After a comfortable night we were up and out early for a drive along the road. We stopped by the road and wandered into the bushes where we heard ..... . Just as we were returning to the car we saw a Sand Partridge scoot through a gap. Quietly creeping up we managed good views as it walked up beside the bushes and disappeared.
Our next stop was at a roadside cemetery where there was a Desert Lark feeding quietly on the verge. When we got out we could hear Green Bee-eater and Palestine Sunbird calling. Scanning the little vegetation we found them in a small tree at the entrance to the cemetery. There were two bee-eaters and they flew out and back several times before disappearing across the road but the Sunbird spent most of the time calling loudly from the middle of a small bush, making viewing difficult.
We spent some time scanning from the walled enclosure and saw, Buzzard and Brown-necked Raven overhead, a Scrub Warbler flicked through and a small family of Arabian Babblers moved through the brush, eventually coming out on the edge of the undergrowth and even hopping towards us giving stunning views.
Along the road we stopped by a bush and heard a warbler singing. We stopped but it was difficult to see. We also saw our first of many Blackstarts on the wire and a family of White-eyed Bulbuls feeding along the road edge, these birds were everywhere, wherever we went.
We returned for breakfast. settled up, packed the car and left to return towards Ein Gedi. We stopped at the cemetery again but it was quiet. We also stopped again along the road and identified the bird as a Lesser Whitethroat but it was still difficult to see.
We stopped at Ein Bokek Beach to fulfil one of my bucket list wishes with a swim in the Dead Sea. We found a place to park, John and I got changed and made our way to the water. Walking in was chilly but nothing too different, until I sank down into the water. My legs immediately came up and I had to balance and manoeuvre myself using my hands. Trying to stand up again was very difficult as my legs wouldn't drop, I had to force them down while keeping a balance. Trying to turn over to 'swim' was also almost impossible as the buoyancy of the water kept turning me back again. We showered under the fierce beach showers, got dressed and carried on towards Ein Gedi.
As we parked the first bird was a Tristram's Starling sitting on a boulder half way up the hillside. It wasn't easy to see and it flew off. We got out and wandered down the track. There were Painted Ladies everywhere, especially stopping to feed on the flowers of a small bush with pink flowers. There were two Fan-tailed Ravens flying about and several Eastern Bonelli's Warblers flitting through the trees. As they were so active they were difficult to photograph. Returning to the car park we found a very confiding Tristram's Starling which spent some time around the car park and in the rubbish bins, where it competed with White-eyed Bulbuls.
We drove on up the road with brief views of a Rock Hyrax on the edge of a palm grove. We were looking for Wadi En Salvadori but weren't quite sure where it was. We decided to turn round and retrace our footsteps. We checked the write up by Steve Arlow and navigated our way back to wadi with it's little blue sign. We parked here and made our way up through the boulders. On the opposite slopes were two Ibex which slowly made their way down, giving excellent views. The others went further up the slope scanning for Rosefinch while I stayed near the top of the rise. A nice White-crowned Wheatear gave good views but no luck with the Rosefinches. A Fan- tailed Raven with a ring and a radio tag landed on the side of the deep gorge and then flew off to join another one sitting on the telegraph pole.
We made our way back to Ne'ott Hakkikar and the Sckedi's Camp where we were due to meet up with Oded for a trip our looking for nightjars. We checked in our accommodation and then had a wander round. It was an interesting place with some sculptures to look at. We had brilliant views of It was self-catering and as we didn't have any food we went back to a garage area with a restaurant and had burgher and chips before returning in time to meet up with Oded.
We set out just after dark and drove round the tracks towards the border area, which is off limits unless you have a permit, which Oded has. He showed us the border strip with soft soil to show up any footprints from anyone too close to the border. We stopped along the track and listened out for nighjars. we heard some calls and then one flew round the truck in the torchlight a couple of times before disappearing off into the night. We drove around many tracks and roads but, although we heard plenty of nightjars, we didn't see anymore.
Our next stop was at a roadside cemetery where there was a Desert Lark feeding quietly on the verge. When we got out we could hear Green Bee-eater and Palestine Sunbird calling. Scanning the little vegetation we found them in a small tree at the entrance to the cemetery. There were two bee-eaters and they flew out and back several times before disappearing across the road but the Sunbird spent most of the time calling loudly from the middle of a small bush, making viewing difficult.
We spent some time scanning from the walled enclosure and saw, Buzzard and Brown-necked Raven overhead, a Scrub Warbler flicked through and a small family of Arabian Babblers moved through the brush, eventually coming out on the edge of the undergrowth and even hopping towards us giving stunning views.
Along the road we stopped by a bush and heard a warbler singing. We stopped but it was difficult to see. We also saw our first of many Blackstarts on the wire and a family of White-eyed Bulbuls feeding along the road edge, these birds were everywhere, wherever we went.
We returned for breakfast. settled up, packed the car and left to return towards Ein Gedi. We stopped at the cemetery again but it was quiet. We also stopped again along the road and identified the bird as a Lesser Whitethroat but it was still difficult to see.
We stopped at Ein Bokek Beach to fulfil one of my bucket list wishes with a swim in the Dead Sea. We found a place to park, John and I got changed and made our way to the water. Walking in was chilly but nothing too different, until I sank down into the water. My legs immediately came up and I had to balance and manoeuvre myself using my hands. Trying to stand up again was very difficult as my legs wouldn't drop, I had to force them down while keeping a balance. Trying to turn over to 'swim' was also almost impossible as the buoyancy of the water kept turning me back again. We showered under the fierce beach showers, got dressed and carried on towards Ein Gedi.
As we parked the first bird was a Tristram's Starling sitting on a boulder half way up the hillside. It wasn't easy to see and it flew off. We got out and wandered down the track. There were Painted Ladies everywhere, especially stopping to feed on the flowers of a small bush with pink flowers. There were two Fan-tailed Ravens flying about and several Eastern Bonelli's Warblers flitting through the trees. As they were so active they were difficult to photograph. Returning to the car park we found a very confiding Tristram's Starling which spent some time around the car park and in the rubbish bins, where it competed with White-eyed Bulbuls.
We drove on up the road with brief views of a Rock Hyrax on the edge of a palm grove. We were looking for Wadi En Salvadori but weren't quite sure where it was. We decided to turn round and retrace our footsteps. We checked the write up by Steve Arlow and navigated our way back to wadi with it's little blue sign. We parked here and made our way up through the boulders. On the opposite slopes were two Ibex which slowly made their way down, giving excellent views. The others went further up the slope scanning for Rosefinch while I stayed near the top of the rise. A nice White-crowned Wheatear gave good views but no luck with the Rosefinches. A Fan- tailed Raven with a ring and a radio tag landed on the side of the deep gorge and then flew off to join another one sitting on the telegraph pole.
We made our way back to Ne'ott Hakkikar and the Sckedi's Camp where we were due to meet up with Oded for a trip our looking for nightjars. We checked in our accommodation and then had a wander round. It was an interesting place with some sculptures to look at. We had brilliant views of It was self-catering and as we didn't have any food we went back to a garage area with a restaurant and had burgher and chips before returning in time to meet up with Oded.
We set out just after dark and drove round the tracks towards the border area, which is off limits unless you have a permit, which Oded has. He showed us the border strip with soft soil to show up any footprints from anyone too close to the border. We stopped along the track and listened out for nighjars. we heard some calls and then one flew round the truck in the torchlight a couple of times before disappearing off into the night. We drove around many tracks and roads but, although we heard plenty of nightjars, we didn't see anymore.
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