Beach-front Parks at Tel Aviv. Aug 2012

In anticipation of the route moving to a short-haul agreement, we have moved hotels in Tel Aviv and I needed to start my plans from scratch. Only once we had arrived at the hotel could we pin ourselves on a map and found that we were approximately 2.75 kms from the beach. The hotel provides a scheduled shuttle-bus which runs every 2 hours, but my beach-bound colleague wanted to get there before the sun went down, so we walked. 

If I hadn’t wanted to count these birds on my 10,000 Birds Year List, I could have suggested a cab which might have run to about 60 Shekels. As it was the walk took around 45 minutes, the bus beat us there and I only got to add one bird to the list.

I wanted to take a look at a couple of green patches close to the shoreline, but the sun was already very low in the sky. Hooded Crows were coming in to roost on the aerials of the British Embassy and on the Dr Seuss house nearby.

In Spiegel Park (opposite at Google Earth ref; 32° 5'18.35"N 34°46'13.13"E), a White-throated Kingfisher flew over my head as I watched some Eurasian Hoopoes. It was really too dark to take proper pictures, so I amused myself trying to take pictures of the bats. The moon was showing its second full face of the month and warranted a picture as the celebrated 'Blue Moon'. Against the odds, this was also my second full moon of the day as I had seen it setting that morning as I drove to the airport for an early check in.

I was lining up a shot when I heard an eldritch shriek. I am not familiar enough with the cry of the European Thick-knee to be able to imitate it from memory, but when you hear a weird ghostly call in the night, you are unlikely to mistake it for anything else. It was completely dark now, but I decided to follow the cries and shortly came across a lawn with a street lamp on the far side, about 50 meters away. By crouching down, I was able to see two silhouettes of the Thick-knees against the light. The photo, I am sure you will agree, is hardly worth publishing, but I got covered in dog mess and grass stains to get it so you are going to see it whether you want to or not.

Birds seen; 6

Eurasian Thick-knee 2, Rose-ringed Parakeet 4, White-throated Kingfisher 1, Eurasian Hoopoe 4, Hooded Crow 30, House Sparrow 200. 

For a previous post from Tel Aviv, follow the link below;

http://redgannet.blogspot.co.uk/2009/04/morning-in-tel-aviv.html

Green Island, Kuwait, August 2012

Green Island is a small area of reclaimed land, popular with weekend picnickers, adjacent to the coastline of Kuwait City. Picture ‘The Palm’, or ‘The World’ in Dubai, but on a much more prudent scale. There had been some spectacular eBird lists compiled here, but I noted that they were mainly towards the end of April as the north-bound migrants passed through. I was hoping that they had enjoyed themselves there and might drop in on their return. Despite any whinges that I may have self-pityingly uttered during a hot bicycle ride earlier in the day, I was quickly reminded why I hate using taxis. Nevertheless, I arrived (at Google Earth ref; 29°21'51.64"N 48° 1'31.31"E) physically unscathed and paid 1KD entrance fee.

Anyone with a jet-ski seemed to be out on the water this evening. The backdrop lent the scene the air of an action sequence from a James Bond Movie.
As evening was fast approaching, people were arriving with barbeques and picnics. It looked as though it would be a busy Friday night. The sun was already quite low and I could not find much variety in the birds to start with. Eurasian Collared Doves, Laughing Doves and White-eared Bulbuls were all very common. 

Only once I reached the inlet at the centre of the island did I find a few more species. White-cheeked Terns, Greater Sand-plovers and Ruddy Turnstones were casting long shadows across the small beach as they prepared to roost for the evening.

The highlight of the visit came when I went to investigate some very noisy birds near a densely foliaged tree. Whilst checking the tree thoroughly  for owls, I came across a couple of Spotted Flycatchers and a small plain warbler. It was a Hippolais species, but I find this family very difficult. Luckily, it swished its tail around in the characteristic manner described in the Upcher’s Warbler section of the field guide.

As the sun set and I made my way back to the entrance gate, an Isabelline Wheatear and a Rufous-tailed (nee Isabelline) Shrike were seen in the dim light. 

