiet as the above two photos show with just this Redshank in the harbour, some heard-only Avocets and a smart, clean-looking adult Yellow-legged Gull on the beach.

A day to lift the spirits

Yesterday,  by far the best, sunniest, most windless day this year, looked to be signalling an eventual weather change after such a long and dismal run. At Titchfield, fifteen or so Eiders were preening and washing offshore from the tearoom plus a couple of very active Pied Wagtails chasing inumerable flies over the beach but sadly no Wheatears, despite many being seen at pretty much every other south coast location!! Around the reserve a few Chiffchaffs were singing rather more forcefully in the sunshine and a good few Brimstones and Peacocks were on the wing. This photo of Wryneck, courtesy of and coprighted to Stuart Topps, harks back to last October. With a currently 'useless' left hand and arm its impossible to take my own pictures with SLR and 100-400; hopefully one-handed use of the m4/3 macro system will generate a few insect and plant shots as the weather warms up. An unidentified Nomada bee was first of the year; presumably some of the Andrenas it might be a cleptoparasite upon would also be emerging. Plenty of hovers but all appeared to be E. pertinax and only males noted.

The last week has been pretty sparse and depressing with the effects of COVID19 starting to become all too real. Locally,  no changes yet in Tufted Duck and Shoveler numbers and the arrival of a/the single male Gadwall;  the calling Chiffchaff of the last few weeks seems to have departed the gardens and not, as yet, been replaced by a singing summer bird. Yet another appearance of the female Peregrine in from the east and stirring up the gulls whilst lazily circling before powering off westwards.

Last Wednesday's Pulborough visit saw a first-of-year catch-up with singing Woodlark over Upperton's field much to the delight of a visiting couple from Shropshire and later the male Garganey was not too hard to find out on the flooded south brooks. Once again the Hen Harrier eluded me.

Window in the weather...

Yesterday saw a short hobble around WWT where the usual Kingfisher seen over bacon butty and coffee was absent today, and so the first quality bird, just outside the north doors, was a Firecrest which came in to check out my pishing before slipping away into the scrub.

On the main pool six of these Canada/Cackling/Richardsons/Barnacle hybrids (one above) with a variety of 'neck socks'  were paired up and rather noisy whereas the lone White-fronted Goose was quietly hunkered down amongst the Greylags.

The gull loaf was much reduced from last visit with just 50 or so Common Gulls plus six adult Med Gulls, three above, and all unringed. Twenty five Lapwing and a handful of Snipe, three above but nothing else of note

Raptor wise just a couple of kites and a handful of Buzzards in the distance; neither Peregrines were in the usual hanger trees.

Despite some bright spells the only obvious insects were a few Buff-tailed Bees and two sunbathing male Eristalis pertinax, my first hovers thus year.

On leaving another Firecrest was singing just in front of the car.

Today saw a return to continuous cloud, strong wind and a blustery high tide at TH for a coffee 'n' crossword/sanity visit!!  Both harriers were active despite the weather with the male still collecting nesting material. Passerine-wise just a singing Chiffchaff and a very inquisitive Goldcrest checking me out.
Sadly, the 25 or so Sanderlings and numerous Turnstones were flushed off the roost by the continuous presence of dog walkers. At least the flowers showed a sign of spring with Daffs, Primroses, Lesser Celandine and the first opening Marsh Marigold.

Been a while..

Its been a long haul since the autumn with continuous and ongoing mobility issues  limiting the amount of birding to just a few sites with easy access and short, flat footpaths or boardwalks such as Titchfield and Arundel.

The autumn petered out with little on offer although the TH Wryneck did eventually give in, providing great views in the garden of the westernmost north side chalet before working its way around the edges of the play area and eventually disappearing back eastwards of out view.

Two different Snow Buntings were in the Titchfield area, the first above(two pictures)  in November being just 50yds or so from the Seafarer's carpark and the second in December on the Titchfield beach and watchable from the car.

The autumn winds and rains have continued seemingly almost non stop and winter never arrived; no snow, no ice, not even frost on the car windscreen!!

Flooding and danger of falling trees limited some access and the most notable feature of this 'winter' was lack of birds such as Bittern and quality gulls at Blashford and precious little in terms of quality seaducks, divers etc although the Chilling Eider flock were present on many dates with the odd Great Northern and a single Velvet Scoter.

Visits to Arundel produced nothing more than Kingfisher, Firecrest and Snipe although for those able to stay later the harrier roost has continued to pull in one of the Arun valley's ringtail Hen Harriers. The local Bewick's Swans were at an all time low of three but did later increase to just six; they'll be off soon if they've not already departed.

Locally, a Chiffchaff has been calling on many dates from a neighbours garden and a lot of gull noise alerted to a pair of Peregrines over the house one morning; maybe the birds that sometimes roost on St Judes? On the pond, high water levels and the typical numbers of Tufties and Shovelers but with so little thick cover, no sight nor sound of Cettis and, for the second winter, no Water Rail.

Yesterday saw a first visit to the well flooded RSPB Pulborough which despite dropping water levels still looks like an inland sea. Just White-fronted Goose and a rather more unusual Pale-bellied Brent. If last week's early Garganey was still on site, decamping from south brooks to north ensured it was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Luckily the weather held out just enough for this first-of-year Adder, possibly the individual relocated from the flooded Winpenny hide by AA.