Siberian Chiffchaff and Common Chiffchaff: Part 2
Calls (or Medleys and Mash-ups) by Martin G. Life was simple, back then. Common Chiffchaffs called an upward inflected ‘hweet’ (very similar to a Willow Warbler call) and Siberian Chiffchaffs called a...
View Articlecalidus Peregrine
Photographed yesterday at Urim, NW Negev, Israel. Perched on the famous powerline – hotspot for large falcons. calidus are regular in winter in Israel, mainly in the NW Negev. Juveniles are tricky,...
View Article15 Days, 150 Moments in 7 Minutes
Pushing the Boundaries Tour So much squeezed into just over a couple of weeks. Here’s a 7 minute peak into life on the road for Tormod and myself. Too many people to thank and crammed with fond...
View ArticleIsrael in Spring and Autumn
Wakefield RSPB – Thursday 28th Feb. Looking forward to speaking to the local RSPB group in Wakefield this Thursday. Full info here- all welcome!
View ArticleFrontier Birding Israel style
Still haven’t purchased a proper sound-recording system, but with my phone (Samsung Galaxy S2) I manage to get semi-decent recordings of close birds. Here are some of my adventures in recent weeks: On...
View ArticleTricky Greater Sand-plover
Yesterday, Israeli birder Irad Solnik had a summer-plumaged sand-plover in a small lagoon near Bet Yanay, on the Mediterranean coast. This immediately got the alarm bells ringing, as Greater...
View ArticleSome more flight shots of the Israeli sandplover
By Irad Solnik, showing how difficult it is to identify birds from pictures only, especially of such difficult taxa pairs like atrifrons / columbinus: More on this bird to follow.
View ArticleIsraeli sand-plover resolved
I hope Martin forgives me for turning this into my personal blog. But this bird stirred a fascinating discussion among some top birders, and deserves one last post. Lesser Sand-plover So after lots of...
View ArticleMongolian, Lesser and Greater Sand Plovers
Postscript: by Martin G. Given Yoav’s excellent posts below on this 3rd, 4th or 5th* record of Lesser Sand Plover for Israel, and a Mongolian Plover in Scotland seemingly heading south and to become...
View ArticleRevealed: Mongolian Plover – First for Israel
Unearthed from August 2000 Itai Shanni and Martin G. Following the wrestles with the very recent Lesser Sand Plover in Israel, Itai Shanni dug out an old slide. Looks like a first for Israel! Itai...
View ArticleSwintail or Pinhoe’s?
On Thursday October 10th, two of my mates Eyal Shochat and Yaron Charka found this exciting Snipe at Ma’agan Michael on the Mediterranean Coast of Israel. The bird showed very well to me on Sunday....
View ArticleChampions of the Flyway
Eilat, Spring, 2014. Just a little notice as I head off to Israel that I will also be chewing on getting ready for this. Will we/can we/ have we got a chance of becoming the ‘Champions of the Flyway’?...
View ArticleCaspian Stonechat in Scilly…
…and elsewhere by Martin Garner and there is a Mystery Quiz Bird at the end. And yes of course – it’s a mean, dirty, tricky one 1cy male Caspian Stonechat ‘hemprichii’, St Agnes, Isles of Scilly, 21st...
View ArticleMystery Stonechat
It’s a male. by Martin G. Which is not much of a clue. It’s not easy, but interesting I hope . I watched this bird with Sander Bot and Mick Cunningham in the Beit She’an Valley in Israel a couple …...
View ArticleRed-fronted Serin, Syrian Serin and Serin Serin
3 serinus in November ’13 by Martin G “During the last 6 weeks I have been coordinating an extensive Breeding Bird Atlas Project on Mt. Hermon. This is Israel’s highest peak, and our only alpine...
View ArticleEastern flavas in Norfolk and Donegal?
Eccles, Norfolk, October 2013 by Tim Allwood and Andy Kane Apparent Eastern flava wagtail, tschutschensis? Eccles, Norfolk, October 2013. by Neil Bowman Hi Martin, I recall a few posts of yours on...
View ArticleRadde’s Accentor
Magical Moments 2013 #1 by Martin G. This is the first in what will be a little eclectic set of birding memories from 2013. No way will I get all of the special moments of 2013, in before the New …...
View ArticleSiberian Buff-bellied Pipit
Magical Moments 2013 #3 by Martin G. What: Siberian Buff-bellied Pipit Anthus rubescens japonicus Who: Sander Bot. A great companion who kept us searching when I was ready to give up. Where: At Ma’agan...
View ArticleCaspian Stonechat in Scilly…
…and elsewhere by Martin Garner and there is a Mystery Quiz Bird at the end. And yes of course – it’s a mean, dirty, tricky one 1cy male Caspian Stonechat ‘hemprichii’, St Agnes, Isles of Scilly, 21st...
View ArticleSteppe Merlin
Overlooked in Europe? No way, so distinctive! Yoav Perlman Merlin has a huge breeding range accross Europe and Asia. It has several subspecies – as in many other species the W European populations...
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