Green Island did not provide the glut of lifers that I had hoped for, but there was a lot of smoke and noise from the weekend socializing and entertainment. During the week, it may prove a better proposition as the southern movement gets underway.

Birds seen; 14

Greater Sand-plover 12, Kentish Plover 8, Ruddy Turnstone 15, Whiskered Tern 15, Lesser Crested Tern 1, Eurasian Collared Dove 65, Laughing Dove 25, Rufous-tailed Shrike 1, Spotted Flycatcher 2, Red-vented Bulbul 6, White-eared Bulbul 25, Upcher’s Warbler 1, Isabelline Wheatear 1, House Sparrow 400.

 Visit the dedicated Middle East Page for more from the region including Safa Park, Dubai and Qurm Natural Park in Muscat

Erada Square Beach, Kuwait, August 2012

I am beginning to regret my New Year’s List resolution to use scheduled public transport or my own energies to build an annual total. 45°C of heat and a bicycle do not make a good combination. No-one had used the flying club’s bicycles for a year and the concierge had forgotten where he had put them. Once he eventually found them, he couldn’t release the lock as he had also forgotten the combination. The brakes were broken, so we had to release the other bike which had flat tyres. 

All of this kerfuffle wasted about 40 minutes and when I arrived at Erado Square Beach, the tide had begun to recede and the birds were moving away from the promenade and my camera. This may make it sound as if the concierge was somehow at fault, but perhaps if my sense of direction had been more reliable, I would not have struck out at 90° to my intended direction.

The beach at Erada Square (Google Earth ref; 29°22'7.31"N 47°57'38.37"E ) was not my planned destination, but since I found myself there and there were birds, I stopped. The tide was ebbing gently back into the almost perfectly flat Kuwait Bay. Tiny ripples lapped about 10 meters from the promenade and birds could be seen scuttling among the small rocks. Greater Sand Plovers and Kentish Plovers were first with Curlew Sandpipers and Common Ringed Plovers further along to my left, south-west.

 

A concrete jetty pokes out into the bay and by the time I reached it, the tide had pulled back far enough for me to walk damply around its furthest reach. Slender-billed Gulls flew along the beach or rested on the surface of the water. 

A Sandwich Tern roosted on the exposed mud and White-cheeked Terns patrolled close to the water’s edge. A number of Larus-type gulls were seen, but it was difficult to identify them straight away. After much viewing, photographing and comparison with my field guide, I decided upon Caspian Gull, but I am expecting a query from eBird.

The promenade leads past a boating ramp and opens up to another beach beyond. Gulls and terns were roosting on the wet sand here with other birds such as European Oystercatcher and Whimbrel seen in the distance. 

Back in the opposite direction, the path comes to an end at the palace. A small beach here provides a popular roosting spot for the gulls, but I felt a little uneasy peering through my binoculars and taking pictures towards the palace's defences.

Terek Sandpiper

Bird seen;

Western Reef Heron 4, Greater Sand-plover 15, Kentish Plover 15, Common Ringed Plover 12, Eurasian Oystercatcher 1, Terek Sandpiper 6, Common Sandpiper 6, Common Redshank 1, Whimbrel 4, Ruddy Turnstone 6, Sanderling 4, Curlew Sandpiper4, Slender-billed Gull 10, Caspian Gull 40, Little Tern 1, White-cheeked Tern 2, Sandwich Tern 2, Eurasian Collared Dove 40, Laughing Dove 15, Eurasian Hoopoe 1, Barn Swallow 1, White-eared Bulbul 60, House Sparrow 120.

Visit the dedicated Middle East Page for more from the region including Safa Park, Dubai and Qurm Natural Park in Muscat.

Brisbane's birds, August 2012

This is a quick post to show a few pictures of birds seen at different times during a holiday to Australia. They don’t really fit into a post by themselves, but give a flavour of some of the birds that you might encounter anywhere in and around Brisbane.

Rainbow Lorikeet

Roma Street Parklands, Google Earth ref; 27°27'51.52"S 153° 1'13.17"E, held plenty of common birds, but since most of my time here was spent howling at the sky after dropping my camera down the concrete steps, I did not do justice to its potential.

