The second half of the holiday contains a trip down to Eilat - which just happened to coincide with the Eilat Bird Migration Festival.
During March/April around half a BILLION birds pass through Eilat. It's the first feeding station after a 3000 mile journey across the Sahara on their way to breeding grounds in Central, Eastern Europe and Central Asia. The place was full of birders and full of birds.
On the drive down we stopped to marvel at well over a 1000 White Storks thermalling above the Negev Desert.
A quick stop at the famous Kibbutz Lotan provided a nice Masked Shrike, Black Eared Wheatear, more Blackstarts and warblers and an elusive Hoopoe (Israel's national bird). More highlights included Eastern Olivaceous Wab, Tawny Pipit, Redstarts, Isabelline and Northern Wheatear and a Lesser Kestrel overhead.
Birding in Israel has certain dangers attached to it - you are never far from a war zone!!
I joined a morning trip out of the resort one morning, we visited the ringing and conservation centre - an amazing project to restore the watering and feeding grounds that have been destroyed by the excessive development of the region by tourism and industry.
First out of the bag..Eastern Bonelli's
Quickly followed by Redstart, Reed Wab, Isabelline Wheat, Lesser and Greater Whitethroat, Savi's Wab, Scop's Owl!
Whilst we received some interesting info from the guys we were surrounded by migrants including some scruffy but obliging Bluethroats.
Questionable whether birds at a ringing station count but as we talked we were surrounded by them anyway and saw them all released and usually later in the reserve that morning!
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