Blue-faced Honeyeater

Anyone who has visited Redgannet before will probably know that my gear is constantly being dropped and broken. On this occasion, the shutter button was damaged and refused to take a picture. 

Straw-necked Ibis

It was still possible to use the camera with the remote shutter release, but that was a bit cumbersome without the tripod.

Pied Butcherbird

New Farm is a city park on a bend of the Brisbane River (Google Earth ref; 27°28'6.33"S 153°3'2.86"E) downstream from the city. It has wide lawns and shady trees for the children’s playground. Noisy miners sunned themselves and even my ornithophobic family found them comically watchable.

Noisy Miner

My favourite of the urban parks is the City Botanic Garden at Google Earth ref; 27°28'34.75"S 153° 1'48.69"E. It is very easily accessible from the downtown business and shopping areas and produced my only Sacred Kingfisher of the holiday.

Crested Pigeon

See the other Brisbane posts below or at these links;

http://redgannet.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/brisbane-australia-august-2012.html

http://redgannet.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/mount-coot-tha-brisbane-australia-aug.html

http://redgannet.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/oxley-creek-common-brisbane-aug-2012.html

http://redgannet.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/mt-nebo-and-mt-glorious-brisbane-aug.html

Visit the dedicated Australia page for more from the Lucky Country.

Mt Ommaney Walkway, Brisbane, August 2012

This time my thanks go out to Shealagh Walker whose eBird contributions and subsequent reply to an RFI led me to Mount Ommaney Walkway. The first thing a visitor here notices is the bat roost. The golf course across the road plays host to a very dense colony of fruit bats who in turn tolerate a breeding community of Australian Ibis.

The walkway begins at Google Earth ref; 27°32'36.40"S 152°55'33.40"E and follows a track to the Brisbane River and along its bank. I ran into a party of birds almost as soon as I stepped into the trees. Grey Fantail, as ever, formed the nucleus of the group with Silver-eyes, Rufous Whistlers and Golden Whistlers feeding alongside.

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Numerous other parties all included the fantails, but the other revellers alternated with Brown Honeyeaters, Lewin’s Honeyeater and even a Fantailed Cuckoo showing briefly. 

The path led me down to the river bank and almost into another world. The far bank was rough pasture with what I took to be a farmhouse in the distance among the eucalypt trees. Behind me was a small wood and it appeared that I had been cut off from the suburbia of Brisbane that I had been hoping to escape all week.

It was a delightful scene, but I had to drag myself away and back to the world of owl-spotting. I had been primed to look out for a small hawk-owl known as a Southern Boobook. The described location had been thoroughly searched on the way out and a subsequent scouring on the return similarly failed to turn up my quarry.

Just as I picked up my bag to head back to the car (how many times does this happen? Perhaps I should give up earlier in the piece next time I am searching for something), a streaked belly caught my eye through an open patch in a densely leafed tree. I was able to adjust my position without disturbing the owl only to find that there were two of them. Shealagh had told me that as many as three had been seen in this area before now, but I was more than thrilled with just two.

Birds seen; 23

Little Black Cormorant 1, Australian Pelican 7, Great Egret 2, Australian Ibis 40, Masked Lapwing 1, Galah 4, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo 8, Rainbow Lorikeet 6, Fantailed Cuckoo 1, Southern Boobook 2, Variegated Fairywren 3, Lewin’s Honeyeater 1, Scarlet Myzomela 1, Brown Honeyeater 3, Blue-faced Honeyeater 12, Eastern Whipbird 1, Pied Currawong 1, Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike 3, Golden Whistler 2, Rufous Whistler 5, Grey Fantail 20, Silver-eye 60, Mistletoebird 1.

For more posts from Brisbane, follow the links below;

http://redgannet.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/mount-coot-tha-brisbane-australia-aug.html

http://redgannet.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/brisbane-australia-august-2012.html

Visit the dedicated Australia Page for more from the region, including Powerful Owls from Sydney.